Tag: Wrap Up

What I Read In April 2020 – Part 2

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Welcome to the second part of my April reading wrap-up. Will I do as well in May? Who knows? I’m hoping to focus on some longer books on my physical TBR. Missed part 1? You can catch up here.

Let’s get on with the next reads.

As part of the Easter Readathon I also read Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, a Japanese short novel about time travel. It can be quite an emotional read. I thought it was interesting, it was a 3 star read for me.

I then wanted to pick up a few more graphic based books to make me laugh which lead me to All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John. This is a quick flick through and quite funny – a 3 star read for me.

I also found the Sarah’s Scribbles books by Sarah Andersen after really enjoying the first one. These are short cartoons but I found myself laughing along and seeing myself in them. Big Mushy Happy Lump was a 4 star read for me and Herding Cats was a 3 star.

All My Friends Are Still Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John I found was better than the first volume and really came into its own.

Next up number 4 in the Wayward Children’s series, In An Absent Dream this follows Lundy and her story. I found this one a little slow to start with but still enjoyable and worthy of 4 stars.

Us by Curtis Wicklund is a really sweet collection of sketches that he drew over a year of him and his partner. A really sweet and quick read – 3.5 stars.

Ok, so Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire was amaaaaaazing. Another look at Jack and Jill in a different light and that’s all I can say but I loved it and it was a solid 5 stars.

I got an ARC from Netgalley of Love Your Body by Jessica Sanders and illustrated by Carol Rossetti is a wonderful book about body positivity and diversity. Beautifully illustrated and with a great message – I can’t wait to get a physical copy.

There are cartoons of Lady Stuff online so I thought I might as well give Lady Stuff: Secrets To Being A Woman by Loryn Brantz a go. It was quite repetitive and not that memorable, a 2 star read for me.

Debbie Tung’s Quiet Girl In A Noisy World – Debbie Tung made me feel seen. It was very much like reading my life, particularly the working situations. I love Debbie’s illustrations and I *think* there is another one coming out soon about relationships – I hope I can get hold of it in the UK.

I also picked up another Christina Lauren audiobook and adored it. Roomies is set in New York, it has music and arts and romance and everything was just perfect. The little musical theatre geek in me was squealing with happiness. Is it any surprise it was a 5 star read for me?

Last but not least, I won a copy of Noelle Stevenson’s The Fire Never Goes Out in Kate’s Easter giveaway. I’d seen it recommended and the illustrations looked great. Plus, I’m interested in memoirs from late teens/early twenties. This is a great read and looked at creativity, depression and identity – a 4 star read for me. It also made me finally order a copy of Nimona.

And that’s that! Over 20 reads – have you read any of them or do you want to? Let me know in the comments below!

Livin' La Vida Lockdown: Day Twenty-Two What I Read In March 2020

Livin’ La Vida Lockdown: Day Twenty-Two What I Read In March 2020

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Better late than never, right?! March was a strange month and I found myself in a slump, particularly as news about the virus started to pick up speed. That said, I managed 4 physical books, 2 ebooks and 1 audiobook. Pretty good going, huh?

First up I finished my book club read of The Near Witch by V.E Schwab. Now I have loved everything I’ve read by Schwab but because of that I put off reading it until right before. In the words of Hermione Granger what an idiot. For a first novel this was pretty amazing and it was a 4.5 star read for me.

Next up I got to Great Goddesses by Nikita Gill that I borrowed from my friend Fred. I find Nikita Gill very hit and miss and this was no different. It was a 3 star read for me, while it was good I didn’t really know enough about greek mythology and had to keep stopping to look stuff up.

I got to a highly anticipated read of mine, partly because I knew the author at university and that is The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper. Two guys move to a NASA facility as their parents have been chosen for a space mission. There’s a love story, social media and space – the last of which I didn’t realise I’d be that interested in. A 4 star read for me and there’s a review coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

Another LGBTQ based book which explores the world of drag – The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta. This is a novel written in verse and while it did take me a little while to get into and get a rhythm with it. Because of the breaks I took while reading it I gave it 4 stars rather than 5. It also has a review coming soon.

