top ten tuesday

Books on My Summer 2024 To-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.

This week’s topic is Books on My Summer 2024 To-Read List and this is a mixture of books I’m currently reading that I’m hoping to finish over the coming weeks, and books at the very top of my TBR

Firstly, books I’m determined to finish this summer:

Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Emily Henry – Book Lovers
Ronald Hutton – The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain
Sarah J. Maas – A Court of Wings and Ruin
Matthew Reilly – Scarecrow

And for the books I’m looking to start reading this summer:

Ben Aaronovitch – False Value
K.C. Davis – How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organising
Evie Meg – My Nonidentical Twin
Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson & The Last Olympian
Erin Sterling – The Kiss Curse

Will I actually get to any of these? who knows!

What’s on your summer TBR?

top ten tuesday

Books on my Spring 2024 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.

This week’s topic is Books on my Spring 2024 TBR and, honestly, it’s going to end up being more of ‘the next 10 books I want to finish’ because I’ve once against ended up with 19 books in progress again. Although I am working out that between 3 and 5 seems to be the best number of books to be actively reading so my next reading goal of is going to be to try and get it down to that number.


Steven Keogh – Murder Investigation Team: How Scotland Yard Really Catches Killers I’m 69% of the way through with just over 50 pages left so this will definitely get finished this week.
Britney Spears – The Woman in Me Another one I’m really close to finishing, I’ve got about 90 pages so that might get finished this week as well
Nicholas Carr – The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains This one is one of the handful I’m actively reading this week, I’m about 70% through and about 80 pages left so another one that shouldn’t take long to finish
Ben Aaronovitch – The October Man Again, one of the ones I’m actively reading, 62% finished with 70 or so pages left, another one I should finish relatively soon
Cathy Glass – A Long Way From Home The last one of the ones I’m actively reading, I’m about half way through and shall probably finish next week

Then on to the some that are on my currently-reading. They aren’t the ones I’m actively reading, but they’re the next up, and I’m hoping to finish by the end of March

Ronald Hutton – The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain
Juliet Ashton – The Sunday Lunch Club
Ed Gamble – Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy
Matthew Reilly – Scarecrow
Jeremy Clarkson – What Could Possibly Go Wrong…

What’s on your TBR this spring?

stacking the shelves

Stacking the Shelves #12

I am a very excited wee llama – yesterday I managed to get second-row seats to see Six: The Musical in Plymouth in September. I have been wanting to see the show for YEARS and kept missing it because of the fucking agoraphobia. This year, I’m really working on fighting back, and Li and I are apparently turning into cultured old queers because this is now two shows we’ve got booked – we’re also off to Barnstaple in July to see Rent for my birthday!

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Reading Reality all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

You’ll be absolutely shocked I’m sure to learn I had some reservations come n at the library:

Judi Dench – Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent
Alice Roberts – Don’t Die Young: An Anatomist’s Guide to Your Organs and Your Health

I bought myself a new book:

Ben Aaronovitch – The October Man
I finished reading Rivers of London #7 Lies Sleeping in the week and this novella comes next

And my Amazon First Reads choice was:

Sarah Beth Durst – The Lies Among Us

I’m looking forward to reading all of them. Do I have any clue when I’ll get round to them? No, of course I don’t but that’s not the point LOL

A less exciting turn of events is that I’m having some issues with Luna my laptop’s keyboard. The I is only working intermittently which makes writing fun. I do have a new wireless keyboard that work provided and part of my to-do list this weekend is building the new desk and getting it all set up with monitor and stuff. Li’s going to take a look at the keyboard when I go down there in April and, if need be, I can get a new one for like £20 and she’s got the tech-know-how to fit it.

stacking the shelves

Stacking The Shelves #9

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Reading Reality all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

My Amazon first read selection was:

Susannah Nix – The Love Code

I picked up one Kindle book:

Matthew Reilly – Scarecrow

I checked 8 books out of the library:


