Tag: tbr list

Monthly Wrap Up | October 2024

Posted October 31, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

October 2024 Wrap Up

October wasn’t a very good reading month for me; I had two DNFs and a few books I wasn’t quite satisfied with. I was in a general funk and sulking about the DNFs and sub-par books, and I spent a little too much time on the DNFs trying to decide if I should finish them or not. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson by now but it’s really not easy to let go! 😭

I did have a few great books though! And I’m choosing to focus on them. I read two Stephen Kings, which are always great! And I’m currently obsessed with the Super Powered series by Drew Hayes.

My October 2024 TBR Intentions

I think I’ve learned my lesson with setting my tbr intentions. The DNFs were kind of demotivating, but I need to learn to move on and focus on the books I loved.

  1. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
  2. The Shining by Stephen King
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. Never Whistle at Night by various authors – DNF
  5. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan
  6. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
  7. I Fell in Love With Hope by Lancali – DNF

Books Read in October 2024

  1. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
  2. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
  3. The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth
  4. Exhalation by Ted Chiang
  5. The Shining by Stephen King
  6. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 9 by Nagabe
  7. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 10 by Nagabe
  8. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 11 by Nagabe
  9. Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes
  10. Super Powereds: Year 2 by Drew Hayes
  11. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
  12. The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Notable Books This Month

Super Powereds by Drew Hayes
This series was the highlight for me this month. Almost every other book I’ve read this month is either horror and/or have heavy themes, and I think this series was just so fun and enjoyable to read. The books are huge, and so many hours on audiobook, but they’re so entertaining and easy to get through. Once again, I have to comment on the amateurish writing because I don’t want to hype it up without giving this heads up, but it’s come to a point that I almost feel the writing is deliberate and becomes part of the fun of reading the books – you can have drinking games out of pointing out how many times the author uses a few particular phrases!

I also had three very good rereads:

  1. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
  2. The Shining by Stephen King
  3. Pet Sematary by Stephen King

I loved the Becky Chambers books the first time I read it and I feel like I got more out of it the second time around, especially reading it as a buddy read and seeing what other people thought about it and what stood out to them. I’m also planning to read the next books in the series again some time soon.

I had also read both Stephen King books some time ago and enjoyed them but it has been decades since I read them and they both hit differently this time. I’m paying more attention to some of the details this time even though I’m sure there’s still a lot I’m missing. I’m definitely noticing Stephen King’s genius a lot more this time.

Reading Challenges

I have finished every challenge I signed up for this year except two:

They are both related to finishing series and even though I don’t have very many to go, I have decided to let go of both these challenges because they no longer resonate. I have been reading many series this year, actually, and even finishing them(!), but they don’t count based on the parameters of these challenges and I realized that these challenges don’t work for what I originally wanted them for and it’s okay to let them go. I’ll be more mindful of the challenges I sign up for next year!

November 2024 TBR Intentions

Definitely wanting to continue with the rest of the Super Powered series, and I’m also looking forward to Dungeon Crawler Carl. It’s good knowing that these two fun series are in there among the other heavier books.

  1. Super Powereds: Year 3 by Drew Hayes
  2. Super Powereds: Year 4 by Drew Hayes
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
  5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  6. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  7. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan
  8. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
  9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Even though many of these are heavy, I’m still excited to read them. Some of them have been on my TBR for ages!

How was your month in October? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful November with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | September 2024

Posted October 1, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

September 2024 Wrap Up

It was a pretty good reading month! I read from my September TBR, and I finished all my reading challenges except two! I’m not sure that I’ll finish the other two though; they’re both about finishing series, but series that we started before this year, and I’m currently embroiled in new series and I’m not sure what to do! 😅 I can’t resist the shiny new books!

My September 2024 TBR Intentions

I read all the books in my September TBR Intentions! Woot! I was kind of conservative with it with only five books on the list, and I do have more motivation when they are buddy reads and BOTMs, but still!

  1. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
  2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
  3. Cujo by Stephen King
  4. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
  5. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I’m just realizing that all of them are darker-themed and there were several other dark books I read in September too. Setting up my intentions for next month, I’m going to try to get in more balance for the light and the dark. I know ahead of time there are some horror stuff coming because October is Halloween season, but I can definitely add more fun stuff to my book diet too!

