April is Here!

April is here!

This year I can honestly say I have failed, I have failed to keep this blog going as I would like. 

  If you have read my previous two posts you will recall that I made an immense decision to leave my job at college, and move back to the hospital where I previously worked.  When I left the hospital back in 2016 I claimed I would never return to their employment.  But here I am, I have now been in my current job for two months.  It has been stressful, leaving a job, and people, that I absolutely adored, but the changes that were happening at college- I could just not be a part of.  I think because of the stress caused by the move my blog went by the wayside,  there were other things to busy my brain with, and I needed to make room for that.  Fortunately, my reading has not suffered, and I’ve been enjoying the books I’ve read immensely!

All About the Books, let’s face it, thats why your here!

This year I claimed I was going to read Robin Hobb throughout the year! Wrong!  Instead I’ve been working my way through The Throne of Glass series!  I am reading each book very close together, some have been back to back.  This is the first time I have experienced doing this with a series, and I  have to say it really works!  My memory is really bad, but this way I know exactly who everyone is, and I can keep up with the story well.  I am currently reading The Whisperwicks by Jordan Less, but once I have completed this I will be moving on to tandem reading The Tower of Dawn and Empire of Storms.  I decided to read this series in the romantic order, and it placed Assassin’s Blade so nicely, after Heir of Fire.  I would highly recommend this order of reading.  

Today I finished reading Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad.  Although it is Waterstone’s book of the month for April, I was lucky enough to be gifted this for Christmas. I gave this book 4.5 stars.  It is a very interesting read, especially if you have a passion to visit Japan, although now I don’t know whether my interest has peaked, or if I am too scared to go.  Chris Broad is certainly a very honest writer.

Over the past couple of months  I have also worked my way through the Percy Jackson series, enjoyed some fantastic manga, such as Slam Dunk and Cat Gamer, and relived my childhood with a bit of Jacqualine Wilson due to her new adult book coming out in September this year!   I am also looking forward to reading my copy of The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, the reviews for this are looking superb!  I also picked up Powerless by Lauren Roberts from The Works, so I am also really curious as to what this book will bring! 

I have really enjoyed reading so far this year, and I am thankful that I still felt like doing this amidst the chaos! What have you been reading, and what do you look forward to picking up in the future, I’d love to hear!  

Oh, and I will leave you with a current picture of my bookish embroidery journal!

Bye Bye January-Hello February!

Bye bye January and Hello February!

So, here we are January 2024 has ended, and what a month it has been!  Normally I find January drags, it is a cold and plain month, Christmas has finished, and I often feel very flat!  But this month has been very different, I initially thought my reading was going to be one almighty flop, I am half way through two very large books, both of which I hope to finish this month, and I don’t know how much I am enjoying them.  But, then I picked up some manga, started listening to an audio book, got an itch to read Percy Jackson and I guess you can say the rest was history!  

January also seen me saying goodbye to my work colleagues, to move onto pastures new.  It has broken my heart to leave them, and the wonderful students, but this is a venture I must pursue!  I have been relaxing, reading, crafting for the past two weeks, and enjoying a little break before setting off on my new endeavour, which begins this coming Monday!  I am sure my next blog post will bring more news on this!  

No of books read in January: 6

• The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
• Slam Dunk Vol 5 by Takehiko Inove
• Slam Dunk Vol 6 by Takehiko Inove
• Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Rioden
• Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
• The Kill by L.J Smith

My Favourite Book was:

• Percy Jackson!

Books that made me think:

• The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

Currently On The Go:

• The Name of The Wind by Patrick 
• The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R Tolkin
• Troy by Stephen Fry-AUDIO

I hope in February I have completed the books I currently have ‘on the go’, I am especially enjoying my audio book, and I hope to try and listen to a few this year! I also hope to read some more Percy Jackson!

And lastly another picture of the embroidery! 

 

Thanks for reading, and until I blog again, keep reading.

Bookish News From January 2024!

Bookish news from January so far!

Well, here we are thirteen days into January already!  I have finished one book so far, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross.  Although it took me a few chapters to get into, I really enjoyed it.  It was very clever, a concept that was new and refreshing.  The characters were great, and the ending was nothing like I expected! It was a fantastic start to reading in 2024.

