What a busy weekend. It’s been non-stop and I’m so exhausted. I doubt that I’ll get much reading done today, which means it will have been a slow few days. I’m barely managing to get through a chapter before bed at the moment. I must just go through phases where reading becomes harder. Considering how much I have to get through, it’s not a great thing.
Am I the only one who didn’t know that Spotify had audiobooks? It’s a revelation. I stumbled upon this book the other day and I obviously thought it was something sketchy. I have since discovered that it’s a thing. I’m not sure how many there are on the platform but I intend to find out. Especially now I’ve paused my Audible account. If I get access to some audiobooks for free then why not listen to them. Even if I had no intention of reading them.
Well, I feel as though I’ve turned a bit of a corner this month. Yes, it’s early days but I’m already 3 books down and well on my way with the third. I can’t promise to keep up this momentum all month but I’m feeling better than I did in May. Of course, I have a lot going on in the next couple of months, so that will no doubt impact on my total of books. Maybe I can just stick to short ones?
Every year I set aside a bunch of LGBTQ+ books and authors to put on my Pride TBR. Inevitably, I never actually read them and I end up feeling guilty about it. So I decided that 2022 was going to be the year I did Pride right and finish my unread books. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve already finished 2 Pride books. Although, neither of them was on my TBR. Instead, I bought the first 2 volumes in this series. It’s everywhere right now that I had to do it.
By the end of the day, July will be over and we’ll be one month closer to the end of the year. I know 2020 was the longest year in history but 2021 really isn’t wasting any time. The end of July also means the end of short month titles. From here on out, it’s long names to spell out. I’m pretty concerned that I won’t manage it but I’ll do what I can. Hopefully, I can just get through with audiobooks and graphic novels.
One of the best things about my Spell the Month reading challenge is that I’m reading way more books that I’d never have known about. Having to search out certain letters is opening my eyes to titles I’d have never have thought about picking up. This is one of those books. I’m not a real YA fan anyway but a YA romance? Definitely not my usual kind of book. I thought I’d take the chance to step out of my comfort zone while also finding an easy read for the letter Y. Whatever the actual story was like, I could at least be confident that it wouldn’t take a long time to read.
I wasn’t entirely sure whether I would finish this in time or not. I’d had a slow end to the week and had let my reading go. Thankfully, it was a pretty quick read and I got the majority of it done on Sunday. I forget that YA novels don’t take as long to read as the books I usually read. Mostly because it doesn’t have that literary fiction desire to complicate things. It did take a bit longer because I was so careful not to ruin the gorgeous stencilled edges of this book. It’s such a beautiful thing and I need it to say as pristine as possible.
I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m far too stubborn about certain things. I’ve discussed it before and I’m sure it will come up again. When it comes to certain topics, I’m sticking to my guns regardless. One of those things is YA fiction. I’ve had such terrible experiences when reading YA fiction that I now avoid it at all costs. I’m not going to say that it’s bad but it’s not for me. And it’s not just books. Whenever I see another adaptation of a Young Adult novel, I just roll my eyes and ignore it.I rarely give them a chance because I just assume it won’t appeal to me. Although, I’m also someone who is something of a glutton for punishment. I’ve given plenty of YA fiction a chance. That’s the reason I’ve been disappointed so often. So, why not films? I decided to give one a chance as it really was the best companion for Dating Amber this week.
I must have first read this book just after it was published but, honestly, I don’t remember much about it. I don’t think I really paid attention to it. I was a bad reader in those days. There are plenty of books series that I started but didn’t really take in. I think I was just reading for the sake of it. So, I never really had that great awakening thanks to Malorie Blackman. It’s a book that I always wanted to read again and give a better go. It also helped that the BBC adaptation was coming out and I didn’t want to watch it until I’d reread it. Of course, it got pushed back thanks to my ever-increasing TBR but the recent Black Lives Matters protests have pushed all books about race to the top. I figured this would be a relevant and quick read. As anyone who has ever read my review of The Power will know, I’m not always a fan of role reversal narratives. A lot of the time, they can be a bit cringe and heavy-handed. But this is one of those books that everyone loves. I went in expecting to enjoy it.
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 