Books Read in September 2024

  1. After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  2. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
  3. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
  4. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. The Girl from Rawblood by Catriona Ward
  6. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
  7. The Girl from the Other Side Volume 8 by Nagabe
  8. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
  9. Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare
  10. Surrender of A Siren by Tessa Dare
  11. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
  12. Cujo by Stephen King
  13. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
  14. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
  15. Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
  16. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
  17. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
  18. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Notable Books This Month

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I’m very proud of having finished this chonker! I’m not sure that I liked it, but at least I finished it!

Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
This was amazing and might be my favorite book this month! I love listening to Trevor Noah’s stories and I love his humor and wisdom.

Cujo by Stephen King
This is a reread, and I think I got a lot more out of it this time around than I did the first time. I love the buildup of the story, and I love the insight we get into such different characters in the book. Stephen King is truly a master at his craft.

Reading Challenges

October 2024 TBR Intentions

It’s October and that means Halloween, and guess what? My irl bookclub’s BOTM is Pet Sematary by Stephen King. And my online bookclub’s BOTM is The Shining by Stephen King! I’m not complaining, because I love Stephen King!

  1. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
  2. The Shining by Stephen King
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. Never Whistle at Night by various authors
  5. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan
  6. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
  7. I Fell in Love With Hope by Lancali

I’ve got so many books I hope to read this October, some have been on my TBR for ages. Let’s hope I can get to them all!

How was your month in September? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful October with lots of great books!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books on My Fall 2024 TBR

Posted September 23, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 44 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books on My Fall 2024 To-Read List

Some of these books have been on my list since the beginning of the year. Heck, some of them have been on my list since last year… and way before. It distresses me that I haven’t read them, the older ones in particular. I’m going to really try to get them done this fall!

Top Ten Books on My Fall 2024 TBR

  1. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan – This is the one I most want to prioritize. I’ve had it on my TBR the moment it was announced, before it was even published, and I was so excited when it was released. I love the author and I have no doubt I’ll love this book, but I just haven’t gotten around to it for some reason.
  2. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan – Malaysian author, Malaysian setting, Malaysian reader (me!). I must read it!
  3. Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson – I have been wanting to read this for a while now. You know it caught my attention with a title like that.
  4. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman – Everyone keeps recommending this as one of the best series you can listen to on audiobook, but I’m hesitating because I listened to a sample and I’m not sure I like the narration, so I’m waffling between getting it on print vs. audiobook. So many people can’t be wrong about the audio, right? But what if they are?!
  5. Never Whistle At Night by various authors – This is relatively new to my TBR but I really want to read it because I wanted to read more diverse books this year, and I love folklore and not whistling at night is also a superstition in my own culture.
  6. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – A much older book that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. Part of why I also signed up for a nonfiction reading challenge this year.
  7. Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – I love the author’s works, but I don’t consider them light-hearted romance because they often have heavier themes and not so traditional HEAs, so I do need to be in a certain mindset to read them.
  8. The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – Another author I love, but much, much heavier stories. I read two of them very close to each other earlier this year, and I needed a break before I jump back into another one.
  9. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer – I don’t even remember how I heard about this book but I was so excited about it, and it’s also a bookish book!
  10. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – Another bookish book I’ve been wanting to read. The things people say about it make me very curious!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Monthly Wrap Up | August 2024

Posted September 1, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 6 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

August 2024 Wrap Up

I completed The 52 Book Club’s 2024 Reading Challenge! Yayy! So proud of myself.

I finished the challenge relatively early in the month, so I tried to make a dent in my other reading challenges and I managed to complete my Classics challenge as well! Technically, The Classics Club challenge is reading 50 classics in 5 years, so I just decided to read 10 classics a year (which I just completed), but if I wanted to do more, I could! We’ll see.

My August 2024 TBR Intentions

My TBR Intentions for August was to knock out the 52 Book Club 2024 Reading Challenge, and I did that! I had five more prompts to go, which were:

  • 13. An academic thriller
  • 17. Nominated for the Booker Prize
  • 37. Palindrome on the cover
  • 42. Author debut in the second half of 2024
  • 48. The word “secret” in the title

And the books I planned for them were as listed below, but subject to change as long as they fit the prompts:

  • If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  • The Women by Kristin Hannah
  • Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I managed to finish the challenge, and the only book I switched out was The Secret Garden for The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I still want to read it eventually but I was happy to read The Secret Garden too. I’m so happy the challenge is done!

