Mailbox Monday - 13th Oct

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog.

In this post, you can see which books I have bought, received for review, or borrowed this past week.

I've been trying desperately not to buy any books this week but a few managed to sneak their way on to my kindle. Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


Library Audiobooks:

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

WWW Wednesday - 8th Oct

The book meme WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading.

The aim of WWW Wednesday is to answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?
I just started reading Horns by Joe Hill last week and I have about 100 pages left. It is really good and it's a great book for a group read. I'm enjoying the discussion almost as much as the book. What I love about Joe Hill and Stephen King is that they tip their hats to each other and to other books they have read. When you've read a few of their books, you start to notice them and when I do, I get all excited because I'm in out and I know what they are talking about.

I am also listening to Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. I was enjoying it at first but it seems to have slowed down midway through the book. I'm hoping it will pick up soon as the cases start to be solved. I do like Atkinson's writing style though.

What did you recently finish reading?
I haven't finished anything this week.

What do you think you’ll read next?
Well, my buddy read for A Discovery of Witches has been moved to next month now so I've decided to read Ghost Story by Peter Straub instead. I've not read any books by Straub before.

Have you read any of these? And what did you think?

Mailbox Monday - 6th Oct

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog. I haven't participated in a couple weeks mainly because I have been so busy but also I've not bought any books! Has to be a record!

As you may have noticed, I've also changed how I'm titling my Mailbox Monday posts - I was just numbering them but I've decided to stop that now and just use the date.

In this post, you can see which books I have bought, received for review, or borrowed this past week.

I've been trying desperately not to buy any books this week but a few managed to sneak their way on to my kindle. Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


NetGalley Books for Review:

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

WWW Wednesdays (8)

The book meme WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading.

The aim of WWW Wednesday is to answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Well I seem to have come out of my reading slump which is great news but I am so busy at the moment I have less time to read and even less time to keep up with this blog and my weekly memes. Managing to hold on to this Wednesday one though. Hopefully things will quieten down soon and I can get back in to the flow of things.

What are you currently reading?
I just started reading Horns by Joe Hill today for a group read. In fact I nominated the book for the group read and it was chosen so I'm feeling quite chuffed about that. I want to read the book before the film comes out at the end of the month. I have loved all of Joe Hill's books so can't wait to find out what this one is like.

What did you recently finish reading?
I finished Shades of Grey By Jasper Fforde which just seemed to take ages for me to read but I did enjoy it very much and eagerly await the follow up books. Let's just hope it isn't too long before the next one comes out as I might have forgotten some of the intricacies of the world by that point. I will definitely be reading more of Fforde's work - he has two other series on the go too.

I finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence for a buddy read. I really enjoyed it - not for the faint hearted though. It's quite different to other fantasy books I have read in that there wasn't a huge amount of world building. I felt that it was probably a case of the Publishers limiting the word count because it was a debut book. I will be continuing with the series though as I want to know what happens to the characters I met in the first book.

I also finished Hexed by Kevin Hearne which is book two in The Iron Druid Chronicles. It is such a fun read with lots of laugh out moments. I love all the popular culture (or maybe nerd culture) references in this series too. It was this book which helped me out of my reading slump for sure.

What do you think you’ll read next?
I will most likely be reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness for a buddy read but that doesn't start until the 6th of the month. If I get through Horns quickly, then I might try to squeeze in Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz beforehand.

Have you read any of these? And what did you think?

WWW Wednesday (7)

The book meme WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading.

The aim of WWW Wednesday is to answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I seem to be in a bit of a reading slump at the moment. It's taking forever to get through my books which is very unlike me. But I guess we all go through these at some points. It is frustrating me though especially as I've committed to a number of group/buddy reads which have start dates and I'm feeling under pressure! That's not what reading should be a bout so I need to prioritise and let some slide...

What are you currently reading?
I am also still reading Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. I am enjoying it but I feel like throwing the book right now as it's taken me nearly a month to get through and I'm sick of the cover now! It's taking a while to read because the language is very clever, very subtle with plays on words, sarcasm and humour throughout and I don't want to miss anything.

I started reading Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence for a buddy read. One of the reasons I love fantasy books is because of the world building and the interesting characters. This book, which was the author's debut, has intriguing characters but it lacks the world building aspect so I feel the story is lacking somewhat. It is holding my interest though and I want to find out where the story is leading. It is the first book in the Broken Empire series.

What did you recently finish reading?
I finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden which was fantastic. I gave it 5 stars and it made it on to my favourites list. I can't believe I waited so long to read it. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it already.

What do you think you’ll read next?
In theory, I am supposed to be reading Hexed by Kevin Hearne for another buddy read. I really want to read it as I loved the first book in the series. However, the buddy read started today and I am nowhere near finishing the two books I am currently reading. We shall see...

Have you read any of these? And what did you think?

Tuesday Intro & Teasers: Prince of Thorns

First Paragraph - First Chapter - Tuesday Intro is hosted by Bibliophile By the Sea. So for this book meme, I just have to post the first paragraph of the first chapter of either a book I am currently reading or about to start.

I'm going to be focusing on a book which I have already started reading - Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. This book has been on my wishlist for ages and seems to divide people - it's another one of those love it - hate it books. I am reading it with a group of other fantasy enthusiasts!

"Ravens! Always the ravens. They settled on the gables of the church even before the injured became the dead. Even before Rike had finished taking fingers from hands, and rings from fingers. I leaned back against the gallows-post and nodded to the birds, a dozen of them in a black line, wise-eyed and watching."

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. So for this book meme, I have to randomly turn to a page (or two) and choose a sentence to post here to tease you all with. I'm combining the two book memes and using the same book for both.

My teasers:

"War is a thing of beauty, as I've said before, and those who say otherwise are losing". ~pg 35

"I woke up with that sudden convulsion you get when every muscle you own suddenly realises it's dropped off on duty". ~pg 118

Prince of Thorns: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

What do you think? Would you keep reading?

WWW Wednesdays (6)

The book meme WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading.

The aim of WWW Wednesday is to answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Well, it feels kind of pointless joining in this week as I've had so little time to myself to read that I am still reading the books I was for WWW Wednesday last week and I haven't finished any others since then either. I didn't even get the chance to write a post yesterday for the two Tuesday book memes I take part in. Real life has got in the way - in a good way though thankfully! In fact, this boat is what has got in the way!

What are you currently reading?
I am still reading Memoirs of a Geisha by Andrew Golden. I am really enjoyed it and I'm about 70% in so not long now. I will definitely want to watch the film after I've finished too.

I am also still reading Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde for a group read. I am enjoying it but I haven't read as much of it this week as I've been focusing more on Memoirs of a Geisha.

What did you recently finish reading?
Nothing that I haven't already mentioned in previous posts :-(

What do you think you’ll read next?
I just picked up the last book in the Women of the Otherworld series, 13 by Kelley Armstrong, from the library as I really want to tick off another series as completed so I will probably read that. But that depends on when I finish my current books as I have a buddy read due to start soon for Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.



Have you read any of these? And what did you think?