This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is all about the things getting in the way of reading. Honestly, the main thing that gets in the way of my reading is my workaholic tendencies, which admittedly I am working on. That said, that’s a boring ass post. Instead, I’m going to talk about the ten books I’d rather be reading instead of working. Here goes:
1. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson: I’m both SO excited and SO sad to read this. I want to know how this era ends, and I’ve heard its amazing, but I also don’t want it to be over. 2. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs: This will be a reread, but a necessary one before I work on catching up on the series. 3. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks 4. The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay: 100% the only reason I want to read this is because of booktuber Booksandlala and her infectious love for this. I am intrigued! 5. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood 6. The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton: That title… ’nuff said. 7. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor 8. Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella 9. His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik 10. Leviathan’s Wake by James S.A. Corey
What are some of the books that you would rather be reading right now? Or what are some of the things getting in the way of reading for you? Do tell!
Happy Tuesday everyone! It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday and I’m happy to report I survived this one! Honestly, my shelves are in need of some ‘light’ trimming and organizing as I have not yet gotten to the library part of my spring cleaning and I was a little worried I’d end up in an avalanche of books (not that that would be the worst way to go), but I made it through!
Below are the first ten books I pulled from my shelf:
1. After the Storm by Maya Banks: I have read this and I was a bit of a Maya Banks fangirl a few years back and I definitely had fun reading it at the time. 2. The Briar King by Greg Keyes: I have not read this one. 3. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbø: I haven’t read this yet, I’m only on the second book in the series so far. 4. The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt: I have not read this. 5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Honestly, I buy a copy of this in every country I visit and I own like 15 copies of this book if not more so it’s not overly surprising that I grabbed it. This is one of my favorite books of all time and for anyone who’s interested, this copy actually came from Boekhandel Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands. 6. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt: I haven’t read this and actually forgot I had it as it’s in the back row on a double stacked shelf. Oops. 7. Rainy Days by Lory Lilian: I have read this, it’s actually a Pride and Prejudice variation and it was fun enough for me. 8. The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas: I have not read this one 9. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace: I have not read this, this is one of the more intimidating books I currently own if I’m honest. Also, do you see the size of this thing, how could I not have grabbed it first? 10. The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds: This is actually one of the first Sci-fi books I ever bought… still haven’t read it. Typical Hannah.
So, it’s May (or close enough to it as I’m starting this) and I’m honestly not quite sure if April happened. Obviously it did, but the sentiment stands. This was quite the month! I had a busy early month leading up to the wedding in Mexico trip, then of course the Mexico trip, and we’ve been back a little over a week and it’s just been catch up, catch up, catch up. I’m still not caught up, lol. I told myself that I was going to work on my work/life balance as well as just my plain old life balance when I got back from Mexico, and so far I think I’m doing alright. I think… Anyways lets talk about April.
This Month I Read:
This was a MUCH better reading month than March was. I’m so relieved. I don’t even care that it was mostly Pride & Prejudice variations again. I’m just happy I managed to get some reading in. I can also officially add in thanks to Dewey’s for a couple of extra titles on this list.
Foiled Elopement by Renata McMann & Summer Hanford The Benefits of Extensive Reading by Lori Lilian An Accidental Scandal by Melanie Rachel Darcy’s Wedding Surprise by Andrea David Darcy’s Affair in Brighton by Andrea David Snowed in with Darcy by Andrea David An Agreeable Compromise by Jann Rowland – this is one of the wildest variations I’ve ever read for those into these Engines of Empire (The Age of Uprising #1) by R.S. Ford – 5/5 Stars, this was so good! Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell Pemberley: Mr. Darcy’s Dragon (Jane Austen’s Dragons #1) by Maria Grace – it’s a series! I didn’t know that when I bought this, but I’m so excited!
This Month I Hauled:
I am terrible. I went a little crazy this month. The thing is, there is a book I wanted, but I couldn’t find a physical edition in the US, so I did what any sane person would do. I bought it from Waterstones (RIP The Book Depository 😦 ) and bought a few other things to make the shipping worth it. But waiting for books to come from overseas does NOT equal instant book gratification which means I had to go to the bookstore. So this happened.
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressman Taylor – This was a random grab for me, but is apparently a classic from 1938 that called out the dangerous impact that Nazism would have on the world. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton Ghosts by Edith Wharton – I haven’t even read the book my mom got me last month about personal libraries and collecting books and Edith Wharton, but apparently it’s time for me to start buying her books anyways! Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai – I didn’t even read the whole synopsis of this book, I just saw the inspired by Egypt at the beginning and put it right into my buy pile.
But then, this Barnes & Noble didn’t have one of the books I really wanted… so I had to go to another one that DID have it and this happened.