Books Read in August 2024

  1. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  2. The Women by Kristin Hannah
  3. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  4. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
  5. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  6. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
  7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
  8. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
  9. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  10. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
  11. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 1-7 by Nagabe
  12. Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower
  13. Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower
  14. Murder and Metaphors by Amanda Flower
  15. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
  16. Wordhunter by Stella Sands
  17. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
  18. Anne’s House of Dreams of L.M. Montgomery

Notable Books This Month

I loved The Women, Oryx and Crake, and Children of Time, but the highlights for me this month were the rereads.

Daddy-Long-Legs, and the Anne of Green Gables series were some of my favorite childhood books and I just love all the memories and vibes they brought back.

11/22/63 is also a reread, even though it’s more recent, but it’s such a great story and I love it so much more this time around because I think I got more out of it.

Reading Challenges

September 2024 TBR Intentions

Most of these are buddy reads I signed up for and bookclub books. The ones with end-of-September deadlines will take priority but I think I can finish most of them, even if I interperse them with other reads in between. I find I do a lot better sticking to my TBR intentions when I have buddy reads and deadlines, so let’s do this!

  1. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
  2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
  3. Cujo by Stephen King
  4. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
  5. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

How was your month in August? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful September with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | July 2024

Posted July 31, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 10 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

July 2024 Wrap Up

July was another hectic month, but for positive reasons this time. June was hard and it made me realize I needed to change certain things and build better habits. Obviously, things don’t change overnight, but I think I made a good effort this July to get things started.

I started waking up at 6.30am in the mornings and go for a walk/run (alternating because I’m not quite in good shape yet). Some days are harder than others, but the important thing is that I showed up. I’m also looking into continuing education classes I can take and I’ve been doing some research and legwork on that. I’ve organized and reorganized my workspace and workflow, purged some things in my life that no longer served, and am trying to prioritizing the important stuff.

To be honest, I’m still floundering and some days I’m full of self-doubt and throw out everything I thought I was clear on the day before. We also had a heat-wave this month and some days were so bad I couldn’t bring myself to do anything except lie down on the cool floor and not move.

Still, it was a good month overall, even though I haven’t been very present here on the blog and in the blogosphere. I’ve missed visiting with all of you, and I’m trying to figure out how to manage my time better so I can still do the things I love.

My July 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
  2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  3. Feeling Good by David Burns
  4. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  5. Frequency by Penney Pierce
  6. The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie

I only read two of my TBR intentions this month, but the good news is that my broader intentions were to read more nonfiction and books I own, and I did that! Out of the 12 books I read this month, five were nonfiction, and eight are books I own! So I did pretty good!

Books Read in July 2024

  1. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
  2. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
  3. Network Effect by Martha Wells
  4. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
  5. Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky
  6. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
  7. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
  8. Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
  9. The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher
  10. Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
  11. The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown
  12. Braiding Sweetness by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Notable Books This Month

I got lucky again this month because almost every single book was great! The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was a bookclub read, and our bookclub went for a road trip to the Royal Tyrrell dinosaur museum after that, so it added to the experience. It was so much fun and I love spending time with these people!

The picture isn’t very good, unfortunately, but we couldn’t take too many because it was pretty crowded and there were other people wanting to take pictures too.

I also really loved Women in Science more than I expected. It features so many amazing women and their contributions in history, and all the important information is presented so interestingly and succinctly. I loved reading every single one of them.

Project Hail Mary was a reread – I read it a while ago on print, but I keep hearing about how it’s so good on audio, and I really wanted to experience that. I’d been listening to audiobooks through Libby and my library all this time, but PHM was only available through Audible so I finally signed up for it just for this book. That’s how they get you! But hey, so far it’s been worth it. I loved listening to PHM on audio, and I’m enjoying so many other audiobooks on the Audible Plus catalog as well.

As I said, I loved almost every book I read this month, but I’ll leave the rest of the gushing to reviews I’m planning to write for them!

Reading Challenges

I achieved a few of these challenges a couple of months ago, but instead of marking them done I upped the challenges instead. I’m now rethinking that decision, because I haven’t done well in some of the other challenges and I think I should focus on the unfinished ones instead of adding to the challenges I already finished.

August 2024 TBR Intentions

This month I’d like to try knocking out the 52 Book Club 2024 Reading Challenge. I only have five more prompts to go, and I’ve got a couple of books I’m excited to read that would fit the remaining challenges, so I think it would be very doable.

The prompts are:

  • 13. An academic thriller
  • 17. Nominated for the Booker Prize
  • 37. Palindrome on the cover
  • 42. Author debut in the second half of 2024
  • 48. The word “secret” in the title

I’m planning to read, respectively for each prompt, but subject to change:

  • If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  • The Women by Kristin Hannah
  • Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

I do have some other books in mind for some of these prompts so I might end up changing my mind, but the goal is to finish the challenge so as long as I read books that fit the prompts, I’m good!

