We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
Today I spent the day in bed re-reading Thunderhead (Arc of Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman. I’m eager to continue on with this series so that I can finally read The Toll! My memory is so bad but all I remember is feeling heartbroken after I finished this book when I read it a few years back. It was wonderful and painful 😂
Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
Today I spent the day in bed with Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2) by Rachel Caine. This is a fast paced sequel! I’m enjoying it and it has answered some of the questions I had earlier, although I’m still noticing certain inconsistencies. This series is quite entertaining though!
LET THE WORLD BURN
With an iron fist, the Great Library ruthlessly controls the knowledge of the world, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.
Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but his life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered for ever. Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria.
But Jess’s home isn’t safe any more. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or a Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control . . .
Oh what a month December turned out to be! With the end of the year activities at work combined with family flying in for the holidays, and my sister staying with me, there turned out to be a lot less time to read than I anticipated. Silly me for thinking I’d have more quiet time this month 😅 Now that everyone is on their way home, I’m back alone at my place and although I still feel slightly frazzled, I can also tell that my mind is calming down some. With that, I managed to read 17 books in December.
Wowow, it’s a question I’ve been asking myself repeatedly but seriously, where did November go?! Pretty sure that I blinked twice and the month was already over. Actually, these last few months have all been speeding by and I can’t believe that we’re now almost done with the teens of the 2000s and moving into our 20s! Insanity. So it’s time for another monthly wrap up and I gotta say, November was a weird month. I don’t know if it’s because the days passed so quickly but despite (what felt like) having a book in hand 98% of the time, this was the month that I also read the least. It might also have to do with the fact that my mood for romance has all but disappeared and I used to binge romance the most! I managed to read 12 books in November and for the most part, many of them were just okay…
I participated in #NonfictionNovember this month and as you can see from my read list, I didn’t do a very good job of it! I only managed to read two NF books, although I enjoyed both very much and one of them was my favorite read this month (Stranger Beside Me). I have a lot more NF on my list that I’d obviously like to get to and I’m hoping to read at least one or two more before the year ends. That said, I’m quite pleased that I even managed to read two because NF always takes me longer to get through… Also, two is more NF than I usually read in a year so… Yay? 🤷🏻♀️
I’m also quite chuffed that I managed to read two more of my eARCs this month and I’m slowly creeping closer to my 100% goal (and when I say slowly I really do mean… s-l-o-w-l-y! But slow progress is better than no progress, amirite?! 😂)! I wrote more reviews for my reads this month than before, but I still have tons to catch up on and I also didn’t end up posting any reviews from previous months either. Oops! Oh well, there’s always time to catch up… 😬
This month I also randomly decided to join in on the #Triwizardathon and it has been lots of fun! I’m on Team Durmstrang and at the start of Task 2, Durmstrang was in the lead! There’s one last task this December, starting next week, so I should probably start thinking about what to read but I’m pretty excited for the final! I think half of the books I’ve read this month were because of my participation in this readathon. I’m usually pretty bad at sticking to set TBRs and yes, I have replaced one or two books that I set out to read with something else, but for the most part I’m quite proud that I’ve managed to stick to the others. Go me!
I mentioned it briefly at the end of last month’s wrap up that I was thinking of doing a revamp on my blog look and I’ve finally done it. I changed my theme and made some new graphics, which are amateurish but I think overall, I’m quite pleased with how my blog looks. I don’t know if I’m enjoying this theme 100% yet, but I do like the new graphics that I made–especially the new blog headers! I think I’ve definitely brought more colour to my blog now! What do you all think of it? Or maybe you didn’t even notice or don’t care? (That’s totally fine too! Lol)
I hope you all had a great November! I’m sure that most of us have tons of books that we’d like to read before the year is out, so HAPPY DECEMBER READING, friends!
Friends! Can you believe? Two months until 2019 is over and I honestly still can’t believe it. I have no idea where this year has gone but it’s definitely gone in a blink! October was such a hectic month that I don’t even know where the days went because time moved so quickly. That said, I’m surprised that I managed to read 19 books this month, which brings my Goodreads reading challenge up to 175/90.
Thinking about it again, I’m not surprised I read 19 books this month because I read a ton of romances which I always speed through (at most it takes me 2 days to read one). While I took a little step outside of my comfort zone this month with Rules for Vanishing, I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t read any other spooky read, although being a mood reader I know that forcing myself to read something I’m not feeling just wouldn’t work.
