LGBTQ+ books

Book Review – This is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

This is one of those books that I really wanted to read. I always meant to suggest it for our virtual book club before it disbanded. Every month, we would pick one book under 300 pages and we had a lot of ups and downs. Most of the other members just wanted books about people getting killed. From my experience, crime fiction under 300 pages doesn’t tend to be that great. Unless it’s Agatha Christie but they’d already torn And Then There Were None apart before my eyes. I thought this sci-fi romance book might have something to keep everyone entertained. Especially as I’d pretty much only heard great things about it.

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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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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

Things are still pretty stressful at the moment but I do think January is finally starting to improve. The last 7 days have been pretty full on but it looks as though we’re finally going to catch a break. Meaning I can get on with some serious reading again. Something I’m looking forward to. Although, I’ve not been doing too badly so far this year. Not only am I on a good streak in terms of quality reads but I’m actually reading two books at a time. Slower than I’d like but I am reading something every day.

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Book Review – Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer

books, reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I absolutely fell in love with Andrew Sean Greer’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel Less. I constantly recommend it to friends and suggest it every month in my book club. I just believed that everyone should and would enjoy reading it. Okay, not everyone but a lot of people. It’s also my main piece of evidence to throw into the ring every time somebody says “Literary Fiction is just depressing and dark”. Less was anything but dark. It is the opposite of dark and I’ve been obsessed with ever since. So I was genuinely delighted that there was a sequel coming. I wanted to spend more time with Arthur Less and couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to it in 2022 when it was released. Instead, I figured I would start the year off on a positive note and make it my first book of 2023. Would it be as good as the first book? Or would it be a tricky second album?

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

I’ll be honest, January hasn’t started quite like we’d wanted it to which has meant I’ve been pretty distracted this week. I have done some reading but not as much as I’d have liked. It’s taken me quite a while to get through my current read. I also didn’t manage to get my film review written this week but I did watch something. Next week might end up being a rare 5 post week but we’ll see how it goes.

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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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Book Review – Nightmares & Daydreams by Dominic J. Anton

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to read a copy of this book before it was published. Not only was I really honoured to get the chance to do it but I was excited to read it. The premise just sounded so good. I’d also read Dominic J. Anton’s poetry collection Intuition before, so I was excited to read his prose. The book was released in October and I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the finished work. I couldn’t wait to get back in and read the final edition. So, I started reading it as soon as possible.

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Book Review – You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I’m not a big fan of YA. Not only am I way beyond the age where I want to read about non-stop teenage drama but I also find it a bit basic for my tastes. I always just wish the book went further or the author went deeper. I so often get bored by the unoriginality of the plots. I’ve very rarely read a YA novel when I didn’t know how it would end after the first few chapters. However, I’m also not the kind of person that will completely write off a genre. I’m sure there must be a bunch of YA books out there that really speak to me. So, I won’t stop trying. I’ve seen this book around and heard so much praise for it. I had to give it a go.

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Book Review – Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This book was picked as our book club’s choice for Pride. Thanks to several scheduling problems, we ended up having to move the meeting back, so I didn’t actually start reading it until July. In fact, I didn’t start reading it until a few days before the meeting. I barely finished it in time. Although, I was better off than a few other members who had read it for June and couldn’t remember it. It made for a slightly awkward meeting. Next month will be better.

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Book Review – Heartstopper Volume 3 and 4 by Alice Oseman

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

After reading the first two volumes of this series back in June, I knew that I had to finish it as soon as possible. So, at the end of August, I got copies of volumes 3 and 4 to finish before the end of the month. I’ve read Solitaire, so already knew that things were going to get a lot less fun for Charlie and Nick. I just hoped that it wouldn’t get too bad. All I could do was find out for myself.

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