Animal Farm by George Orwell – I’ve been wanting to reread this and now I have a copy of my own. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – I mean… a 70-something year old lady who likes whiskey and skinny dipping in the Thames (which, maybe 1000 years ago, but I don’t know about now) but still, I am intrigued. The World Gives Way by Marissa Levien – I am PUMPED to read this, I’ve heard some glowing reviews recently Furyborn by Claire Legrand Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson – This is one of many gorgeous editions of this book available right now and I had to have it. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – This is a gorgeous hardback edition that has a bunch of extras tucked into it like a map of London as it was during this time and some gorgeous illustrations etc. I could not resist.
And then I opened Amazon to look for something and they had a buy get get one 50% deal on books… you get the point. I mean who needs self-control when it’s books, right?
The Lightning Theif by Rick Riordan Circe by Madeline Miller Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – I never read this one when it was really popular a few years ago, but my curiosity got the best of me this week. Saga Vol 8, 9, and 10 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples – I can finally get caught up on this series!
Non-Bookishness:
Not much going on here. I haven’t really been watching anything, but I have been trying to get caught up with the book blogosphere and booktube. Other than that, not to repeat myself too much, but I’m working on work/life balance, whatever that means! I hope to find out more over the next month!
How was your April? Any good, reads, buys, watches, trips, etc? Do share!
Well folks, Dewey’s Readathon is now over and I have to say I’m fairly pleased with my own not-quite .33 Readathon. I knew I wouldn’t be able to part in the whole thing and as much as I am a night owl by nature, all-nighters don’t come as easily as they used to! However, I had fun with my reads and was happy to take advantage of the crappy weather to curl up with a book.
Now, for the reading:
I read for around seven hours yesterday. My goal was eight, so I’m totally okay with this number! I finished two books and started a third. The two books I finished were both four stars, so I’m happy with this as well! 1. Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell 4/5 stars 2. Pemberley: Mr. Darcy’s Dragon by Maria Grace 4/5 stars 3. Longbourn: Dragon’s Entail by Maria Grace – read the first quarter or so.
All in all not too shabby a way to spend 7 hours. 🙂
As I’ve been trying to get caught up with what’s going on in the bookish world, I was happy to realize that tomorrow is Dewey’s Readathon! The last time I participated in Dewey’s was way back in October 2011. How time flies! For old times sake I’ve decided to at least join in for part of Dewey’s readathon. I do have to go into work for a little bit tomorrow, so I’m going to aim for a .33 Dewey’s Readathon. This weekend is supposed to be chilly, cloudy, and rainy so it’s a perfect reason to curl up under a blanket with a book and a cup of tea and read.
Overall my goal is going to be to read for eight hours and finish two books. If I can pull that off I’ll be quite happy with my progress. If I get a little bit more in, that’s cool too! I put way too much thought into what I want to pick from for a TBR, certainly more than I can actually finish, but here’s a sneak peak a some of the titles I’m considering picking up tomorrow.
I’ll catch you tomorrow afternoon for the readathon!
Happy Tuesday everyone! This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is all about our favorite audiobook narrators. Admittedly other than Harry Potter, I’ve only been listening to audiobooks for about a year. I’m actually really excited about this weeks topic so I can get suggestions from other bloggers! That said since I’m so new to audiobooks I’m going to share five of the audiobooks in my library that I am most excited to listen to.
1. Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft, Narrated by John Banks 2. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, Narrated by Trevor Noah 3. A Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Narrated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer – I’m actually listening to the fifth book now, but I do like the narrators and plan to keep on listening to these on my evening walks. 4. Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella, Narrated by Karissa Vacker 5. Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell, Narrated by Katie Firth
Do you have any suggestions for audiobooks? Do tell!
Happy Tuesday y’all! We’re at the end of our Mexico trip, we’ve had a wedding, and we’ve also had a bunch of other wild stuff going on. This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is a non-bookish freebie. For lack of a better topic or any sort of possibility of mental functioning, I’m going to talk about ten other places I’d like to visit.
1. Machu Picchu, Peru 2. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador 3. Chiang Mai Elephant Rescue Park, Thailand 4. Paris, France 5. Vienna, Austria 6. Buenos Aires, Argentina 7. Mountain Gorilla Sanctuary, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo 8. Egypt 9. The Terracotta Army, Shaanxi Province, China 10. Venice, Italy
There are definitely TONS more places I would love to visit, but this is a good place to start. Tell me, have you been to any of these places? Anywhere that you think I should visit based on this list?
I’m sure this is a weekly meme somewhere in the book blogosphere, but I don’t know where, and I’m feeling like looking at some of the oldest books on my TBR. So often, they just don’t get any love because shiny new books become the priority. Right now, I’m fixing that. At least the looking at them part – maybe not the reading them part yet… Here are three of the oldest books on my TBR.