I finally got around to getting to one of my Sara Barnard books that I won in a Twitter giveaway. Now, fair warning I love A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard book a whole lot. It features a girl who has selective mutism and a guy who is deaf and it’s their story of getting to know each other in a hearing and speaking world. It was excellent and, of course, it got 5 stars from me.

I also got Scribd in this month which meant I could catch up on some poetry collections I haven’t been able to get hold of or been able to afford before. Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace is the start of a new collection and it was okay. Again, this is another poet I have mixed feelings about. This collection was a 3 star read for me as the collections are starting to feel quite repetitive.

And last but not least another Scribd read and a book I’ve been curious about for a long time it’s The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. This romance was excellent and I absolutely loved reading it. It’s enemies to lovers, it’s passionate without being over the top and I want to read more Christina Lauren soon.

Did you get through many books in March? Any recommendations for me? Let me know below!

March-Book-Wrap-Up

What I Read in March

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It has been a GOOD reading month, which I think is partly due to the fact I had some time off this month and could curl up with a few more books. It’s also due to the fact I’ve spent a lot of evenings on my own, no one to talk to means you’re not ignoring anyone! Anyway on to the 12 books that I managed to read this month.

Ok so technically This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay was read in February but not in time for my last wrap up. I loved this memoir and think it’s an incredibly important read in modern Britain. I also read Lydie and Limited Edition, both graphic novels. Lydie was sweet but strange about a girl who believes her baby is still alive and the town who humors her. Limited Edition is about a woman in her 30s looking for love, it wasn’t my favourite but it was ok. Also I got an early release of The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R Pan, which wasn’t for me you can see why here.

Next up I finished the incredible Mysogynation by Laura Bates, once again Laura wrote a book that I wanted to shout ‘hell yeah’ at, not an easy task. Following this I read The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven which, no big deal, is currently my favourite read of the year you can read my review here. I also picked up the long awaited Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2, even more kick ass ladies and beautiful illustrations. Then I finally got around to reading The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin after I loved the film but, honestly, I was really let down by the ending.

After seeing Tony Walsh’s reading of This is The Place after the Manchester attack I needed to read his poetry so I picked up Sex & Love & Rock&Roll, it was a breath of fresh air for contemporary poetry. Next up Bygone Badass Broads by Mckenzie Lee a collection of stories about real women you might not know, I enjoyed it but it wasn’t my favourite. Following this I picked up A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggests by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a very short read but an important one I feel. I also finished Nobody Told Me which chronicles Hollie McNish’s life as a mother in poetry and diary entries from finding out she’s pregnant to her child at three.

Finally I picked up Stacey Dooley’s On the Frontline with Women Who Fight Back which I fell in love with, review to come soon! Another poetry collection as well thanks to Netgalley of Bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward which was an interesting collection. I also FINALLY got around to Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Allbertalli which I didn’t love as much as everyone said I would…sorry! And finally I finished and fell in love with How To Stop Time by Matt Haig, amazing just amazing.

What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments!

Don’t forget to keep up with what I’m reading you can connect with me on Goodreads!

 

March-Book-Wrap-Up

I Read 12 Books in March?!

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It has been a GOOD reading month, which I think is partly due to the fact I had some time off this month and could curl up with a few more books. It’s also due to the fact I’ve spent a lot of evenings on my own, no one to talk to means you’re not ignoring anyone! Anyway on to my 12 March reads!

Ok so technically This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay was read in February but not in time for my last wrap up. I loved this memoir and think it’s an incredibly important read in modern Britain. I also read Lydie and Limited Edition, both graphic novels. Lydie was sweet but strange about a girl who believes her baby is still alive and the town who humors her. Limited Edition is about a woman in her 30s looking for love, it wasn’t my favourite but it was ok. Also I got an early release of The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R Pan, which wasn’t for me you can see why here.

Next up I finished the incredible Mysogynation by Laura Bates, once again Laura wrote a book that I wanted to shout ‘hell yeah’ at, not an easy task. Following this I read The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven which, no big deal, is currently my favourite read of the year you can read my review here. I also picked up the long awaited Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2, even more kick ass ladies and beautiful illustrations. Then I finally got around to reading The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin after I loved the film but, honestly, I was really let down by the ending.

