Wow, it’s been a warm week! I’m not really built for warm weather… nor for cold weather… I think I’m just not really built for weather. But the sunshine has been nice on my walks, I must admit!

The latest Bookly readathon has started, so I have been doing a little more reading than I was, and I hope the week ahead will be pretty busy, reading-wise. Especially given the haul I got last weekend.

Books acquired this week

I’m going to split my haul over the next 2-3 weeks, since I got a lot of books in one go. (Next haul… probably due the week after that, since August 20th is my birthday, ahaha.) First up, a little non-fiction:

And here’s a couple of the fiction books I got as well:

It’s a rather random mix, I know, just like the full haul. I do love having such a range around to read!

Posts from this week

Here goes the usual roundup:

• Fantasy: The Hands of the Emperor, by Victoria Goddard (5/5 stars)
• Classic crime: Tour de Force, by Christianna Brand (2/5 stars)
• Horror/fantasy/romance comic: Love Everlasting vol 1, by Matt Hollingsworth, Tom King & Elsa Charretier (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution, by Dan Hicks (3/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Want To See More Of
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

Right now I’m trying to finish up one of my new books, Standard Deviations, which is all about how data/statistics can be twisted to support totally made-up or opposite conclusions. It’s pretty well-explained, though I do have the advantage that I have (of necessity, as a science student) done two courses on stats.

It’s been a fun week, with some comics I plan to review and some manga which I won’t, alongside my chunkier non-fiction reads. Here are the books I read this week which I will post reviews of soon:

Combined with the manga I read, it was definitely a busy reading week!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Well! I’m writing this in the evening after spending the day hanging out with a friend and absolutely raiding a bookshop. I’ve spent a little much today, but I’m happy, haha. But I’ll save that haul for the next couple weeks, since I haven’t unpacked it and added it to my StoryGraph yet.

Books acquired this week

Just one for now, since I’m not listing the ones I got today yet! I think I’d vaguely known this was coming, and then forgotten, so it was a nice surprise when Leah mentioned it in a comment and I realised it was out!

I’m excited to read this one!

Reviews posted this week

Time for a bit of a round-up!

• Mystery: Summers End, by Juneau Black (4/5 stars)
• Science non-fiction: Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind, by Sue Black (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy comic: Dominion vol 1: The Resurrection of Jason Ash, by Thomas Fenton et al (2/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine, by Rozsika Parker (4/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Debut Novels I Enjoyed
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

I’ve been back to reading a bit more widely this week, though I haven’t finished many books yet. I’m well behind on my reading goals, but a Bookly readathon is coming, so I’m hopeful that’ll help me catch up a bit!

Here’s a glimpse at the books I’ll be reviewing sometime soon:

I really liked Written in Bone, so now I’m reading All That Remains. It’s a bit more memoir-y, at least so far, and made me cry a little a couple of times (let’s say the discussion of the decline and death of someone with dementia hits a little close to home). I think from reviews it does go on to talk a bit more about the author’s work as a forensic anthropologist, though, which should be interesting.

Other than that, as I discussed in my WWW Wednesday post, I’m finally digging into KJ Charles’ The Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, which I’m loving (and still has me pretty curious, as I haven’t read much more since Wednesday — yet). I also rather randomly picked up Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, which I’m having fun with so far.

How’s everyone else doing?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Happy weekend! There’s still not a lot going on for me reading-wise, but it always goes in phases for me, and I’m not sweating it. Reading’s not my job, it’s meant to be for fun, after all.

Plus, the fact that I’m not acquiring more books is not so bad: I have a bookshop trip with a friend coming up next week (most likely), and my birthday coming up in August (definitely), so… quiet weeks are good, if only because I’m running out of space.

Books acquired this week

N/a! I did look at requesting some on Netgalley, but I didn’t feel the excitement, so I decided to give it a miss (for now at least).

I should’ve pre-ordered KJ Charles’ new book, but I forgot. Hoping to pick that up next week!

Posts from this week

Here’s the usual roundup of what I’ve been posting!

• Comics: Foxes in Love, vol 3, by Toivo Kaartinen (4/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: Out of the Depths: A History of Shipwrecks, by Alan G. Jamieson (3/5 stars)
• Historical fiction/fantasy: The Winter Prince, by Elizabeth E. Wein (4/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: Nefertiti’s Face: The Creation of an Icon, by Joyce Tyldesley (4/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: Hands of Time: A Watchmaker’s History, by Rebecca Struthers (4/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Things I Loved About The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

What I’m reading

I’ve still been mostly re-reading the Narnia books, which I’m not going to review here again, but I did this week finish one new book I’ll review soon:

It’s a fun addition to the Shady Hollow series; I enjoyed it a lot.

I did start picking up some other new-to-me books this week as well, though I haven’t finished them yet, including Sue Black’s Written In Bone, which is fascinating (if sometimes gruesome) and Victoria Finlay’s Colour, which is pretty fascinating. Perhaps I’ll finish them in the week ahead!