I have decided this year, not to be concerned with numbers, but to allow myself to enjoy those big chunky books, which we often buy with the intention not to read, but to use as a door stop.  I haven’t read a lot of large books, but the ones I have- I have enjoyed immensely.  I feel that the size gives the author time to develop their story, and add to the world building, which I so enjoy.  With this in mind I began to read a series I was sure I would enjoy…. The Kingkiller Chronicles ‘The Name of the Wind’.  But, I have to say I am struggling a little,  the problem being, we left the beginning story to start learning all about our main character, who is now explaining their life story.  I am a little disappointed. I really want to go back to the demon spiders, and learning all about where they came from.  I was really craving a fantasy full of fairies, dwarfs and goblins, but this is currently not hitting the mark.  I also feel like I am too far in to abandon it.  Not only that, I have the other books here to read too.  I confess I have put it down for a moment, and started another mammoth book-The Fellowship of the Ring-a film I adore, and a book I have been meaning to read for years, my only hope is that I will continue The Name of the Wind, once I have finished it.  I may also have picked up Slam Dunk volume 5 amongst all my reading anguish!  I hope to finish this today.  Slam Dunk has been a lot of fun, I just can’t over how much I am enjoying this manga, even though I am in no way sporty!

It hasn’t all been reading so far this month.  I have also begun embroidery!  I decided to give this a go after coming up with the idea of creating a reading log using embroidery.  The inspiration for this came from a book called 365 days of Stitching by Steph Arnold.  If you wish to follow this adventure, and keep up to date with the symbols I use, please do follow me on Instagram!  I am also stitching a bookcase, and some cute little bugs!!  More of this to follow soon, so be sure to subscribe to my blog, and instagram!

I hope you have all had a great start to your 2024 reading year!  I look forward to finding out what you have read!  

My Favourite Books of 2023 & Exciting Tales for 2024

My Favourite books of 2023 and exciting tales for 2024!

Well, here we are again! We’re coming near to drawing 2023 to a close, and with that us bookworms start looking over the books we have read for the year.

This is a process I really enjoy, and although I have not had a lot of time for blogging in the recent months,  I just had to make the effort to write about the books that have really made an impact this year.  

To my surprise, this year I still managed to read 100 books, though my reading plans went right out the window!  I pledged to read a Brandon Sanderson each month, but the last book I read for this challenge was back in August.  This doesn’t exactly come as a  surprise, September is where everything became quite difficult and overwhelming at work, and I spent a lot of my spare time looking for a new job. I am happy to report that I  have had some success, and I am starting a new job in February!  New Year-new starts….and with new starts, this year’s reading challenge is going to be to read a Robin Hobb book every other month.  I intend to start this with The Assassin’s Apprentice.  Everyone raves about Robin Hobb books, and with me being such a fantasy fan, I must give her books a go!

Another promise I made to myself was to read one non-fiction book each month, which again, unfortunately I have not done.

But, I worry not, reading is meant to be a fun experience, and I am just so happy that I kept reading regardless of what genre it was.  

So without further ado, here is a list of my favourite fiction books I read in 2023:

Yellowface by R F Kuang

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot

House of Sky & Breath by Sarah J Mass

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Tress of the Emerald Sea & The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

This Summer’s Secrets by Emily Barr

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

True Beauty by Yaongyi

Each of these books left me completely captivated, and left me thinking about them days after I had finished them.  In fact,  I can almost say these books left me in a little reading slump, as I missed reading them so much!

I also discovered some fantastic manga is 2023, which I am still currently reading!  I am looking forward to continuing these in 2024.

These are:

Demon Slayer by Koyoharu

Attack On Titan by Hajime Isayama

Solo Leveling by Chugong

Spy Family is also ongoing, and I am loving this also!

I have a special feature up my sleeve for this year, which I look forward to sharing with you all in January, if you want to be kept up to date with this, keep an eye on my instagram for early seek peeks! 
At the moment all I can say is yes it includes books, and also another love of my life, crafting!  I am very excited about this.

But I know the question you are all eagerly awaiting an answer for, and that is Tammy, which was your absolute favourite book of 2023….well I have to say without a doubt it was….

THE BONE SEASON by Samantha Shannon. 

I adored it!  Although it was a long book, I sailed through it, and did not notice its length in any way, and if I had the second book I would have picked it up immediately, but alas I do not.  I was thinking about going out and buying it, but I decided I would wait until May 24 when the revised editions are hitting shelves!

I hope 2024 brings you lots of good reading, and I look forward to discovering, and sharing lots of new reads with you all.

