Wrap Up November 2020

The first half of this reading month was rough – I only finished one book in the first two weeks and really, really hated it. Afterwards I tried to give myself leeway to just read whatever I want – but a rising number of Covid 19 cases made reading not as easy as it sometimes it. Thankfully the last few days of the month I kind of got back into reading. Lets hope this will keep up in December.

Books I read in October:

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1. Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam: 1.5 out of 5 stars (review)
2. A Touch of Snow and Stone (A Gathering of Dragons #2): 4 out of 5 stars
3. Kink: Stories edited by Garth Greenwell and R. O. Kwon: 4 out of 5 stars
4. A Mind Spread out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott: 4.5 out of 5 stars
5. Pew by Catherine Lacey: 3.5 out of 5 stars
6. Archangel’s Viper (Guild Hunter #10) by Nalini Singh: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I also DNFed Naked in Death (In Death #1) by J. D. Robb which was fine but not my kind of book.

Favourite of the Month:

I absolutely adored A Mind Spread out on the Ground – I was sure I would and it exceeded my high expectations.

Stats(ish):

I finished six book, four of which were written by women, one by a man, and the last one was an anthology by various authors. Two books were speculative romance, one was a horror/ satire hybrid, one literary fiction, one an essay collection, and finally one short story anthology.

Currently Reading:

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Wrap Up October 2020

I jinxed it. I had such good readings months and started to feel complacent. This was not a good reading month at all for me.

Books I read in October:

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1. Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab: 3 out of 5 stars (review)
2. Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels #5.5) by Ilona Andrews: 3 out of 5 stars
3. The Shapeless Unease by Samantha Harvey: 2 out of 5 stars (review)
4. Magic Gifts (Kate Daniels #5.4) by Ilona Andrews: 4 out of 5 stars
5. Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz: 4 out of 5 stars
6. Milk Fed by Melissa Broder: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Favourite of the Month:

None of the books I read this month worked perfectly for me, even the four star reads were low four star reads. But I did enjoy spending time in the Kate Daniels’ universe again and am considering rereading the full-length novels soon.

Stats(ish):

I finished six books, of these books four were written by women and two by a husband and wife team. I finished one short story collection, one non-fiction book, one literary fiction novel, and three books that are broadly speculative in nature with a romantic focus.

Currently Reading:

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Wrap Up September 2020

I had a fairly good reading month, not as great as August though – which is probably due to my daughter sleeping a lot less and being a lot more active. I am still making my way though my ARC-backlist in the hopes of some day maybe catching up (one can dream).

Books I read in September:

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1. In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado: 5 out of 5 stars
2. You Will Never Be Forgotten by Mary South: 2 out of 5 stars (review)
3. Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford: 3.5 out of 5 stars
4. Magic Mourns (Kate Daniels #3.5) by Ilona Andrews: 3 out of 5 stars
5. Machine by Susan Steinberg: 4 out of 5 stars (review)
6. Pain Studies by Lisa Olstein: 3.5 out of 5 stars
7. The Cool Aunt (Hidden Legacy #5.1) by Ilona Andrews

Favourite of the Month:

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado was every bit as brilliant as I expected it to be. I haven’t written a review yet because I want to pair the review with one for No Visible Bruises, a non fiction book about domestic violence that I am currently reading. That one, however, has the tiniest font and I can only read it during the day time hours (I feel old).

Stats(ish):

I read 7(ish) books this month. Of these books, five were written by women and two were written by a husband and wife team. I read two non fiction books, two literary fiction novels, one short story collection, and two Urban Fantasy books.

Currently Reading:

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I am, again, reading too many books at once. Four really is my sweet spot, everything more messes with my reading mojo. I am hoping to finish a few of these books over the next week or so (both the Schwab and the Alam are published in early October and I would love to have my reviews up before that – this is probably too ambitious).

Wrap Up August 2020

I cannot remember the last time I had a reading month this good. It seems like my choice to finally finish reading some of the books I had started months ago was a very good thing indeed. I have also finally gotten back into the groove of reading and reviewing ARCs – I do hope I can keep the momentum going. Especially because Rachel and I are planning on doing our two-person-ARC-readathon again at the end of September, this time without me being pregnant and not reading. (You are all invited to participate! But it’s super low-key and I am famously bad at reading plans.)

Books I read in August:

1. Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh: 3.5 out of 5 stars (review)
2. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell: 4 out of 5 stars
3. Alpha Night by Nalini Singh: 4 out of 5 stars
4. The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates #1) by A. K. Larkwood: 4.5 out of 5 stars (review)
5. Sisters by Daisy Johnson: 4 out of 5 stars (review)
6. Luster by Raven Leilani: 3.5 out of 5 stars (review)
7. Diamond Fire (Hidden Legacy #3.5) by Ilona Andrews: 4 out of 5 stars
8. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel: 5 out of 5 stars (review)
9. Saphire Flames (Hidden Legacy #4, Catalina Baylor Trilogy #1) by Ilona Andrews: 5 out of 5 stars
10. Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy #5, Catalina Baylor Trilogy #2) by Ilona Andrews: 4 out of 5 stars

I also started and DNFed The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix. E. Harrow.