Hope everyone’s having a good one!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Greetings! I’m beginning to surface from the total immersion in the new story in FFXIV, having finished the main plot. There’s loads more to do, of course, but the week off I took was enough to get through the main story.

I still haven’t done much reading this week, but I imagine soon things will tend back toward normal.

Books acquired this week

N/a! Though I’ve added a few to my wishlist (which my wife will probably welcome, since my birthday is in August).

Posts from this week

This week, just the usual review posts, since the Top Ten Tuesday prompt didn’t inspire me!

• Classic crime short stories: Foreign Bodies, edited by Martin Edwards (3/5 stars)
• Steampunk short stories: Murder on the Titania & Other Steam-Powered Adventures, by Alex Acks (3/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Dragons, Heroes, Myths & Magic, by Chantry Westwell (3/5 stars)
• Romance manga: A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 18, by Akane Tamura (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The History of the World in 100 Animals, by Simon Barnes (3/5 stars)

My backlog of reviews is steadily diminishing! Guess I better get back to my reading groove soon.

What I’m reading

As I mentioned, not very much at the moment. I’m a bit stalled with Threading the Labyrinth, by Tiffani Angus, which I really wanted to like — but I did read a couple of things.

So reviews for those will be coming soon! I’m also in the midst of a reread of Record of a Spaceborn Few… and after that I might get on to pastures new.

Hope everyone’s doing okay!

Good afternoon! Or possibly evening by the time I actually finish this. In the last couple of days I’ve been more busy playing Final Fantasy XIV’s new expansion, Dawntrail. Here’s my character embarking on the new journey!

Books acquired this week

N/a! I’ve been too busy, and also not too concerned with collecting more books right now. Soon there are some books I really want coming out, so I’m saving my pennies for those.

Posts from this week

I’ve mostly kept up with posting, so I do have some posts to highlight!

• Webcomic collection: Foxes in Love vol 2, by Toivo Kaartinen (5/5 stars)
• Classic mystery: Death Came Softly, by E.C.R. Lorac (4/5 stars)
• SF/F: System Collapse, by Martha Wells (3/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Exposed: The Greek and Roman Body, by Caroline Vout (4/5 stars)
• Romance manga: Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon vol 4, by Shio Usui (4/5 stars)

And also one non-review post:

• Top Ten Tuesday: 2024 Releases

What I’m reading

Not a lot, thanks to the preoccupation with FFXIV. I did finish up with my reread of Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow books, so now I’m very ready for the new book. Not long now!

After that, I’ve dug into The Garden Jungle, by Dave Goulson — appropriate given that this year we’re letting our wildflower meadow expand a little more.

Other than that, nothing to report. Hope everyone’s weekend is going well!

This week I’ve been substantially back to normal, which is great! I had a couple of cranky days, I’ll admit, but definitely life is a bit more fun right now. I haven’t been doing that much reading, admittedly, and it’s mostly been rereading… but perhaps more about that below.

Books acquired this week

Just one book this week, via Unbound on Netgalley:

I know, perhaps not my usual fare, but really my usual fare is “whatever grabs my interest”, and this one piqued it today, perhaps because I semi-recently read Adrift: The Curious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea.

Posts from this week

As usual, it’s time for a bit of a roundup. Here’s what I’ve been posting about this week:

• Queer SF/F graphic novel: Across a Field of Starlight, by Blue Delliquanti (3/5 stars)
• Classic mystery: The Lost Gallows, by John Dickson Carr (3/5 stars)
• SF/F novella: A Mirror Mended, by Alix E. Harrow (3/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: This New Noise: The Extraordinary Birth and Troubled Life of the BBC, by Charlotte Higgins (3/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Email, by Randy Malamud (2/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Summer Reading List

What I’m reading

It’s been a week for rereading, more than reading new stuff to review. I’ve been rereading Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow series; I didn’t read them that long ago, and really what I want to be reading is the new book. Since that’s not out yet, this will do for a start! Over the weekend, I’m hoping to also finish rereading A Coalition of Lions (Elizabeth E. Wein), which I will review since it’s been so long since I read it.

Here are the covers of the books I’ve read in the last week that I’m planning to review sometime soon:

Luckily I have a bit of a backlog of reviews — the blog won’t run short for a while yet, fear not!

How’s everyone else doing this weekend?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

I’m freeeeeeee! Yes, my exams are over, and the academic year too. I’ll start up again fairly soon, trying to get ahead on studying for the next year, especially since I’ll be sitting one of the hardest modules. But for now I’m taking some well-deserved time off!

Reading-wise I’m not entirely back in the swing of it yet, and I need to do some catchup with comments and saying hi to folks, but I’m back.

Books acquired this week

I haven’t got much new, but I did get this month’s British Crime Classic book from my subscription, the theme of which (academic stories) seems… a little on the nose for me right now.

