female writers

Bookish Post – January 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

books, wrap-up
Teacup on top of vintage books.

Number of books read: 7
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 4
Number of ebooks: 0
Number of audiobooks: 3
Number of ARCS: 0

5* reviews: 2
4.5* reviews: 0
4* reviews:

January was a weird month. The first part seemed super quick. The middle seemed both too quick and too slow. The final part was just excruciatingly slow. Basically, I don’t know really know what day it is and I’m glad the sorry month is over. Hopefully, 2023 is only going to get better. In terms of reading, I didn’t manage to beat last January’s count but I didn’t do too bad considering everything that’s been going on. I also read a fair few books that I’ve been meaning to read for ages, so that’s a big win.

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Book Review – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

I hadn’t read anything by Erin Morgenstern when I bought a copy of The Starless Sea. I had owned a copy of The Night Circus and figured it would be something I enjoyed. It was just that constant struggle to actually read it. So buying a copy of The Starless Sea could have been slightly foolhardy. However, once again, I was drawn in by a gorgeous edition. Waterstones released special editions of both books and I had to have them. Guys, they had sprayed or stencilled edges. How could I not? As I’d treated myself to them, I was a bit worried about how much I would like them. I decided it was better to just never find out, so they remained unread. Until this year when I found the audiobook on my library app. I decided it was finally time to cross it off my TBR.

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Bookish Post – Books On My 2023 TBR

books, wrap-up

One of my permanent New Year’s Resolutions is to stop buying so many books. Or, at least, to stop buying so many books before I’ve finished reading the ones I’ve got. My TBR never seems to get shorter because it’s so easy to buy books. If I hear about a good one then I might as well get a copy before I forget about it. What if it’s my new favourite and I miss the chance to give it a try? I don’t get FOMO about many things but I do with books. Which is why I’m currently drawing in books. Many that I’ve read but possibly more than I’ve not. I’m making a conscious effort to decrease my TBR this year but that hasn’t stopped me pre-ordering several things already. I’ve also got my eye on a few more that are being published this year. Here are the most notable ones.

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Book Review – The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I picked this up on a whim when I was browsing the January sales. I hadn’t heard of it before and was probably only interested in the cover. Thankfully, it also sounded like exactly the kind of book that I enjoy reading. Although, I’ve never been a massive fan of short story collections. I always find that they’re too, for lack of a better term, short. I’m a greedy reader and want the chance to get to know a character first. Short stories give us too brief a glimpse into their worlds and they end just as I’m getting excited. Still, I was willing to give this a chance and I figured it would be a good read during a pretty busy time. It was good to be able to dip into a short story of two a night without worrying about keeping track of a longer narrative thread.

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Book Review – Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

books, reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I’m a pretty awkward person when it comes down to it. Not great at the whole social interaction thing. I feel as though I have the ability to stop a conversation dead by saying the wrong thing every time. I’m also the kind of person that would rather go along with a lie I told in order to save face. So, I kind of empathise with the main character of my final read of 2022.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

Happy New Year everyone. Hopefully, you all had a lovely end to 2022 and are ready for 2023. I’ll be posting my end of year reading review tomorrow, so for now we’ll just do my usual weekly wrap-up. I’ve had a fairly successful week and have finished a few books before the end of the year. December still wasn’t my greatest month ever but it would have been worse.

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Bookish Post – December 2022 Reading Wrap-Up

books, wrap-up
Teacup on top of vintage books.

Number of books read: 7
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 4
Number of ebooks: 1
Number of audiobooks: 2
Number of ARCS: 0

5* reviews: 0
4.5* reviews: 0
4* reviews: 3

Not only is December over but so is 2022. I can’t believe that we’ve got through another year already. I’m currently preparing my yearly wrap-up post so that will be up next week. For now, we’ll just look back on the last month. It was a slow end to the year but there was a lot going on in December. I actually managed to get a few more in than I expected. Thanks to my Christmas holiday, I managed to up the count from a fairly unremarkable 4.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

So, Christmas went by in a lovely haze of food and family. I hope you all had equally good times whatever you were doing. I also hope that you were suitably spoilt by the people around you. Now that Christmas is officially done, we’re immediately down the business of wrapping up 2022 and setting goals for 2023. I’m madly trying to fit in a few more books before the year ends without making my short holiday extra stressful. I have to back to work for 1 day this week, which is ridiculous but possibly a good thing. It gets me out of the house and away from the food for a bit.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

How is it possible that we’re only a week away from Christmas? Thankfully, I’m all sorted for the big day and I managed to get my gifts sorted early, so I just need to wrap them now. In theory, it should give me more time to get on top of my 2022 TBR. In practice, I’m not that good at getting on top of my TBR. Especially if this week is anything to go by. I picked up a short read hoping that I’d have finished it in time for my review on Friday. I’m still reading it now. I’ve only got a few more days at work, so I’ve already started winding down. I’m also trying really hard not to get infected be everyone in my office. It would be just my luck to get really sick in the week before Christmas.

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Book Review – Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar by Jessamyn Violet

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Some books just sound like they’re going to be your kind of thing. I was offered a copy of this book and it just seemed like it would be right up my street. A YA novel with LGBTQ+ representation set in the glitzy music world and written by a musician. It had the potential to be something really interesting. I admit that YA isn’t my usual kind of thing but I’m always willing to give it a chance when it sounds good enough. As I’ve mentioned, it’s been taking me longer to finish books recently but I got a fair chunk of it finished on a train ride this weekend. Not in time for my usual Monday review but close enough.

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