Jeremy Clarkson – What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Sarah Gibbs – Drama Queen
Hannah Gold – Finding Bear
Philippa Gregory – Normal Women
Matt Haig – The Midnight Library
Prince Harry – Spare
Katherine May – Wintering
Jennette McCurdy – I’m Glad My Mom Died
(all my reservations came in at the same time, because of course they bloody did! (and yes, I know I’m supposed to be focusing on my physical TBR – don’t look at me in that tone of voice LOL))

My reading goals for the coming week look something a little like:
Finish Grace Dent – Comfort Eating
Finish Ben Aaronovitch – Lies Sleeping
Start RF Kuang – Babel
Keep reading Sarah Maas – A Court of Wings and Ruin

top ten tuesday

Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.

This week’s topic is Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To and I am feeling VERY called out right now, because oh there are SO MANY


Ben Aaronovitch – Lies Sleeping (Rivers Of London #7)
Travis Baldree – Legends and Lattes
Becky Chambers – A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Bonnie Garmus – Lessons in Chemistry
Ali Hazelwood – The Love Hypothesis


Talia Hibbert – Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute
Emily Henry – Book Lovers
Sarah J Maas – A Court of Wings and Ruin
Emily St John Mandel – Station Eleven
Tamsyn Muir – Gideon The Ninth

www wednesday

What I’m Reading Wednesday

WWW Wednesday was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker & Jules Scheele I’m at 68% should probably finish it this week – I just had a couple of library books that were due back, and had wait lists on them so I wanted to get them finished first.
The Witches of St Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones I’ve only started reading this in the last couple of days, and it’s due back to the library on Monday. I’m 25% of the way through and hoping I’ll finish it. I picked this for the Russia prompt on an Around The World reading challenge
Temple by Matthew Reilly I haven’t read any more of this one this week for the same reason.
The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking is absolutely DELIGHTFUL. It’s as cozy to read as it’s subject matter, and I’m actually quite tempted to buy a copy for my own collection.

What did you recently finish reading?

Thanátou by Natalie J Case which I gave 2.5 stars to in the end. It was enjoyable enough but wasn’t really my thing and I’m not finding I care enough about the characters to pick up the rest of the series which is a shame
Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose, the third of the Wrexford & Sloane regency mystery series and just as enjoyable as the first two. I’m loving learning more about Charlotte and her real identity, and hoping we see more of her Aunt. I’m getting frustrated with how the relationship between Wrexford & Sloane is going because I’m here for the murder, not for the UST. A solid 4 stars, I really enjoyed it.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Ben Aaronovitch – Lies Sleeping I’m about half-way through, and I did bring it to Devon with me but it’s still sitting in my bag.
Terry Deary – Dangerous Days in Elizabethan England came home from the library with me because Tudor history by the guy who wrote Horrible Histories? NEED TO READ!
K.E. O’Connor – Spells & Spooks a Kindle Unlimited choice because I can’t borrow any more and I have a huge list I want to read!

www wednesday

What I’m Reading Wednesday

WWW Wednesday was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker& Jules Scheele has already taught me more Queer History in 20 pages than a lifetime of being queer. Another one of those books I wish I’d had as a wee queer teen.
Thanátou by Natalie J Case isn’t really my thing, a little too fantasy for my liking, but the author is one of my best friends. A witch who’s powers had been hidden from her to protect her is being hunted by a cult who are dedicated to wiping her kind out. She’s currently in an alternate universe learning how to use and control her powers.
Murder at Kensington Palace is the third of the Wrexford & Sloane series of historical mysteries and so far is just as wonderful as the first two. We have a young man who’s been accused of murdering his twin brother, Sloane knows them and is adamant he didn’t do it and so the investigation begins.
Temple by Matthew Reilly is fucking terrible and I absolutely ADORE it. It’s like a bad SyFy monster movie. Military & scientists go to retrieve a lost Aztec idol made of checks notes material from an asteroid that has the power to destroy the world. The Germans are also after it and currently, everyone is being attacked by uh giant jaguars. It’s chef’s kiss beautiful and exactly what I was hoping for!