I’m clearly still very much on that romance vibe, although I can also start to feel myself becoming a little jaded with some of these romances (maybe as evidenced by the lower ratings because I just wanted to roll-my-eyes-so-hard). But I think I’ve been hitting the romance so hard because my brain is just… TIRED? Like… I have no mental energy left on most days and that means I love reading romances that not only give me swoony feelings but I also don’t have to think very hard about. Let’s see if the romancing mood will continue in November!
Just like last time, you can find all my weekly memes in my menu bar since I’ve organized that a bit more. You can find the rest of the posts that I’ve made this month below. I actually didn’t write a whole lot of reviews this month, I’ve just been ‘too busy reading’ and that’s okay because I know I’m not obligated to write a review for every book I read (unless it’s an eARC) but I’ve come to realize just how much writing reviews really helps my memory! So… I’m on a mission (maybe tomorrow) to sit down and write some reviews before I forget even more than I already have!
ALSO I’ve been toying with the idea of giving my blog a bit of revamped look but I don’t know if I should do it right now (it’s not even been a year but playing with blog layouts has always been a fun time for me! LOL 😅). Might give it a go this weekend but will play it by ear! What do you think?Do you like changing up your (blog) look or is that just confusing?
I hope you all had a great reading month in October and I hope that November continues to be awesome! What was your favorite read this month? Come let me know in the comments & let’s chat!
I still can’t believe that September is already over! This year is going by way too quickly and I’m wondering if the rest of 2019 is going to speed by in the exact same way? September was a pretty mediocre reading month for me. I think I started off pretty strong but once I tucked into Priory of the Orange Tree, my reads slowed down considerably. I still managed to read 15 books though, so it wasn’t all bad! I am now sitting at 156/90 reads (this number still shocks me; being part of the book community has really increased my reading this year)!
⁍ Pumpkinheads (review) ⁍ Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) (review) ⁍ Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2) (review) ⁍ The Hating Game (review coming)
My favorites out of all of these were Nevernight and Godsgrave. After finishing Nevernight (my mind was totally blown) at the start of the month, I just couldn’t resist reading the sequel as soon as possible. Kristoff is a man who does not hold back on screwing with your feelings. After the ending of Godsgrave, I’m so excited but equally terrified of finishing this series. But I know I won’t be able to resist Darkdawn so it’s gonna be happening this October!
I was planning to read a lot more sequels for Sequel September but also a few more standalone’s for Standalone September (focusing on hyped standalone’s) but both of these endeavors ended up failing pretty badly. I think I can only count one book towards the former and two books towards the latter. I think I’m going to give challenges a break for now? I’m obviously not very good at them 😂
Last time I listed a full recap of all the posts that I did for the month, but since I now have a more organized menu bar, you can find all my weekly memes, challenges, tags and thoughts in the drop down menus! I still have to fix some things up, but I think I’ve done the sorting right and hopefully all my posts will continue to be updated each time I make them! For now, I’ve still listed the other reviews that I did this month (the reviews for this months’ reads are above in the recap), just so it’s easier for you to read them, in case you missed out! I’m still trying to tweak how I do my wrap up posts–I’m sure you’ll notice that from the start they’re all quite different–but I think I’m happy with this? I don’t want to make it too long and boring for people to read! Any tips or comments? Please let me know!
I hope you all had a great reading month in September and I hope that October continues to be awesome for all of us! What was your favorite read this month? Come let me know in the comments & let’s chat!
With how much I’ve been whining about my reading slump this month, it should be pretty obvious that it was not the best month. The slump came swooping in very close to the start of August and continued for almost two weeks! Yikes. It definitely threw off my reading game, especially since I was hoping to really kick ARC August’s ass, but it is what it is. In the end, I managed to read: 14 books.
★★★★★
★★★★☆
★★★★½
★★½
★★★☆☆
★★★½
★★½
★★★★★
★★★★☆
★★★★½
★★★½
★★½
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
Out of these 14 reads, I managed to get in five ARCs, which is better than none but definitely not my best! Looking back on the month, it seems pretty clear that I’ve been on a contemporary romance streak. I always do like a good romance and since coming out of my slump, it seemed like the only genre of books that I could stick to fairly easily. I only had two 5★ reads and I have to say The Grace Year by Kim Liggettwas my favorite for the month, and it might also be one of my favorites for the year. My review for it will be posted sometime this week so be on the lookout. It was such a surprising book and I can’t wait until it comes out early October so that everyone can read it! It’s claimed to be a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and The Lord of the Flies, and it’s a pretty spot on description of this wild story!
