I’ve only ever read 3 books by Patrick Ness before. I liked A Monster Calls but really didn’t like The Rest of Us Just Live Here or Burn. Still, a lot of people seem to really like him. When this happens, I always wonder if I’m missing something. So, when this came up on my library’s online catalogue I decided to give it a go.
How long to do you struggle with a book before deciding to give up on it? When I was younger, I used to percevier with books I didn’t enjoy just so I could feel like I’d achieved something. Although, that was back during the days when it would take me around a month to finish a single book. Now, my time is so precious that I can’t waste my time on books I don’t like. Although, there are times when I go back into that mindset. I get so far and just think “I might as well get all the way through.” This was one of those times. It took me around a week to get this finished and it wasn’t even that long a book. It’s one that I’ve had on my TBR for a while and one that I was quite excited about. So, what went wrong?
August is the first in a run of long month names. For the rest of the year, I’m going to have to be smart to get every letter crossed off. I’m already panicking about September and we’re only 2 days in. But enough of this month. How did I do last month? Did I cross off every letter? Including those two pesky U’s?
Number of books read: 7
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 3
Number of ebooks: 3
Number of audiobooks: 1
5* reviews: 0
4.5* reviews: 0
4* reviews: 3
I’m so glad that August is over. It’s one of our busiest months at work and it’s been awful for everyone. I feel like I’ve been exhausted for months. So, my reading count is a little down this month but still honourable. Especially when you consider that only a few years ago, it normally took me most of the month to read one book.
Last month, I won an ARC of this book from the Book Network and I was pretty excited. I’m not normally a YA fantasy kind of person but this sounded really interesting. I love fantasy that also situates itself in the real world, so this sounded like it could be perfect for me. Of course, my super busy schedule meant that I didn’t get around to reading it until the end of end of last month and it took me a lot longer to read it than I’d expected. Mostly because I’ve been feeling pretty bad lately. Thankfully, I managed to push through it this weekend and finally got it finished.
There’s nothing like realising that one of your childhood favourites is celebrating its 20th birthday. Talk about being forced to come face-to-face with your rapid aging! I decided to make life even harder by actually rereading the book that I first read 2 decades ago. I’ve been meaning to pick it up for a while actually. I had plans to read it last year before the film adaptation came out. But I didn’t. Then I was going to read it after the film came out so I would be able to compare the two. That never happened either. I think it probably worked out for the best as it means that I can read the first book in Eoin Colfer’s series and watch the Disney+ adaptation during the anniversary year.
In my time writing this blog, I have been lucky enough to meet a lot of great new people. I’ve been introduced to some fantastic writers and been given opportunities to read some amazing books. One of the greatest of these new connections has been with Alexis Marie Chute. Back in January 2018, I was given the chance to help reveal the cover of her first novel, Above the Star. Since then, I’ve had the chance to read every book in the series and loved each of them. The final book in the trilogy, Inside the Sun, came out in April. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic caused disruption to the book tour. When Alexis Marie rearranged the tour to be a virtual one, I jumped at the chance to become one of the stops. I sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable recommending books to people because I think it’s quite a personal thing. Our tastes are all so different and I don’t ever like forcing my opinions on people. But, I’m incredibly passionate about this trilogy. If you’re looking for something to start up during quarantine, The 8th Island Trilogy could definitely be the one for you.
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 