What did you recently finish reading?

The Scenic Route by Christina Baker Kline which was my Amazon First Reads, a short story about a woman who starts van life after a tragedy. I gave it 2/5, I just found it very unsatisfactory – I found the narrative flat and emotionless, and the story predictable.

I also DNFed The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. I was struggling with the narrative style, and kept not picking it up… I didn’t like any of the characters and found I just didn’t care what happened

What do you think you’ll read next?

Lies Sleeping I’m about half-way through, and I did bring it to Devon with me.
I’ve just checked The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well out of the library – I’ve been wanting to read it for a while

book reviews · monthly wrap up

April 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

I read 7 books in April which seems to be about my average in 2023

Jeremy Clay – The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton: And Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press
A collection of extraordinary, bizarre and morbidly funny stories from the Victorian press. There were farces and tragedies and a lot of misfortune and some utterly heart-wrenching stories – and everything in between. The book was absolutely fascinating and I couldn’t put it down, but at the same time it got a little repetitive with many similar stories featured.
A 3.5 star read

Ruby Wax – A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled
I usually struggle with mindfulness books but I found this very easy to read. It felt like Wax was sitting down and talking with me, her voice was so clear and the information about how the brain works and what mindfulness can do was thorough and detailed without getting bogged down. Her own experiences were utterly harrowing but at the same time helped to contextualise the mindfulness she was writing about. And I found the 6 week course to be really helpful – and will definitely be a practice I continue, and come back to.
A 3.75 star read

Andrea Penrose – Murder on Black Swan Lane
What’s not to love about a Regency murder mystery with a scientist who’s an earl and a fearless artist investigating crimes relating to alchemy?! While it wasn’t exactly historically accurate, that didn’t actual detract from the reading for me which it quite often does, but it was a whole lot of fun with entertaining characters that I ended up really loving. There’s quite the wait at the library for the second book in the series and I’m getting impatient now!
A 4 star read – and my book of the month

Holly Black – The Queen Of Nothing
Honestly, the best month of the series in my opinion. I struggled through The Wicked King, but I really loved the machinations in The Queen of Nothing. It wasn’t the most neatly plotted book, it wasn’t particularly original but the story was still engrossing, had a few twists and surprises and was a very satisfying end to the series.
A 4 star read

AF Steadman – Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
There are some downsides to reading a kids book as an adult, and that is a lot of frustration with the behaviour of the pre-teen characters but other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the different approach to what a unicorn is, loved the whole vibe of the riders and the Eyrie and wasn’t at all bothered that I’d worked out the plot twist.
A 4 star read

Jeremy Clarkson – Diddly Squat: ‘Til The Cows Come Home
A bit like the first one, I read this in one afternoon, completely devoured it and loved it. Clarkson’s voice is very clear through his writing, it was a good mix of events that were featured on the show (but a slightly different telling of) and ones that happened off camera. For all his bull, you can tell he does genuinely care about the farm and I hope we get to keep hearing the stories about it.
A 5 star read

Ben Aaronovitch – The Hanging Tree
I’ve now hit the point in the series where I’m not re-reading, I’m reading for the first time. The Hanging Tree didn’t have a lot of the pacing issues I’ve found with the previous books, the action scenes felt smoother and easier to follow, and I really liked finding out more about some of the other magic paths in the world. I found there was a fair bit of callback to the previous books, and only small things, that I didn’t really remember which was a little frustrating but I loved how it’s all tying the series together and it didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment. I’m looking forward to the next one.
A 4 star read

Looking more at the stats side of things:
7 book, 2666 pages – 71% between 300 & 499 pages long, 29% <300 pages
The main moods were dark and adventurous
43% fast-paced, 43% medium-paced and 14% slow paced
57% fiction, 43 non-fiction
My most read genres were fantasy, mystery, historical, young adult, and self-help
My average rating was 4