Favourite of the Month:

Quality-wise, The Glass Hotel, hands down. I knew I would love it but also was scared of not being able to properly appreciate it during the pandemic and kept putting it off – I am so glad to have finally read it, it’s as good as I hoped it would be. But my proper favourite is probably Saphire Flames which I kept putting off because I know how addictive Ilona Andrews’ writing is. It’s so good! I had such a blast!

Stats(ish):

I read ten books, seven of which were written by women and the other three by a husband and wife team. Five books can broadly be categorized as literary fiction, one is a fantasy-scifi hybrid and four are some form of romantic fantasy.

Currently Reading:

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Wrap Up July 2020

Books I read in July:

1. The Harpy by Megan Hunter: 3 out of 5 stars (review)
2. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson: 3 out of 5 stars
3. I Hold A Wolf By The Ears by Laura van den Berg: 4 out of 5 stars (review)
4. Constellations by Sinéad Gleeson: 5 out of 5 stars
5. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I also DNFed Beach Read by Emily Henry. I might come back at another time but for now the book was just not what I expected and was in the mood for.

Favourite of the Month:

Constellations by Sinéad Gleeson is as incredible as everybody said. I cannot recommend it highly enough – I listened to the audiobook and just love the way Gleeson narrates her essays.

Stats(ish):

I read five books this month. Of these books four were written by women. I read two non-fiction books, one thriller, one short story collection, and one literary fiction novel.

Currently Reading:

Still too many books. Whenever I am reading more than four books it really messes with my reading mojo, so I am currently trying to finish as many books as possible before starting new ones. Ideally I would get it down to zero because I love being able to choose all new books but we’ll have to wait and see if that will happen.

Wrap Up June 2020 or Reading Whatever Works

I have stopped pretending that I will be back to my pre-pregnancy reading pace any time soon and am now just taking the months as they come. Having said that, this was still a surprisingly good month quantitiy wise, especially given that my daughter apparently decided that sleeping anywhere that isn’t her father’s or my body is unacceptable, at least during the day. Which is lovely! But also kind of exhausting. Also, I have not managed to drink my one tea a day while it was still hot for what feels like ages.

I have also stopped pretending that I can adhere to any sort of TBR or reading challenge and will now just read whatever I can manage. I have been saying that for ages and still held out hope.

Books I read in June:

1. The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley: 3 out of 5 stars
2. Black Light by Kimberly King Parsons: 3 out of 5 stars (mini-review)
3. Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall: 4 out of 5 stars
4. Archangel’s Heart (Guild Hunter #9) by Nalini Singh: 4 out of 5 stars
5. Daddy by Emma Cline: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Favourite of the Month:

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall is all kinds of brilliant. I listened to the audiobook read by the author herself and really appreciated it.

Stats(ish):

I read 5 books, 4 of which were written by women and one by a man. I read two short story collections (none of which blew me away), one paranormal romance, one memoir, and one essay collection. Three of those books were ARCs. I am not doing well with reviews but I am trying my best.

Currently Reading:

 

Wrap Up May 2020 or the world is burning

May was even weirder than the months before. The world isburning and everything is kind of awful (to be clear: racism sucks, Black lives matter, property destruction is a great way to protest. I have no idea how to properly address what is going on but I wanted to be clear where I stand ideologically.) but at the same time I gave birth and so everything is also kind of wonderful. I have no idea how my blogging will look like from now on, but I am determined to at least post sometimes. Currently my daughter is happiest sleeping on top of me – so writing anything even slightly long is difficult.

Books I read in May:

1. Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen: 4 out of 5 stars
2. Home Remedies by Juliana Xuan Wang: 4 out of 5 stars
3. Archangel’s Legion (Guild Hunter #6) by Nalini Singh: 3 out of 5 stars
4. Archangel’s Shadows (Guild Hunter #7) by Nalini Singh: 3 out of 5 stars
5. Archangel’s Enigma (Guild Hunter #8) by Nalini Singh: 4 out of 5 stars

Favourite of the Month:

I had a pretty mediocre reading month – but Archangel’s Enigma was my favourite of the Guild Hunter series so far. I am still vastly prefering Singh’s Psy-Changeling series but I as always appreciate her world building.

Stats(ish):

I read four books and one short story (I was planning on reading the Nebula and Hugo nominated short stories but as I said, I usually have a child on top of me which means all my reading will be done on my kindle from now on apparently). Three of those books were paranormal romance and one short story collection. Everything I read this month was written by authors of colour.

Currently Reading:

 

I am reading way too many books – and have the attention span for literally half of them maybe. I am trying to give myself the room to just pick up whatever I feel like because I do not want reading to feel like a chore.

