Monthly Roundup: March 2017

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, including discussing books read that month, challenge progress, and a summary of all posts for the month.

Last month I read a total of fifteen books: Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor #1) by Mark Lawrence, How To Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle & Sarah Miynowski,
Life and Death by Stephanie Meyer, Glass Sword (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard, Drakenfeld (Drakenfeld #1) by Mark Charan Newton, The Named (Guardians of Time #1) by Marianne Curley, The Dark (Guardians of Time #2) by Marianne Curley, The Key (Guardians of Time #3) by Marianne Curley, The Strain (The Strain #1) by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor, Galactic Pot Healer by Philip K. Dick, A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar, Bastard Prince by Beverley A. Murphy,
Magus of Stonewylde (Stonewylde #1) by Kit Berry and The Still Point by Amy Sackville.

March was an odd month for reading. Before I moved, I wanted to read a load of books from my pile of ‘read then donate’ books – these are ones that I’ve probably bought second-hand and don’t reckon I’ll love enough to keep. I was definitely right, and found myself with quite a few disappointing reads. However, this did mean that I got quite a lot of reading done, and managed to squeeze fifteen books into the month!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve now moved and started a new job. This is one of my first posts in two weeks or so, and posts might be slow for a bit, just while I’m getting used to everything. However I’ve got some recently read review copies, so hopefully I’ll be sharing my thoughts on those soon. 🙂

Challenge progress:

• I have currently read 44 books towards my Goodreads goal of 52. Still unsure whether to raise this when I hit it, or not…

 

Currently reading:

How was March for you?

Monthly Roundup: February 2017

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, including discussing books read that month, challenge progress, and a summary of all posts for the month.

Last month I read a total of eight books: The Left Hand of God (The Left Hand of God #1) by Paul Hoffman, Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) by Diana Gabaldon, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard, Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey, Moranthology by Caitlin Moran and The Humans by Matt Haig.

I continued the Outlander series of books with Drums of Autumn, which was excellent, even if it felt very different to the first two. Revolution was a nice surprise, and I enjoyed it a lot more than expected. Disappointments included Red Queen, which felt very generic and unoriginal, and The Left Hand of God, which just felt like an utter mess.

I start my new job this month (yes I finally got one after two months of dull dull unemployment!), and will finally be moving into a place of my very own – I can’t wait! It’s going to be fun trying to fit my books into a studio flat, but I will try 😉 It also means I’ll be internetless for a few weeks whilst it’s all set up, so I expect I’ll get a lot of reading (and TV watching) done during that time.

 

Challenge progress:

• I have currently read 23 books towards my Goodreads goal.

 

Currently reading:

How was February for you?

Monthly Roundup: January 2017

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, including discussing books read that month, challenge progress, and a summary of all posts for the month.

Last month I read a total of fifteen books: The Death Cure (The Maze Runner #3) by James Dashner, The Girls by Emma Cline, The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4) by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter #3) by J.K. Rowling, Yes Please by Amy Poehler, 1Q84 (1Q84 #3) by Haruki Murakami, The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry, After the Silence (Amsterdam Quartet #1) by Jake Woodhouse, The Terranauts by T.C. Boyle, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) by J.K. Rowling, Saga Volume 1 (Saga #1) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling, The Dead Men Stood Together by Chris Priestley and Elizabeth of York: The First Tudor Queen by Elizabeth Weir.

January was a month of unemployment, and therefore left me a lot of time for reading… yet still I fell into a bit of a slump. Not so much a general reading slump, as I still managed 15 books, but I lost interest in a lot of the SFF on my shelves and all the books I’d borrowed from the library, and felt like reading something a bit different. I aimed to get through quite a few of my Netgalley books and managed to cross quite a few off the list. I also started re-reading the Harry Potter series (because why not?), and finally read the first volume of the Saga graphic novels, which was excellent. I also re-read Amy Poehler’s autobiography, Yes Please, because I love her. The Girls was a bit of a disappointment after all that hype, and I finally finished the Maze Runner series!

 

Challenge progress:

• Mpauli is not hosting the DC vs. Marvel Challenge this year, instead the Justice League vs. Teen Titans Challenge is being hosted by the wonderful Wayland, who is also the newest moderator of Dragons & Jetpacks. I won’t be keeping track of this on the blog, just on the book group, as I don’t plan on being quite so dedicated this year. Although I felt really proud that I managed to complete the challenge 100% in 2016, it did dictate quite a bit of my reading so I’m going for a more relaxed approach in 2017.
• I have currently read fifteen books towards my Goodreads goal.

 

Currently reading:

How was January for you?

Monthly Roundup: December 2016

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, including discussing books read that month, challenge progress, and a summary of all posts for the month.