Take care, and until I blog again, keep reading…

My Reading Thoughts: September 2023

My Reading Thoughts for September ’23

I can’t believe we are at the end of September already!!!  Where is 2023 going!  It has been a wonderful year full of books, and bookish events so far.  This month I decided to read books, which I felt were inspired by Autumn, though there were some exceptions!!  I didn’t manage to read a lot of book, because the first book I read was a large one, but it was an amazing book, and it will be in my top ten at the end of the year for sure, it has become a firm new all time favourite. Without further ado lets have a look at the books I did read!  

No of books read: 5

My favourite reads were:

• The Bone Season Anniversary Edition by Samantha Shannon
• Slam Dunk Volume One by Takehiko Inoue
• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Books that made me think:

• A Dowry of Blood by S.T Gibson
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Unusual Activity for me:

• Letting my crochet get in the way of reading! LOL

My overall favourite book was:

• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I absolutely adored The Bone Season, I can highly recommend to this, especially to anyone who loves dystopian fiction, click on the link below to read more about this book.

Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I finally also got to read The Secret Society of Irregular Witches, which my daughter bought me for Christmas, my daughter definitely has good taste!  If you liked The House on the Cerulean Sea, you should pop this book on your TBR.

Talking of my daughter, back in August we went to watch The Slam Dunk movie together at the cinema, and had a blast viewing this, and from that I decided to buy the manga.  I am not a sporty person, but you really don’t need to be, this manga is fab, and I look forward to reading more of it soon!

Although I gave it four stars, and I really enjoyed the time I spent with it, my most surprising read was A Dowry of Blood, yes I would recommend it to my fellow readers, but it was not the book, I thought it would be!  It took a few chapters to get into the writing style.  I would imagine there would be a lot of trigger warnings with this book, and at times, it did make me feel a little sad, and uneasy.  I expected it to be full of a lot more vampire activity, and it went off on a completely different road to which I expected.

In September I purchased:

• Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven
• In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
• A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
• The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laura Gilmore
• Read Scream Repeat curated by Jennifer Killick
• Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
• Finding Bear by Hannah Gold

I enjoyed my reading in September, and I am so looking forward to a horror filled reading month in October!  

Thanks for stopping, until next time keep reading!

Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Review: The Bone Season-Anniversary Edition 

by Samantha Shannon

Pages:512

Published: 22/08/23

Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing PlC

Available from: Waterstones, WHSmiths, Independent bookshops, etc.

Welcome to Scion. No safer place.

The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe.

In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder, Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare and formidable kind of clairvoyant. Under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing.

When Paige is arrested for murder, she meets the mysterious founders of Scion, who have designs on her uncommon abilities. If she is to survive and escape, Paige must use every skill at her disposal – and put her trust in someone who ought to be her enemy.

This book has been on my radar for such a long time, and I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of the original Bone Season in a charity shop.  It sat on my shelf.  In February of this year I was very fortunate to get to meet Samantha Shannon on her tour for A Day Of Fallen Night, if you would like to read about it the link is below:

Meeting Samantha Shannon!

During the talk about this wonderful book, The Bone Season came up in discussion, and it was there that she said, if you haven’t read The Bone Season yet, she advised waiting for the anniversary edition-and so I did! 

Oh! Was it worth the wait, my word yes it so was, I absolutely adored this book! It is what I would describe as a pot at the end of a rainbow for bookworms, this is a treasure discovered! It didn’t take long to get into the book, but at first the world was confusing me slightly, but as you read through the book, more and more becomes explained.  There are a lot of characters to keep up with, but again, you soon get it sorted, and also there is an index of characters included at the back of the book, which I referred to from time to time.   Because of the story of this book, it needs a lot of characters, there is a lot happening.  The lore of the world is fascinating, learning about the different powers the voyants have, and the classes these come under is really interesting.  

The main characters are superb, I love Paige, and I really had no idea what was going to happen to her in the beginning, my breath was taken away.  It was good to go into this book blind, so to speak.  The thing I really only knew was that the book was dystopian, and had supernatural leanings.    

I gave this 5 out of 5 bats!

Read this book if:

• Like Dystopian fiction
• Like books with supernatural powers
• Like book which go into detail
• Like Books with lots of characters to follow
• LIke reading a series you can get your teeth into

There are going to be seven books in this series, four are already with us, though I believe these are all going to be ‘revised’.   Although I am desperate to start the next book, I think I will wait for the next revision, due out next year.

