What have you been reading this week?

Today was the first day of my week off and I’m so happy. There’s been so much to get through recently that I’m looking forward to not having to worry about anything for a bit. Of course, my colleagues will definitely leave everything for me to do when I get back, so I’m simply putting off the stress for another week. Never mind. All I’m focusing on now is making the most of my week. I say this every time but I’m actually planning on reading as much as possible. I’ve a lot of Agatha Christie that I want to get through this month as well as loads of other things on my TBR.

Weekly Blog Posts

• BOOKISH POST – The First Line Test

What’s in a first line? That which we call our favourite with any other first line would read as well. Or would it? It turns out that I’m not a big fan of most of the novels that have famous opening lines. So, is a great first line more of a curse? I decided to put it to the test by going back to the first lines of my favourite books. Did they all stand out? You’ll have to read my post to find out.

• TUESDAY REVIEW – Enola Holmes (2020)

There’s a bit of a Millie Bobbie Brown moments going on right now, which explains why there is so much hype around this film. An adaptation of a YA series about Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister wouldn’t necessarily have appealed to as many people without the Stranger Things actor involed. Well, I guess there’s also Helena Bonham Carter, Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin. But could the actual film ever live up to its impressive cast? You’ll have to check out my review.

• BOOK REVIEW – Hallowe’en Part by Agatha Christie

My second Agatha Christie book of the month and it’s certainly the most fitting. I’ve seen this a lot of Instagram lately and I think a lot of people tend to pick this up in October. This isn’t exactly one of her most-loved books but I think its underrated. Why? Head over to my review to read my theory.

• TBT REVIEW – Mr Holmes (2015)

Sherlock Holmes is (or at least was a few years ago) the most portrayed human character in film and television. Yet the majority of them will still focus on a fairly youthful Holmes as he races around London solving crimes. This film asks what happened to him after Conan Doyle’s’ stories ended. If you’re feeling nostalgic, check out my review.

Just Read

• Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie

Another classic Poirot story but on that features plenty of Ariadne Oliver. Like most Christie fans, Ariadne is one of my favourites, so I have a lot of love for the books she appears in. Considering how the writer felt about Poirot himself, you have to wonder why she didn’t just offer us a full Ariadne spin-off.

Currently Reading

• Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

With the new film coming out, I knew that I wanted to give this another read. It was this intention that started off my impromptu Christie month. I’ve also recently rewatched the ITV adaptation with David Suchet so I’m imagining all of the characters the actors from that. I guess, at this point though, I’ll always imagine Poirot to look like Suchet.

• Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola

Okay, so I’m not actually any further ahead with this one but I’m hoping to do better this week. I really want to get something into my finished reads that ties in with Black History month in the UK. It’s just hard when I have so many spooky reads to get through as well.

• Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

Same with this one. If I can just sit down and get this properly started it’ll be something. I’m not sure that I expect to finish this month because it feels like it will be very full of facts. However, I’d like to get some way into it this week.

Recently Purchased

Yet again, I wasn’t going to allow myself any new books but Waterstones announced it was offering double points this week. It was clearly done to combat Prime Day but I wasn’t get to let that shameless tactic stop me. I had cheap paperbacks to buy.

• The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave – Am I feeling more drawn towards gothic and spooky reads this month? Yes. Will I actually read this before Halloween? Doubtful.
• Frostheart 2: Escape from Aurora by Jamie Littler – I can’t remember when I bought the first Frostheart book but I’ve still not read it. Why did I buy the second one then you might ask? I’ve never been good at reading a series that hasn’t been finished so having two books to read one after the other might push me towards getting it done.
• The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell – I really enjoyed Katherine Rundell’s The Explorer when I read it so I couldn’t resist this when it was on offer. She’s the kind of writer that I wish had been around when I was a kid.

Recently Watched

• TV:
  • Futurama – Making my way through this slowly but surely. Although, I’m getting to the point where I know it too well and I’m not sure I can be bothered to carry on.
  • The Apprentice – Season 12 of the British version has gone back on iPlayer recently, so I’ve been reliving it. It’s such a stupid but addictive show.
  • Schitt’s Creek – It is a matter of deep shame that I’ve never seen any of this show. After the historic Emmy win, I decided that it was finally time to do it. It’s early days but I reckon I’ll be on board with it.