Last month I read a total of fifteen books: Zeroes (Zeroes #1) by Scott Westerfeld, The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1) by Danielle L. Jensen, Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1) by Zen Cho, The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) by Marie Lu, Talon by Janet Lee Carey, Dangerous Days in Elizabethan England by Terry Deary, The Just City (Thessaly #1) by Jo Whalton, An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir, The Graces by Laure Eve, The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1) by Alison Goodman, Knight’s Shadow (Greatcoats #2) by Sebastien de Castell and The Demon King (The Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima.

December was definitely a great reading month! Most of what I read came from the library, stuff that I’d ordered in especially so I was excited for all of it. However, my standout books have to be The Demon King, Knight’s Shadow and The Just City. The Demon King felt like a classic fantasy novel, and just completely and utterly drew me in. Knight’s Shadow was a fantastic follow up to Traitor’s Blade, and The Just City was just so unique and really appealed to my archaeology and ancient history loving self.

 

Challenge progress:

• I managed to recruit all heroes and defeat all villains for the DC vs Marvel Challenge in 2016, so I’m pretty pleased with myself. 2017 sees the Justice League vs Teen Titans reading challenge, this time hosted by Wayland. I don’t think I’ll be quite as determined to recruit/defeat everyone this time round, as it did sort of take over my reading in 2016. But I’ll see what I can do! I won’t keep track of my progress on the blog, just on our Goodreads group.
• I read 137 books towards my Goodreads goal of 100, so went well over. Even more for 2017? 😉

 

Currently reading:

How was December for you?

Monthly Roundup: October 2016

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

Last month I read a total of fourteen books: Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by V.E. Schwab, The Sin Eater’s Daughter (The Sin Eater’s Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury,
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin, Assassin’s Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb, Aristocrats: Britain’s Great Ruling Classes From 1066 To The Present by Lawrence James, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker’s Guide #1) by Douglas Adams, Goldenhand (The Old Kingdom #5) by Garth Nix, The Fireman by Joe Hill, Revenger by Alastair Reynolds, Nerve by Jeanne Ryan, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, Traitor’s Blade (Greatcoats #1) by Sebastien de Castell and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

I have to say, October was a really great reading month. I managed quite a few books, and half of them were 5-star reads. I re-read two books this month: A Game of Thrones (which I have been meaning to re-read for about five years) and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. It’s really hard to pick a standout because so many were amazing: Goldenhand, Greatcoats, Americanah, This Savage Song… not to mention my first ever Robin Hobb novel, Assassin’s Apprentice. Basically I would say read them all!

 

Challenge progress:

• I managed to defeat October’s villain, Jack O’Lantern, in the DC vs Marvel Challenge. Next month’s villain is Indigo, who I am not familiar with.
• I have currently read 107 books towards my Goodreads goal. I’ve now hit the goal of 100, but I won’t raise it as I don’t want to pressure myself.

 

Currently reading:

How was October for you?

Monthly Roundup: September 2016

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

Last month I read a total of ten books: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, Stranger of Tempest (The God Fragments #1) by Tom Lloyd,
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, The Ice Storm by Rick Moody, Tracks by Robyn Davidson, Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones: Seasons 1 & 2 by Bryan Cogman, The Dead (The Enemy #2) by Charlie Higson, Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed, The Wee Free Men (Discworld #30) by Terry Pratchett and It’s All in Your Head by Suzanne O’Sullivan.

I have to say that my absolute favourite book of September was Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found. I knew I wanted to read it after watching the film, starring Reese Witherspoon, in August. I found it incredibly inspirational – I would really love to do a long hike like that, although perhaps not alone! And I definitely want to read more travel books by female authors now, so please give me recommendations if you have any! Finally, I got round to The Girl on the Train – and I don’t quite get the obsession. It was easy to read and quite gripping (I think I read it in two evenings), but it was a really obvious ‘whodunnit’! I’ll probably go and see the film with my mum and sister soon. Let downs this month were Stranger of Tempest (still trying to work out whether I want to write a review or not because I honestly can’t think of much to say about it) and The Dead, which felt incredibly different to the first book, a lot more juvenile and not as fun.

 

Challenge progress:

• I managed to defeat September’s villain for the DC vs Marvel Challenge, Deadshot. I’m doing really well this year and have defeated every villain so far, and only have a few more books to read before all heroes are recruited. October’s villain is, appropriately, Jack O’Lantern. I’ve already planned my books!
• I have currently read 94 books towards my Goodreads goal. I’m in two minds over whether to raise it, because I get super competitive about it, and it’s more about quality than quantity.

 

Currently reading:

How was September for you?

Monthly Roundup: August 2016

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

Last month I read a total of ten books: Voyager (Outlander #3) by Diana Gabaldon, The Aeronaut’s Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1) by Jim Butcher, Blood of Elves (The Witcher #3) by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Forever War (The Forever War #1) by Joe Haldeman, Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, New Pompeii by Daniel Godfrey,
You’re Never Weird On The Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day,
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield and How to Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran.