I may just have to satisfy the itch by purchasing The Pale Dreamer-a novella prequel available as an ebook! 

Thanks for reading!  See you all soon. 

Review Time: Bella Bright & The Ghost Game by Carolyn Ward

Review: Bella Bright and the Ghost Game by

Pages:288

Published: 31/08/23

Published by: Welbeck Publishing group

Available from: Waterstones, WHSmiths, Independent bookshops, etc.

Eleven-year-old Bella Bright has just moved into Darkling House in Castleton. On her first day at her new school, she is spotted by a pair of manipulative mean girls, Skylar and Regan. They push her into inviting them to a Halloween sleepover. Another much friendlier girl, Lex, comes to Bella’s rescue and offers to join the sleepover to support Bella, who is delighted to be making a real friend.

On Halloween night, things start getting spooky for the four girls, when the huge front door appears to shut itself, and their mobile phones lose signal. They decide to order pizza using the landline, but a hair-raising whisper comes down the line.

Skylar suggests they play hide and seek, but as she utters the words, the house appears to wobble and they discover all the exits are impossibly locked. Bella searches the manor and a ghostly teenage girl appears in front of her. She reveals herself to be Alice, a young girl who died in the house 150 years ago during a game of hide and seek gone terribly wrong. She has hidden Bella’s three friends, and gives Bella a rhyming clue to find them in the enormous and cavernous house.

Bella has until midnight. After that, Alice will get to keep the girls as her playmates for ever…

I was kindly sent this book by the publishers in exchange for an honest review.  

When I saw the cover of this book, I instantly knew that this would be a book younger me would have snapped up.  I loved books about ghosts, monsters and mythical creatures-whether it was halloween or not!  The artwork is gorgeous throughout this book.  There are a few lovely pictures inside, and I love the smaller illustrations dotted throughout, especially the moths.

The story itself revolves around a group of girls who decide to have a halloween sleepover, at a spooky gothic house our main character Bella, and her mum are decorating and renovating.  But things are not as they seem, and maybe someone else wants to join in their spooky games!  The girls are all great characters.  I did  initially think there was going to be some bullying in this book, but this didn’t transpire to anything fortunately, as I am not a fan of bully books, as I call them.  The story is also great fun, full of eerie moments!  A perfect spooky season read!

I think this would be a great read for middle grade children.

I gave this 4.5/5 out of 5 bats! 

Read this book if:

• You like spooky middle grade books
• You like books with ghosts

Thanks for reading!  See you all soon. 

My Reading Thoughts for August 2023

My Reading Thoughts for August ’23

August has been a fun month. I’ve spent quite a bit of time decorating, which has meant less time with the books, but the house looks lovely outside now, and the conservatory is all finished! But, with all of that taken into account, I have managed to read:  

No of books read: 9

My favourite reads were:

• Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
• Solo Leveling Vol 4 by Chugong

Books that made me think:

• Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

Unusual Activity for me:

• Buying a book and reading it instantly!  (I did this twice!)

My overall favourite book was:

• Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. 

Again I completed another read for my Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson challenge.  This month I read The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. You can find a review for that book, in the link below.

A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson: August.

I was really happy to find  a copy of the book day novella Kill Joy by Holly Jackson, at a charity shop for 20 pence!  I instantly read this book, as I have yet to read anything by this author, and I am now even more desperate to read The Good Girl Guide to Murder books!  I really enjoyed a small taste of this author, and the world of that book series!  

I also read You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron.  This was a book club read, and my first ever slasher, I have to say I really enjoyed it!  If this author writes any more books in this vein, I will definitely pick them up!

I had planned to read the next book in the ACOTAR series, but unfortunately I didn’t get the time, which is disappointing as I have tried to read this for two months now!  I don’t intend to include it in my TBR for the next two months, as I am going to focus on more autumnal/spooky books due to the approaching season. 

In August I purchased: 

• Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
• What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by  Michiko Aoyama
• Murder in The Family by Cara Hunter
• The Darkling by Sunya Mara
• Foxglove by Adalyn Grace
• The Bone Season Anniversary Edition by Samantha Shannon
• My Roommate Is A Vampire by Jenna Levine (Kindle)

Days at the Morisaki bookshop had me looking for more books in the similar vein, and I was delighted to find another book that looks to be another great read, which was released this month too.. What You Are Looking For Is In The Library.  I am incredibly excited to read this.  Not only that, there are some more bookshop books on the horizon too!  These are out in October and November, more information about those books will be on my blog soon.