After seeing Tony Walsh’s reading of This is The Place after the Manchester attack I needed to read his poetry. I picked up Sex & Love & Rock&Roll, it was a breath of fresh air for contemporary poetry. Next up Bygone Badass Broads by Mckenzie Lee a collection of stories about real women you might not know. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my favourite. Following this I picked up A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggests by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a very short read but an important one I feel. I also finished Nobody Told Me which chronicles Hollie McNish’s life as a mother in poetry and diary entries from finding out she’s pregnant to her child at three.

Finally, I picked up Stacey Dooley’s On the Frontline with Women Who Fight Back which I fell in love with, review to come soon! Another poetry collection as well thanks to Netgalley of Bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward which was an interesting collection. I also FINALLY got around to Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Allbertalli which I didn’t love as much as everyone said I would…sorry! And finally, I finished and fell in love with How To Stop Time by Matt Haig, amazing just amazing.

What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments!

Don’t forget to keep up with what I’m reading you can connect with me on Goodreads!

 

February Book Wrap Up

February Wrap Up!

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Here we are again with another month worth of reading! Just like January, I managed to get a good number of books in…9! So here’s my monthly round up for you all!

Brave – Rose McGowan

Almost everyone has heard the name Rose McGowan in the past few months. This is the story of her life and the ‘cult of Hollywood’ as she describes it. The first woman to speak out against Harvey Weinstein after he raped her and started a movement. I gave this 5 stars, a tough but much-needed read.

A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J Maas

Last month I couldn’t help but rave about the amazing A Court of Thorns and Roses last month (review to come) I had to read the next one as soon as possible. This was the biggest one in the trilogy and I loved it, I’m 100% a fan of the series. This one also got 5 stars.

Clean – Juno Dawson

I used to like Juno Dawson’s books but this one just wasn’t good in my opinion. It made me incredibly angry and I don’t want to say anymore because there’s no point in being mean but nope, would not recommend. This got 2 stars.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body – Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay looks at the body in this non-fiction book, specifically hers and what our impressions are of ‘fat’ bodies. She talks about how being raped impacted her and how she now feels about her body. I gave it 3 stars.

Time Bomb – Joelle Charbonneau

This was an advance reader copy I received on Netgalley. The story focuses on a range of different characters and their perspectives of being inside their high school when a bomb goes off. They all need to work together while trying to protect themselves. This was an ok book, I read it quite quickly but I didn’t think it was that memorable!  This one got 3 stars.

But You Did Not Come Back – Marceline Loridan-Ivens

This was heartbreaking, really, really heartbreaking. This is a letter from Marceline to her father who was murdered in Auschwitz after they were separated. The things she would have told him in response to a letter he managed to get smuggled to her in the camp. I picked this up in passing and I’m so glad I did, it’s something that needs to be read. I gave this 5 stars.

Why Have Kids? – Jessica Valenti

I’ve read Valenti’s work before in Sex Object but this was different. I don’t have children but found this interesting from both sides. This would be a very controversial read but I still enjoyed it. That could change later on in my life. I gave it 3 stars.

A Court of Wings and Ruin – Sarah J Maas

The final piece of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. This didn’t go exactly how I thought it would but it was still brilliant. I couldn’t wait to get through and see what happened at the end. I’m glad there’s a 4th book coming soon!

This is Really Happening – Erin Chack

Buzzfeed writer Erin Chack wrote a collection of essays about her working life, having Cancer at the age of 19 and meeting her partner whilst still a teenager. I listened to this and I enjoyed it but at times it felt a little all over the place, which is why I gave it 3 stars.

Mysogynation – Laura Bates 

I’m still reading this at the time of writing this post BUT once again Laura Bates has written brilliantly. The book is a collection of pieces she has written and published. So far, so good!

Don’t forget if you want to keep up with what I’m reading we can connect on Goodreads! What are you reading at the moment? Let me know in the comments below!