I come from a pretty musical family. My parents are both great singers and my sisters and I all played instruments at school. I initially tried out the oboe but couldn’t cope with the double reed. I then moved to the flute and, after a lot of effort, became pretty adequate. So, it was a given that I’d be interested in a book that a magical musical school with a flautist main character. The fact that I could get it free with my Audible account only made it better.
So, my week’s holiday is over and, after an initial success, my reading went downhill pretty rapidly. Meaning I was in an all too familiar situation for this week’s second book review. I had nothing. Thankfully, my first day back was full of repetitive and dull tasks which allowed me to listen to a quick audiobook. After my previous read, I was in the mood for something that didn’t set women back several decades and one that elevated women. So, this feminist historical novel seemed perfect.
Once again, I found myself in a situation where I needed to listen to an audiobook so I had a book to review. These days, I’m normally reading until Thursday when I have to write my Friday review. Then it’s just not possible to finish a whole book before my next review. This is what happens out of lockdown. I’m so bloody busy. Is this what life was like before? Thankfully, there are plenty of free audiobooks available with my Audible membership. I picked one I’ve seen around for ages and was short enough to finish at work.
April is upon us, which means a whole new TBR to get through. I have a lot of ARCs to get through this month. I really have to stop getting carried away on NetGalley. It’s leaving me in quite a pickle. So many books on top of my already huge TBR.
Once again, I found myself without much to review because I’m still doing terribly at reading. In order to get this post up, I listened to 3 audiobooks on Monday. They were all short and free with my Audible subscription. I guess my lack of organisation is helping me experience books that I’d never have picked up normally. If only I could get through the books on my TBR as easily.
I wasn’t expecting to read this book last week but I ended up needing a pick-me-up at work. It was when I was feeling shit and I was desperate for something to distract me. Otherwise, I would have sat in front of my computer feeling sorry for myself. So, I started listening to Stanley Tucci narrate his book Taste. I’d bought the hardback when it came out but I always like to experience this type of book in the writer’s own voice. Especially when that voice is a very talented and funny actor.
Number of books read: 10
Number of rereads: 4
Number of physical books: 3
Number of ebooks: 0
Number of audiobooks: 7
5* reviews: 1
4.5* reviews: 0
4* reviews: 3
October ended up being a much better month than I expected. I finished everything with a bit of time to spare. I mostly did this by listening to multiple audiobooks when I was at work. I’ve always wondered how people read way over 10 books per month and I guess this is one of the ways. If you stick to shorter audiobooks, then you can get through so many in a week. It’s really something that I should do more often. But, what about this month? Here’s how my reading went over the past 31 days.
I’ve had quite a few boring and repetitive jobs to do at work recently, so have turned to audiobooks to get me through. Turns out, it’s pretty easy to get your reading count up when you can get through an audiobook or 2 in one day. Now it makes sense how so many people on Instagram are regularly getting through 20+ books a month. It’s not something that I could do every day because I have to write a lot. If I try and listen as I write, I just end up typing words from the audiobook. Definitely not worth it. Last week, I made it through 3 books and managed to cross off 3 more letters from my monthly reading challenge. I’m starting to feel quite good about where I am in a reading sense. I just wish the rest of my life was as easy.
Do you ever bother with signed editions? I’m not talking about being lucky enough to meet an author in person and getting them to sign it. I’m talking about those books that are already signed and, most likely, cost a little bit more than the usual hardback. I try not to care and will normally only bother with signed books by authors I really love. Of course, there may be an occasion when the signed edition is cheaper on Waterstones than the unsigned. In that case, I’ll definitely go for it but, really, I don’t see the point. If it’s not personalised, it’s just a bit meaningless, right? It’s not as I expect them to become investment pieces that I’ll hand down to my children. Nor am I showing them off to everyone I know. The signature is just a thing that exists and makes very little difference to my life. Why am I banging on about this? I pre-ordered the hardback signed copy of Come Again but it has sat on my shelf since April 2020. I do this all the time and I don’t know why I never learn. I am so desperate to get certain signed editions but then let them languish on my shelf. I definitely have a problem.
We’re one month down in 2021 already and it looks like all of those people hoping for a better year are going to have to wait a while. The UK is going to shit and lockdown will probably keep going forever. On the plus side, I’ve been able to spend more time inside reading and have managed to do better than I normally do in January. Last year was my previous best and I’m already 2 ahead. If I can keep this up (I won’t be able to) then I’ll smash my target in no time.
Number of books read: 10
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 6
Number of ebooks: 1
Number of audiobooks: 3
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 