I had a lovely reading month in August, and I am so looking forward to books I hope to read in September.  I so hope you find some great books to read also.

Thanks for stopping, until next time keep reading!

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Review: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Pages:160

Published: 4/07/23

Published by: Bonnier Books Ltd

Available from: Waterstones, WHSmiths, independent bookshops, etc.

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo is a booklover’s paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.When Takako’s boyfriend reveals he’s marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle’s offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

I was first intrigued by the book when I heard the title, surely a book about a bookshop has to be good doesn’t it?  I have loved a lot of translated fiction so again, I was very interested.  Then, the icing on the cake, one of the staff in Waterstones recommended this me, saying have you read ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold?’ Have I read that book??? Of course, it is one of my favourites, and apparently if I loved that, this book was the next thing to read!

I bought the book, and within the next few minutes, I found myself in their cafe, enjoying a dragon fruit and papaya lemonade, and starting my new book. By the second page, I was mesmerised, and gobsmacked by what was happening.  I knew I was going to love this book already.

As with all my reviews, I don’t like to say too much, and give the story away, I often feel with books, you just need a little feel for it, otherwise the whole air of surprise and wonderment is destroyed.

The whole story revolves a couple of main characters, Takako and her uncle.  Her uncle owns a secondhand bookshop,  and his place of book heaven is there for her when she most needs it.  The book looks at families, and also the importance of friendship, and how it can surprise us at times. 

It is a short, quick read, but I love it, along with other books I have read which are similar such as She and her cat, and The Travelling Cat Chronicles.  If you love translated fiction, definitely pick this one up!

Read this book if:

• You like translated fiction
• Looking for something cosy
• You like books about books
• You enjoyed Before the Coffee Gets Cold etc.

Five stars…and a new one for the favourite list.

Thank you so much for stopping, see you again soon!

A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson: August.

A year of reading Brandon Sanderson!

August: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook to Surviving  Medieval England 

I have no idea where the time goes!  Even though I am currently on a six week holiday from college, I still never get the time to do all the wonderful things I plan to do.  I start these holidays with fantastic intentions of what I am going to complete, but only seem to get half of them done! One of those tasks was to set up several fab posts for my blog, but unfortunately, I have yet had the time to do this!  I have however, managed to devote some more time to reading, and I am happy to say I have just finished Brandon Sanderson’s newest release The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook to Surviving Medieval England. This is the second of the kickstarter secret projects, which I was very excited to read as I absolutely adored Tress of the Emerald Sea-if you would like to read all about my experiences with that book, please see the link below.

A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson. April:Tress of the Emerald Sea

A man awakes in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he is there. Chased by a group from his own time, his sole hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories, making allies among the locals, and perhaps even trusting in their superstitious boasts. His only help from the “real world” should have been a guidebook entitled The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?

Another reason I was keen to read this book was the reviews that kept popping up, it seemed, from what I was finding, that this book could perhaps be described as marmite!  People seem to either be loving towards this book, or not enjoying it.  I am wondering, once more people read it, if the actual consensus on this book will change.

I enjoyed this book, and gave it four stars on goodreads.  It was incredibly well written, and thought out.  The ideas laid out in this book, were exceptionally clever-it’s steeped in history, and the way he paints a world, that was based on something from a very long time ago, was brilliantly done.  Our main character told the story, and I loved this very much. There are a lot of fantastic illustrations throughout the book, which really added to it. 

Although I loved the idea of it, at the end of each chapter we have an extra segment to read, which gives us more information.  This is told in what in what I call ‘Leaflet Language’-I must admit for some reason I struggled with these segments, flipping from the story, to these extra bits broke the flow for me, and I did find them incredibly difficult to understand.  Just over half way I did begin to skim through these, only reading the bits I thought I might enjoy.

A lot of people described this as a sci-fi book, I can see that, but it also has a lot of fantasy elements as well.

Read this book if you like:

• Books about history-especially medieval England
• Fantasy/Sci-Fi books
• Something a little different from Brandon Sanderson

I don’t know which Brandon Sanderson book I will read next.  I now have quite a few here to read, as I was very lucky to find a whole bundle of mistborne books in a local charity shop-though it would be great to complete the Reckoners series in 2023.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to speaking with you all again soon.