I’ve now read 142 of 90 books and I’m already thinking what I should set as my Goodreads goal next year. I might make it 100 just in case 2020 will be a complete turn around from 2019. But if I also surpass the 100 books before the end of the year, I think I’d bump it up to 120. I hope my reading keeps on the up 🙂
I’ve seen other people do this in their monthly recaps too so I thought I’d do the same. Below is a list of all the posts I’ve made this month case you want to read them and happened to miss them! Happy reading, friends. Hope September will either be a better reading month for you or that your good reading streak will continue!
Another month is already over so it’s time for one of my favorite posts: my monthly wrap up! July was a pretty awesome reading month for me. I did cut down on reading graphic novels compared to the previous month, although I continued to read them in between my longer reads, which I think made it easier for me to move onto something new and different; I think of it as a little bit like a palate cleanser! I’ve enjoyed alternating between full length novels and graphic novels, so I’m pretty sure that I’ll continue doing that as much as I can! In July, I read a total of 25 books.
★★★★☆
★★★★★
★★★★★
★★★★½
★★★★½
★★★☆☆
★★¾
★★★★★
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★★
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★★
★★★★☆
★★★¾
★★★☆☆
★★☆☆☆
★★★½
★★★★☆
★★★★★
★★½
★★★★☆
★★★☆☆
Compared to previous months, there was an almost equal split of reading physical (12) and e-books (12) this month. As I mentioned above, my reads continue to be a mixed bag including seven graphic novels, five of which were e-ARCs. I’ve continued to slow down my requests on NetGalley, limiting myself to either short reads and mainly graphic novels, so that I don’t feel even more pressure that I just can’t deal with in my life right now. I think I’ll be participating in ARC August this month so keep an eye out for my post on what needs reading ASAP! Looking at what I read, I honestly don’t think that I could pick just one favorite, but if I had to pick a Top 3 they’d be: Daisy Jones & The Six The Great Alone Sorcery of Thorns
Notable mentions for me are also Aurora Rising, I’m Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come and The Bear and The Nightingale (for which I still haven’t been able to write a half-decent review for)! I think I read some great books that I really connected with emotionally this month, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to continue this streak in August!
As I mentioned in my previous wrap up, I achieved my Goodreads reading goal last month and obviously I have continued to exceed the number I set out for myself. I had already changed my reading goal from 75 to 90 in May and I didn’t feel like changing it again in June, so I think by the time 2019 ends, it’ll look like I’m really overachieving this year when in reality I’m just too lazy 😅 That said, I’ve now read 128 books and it’s only August! I don’t think I’ve ever read this much perhaps ever, and I really attribute this to immersing myself in the book community. It’s amazing how this community keeps me so motivated and eager to keep turning pages. I couldn’t be happier that I took the leap to start this blog and to really give 1000% towards improving my bookstagram!
I’ve written reviews for most of these so if you want to see what I thought of them, you can follow the links below! Most of the e-ARC reviews are going to be posted closer to the publication date! Am I the only one that does that? I feel kinda like a noob for doing that but I’ve done that from the start? Lol Anyway, that’s all for now, friends. I hope everyone’s reading month was super duper!
So… June was a month and I’m so glad that it’s over! I was plagued by intense work stress and anxiety for the majority of the month and it greatly impacted my reading. I couldn’t focus on anything for extended periods of time unless it was more visual than text, so I ended up reading a lot of graphic novels. Which was fine, and I enjoyed the ones I read, but I missed out on two buddy reads that I planned to join and I barely scratched the surface of my pride month book list–even though the majority were still LGBTQ reads. In the end I read 21 books:
★★★★★
★★★★½☆
Overall: ★★★★☆
★★★☆☆
★★★★½☆
★★★★☆
★★★½☆☆
★★★★★
★★★★½☆
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★½☆
Of these reads, four were physical books, and the rest were Kindle books and e-ARCs. I’ve really slowed down with requesting ARCs and I’m so glad because with the month I had, I would’ve fallen even more behind and felt awful about it! There are a few that I still need to catch up on that I’ve been requested to read by the author, so I’m putting that as a priority in July! As for which one was my favorite book, I honestly can’t decide between The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah or Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Both books have been massively hyped and to me, they were worth ALL of it. Seriously, they were so good, and I’m sad that it took me so long to pick up The Nightingale because it did all the things to my feelings. I haven’t cried so hard reading a book in a long time and I’m a bit of a crier, friends!
With all the graphic novels I’ve read this month, I’ve surpassed my Goodreads goal of 90 books and I’m now sitting at 104. Although I know it’s not about the number of books I read, it’s still exciting to think that i’ve already read over 100 books and we’re only half-way through the year! I wonder how many I’ll end up reading this year?
I’ve written reviews for most of these so if you want to see what I thought of these books, you can follow the links below! That’s all for now though, folks. I hope everyone’s reading month was fab!
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