Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate January/February
1 February 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: January/February, Monthly Wrap Up, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
In this post I shall be looking at the reading I completed during January and also setting out what I’m hoping to achieve during February. I will say that, firstly, I cannot believe that January is nearly complete – where did the time go. Secondly, I have been really busy and I also had a few days with a nasty stomach upset but even so. My reading is definitely not back up to scratch, I have a few outstanding posts and I haven’t caught up with comments and blog hopping yet. But, I’m not worried. I can get back on track (haha, I hope so anyway).
This month I’ve read:
- The House of Frost and Feathers by Lauren Wiesebron
- Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
- Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
- Daughter of Chaos by A S Webb
I’ve also read two of my SPFBO finalists and by the time this post goes live I hope to have completed one of my February review books, so, all going well, 7 books in total.
Here’s what I’m hoping to read in February:
- Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
- Grave Empire by Richard Swan – already started this and hoping to complete shortly
- The Crimson Road by AG Slatter
- Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
- You Are Fatally Invited by Andy Pliego
- The Sirens by Emilia Hart
- The Woman in the Wallpaper by Lora Jones
- Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
So, 10 books if you include the two SPFBO finalists that I intend to read as well, which might be a tall order given this is a shorter month, but, as mentioned above, I’ve already started one of these and on top of that March is a lighter month so hopefully I’ll catch up then.
I will also definitely be reading two more SPFBO finalists. You can find them all here.
I haven’t started this challenge yet as I do need to squeeze in some of the SPFBO finalists.
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo
I shall post separately about this particular challenge which I’m really looking foward to.
Total books read so far this year: 7
How did you get on during January?
Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate December/January
29 December 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: book-blog, Books, December/January, Monthly Wrap Up, reading, reading-challenges, TBR, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
In this post I shall be looking at the reading I completed during December and also setting out what I’m hoping to achieve during the first month of 2025. I haven’t managed to complete all my review books but I’ve fit some in and overall, for the entire year, I think I’m approximately 9 or 10 books outstanding – which, I’m not too displeased with – although I was set to keep on track until the last two months, but, the best laid plans, etc. Anyway, I’ve completed my Countdown posts (the last two posts already scheduled) and in the new year, as well as continuing with the Backlist challenge, I shall be starting to read the 9 SPFBO finalists (check them all out here).
Here’s what I read during December :
- The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by HG Parry
- Strange Beasts by Susan J Morris
- The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
- The Queen by Nick Cutter – review to follow soon
- The Coven by Harper L Woods – I’m still reading this but hopefully will complete by New Year.
Here’s what I’m hoping to read in January:
- The House of Frost and Feathers by Lauren Wiesebron
- Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
- Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
- Daughter of Chaos by A S Webb
I’m also hoping to make a start on my SPFBO Finalists. You can find them all here.
Plus I still have two books sent to me by authors that I’d also like to pick up:
Land from Bjørn Larssen; and
Drown Deep by Phil Williams
This month I yet again have read no Backlist Books but I’ve managed to read six books from my backlist this year – not as good as I’d hoped but it’s still an improvement and means I’m slowly catching up.
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo
This month I’m ticking off the final two prompts. The microscope – I’m using The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso for this one as it has a groundhog feel to the story that makes you feel like each world is really under scrutiny. For the bees I’m using The Queen by Nick Cutter – if you’ve read this you’ll know why. Thank you so much to the Bookforager for running this fun picture prompt.
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2024 (TEXT VERSION)
So far this year I’ve read and (mostly) reviewed a total of 112 books.
How did you get on during December and 2024?
Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate November/December
30 November 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, book-blog, book-blogger, Books, Monthly Wrap Up, November/December, reading, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
In this post I shall be looking at the reading I completed during November and also setting out what I’m hoping to achieve during December. So, I haven’t made great progress during November, or not nearly as good as I would have liked. I have caught up with comments and been blog hopping around (although I have more still to do). My reading has been sporadic at best, I think mainly due to the new time constraints imposed by learning a new language and the extra time out of the day, plus homework. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get fully on track with all my reads by the end of the year but I’m staying positive and hoping for the best.
Here’s what I read during November :
- You All Die Tonight by Simon Kernick
- Ink Ribbon Red by Alex Pavesi
- Blood by Sarah Pinborough
- The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso – to be reviewed
For the month of November I had a lot of carry over books from October and so I shall be hopefully picking up some of these during the forthcoming month. Lets take a look at my review books for December:
None. I have a completely blank slate which is brilliant because I’m hoping to catch up with as many books as possible. Which are:
- The Coven by Harper L. Woods
- The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
- Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne
- The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
- Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris
- The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne
- Here One Minute by Alex Lake
- The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H. G. Parry
- The Queen by Nick Cutter
And two books sent to me by authors:
Land from Bjørn Larssen; and
Drown Deep by Phil Williams
Plus another unexpected review book that I’ve just started – Titanchild by Jen Williams
This month I yet again have read no Backlist Books -I started the year so well!
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo
This month I’m ticking off the scroll and the pen using Blood by Sarah Pinborough. This is the fifth book in her fairytale series which I think the scroll and pen fits quite nicely.
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2024 (TEXT VERSION)
| A microscope | |||
| A beehive (with four bees flying around it) |
So far this year I’ve read and reviewed a total of 108 books.
How did you get on during November?
Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate October/November
1 November 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, book-blog, Books, Fantasy, Monthly Wrap Up, reading, What's On My Plate October/November
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
In this post I shall be looking at the reading I completed during October and also setting out what I’m hoping to achieve during November. I pretty much recognised when I posted at the conclusion of September that October was going to be an impossible task. I had a lot of review books, three SPFBO books to complete and also another couple of book requests that I’d accepted without realising just how fully loaded I was. As it happens I still managed to read ten books this month. I completed Phase One of SPFBO, we chose our finalist and I reviewed the other three semi finalists that I read. In terms of review books I am behind but I think my November shelf is nowhere near as chaotic so I’m hoping that during November and December I can complete all my review books and have a fully finished list for the year. Next week I will be focusing on catching up with reviews which I’m a little behind with. Can I end 2024 with all my commitments uptodate? Time will tell. I think I can do it.
Here’s what I read during October:
- The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
- SPFBO – Through Blood and Dragons by RM Schultz
- SPFBO – The Enchanter’s Counsel by Thalib Razi
- SPFBO – By a Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
- Cold Snap by Lindy Ryan
- Magic by Sarah Pinborough
- Hear Him Calling by Carly Reagon
- The Book of Witching by CJ Cooke
- Run by Blake Crouch
For the month of October I actually had 16 review books (I know – *head/desk*), I also had three SPFBO books to read and two author requests. So, a total (even with my bad maths) of 21 – not in my wildest dreams would that ever be achievable – and as I mentioned above I managed 10 books (a little less than is the norm atm). For November I have five review books, plus another 9 carried over from October, plus my two author requests making a grand total of 16 – I think this is achievable by the end of the year as I have no review books in December in fact I’m hoping to squeeze in a couple of SPFBO finalists too if I stay on track and maybe complete a couple of books that I put down earlier in the year. Lets take a look at my review books for November:
- You All DIe Tonight by Simon Kernick
- Ink Ribbon Read by Alex Pavesi
- The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E Pearson
- The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso
- Blood by Sarah Pinborough
Add to this the books I’m carrying over:
- The Coven by Harper L. Woods
- The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
- Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne
- The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
- Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris
- The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne
- Here One Minute by Alex Lake
- The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H. G. Parry
- The Queen by Nick Cutter
And two books sent to me by authors:
Land from Bjørn Larssen; and
Drown Deep by Phil Williams
This month I yet again have read no Backlist Books -I started the year so well!
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo
This month I’m not ticking off any books – oh dear, will I complete this challenge?
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2024 (TEXT VERSION)
| A microscope | A partially unrolled scroll and a pen | ||
| A beehive (with four bees flying around it) |
So far this year I’ve read a total of 104 books.
How did you get on during October?
Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate September/October
1 October 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, book-blog, Books, Monthly Wrap Up, reading, September/October, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
In this post I shall be looking at the reading I completed for September and what I’m hoping to read during October. I hit a bit of a shady patch this month and didn’t quite finish all my planned books – and looking at October, well, I seem to have turned into a raging maniac requesting ALL the books and literally I don’t know what I was thinking. Well, I do. I just wanted them all, they all looked so lovely and they were calling to me. Anyway. This month I have two review books that I’ve not managed to complete but I’m still aiming to pick them up when I have a quieter month (November/December). I have two reviews to catch up with at the moment and then onwards to my October books.
Here’s what I read during September:
- Fortitude’s Prize by Ceril N Domace (SPFBOX)
- The First Assignment by Billy Kramer (SPFBOX)
- River of Crows by NP Thompson (SPFBOX)
- This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C Wells
- So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
- Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
- Touched by Magic by Celine Jeanjean (SPFBOX)
- Smile and Be A Villain by Yves Donlon (SPFBOX)
- Gorse by Sam K Horton
- The Ravening by Daniel Church
- The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier – review to follow
- The Wilding by Ian McDonald – review to follow
This month I had nine review books and five SPFBO books. I have two review books to complete, I started both but put them down temporarily as I don’t think I was in the right headspace. So, twelve books all together.
What I’m hoping to read during October(with links to Goodreads) (although I realise this is a tall order and probably unlikely – but I can roll some books over to November).
- The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
- The Coven by Harper L. Woods
- The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
- Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne
- The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
- The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke
- Run by Blake Crouch
- Cold Snap by Lindy Ryan
- Hear Him Calling by Carly Reagon
- Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris
- The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne
- Here One Minute by Alex Lake
- The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H. G. Parry
- The Queen by Nick Cutter
- Magic by Sarah Pinborough
I also have a couple of books sent to me directly by the authors and three potential SPFBOX Semi Finalists. So, realistically, there’s no way I’m going to complete them all. But, in my defence some of these were requests that came in late. Oh, who am I kidding – there are some great books on here so I couldn’t resist. And, just look how lovely they all look:
This month I read no Backlist Books -boo (I am still reading The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie – which is very good but I simply keep forgetting to listen to the audio version).
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo
This month I’m ticking off the ‘clouds’ prompt from my Picture Prompt bingo card.
I’m using Fortitude’s Prize by Ceril N Domace – a story that predominantly takes place in the sky so seems quite appropriate.
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2024 (TEXT VERSION)
| A microscope | A partially unrolled scroll and a pen | ||
| A beehive (with four bees flying around it) |
So far this year I’ve read a total of 94 books.
How did you get on during September?
Books and travelling with Lynn 