How was your month in July? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful August with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | June 2024

Posted July 3, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

June 2024 Wrap Up

June was a difficult month for me for a few different reasons and I wasn’t able to do a lot on the blog. I didn’t read very many books compared to last month, but I did spend a lot of time escaping into books, which was good. I’ve been emotionally exhausted and haven’t wanted to post on the blog at all, but I get hesitant about reading more books if I’ve left a lot of books unreviewed. I also needed to get this monthly update done because I’d feel like something was missing if I didn’t!

I’m just doing the bare minimum for now, so please bear with me. I’m trying to sort myself out and I’ll be back to normal as soon as I can. Also, I know I have a lot of blog visiting to catch up on. I’m sorry!

My June 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
  2. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
  3. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  4. Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  5. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  6. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  7. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  8. Nina the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  9. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  11. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Books Read in June 2024

  1. Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
  2. Heartstopper 2 by Alice Oseman
  3. Heartstopper 3 by Alice Oseman
  4. Heartstopper 4 by Alice Oseman
  5. Heartstopper 5 by Alice Oseman
  6. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
  7. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  8. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  9. Far From You by Tess Sharpe
  10. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  11. You Like It Darker by Stephen King
  12. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Voung

Notable Books This Month

Almost every single book I read this month was great!

I think my favorites were the Heartstopper books, which really surprised me because I didn’t think I’d be interested in reading about teenage boys, but it was the most wholesome, happy, cute book and I loved all the characters!

You Like It Darker by Stephen King was another favorite, but no surprise there, I knew I was going to love anything he wrote. Every single one of the stories were great, and I really just keep wanting more!

Another book that did surprise me is On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. I went in not knowing much about it but ended up finishing the book in one day because it was just so lyrical and beautiful and I couldn’t stop listening.

Hello Stranger and David Copperfield were amazing too, but there were too many strong contenders this month! I think Hello Stranger is my favorite Katherine Center book so far, and David Copperfield is just so good especially after reading Demon Copperhead.

It’s not my intention to list every book I read this month, just the notable ones, but it’s not my fault that they were all so good!

Reading Challenges

July 2024 TBR Intentions

This month I want to try to make a dent on more nonfiction and books I own. I’ve neglected them for years, so I want to at least try to get some read!

  1. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
  2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  3. Feeling Good by David Burns
  4. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  5. Frequency by Penney Pierce
  6. The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie

I still want to read fiction and books I listed for last month’s TBR, but I want to try to prioritize these for the month.

How was your month in June? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful July with lots of great books!

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Sunday Post | It’s Time

Posted June 16, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 10 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

To Say Goodbye

Late Monday night, we got news that my father-in-law passed away. It wasn’t unexpected, but we thought he’d have more time. I didn’t know my FIL as well as I would’ve wanted to but my husband was understandably distraught, and all I could do was try to be there for him. It was a somber week, but mixed in with wonderful memories and stories about my FIL. On Thursday we went to the temple to pray and say goodbye. It was nice.

In other news, the water main break is still being fixed and we’re still being asked to ration water use. Apparently it’s worse than they thought and the latest news is that it’s going to take an additional 3-5 weeks to fix! I have no idea how that’s going to work out since Calgary is having the Stampede soon and we’ll have visitors/performers/acts coming in and using more water than usual. Hopefully, it will get fixed sooner than estimated.

Nothing much else happened last week. I’ve been emotionally exhausted but in relatively good spirits, and husband is doing relatively well too. I’ve still got lots of book reviews to catch up on, comments to reply to, and I’ve missed visiting your blogs and finding out what everyone has been up to. Fingers crossed this week will be absolutely boring and uneventful and I’ll get caught up on the blog stuff.

Laundry and all water-related chores is another story.

All the happy things:

  1. We found a bistro near our place that has delicious food and the most friendly and helpful staff!
  2. I got some really great deals from the Audible sale! I got all the Murderbot books – the dramatized versions, and the Bobbiverse books, a couple of T. Kingfisher books, and some Dragonlance books too! It’s on the Audible US store, and it ends Sunday night, but if you’re a member and somehow missed it, you’ve probably still got some time to get some deals quick!
  3. I finished all the Heartstopper books the week before, so I started watching the TV series last week. I haven’t gotten far but I have loved every single episode so much! Nick and Charlie are just so adorable, I can’t stand it!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – The first half of the book was great, but I finished the second half of the book Tuesday evening and had been mostly preoccupied since the news about FIL on Monday, so I feel like I wasn’t fully present. I still really enjoyed it and really want to continue the rest of the series!