I own all three of these books. In fact, I’ve owned all of them for at least ten years at this point, if not longer. The only excuse that I have at this point for not having read these is my own failure to pick them up. Even worse, I want to read them! I just haven’t.
Scrolling through my Goodreads TBR with the oldest books first was interesting. There are so many books on there, and I’ll be the first person to admit that I might not actually want to read all of them. If a book catches my eye and I don’t want to totally forget about it, I throw it on my Goodreads TBR to look at later. I guess I abuse that ‘Want to Read’ button a bit. That said there are definitely some books on there that I remember wanting to read that I never got to, so I think I could have a bit of fun strolling down TBR memory lane. I’m going to ponder that a little more…
Anywhoodle, what are some of the oldest books on your TBR? Inquiring minds want to know.
Happy Tuesday from Mexico folks! What a week for animals indeed. We’ve only been here a couple of days and we’ve seen endless iguana’s and little baby lizards, a monkey of some sort last night and today we saw some critter that we don’t even know what he is! It’s been wild, but super fun! Anyways, in keeping with the theme, this weeks TTT is about books with animals on the cover. I had a lot of fun with this one as I had tons of options. Some were mythical animals, some real. Some fiction, some non-fiction. A little bit of everything, and they are all from my TBR. Here are the books:
You know I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to get two of the Pride and Prejudice with DRAGONS variations on this list too!
Have you ready any of these? Is there anything I should make a point to get to sooner rather than later? Anything similar that you recommend? Do share!
Blink…. It’s a new month, how wild! March was quite a month. I am officially a one job lady which is weird. It’s the first time in over seven years that I’m working one job. That said, I got thrown into a huge project at work and all the time I was working at my part time job I’ve been working at my full time job since quitting. So free time and I still haven’t gotten all that acquainted.
April has potential though! I’m headed on vacation next Sunday for ten days in Mexico for my cousins wedding. Since I am NOT made to spend that kind of time sitting around at the beach, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to distract myself with BOOKS. When I get home though I need to start setting some boundaries between work and my personal time because I have had zero of that for the last six or so weeks and it’s starting to wear on me… but, let’s get to the wrap up.
This month I read:
Mr. Darcy’s Perfect Storm by Caitlin Marie Carrington A second book who’s title I don’t even know…..
This is where it gets sad. I thought I was going to read the shit out of Engines of Empire but unfortunately that did not happen. I thought I was going to finish the third Mistborn book and that didn’t happen. I did read an ebook from an omnibus of Pride & Prejudice that I never even got the title of and haven’t even taken the time to go back and get it as you saw from the above. Maybe I should do that so I can fill in the massive blank spot in my notebook.
This month I hauled:
Lots actually. My mother talked me into an impromptu bookstore visit, and she bought me a couple of gifts when she went away for a weekend. Also, I bought myself a congratulatory book present that I am SO pumped for. Let’s get into it.
Contemporary German Fiction edited by A. Leslie Willson What a Library Means to a Woman: Edith Wharton and the Will to Collect Books by Sheila Liming
These are a couple of books that my mom picked up for me as a gift. Here’s a tidbit of knowledge. I’ve never read an Edith Wharton book and I had no idea that her personal library was so vast and well known. I also had no idea that her home was just over an hour away from me and I really can’t wait to go see it when her estate reopens for visitors in May, even though I still barely know anything about her.
The Verso Book of Dissent edited by Andrew Hsiao and Audrea Lim The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung Himalaya: A Human History by Ed Douglas Engines of Chaos by R.S. Ford The Tangled Tree by David Quammen Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
This stack is the result of the impromptu bookstore trip and I have quite a mix here. Engines of Chaos is the only thing I was looking for. The rest of these caught by eye while browsing and since I have no control…. I own them now. The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi though, there is no chance that wasn’t coming home with me when I saw the recommendation card from staff… This is all I know about the book but I do anticipate reading it.
Last but not least the very exciting purchase I made as a congratulations for quitting my second job….
Oh yes I did. Have I read these yet? Nope. I did break my rule and watch the first two seasons of the show though. These editions are gorgeous and I’ve had my eye on them and just hadn’t broken down. Until now. They are so colorful and the illustrated editions of The Last Witch and Sword of Destiny are stunningly beautiful. Also, they look so pretty on my shelf. I am that emoji with the heart eyes every time I look at them.
…. And no, we are not going to discuss the fact that I already own copies of some of the books, thank you.
Non-bookishness:
I don’t have much here. I haven’t watched anything new. I haven’t finished my rewatch/finish of the Terminator movies. I did buy yarn for the first time in years this week. I’m desperate to get back in touch with my hands and spend some time away from computers and my phone, so I’m really looking forward to spending time knitting again now that I’m not working two jobs.
Among Stories 