I’m looking forward to digging into it, though I admit I haven’t read last week’s book yet.

Posts from this week

I didn’t do great at posting this week, missing two days, but here’s the roundup of the reviews that did go live!

• Classic short mysteries: Final Acts: Theatrical Mysteries, ed. Martin Edwards (3/5 stars)
• Fantasy romance: Den of Wolves, by Juliet Marillier (4/5 stars)
• Science history: The Vinyl Frontier: The Story of the Voyager Golden Record, by Jonathan Scott (4/5 stars)
• History/memoir: Hyphen, by Pardis Mahdavi (3/5 stars)

What I’m reading

I haven’t been reading a ton this week, since I’ve been busy, and at least one of the books I did read I won’t be reviewing on the blog again (since it was a reread). But here’s a glimpse at the books I’ve read that I do plan to review on the blog sometime soon:

I’m not sure what I’ll be reading this weekend, to be honest. I think I’ll probably read more of Worn: A People’s History of Clothing (Sofi Thanhauser), reread Record of a Spaceborn Few (Becky Chambers), and… otherwise completely follow my whims.

How’s everyone else doing?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Yay, it’s the weekend!

Long week here: my first exam was on Monday. I started it at 10am, and didn’t finish up and submit it until 8:30pm — though that time includes breaks for stretching, food and rest, it was a lot of work. Two more to come, on Monday and Tuesday, and then I’m freeee.

So I’m still not caught up with comments on my blog, and might just need to call amnesty on the ones I’ve received so far and do better going forward.

Books acquired this week

…Zero! This isn’t really intentional — actually, I’m still meaning to pick some more of E.C.R. Lorac’s books to get on Kindle — but I keep forgetting.

Posts from this week

Despite everything, I’ve been keeping up with getting my backlog of reviews posted, so here’s a roundup:

• Non-fiction: Mushroom, by Sara Rich (2/5 stars)
• Classic mystery: Murder in the Basement, by Anthony Berkeley (4/5 stars)
• Epistolary fantasy: A Letter to the Luminous Deep, by Sylvie Cathrall (5/5 stars)
• Popular science: Sleeping Beauties: The Mystery of Dormant Innovations in Nature and Culture, by Andreas Wagner (4/5 stars)
• History/science non-fiction: Lapidarium: The Secret Lives of Stones, by Hettie Judah (4/5 stars)
• Romance manga: A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 17, by Akane Tamura (4/5 stars)

And that was it for posts this week!

What I’m reading

I started the week not reading very much, really, but in the past few days I’ve got busy finishing books from the huge stack of books I technically have part-read all at the same time, plus doing a reread of a favourite (Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet). Here’s a glimpse at the books that I finished that I’ll be reviewing on the blog in the next weeks and months…

Now I’m just trying to have a nice chill weekend reading whatever catches my fancy — right now I’m finally getting back into In Deeper Waters, by F.T. Lukens.

How’s everyone doing?

(Probably) Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Last week I didn’t get round to visiting any blogs, and I’m behind on comments again. That’s because I realised my exam is on Monday, and not a week on Monday! And our shower broke, too, so I tried to clean and tidy a lot for the Royal Visit, AKA my dad coming over to see if it was some kind of simple problem he could remedy. Sooo I’ve been a little busy, and I haven’t been doing much reading (or blogging).

Still, I thought I’d check in!

Books acquired this week

That’d be a big fat zero this time! My wife’s been offering to buy me some more E.C.R. Lorac books on Kindle, since they’re cheap, but I keep forgetting to look through the Kindle store to see which ones are actually available vs which ones I have.

So, for now, nothing added to my shelves.

Posts from this week

As usual, here’s a recap of the reviews I posted this week!

• Crime/mystery: Eight Detectives, by Alex Pavesi (3/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The Doctor Who Fooled the World, by Brian Deer (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy: The Warden, by Daniel M. Ford (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: A Short History of Tomb-Raiding, by Maria Golia (3/5 stars)
• Historical romance: The Ruin of a Rake, by Cat Sebastian (4/5 stars)
• Graphic novel: We Only Kill Each Other, by Stephanie Phillips et al (2/5 stars)

And that was it for the week — I haven’t had the energy (or time) for linkups, alas.

What I’m reading

This weekend I’m trying to chill and just do fun stuff, since I don’t really believe I’ll make much progress on studying in the last day or so before an exam. Better to show up well-rested and a bit more supple in the brain department. So I’ve spent my afternoon reading Murder on the Titania, by Alex Acks, and starting on Martha Wells’ System Collapse. Just for variety, I’m also planning on picking up one of E.C.R. Lorac’s mysteries: I try to save those for when I need ’em, but I think this qualifies.

As for what I’ve been reading that’s coming up for review on the blog, here we go:

Wish me luck with the exam…!

(Probably) Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!