Books I’m (still) reading:

  1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – I’m on hour 28 of this 36-hour audiobook! Almost there! It’s really good but the preoccupation with irl stuff isn’t helping and there are certain details that confuse me, even when I go back and repeat some of those parts. This is a book I fully intend to reread in the future though, along with Demon Copperhead, so I’m content even if I only understand 50% of it.

Last Week on The Blog

I did squat on the blog this week. 😭

This Week

I’m just going to do my best.

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | Fever in the Morning

Posted June 8, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 7 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Fever All Through The Night

Sunday we went to the annual Lilac Festival and before I go any further, I should clarify that it’s not a festival for lilacs! The only lilacs featured were decorative lilacs, but otherwise, it was just a street market full of random things. I knew this so I wasn’t disappointed or anything, I just thought I should clarify because everyone I talked to seemed to think it was for lilacs!

Anyway, it’s an annual street market festival, this year featuring 500+ vendors and 70+ performances, and held from 10am to 6pm. My husband and I were there from 10am until 3pm, and we were exhausted at the end of it! There were so many things to see and explore. The handcrafted items were beautiful, the crafters and performers were amazingly talented, the food all looked and smelled delicious! It became extremely crowded and got increasingly difficult to navigate our way through the crowd, but we had fun!

Also, the weather was nice in the morning, and it got kind of hot actually, but then it rained in the afternoon for a while and then got hot and sunny again later. And I got a fever the next day. 🤒

Yeah, I think I overdid it. I felt nauseous, had no appetite, my skin was feeling really sensitive, I was brain-tired, and my whole body was sore. I had ambitious plans for the week and had to reschedule because I just couldn’t do much of anything Monday through Wednesday. Except read! Yay! (That’s also why I missed Top Ten Tuesday last week too, btw.😭)

Silver lining of being sick, I stayed in bed and read/listened to Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie. I alternated between physical book and audiobook whenever my eyes/ears got tired, and I managed to finish it from Monday to Wednesday!

I felt much better Thursday morning, but unfortunately, I also woke up to a city-wide alert about a water main break and that we had to ration water. They are still trying to fix it even now and we’re encouraged to use as little water as we can. So that means the laundry isn’t done, and is still continuing to pile up even more!

Honestly, I’m feeling really anxious about the state of the house right now after a whole week of not cleaning up because I was sick and then water rationing. I’m distracting myself with other good things as best as I can!

All the happy things:

  1. I made some strides on my work issue – not much because of being sick, but I’ve implemented some of my ideas and it’s early days but it seems to be working. 🤞
  2. I finally finished The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie! I meant to finish it last month but at least I got it read early this month.
  3. It’s strawberry season! I’ve been enjoying lots of strawberries!
  4. I crocheted a couple of summer hats! (Because of the heat at the Lilac Festival and having no hat – I’ve learned my lesson!)
  5. I finally bought a yarn winder – what a game changer! I just got it yesterday and I’ve been using it non-stop since, for fun!
  6. Had a fun jamming session with the husband, plus he taught me a couple of things on the guitar.
  7. We also watched The Martian again because we enjoyed it so much and it’s been a while.
  8. I binged on Heartstopper and omg, I love Charlie and Nick so much! They are the most adorable, cutest couple and they bring me so much joy! I cannot wait to watch the TV series!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Hello Stranger by Katherine Center – I loved this one so much! It was just so fun and while I’m usually not a fan of the miscommunication trope, I loved the way this one played out. I made the mistake of starting this close to bedtime. I thought I could stop halfway at a lull point or something, but it was so good that I couldn’t stop and just read through the night! I finally slept at 4.30am.
  2. Heartstopper: Vol. 2 by Alice Oseman – I’m sorry but Nick and Charlie are just so cute and I can’t stand it!
  3. Heartstopper: Vol. 3 by Alice Oseman – I can’t stop thinking how cute they are! It’s just makes my heart swell!
  4. Heartstopper: Vol. 4 by Alice Oseman – I think this might be my favorite one because of events that happened here that I won’t spoil but they were just so freaking cute!
  5. Heartstopper: Vol. 5  by Alice Oseman – If I had known there was a sixth book, I might not have started the series until it was out. Now I have to wait for the last one!
  6. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie – I’m not sure how I feel about this final book of the series. On the one hand, I love the arcs for several of the characters and the development of the story, on the other hand, I really hated the arcs for some of the other characters. It’s still a great series, but I’m trying to decide if I want to read the other books in the series that are only tangibly related to the characters in this one. We’ll see.

