I’m running a little behind this week thanks to a particularly hectic weekend. Well, a hectic Saturday that ended in a Eurovision party and a Sunday spent recovering. Meaning I’m late getting my weekly rundown written. Not that there’s much to report. I’ve only just finished the book I was reading last week because work pretty much destroyed me last week. I had no energy for reading beyond two chapters a night. I need to get back on form this week.
While I was away, I didn’t get quite as much reading done as I expected. I took 4 hardbacks and my Kindle just to be safe. In the end, I finished 2 and got halfway through a third. Not bad but not what I was hoping for. It gave me time to finish this one, and I’m glad I finally read it. I’ve been putting it off for a while because I was worried about how I’d feel about it. I mean, how long can Janice Hallett keep going with her gimmick before it gets old? I love the DIY approach to crime fiction but it doesn’t really leave room for the depth I’m looking for. Then there’s the fact that I was disappointed with her second book. I’d told myself that this book would be the decider. If I didn’t like it then I would probably avoid any future books. At least ones with the same conceit. So, there was a little extra pressure on this one than normal. Would I enjoy it?
It’s been a while since I requested anything from Netgalley because I just don’t need the hassle. I just never get around to reading them and it always makes me feel guilty. I have too many of my own books that I would rather read, so I might as well get them done first. Sometimes, I find a book that I just can’t resist requesting. This was one of those books. It just sounded like my thing. As always, it’s been sitting in my account for ages waiting for me to remember it. I had actually forgotten about it until I checked my Kindle before going away. Then I felt so bad about it that I started it immediately. It wasn’t the holiday reading I was expecting but at least it ease my conscience a bit. Was it any good though?
There’s really not much point in posting this rundown this week because I basically didn’t post anything new last week. However, I have read a couple of things so I figured it was worth a quick update. I didn’t end up reading as much as I expected on my week off. Mostly because we spent the week exploring and doing so much. I had assumed the weather would keep us inside but it was lovely. So lovely that we didn’t spend much time inside relaxing. At least I managed to finish a couple and get a good chunk into the next one. Hopefully, it’ll get May off to a good start.
Number of books read: 7
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 3
Number of ebooks: 2
Number of audiobooks: 2
Number of ARCS: 0
5* reviews: 1
4.5* reviews: 1
4* reviews: 3
What a month. April has felt super stressful and I’ve not felt like reading a lot. Even though I picked up a few of my most anticipated books. On the plus side, I did manage to take a few ARCs off my TBR as well as a few super fun reads. Even though I’ve not read more, I think it’s been a good month in terms of quality. I don’t think we’ve had a 5-star book in ages let alone five with 4 stars or above. This year was always supposed to be about quality over quantity so that’s a pretty good sign. Let’s see how the month went.
I’ll be in Scotland enjoying my holiday by the time this gets posted. That could either mean getting out in the nice Spring weather or hiding from the torrential rain inside. Either way, it beats being at work. No doubt I’ll have packed a huge pile of books to take that I definitely won’t finish. I’ll hopefully get a fair amount done but I always overestimate. It’s so easy to do. Especially when your TBR is as big as mine. As I’m writing this in the past, I don’t actually know which books I’ll be taking yet because I’m leaving it to the last minute. That seems like the best way. Otherwise, I’ll never decide.
By now, you should know that I love a good piece of middle grade fiction. If it’s an exciting book that’s intended for kids then I’m probably going to read it. It helps that Waterstones email everyone about their books of the month so often. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t even know about the most recent releases. This is one of the books that I was introduced to through email marketing. Honestly, if all of our customers were as easy to market to as I am then my job would be so much easier. This book just sounded like so much fun and I’m always going to be up for a story set in a magical school. Especially
I have to admit that I wasn’t drawn to this book because of Eleanor Catton. It was purely because of the Shakespeare reference. I read the title and had to find out more. It sounded like an interesting read and it was certainly creating buzz. So I pre-ordered it. I was a bit concerned because I normally end up disappointed by hyped books. It was also much longer than the books I’ve been reading recently. That’s probably why it took me so long to finish. It didn’t help that I was reading it during a really stressful time at work and didn’t feel like reading much. In the end, I put down the physical book and bought an audiobook copy. I’m trying to stop relying on audiobooks but I had to this time. Otherwise, I’d still have been reading it this week.
This has been a stressful week at work and I haven’t been sleeping well. So, this hasn’t been a great week for anything. Very little reading has been done and I’ve fallen behind with writing. I’m just glad it’s over. For one thing, it meant I could spend all of yesterday doing absolutely nothing. It also means that I’ve only got to get through 4 more days because I’m off for a week. I’m heading to Scotland, so I’ll be taking a break from the blog. Hopefully, by the time I get back, I’ll be back in the flow again. It also means I’ll have a week of relaxation and time to read. Good for getting a few books off my TBR.
I think I’ve forgotten how to read long, grown-up books. Or at least, physical books. Normally, Birnam Wood would take me a bit of time but not this long. I’m nowhere near finishing, so I had to find something quick to fit in for today’s review. Thankfully, my recent book haul had given me the perfect choice. This had the benefit of being super short and it looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. Children’s books these days are so much fun. They probably always were but I probably didn’t appreciate them enough when I was a kid. I can do that now and I can just pretend I’m researching books for when my niece gets older. It’s just amassing a library for when she’s old enough.
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 