 

Wrap Up April 2020 or the world is weird.

April was still weird but maybe a bit more bearable? I don’t even know. The world is weird. Being pregnant is weird. Everything is weird.

Books I read in April:

1. The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1) by Lexi Blake: 2 out of 5 stars
2. How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa: 4 out of 5 stars
3. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson: 3 out of 5 stars (review)
4. Girl by Edna O’Brien: 1 out of 5 stars (review)
5. Mr Salary by Sally Rooney: 5 out of 5 stars
6. White Hot (Hidden Legacy #2) by Ilona Andrews: 5 out of 5 stars (reread)
7. Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3) by Ilona Andrews: 5 out of 5 stars (reread)
8. By a Thread by Lucy Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Favourite of the Month:

My favourites were my rereads: the second and third book in Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series are as brilliant as I remembered them. I am really looking forward to finally continuing with the series in preparation for the next book coming out.

Stats(ish):

I read 8(ish) books, all of which were written by women. I read two romance novels, two urban fantasy books, one short story collection and one short story, and two literary fiction novels nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Currently Reading:

Books I should get to soon:

I have for now given up on the Women’s Prize longlist and will instead be focussing on whatever strikes my fancy and hopefully a lot of fantasy reads. Given that I am currently always tired and napping all the time, I am unsure how much reading I will be doing at all, if I am being honest.

Women’s Prize coverage by other bloggers:

Rachel, Callum, Naty, Marija, Emily, Gilana, Laura

Wrap Up March 2020 or it’s Women’s Prize Season!

March was weird, I am sure everybody will agree. And I am not sure April will be any less weird but maybe I will be more used to the weirdness by then? In positive news, the longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction was announced and I have started making my way through it – and for the most part I have enjoyed the books so far, although I am weary if that’ll stay that way.

Books I read in March:

1. Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey: 2 out of 5 stars
2. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes: 4 out of 5 stars (review)
3. Weather by Jenny Offil: 4 out of 5 stars (review)
4. Actress by Anne Enright: 4.5 out of 5 stars (review)
5. Verge by Lidia Yuknavitch: 3 out of 5 stars
6. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett: 1.5 out of 5 stars (review)
7. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby: 4 out of 5 stars
8. Nightingale Point by Luan Goldie: 2 out of  5 stars

Favourite of the Month:

Actress. I did not think I would like this book and was then very happy when I did. It is so far my favourite of the longlisted books.

Stats(ish):

I finished eight books in March, all of them written by women. Of these books five were on the Women’s Prize longlist and thus fiction. I also read one romance novel, one short story collection, and one memoir. I also spent a lot of my time re-reading parts of the Psy-Changeling series because those books always make me happy. I did not completely read any of those books though.

Currently Reading:

Books I should get to soon:

I am still kind of planning to finish the Women’s Prize longlist (except for the Mantel) before the shortlist is announced on the 22nd. I am unsure whether that is at all doable but I am still going to try my best.

Women’s Prize coverage by other bloggers:

Rachel, Callum, Naty, Marija, Emily, Gilana, Laura

Wrap Up February 2020 or where did the month go?

I had an incredibly bad reading month, quantity wise. For some reason or other, I was not able to just sit down and read. Parts were due to the incredible high workload I have (I need to get SO much done before I go on leave in April), parts were just general none-interest. I did love or really enjoy every book I finished though, so there is that.

Books I read in February:

1. Follow Me To Ground by Sue Rainsford: 4 out of 5 stars
2. Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe: 5 out of 5 stars
3. A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons #1) by Milla Vane: 4 out of 5 stars (mini-review)
4. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones: 4 out of 5 stars
5. The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy: 5 out of 5 stars

Favourite of the Month:

Say Nothing. I cannot recommend this book highly enough – I thought I would like it, I did not realize how very much I would love it. The Man Who Saw Everything was a close second though – I really appreciated this clever, clever, clever book.

Stats(ish):

I read three books written by women and two written by a male authors. Three of the books I read on audio and two as ebooks. I read one literary fiction novel, one short speculative literary fiction novel, one fantasy book with a strong focus on romance, one memoir and one non-fiction title.

Currently Reading:

If I don’t finish The Illness Lesson this weekend, I will call it quits. I think it is partly responsible for my slump – because it is an arc and somewhat lific adjacent, I feel too guilty to start another book before finishing it but I am also really, really not enjoying it. Love her or Lose Her is surprisingly boring for a Tessa Bailey novel but I am determined to stick with it – I do want to know how they resolve their issues. I got sidetracked by Verge’s arrival (and should be finished with it soon), so I have not picked up Orange World in weeks. The two fantasy books are just really long.

Books I should get to soon:

It’s Women’s Prize longlist time! I am so excited and cannot wait to dive into whatever this will bring. Here are some longlist predictions to give an indication what might be to come: Emily’s, Naty’s, Jess’, and my own.