Books I’m reading:

  1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – I’m still making my way through the audiobook, I’m 10 hours into a 36-hour audio, so there’s still a long way to go!
  2. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – Finally rereading this, but just starting out! I’m anxious and excited!

Last Week on The Blog

That’s it, that’s all I did this week. 😭

This Week

My plan this week is to finish the Dragonlance Chronicles books; Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning. I also need to get caught up on book reviews, blog visiting, and replying comments. Thank you for being patient with me, my friends!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Monthly Wrap Up | May 2024

Posted June 2, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 4 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

May 2024 Wrap Up

I read some really great books this month! Yayy! I managed to read 18 books, but only 3 of them were from my May TBR intentions. I got very, very sidetracked! I don’t expect to follow my TBR to the letter, of course, but I’d like to try to rein it in just a little so that I’m actually reading towards my challenges and goals!

My May 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  2. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
  3. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTeirnan
  4. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  5. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  6. The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
  7. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Books Read in May 2024

  1. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
  2. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  4. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
  5. Funny Story by Emily Henry
  6. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  7. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  8. The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
  9. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
  10. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
  11. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
  12. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
  13. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
  14. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
  15. Maybe This Time by Cara Bostone
  16. Mad Love by Wendy Walker
  17. Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft
  18. Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Favorite Book(s) This Month

I should probably rethink this section and do a “Notable Books of the Month” rather than a favorite, because I don’t think I could ever just choose one!

The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie were amazing! I meant to binge through to the third book and write a collective review for the series in May, but I just only finished reading the final book in the series, Last Argument of Kings, today! So I guess it’ll be a June review.

Funny Story was another favorite, maybe my favorite Emily Henry so far! It was hilarious and made me laugh out loud so many times!

Carrie Soto is Back is also a favorite. I love TJR’s books, and I think Malibu Rising and this book is at the top of my favorite TJR books!

Reading Challenges

June 2024 TBR Intentions

I’m trying to be good and focus on the books I meant to read and/or that count towards my reading challenges and goals, but there are several books listed here that had been scheduled as buddy reads and bookclubs’ BOTM, so I’m just going to do my best!

  1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
  2. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
  3. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  4. Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  5. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  6. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  7. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  8. Nina the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  9. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  11. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

I’m most excited for the Dragonlance Chronicles because I’ve been wanting to reread them for ages, but I’m excited about the other books too!

How was your month in May? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful June with lots of great books!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read

Posted May 27, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 37 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read

There have been so many books I was super excited about but ended up not reading. These are some of the ones I’m still excited about and still want to read as soon as possible, but haven’t yet for some reason or other.

Top Ten Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read

  1. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan – I love Stephen P. Kiernan’s books and I’m really excited to read this one too, but his books are the kind that require savoring and that means I have to find the right time and mental head space to read them.
  2. Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – Mhairi’s books are categorized under romance, but they’re not quick, fun and silly romances. They tend to highlight serious real life issues as well and I love that about them, so I want to be fully present when I read this.
  3. The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – I loved the two previous books I’ve read by MM, and I know I’ll love this too. They’re just pretty heavy because of the subject matter, but they’re also hopeful and heartwarming, and I’m looking forward to reading this soon.
  4. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder – I think the thing holding me back with this one is that there are at least six books in the series and I’m just scared of starting a new series when there are so many I haven’t finished yet.
  5. Shark Heart by Emily Habeck – Nothing holding me back with this one, I just haven’t gotten to it yet.
  6. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan – Another one in the queue I intend to get to really soon!
  7. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson – And this one too! I meant to read this and the above book this month, but I had other time obligations!
  8. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – I’ve got a planned buddy read for this series in June, and I’m anxiously awaiting it! It’s a reread for me, but it’s been a while and I’m excited to revisit the nostalgia!
  9. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie – I very recently finished the first two books in this series and I would’ve immediately started the next one, except my book buddies want me to wait for them. They’re supposed to have the book in a couple of weeks, but if they take longer than that, all bets are off!
  10. The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent – I was so excited about this and I still am, but I haven’t gotten around to it. Soon!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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