August was a month of pretty good reads! I started with Voyager, which I could not WAIT to read – I absolutely love the Outlander series and everything about Claire and Jamie. Both The Aeronaut’s Windlass and Blood of Elves were read as part of my book group, Dragons & Jetpacks, and both were sadly disappointing – especially considering how good the Witcher games are. However, The Forever War was a nice surprise that I enjoyed quite a lot more that expected – it’s not so much military sci-fi as a bit of cerebral, to be honest. How do those who have been into space and come back centuries later, when it has only been a couple of years for them, feel? How do they adjust to this new planet, and a life without family and friends? Nevernight was a really fun, dark fantasy that definitely caught me off guard toom and all my other reads for the month were highly enjoyable – especially Felicia Day’s You’re Never Weird On The Internet (Almost), which was so relatable.

 

Challenge progress:

• I don’t remember how many books I read towards the DC vs Marvel Challenge, but I do know I defeated the villain! September’s villain is Deadshot, who is proving to be very tricky to beat with my current Novel Experiment – so I may have to make a few exceptions.
• I have currently read 85 books towards my Goodreads goal – 17 books ahead of schedule!

 

Currently reading:

How was August for you?

Monthly Roundup: June 2016

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

 

Last month I read a total of seven books: The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne, Going Postal (Discworld #33) by Terry Pratchett, Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo, The Novice (Summoner #1) by Taran Matharu, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth and Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas.

I didn’t get quite as much reading done as I’d hoped during June: I no longer have the time to read on my lunch breaks at work, plus I bought some games in the Steam sale which just completely distracted me from doing anything else. I managed two Netgalley copies and FINALLY GOT MY RATIO UP TO 80%! It’s only taken me almost four years! Now I just have to work at making sure it doesn’t drop… I’ve been pretty good at not requesting stuff from there lately, in fact throughout 2016 I think I’ve requested less than 10 books. Progress 🙂 I re-read Going Postal (Discworld #33) by Terry Pratchett, which I first read before 2009 (before I had Goodreads). Most books I read before then have a 3-star rating, because I can’t always remember how much I enjoyed them. This one was bumped up to 5 stars after a re-read, so definitely worth it. However, my ultimate standout book this month was definitely Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas, which just broke me. I love that series so, SO much and I cannot wait for book five. GIMME GIMME GIMME.

 

Challenge progress:

• I read six books towards the DC vs Marvel Challenge. I’m making really good progress with the villains and have defeated every one so far, but Brainiac, July’s villain, looks super tricky.
• I have currently read 63 books towards my Goodreads goal, which puts me 13 books ahead of schedule.

 

Currently reading:

How was June for you?

Monthly Roundup: March 2016

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

Last month I read a total of seven books: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell, Poison Study (Study #1) by Maria V. Snyder, Us by David Nicholls, HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness,
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Sisters of Versailles (The Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy #1) by Sally Christie.

March was a bit of a slower reading month, occupied mostly by my re-read of The Fellowship of the Ring. Being one of my favourite books of all time, this was of course the stand-out book of the month… but in terms of new reads, I would have to say the best book of the month was HEX. I’ll be taking part in the blog tour for it this month, so look out for that along with my review. The Bone Clocks was one of Dragons & Jetpacks Books of the Month, but it was seriously disappointing.

 

Challenge progress:

• I read seven books towards the DC vs Marvel Challenge – every book read this month counted, and I also managed to defeat the villain, Poison Ivy. April’s villain is very apt, being the White Rabbit.
• I have currently read 33 books towards my Goodreads goal.

 

Currently reading:

How was March for you?

Monthly Roundup: February 2016

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

Last month I read a total of twelve books: Holy Cow by David Duchovny, Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas, Morning Star (Red Rising #3) by Pierce Brown, Hawkeye: L.A. Woman (Hawkeye #3) by Matt Fraction, Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, Azumanga Daioh Volume 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma, Azumanga Daioh Volume 2 by Kiyohiko Azuma, Azumanga Daioh Volume 4 by Kiyohiko Azuma, Azumanga Daioh Volume 4 by Kiyohiko Azuma, Close Range: Brokeback Mountain and Other Stories by Annie Proulx, A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) by V.E. Schwab and Modern Romance: An Investigation by Aziz Ansari.

I was lucky enough to receive and read not one, but two amazing releases that I’d been anticipating this month: Morning Star and A Gathering of Shadows. Both were so, so fantastic and definitely worth the wait. I also did quite a few re-reads: Crown of Midnight and the Azumanga Daioh series, which is completely adorable. If you want to try a new manga, I highly recommend it – especially if you’ve not read any before, it’s quite a good way to ease yourself into it. I also read Modern Romance: An Investigation by Aziz Ansari, who I love on Parks & Recreation. The book wasn’t quite as funny as expected, but wow it was an interesting read.

 

Challenge progress:

• I read five books towards the DC vs Marvel Challenge, and was able to defeat Mystique, February’s villain! March’s villain is Poison Ivy.
• I have currently read 26 books towards my Goodreads goal.

 

Currently reading:

How was February for you?