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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

Work is getting super busy and it’s starting to get stressful. I’ve also randomly started receiving loads of invitations from agencies to apply for new jobs. The majority of them are nonsense based on flimsy links to my CV but it has got me thinking. The good thing about working in marketing is that people will always need to sell people stuff, so there’ll always be someone looking for a person with my background. Of course, job hunting is absolutely awful. I can’t even bring myself to do something like reading, which I love. How can I expect myself to spend any of my spare time putting in applications that probably won’t even be read? It’s an absolutely degrading experience. I feel like people who are hiring have forgotten what it’s like to job hunt. Otherwise, they’d be a little more sympathetic.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

Well, after feeling like I’m finally getting back on track with my reading, I’ve had a bumpy week. My main read is non-fiction, which always takes me longer to get through. Then I’m not entirely engaged with the book I’ve been listening to at work. I think it has a lot of potential but it’s a slow burner. Too slow for what I’m looking for. I’ll definitely finish them both but it might take a bit of time. I guess it’s also been a pretty busy week which hasn’t helped. I’ve not really felt like reading on an evening and have just been super tired. I’ve got just two weeks until my next time off work, so I’m going to be counting down the days for a while.

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Book Review – The Ice by Laline Paull

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Bees by Laline Paull was one of my favourite reads way back in 2015. It was a little rough around the edges but it was an unforgettable reading experience. I was so excited to read it that I rushed out to buy her follow-up novel as soon as it was released. Of course, it was published 6 years ago and I’ve only just got around to reading it. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering how I normally am. I’ve had books on my shelves for longer than that. This time, I did actually try to read it earlier. I think I opened it not long after I bought it but it just didn’t grip me. I couldn’t face pushing on with it, so forgot about it. Until a few years ago when I bought the audiobook to encourage me to finally read it. Although, my initial attempt left me worried. Until last week when I decided to just go for it. Listening to it at work might actually help me finish it. If it turned out badly, I could at least let it wash over me as I went about my normal working day.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

I feel like I’ve been ill for ages at this point. I started feeling sniffly on Monday and then woke up feeling like death on Wednesday. Add to that the issues with the weather and it’s been a long and tiring week. The kind of week that needed an extra long weekend to get over. Unfortunately, we’re almost back to Monday and another week of the same. Thankfully, I’ve managed to finish 2 books this week, so I do feel as though I’ve achieved something. I don’t know what’s happened but I’m feeling particularly inspired at the moment. Let’s hope I can keep it up for the rest of the year.

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Book Review – Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

As if I wasn’t already feeling fairly old but I’ve just discovered that this book was the winner of the Goodreads Best Historical Fiction. It’s set in the early 90s.In my head, that only happened a few years ago. How can that be considered historical? The 90s is now officially vintage. Something to be viewed with a sense of nostalgia. I hope the 90s don’t replace the 80s as the top literary setting. I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with YA characters getting super excited about old Nickelodeon shows and floppy-haired boybands. Celebrating the discovery of a really cool retro album called Backstreet’s Back. I’m imagining Ready Player One but with much less cool references. I didn’t know that Carrie Soto is Back was set in the 90s. I’m not saying it would have stopped me reading it but it would at least have prepared me. Prepared me for hearing the words “my new favourite show: ER” spoken with utter sincerity. The 90s was a weird time.

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Book Review – The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

books, reviews

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Last week, a friend of mine asked for reading recommendations. I enjoy talking about books with people but I do find it stressful recommending them. Especially when the person doesn’t give me an idea of what they like to read. Especially as I like to read a variety of books. I don’t like to put myself in a box in terms of genre and tropes. Although, there are certain books that I do tend to avoid. I’ve never been a lover of romance books which makes me avoid them most of the time. I’m trying to embrace more genre fiction this year and that includes romance. There might be something out there that works for me. So, I’m open to suggestions. It’s the reason why I ended up listening to TikTok and buying this book. Normally, I would have just forgotten it existed and moved on.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

What a week. Not only I am going through a slight crisis because I’m turning 35 today but I feel as though I’ve been working for ages. It’s only March so Christmas was really only a few weeks ago. It doesn’t stop me from looking ahead to my next holiday. I’ve got a few days off over Easter and I intend to use them wisely. By that, I mean, doing nothing but reading and sleeping. Possibly eating chocolate eggs but we’ll see. I’m just a little bitter because I wanted to book a day off this week so I could have a long weekend for my birthday. Unfortunately, someone got there first. I wasn’t planning on doing anything but it would have given me one extra day. Still, today should be fun. We’re having a family get-together to celebrate the big day.

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Bookish Post – February 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

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

Number of books read: 8
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 4
Number of ebooks: 0
Number of audiobooks: 4
Number of ARCS: 0

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

February started slowly and I didn’t think I was going to get much read. It has just taken me so long to finish anything this month. I guess that’s mostly down to the book that I read. They didn’t end up being as good as I’d hoped. The kind of books that sound really good but just don’t deliver. On the plus side, I’ve knocked a few long-time members of my TBR off the list and have moved a few more audiobooks into my completed library and out of my not started library. So, what did I read in February?

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Book Review – Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

This recent trend of feminist rewritings of myths and legends isn’t going away any time soon. It feels like every single book being published at the moment is based on some poor figure in Greek mythology. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it but do we need quite so many at the same time? People regularly moan about the lack of originality i the film industry but what of publishing? It feels as though the only books getting a green light right now are either mythology retellings or cosy crime. Flooding the market with these types of books just means that quality declines. Yes, The Song of Achilles was great but not everything can be the same. Ariadne is one of those books that I’ve heard so many good things about. Although, it was also nominated for a GoodReads award in 2021 which is often a worrying sign. I was interested to see what it would be like but also kind of scared to start it. This week, I finally took the plunge.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

I feel as though I’ve finally made a bit of progress this week. I’ve finished a few books which feels good. Okay, I was mainly doing it because I needed something to write a review about but that’s something. It means that I’ll have a few more books on my monthly wrap-up. I just need to try and finish my current read before the end of the month. I don’t want to still be reading it into March. Plus, I’ve plenty of other books that I want to get through next month.

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