I really enjoyed my first trip to Roar in The Land of Roar, so I jumped at the chance to join the blog tour for its sequel – and this series just keeps getting better!
My August TBR
Since I’m not flying through my stacks of books so quickly any more, I thought it might be a good idea to get a little more targeted in my reading, so I’m actually setting myself a TBR for August! I picked five review copies I want to get to soon, and then did the tried-and-tested method of asking Twitter to pick the rest… So let’s see what there is!
TBR Check In: August 2020
On time with my check in for the first time in a while! It’s quite a short one this month for obvious reasons, but I’m still chugging along!
Goodreads Reading Challenge
I read 12 books in July – I’m really struggling to mentally adjust to my new slower reading pace! Gone are the days where I could just sink into a book for two or three hours at a time; now it’s more like 15 minutes snatched where I can. I’m up to 215 books for the year (Goodreads is still one behind as one of June’s books still doesn’t have an entry), and hoping to maybe hit 250 by the end of the year.
My Owned TBR
My owned TBR is up to 454, thanks to a bumper book post month. I received some amazing proofs and review copies this month, and also met up with Judith and Justine so I ended up borrowing some books from them (even though I said I wouldn’t!). I’m aiming for downwards movement this month, but I know I have a few more books in the post (Orbit again – they’re dangerous!).
NetGalley
I have 6 books awaiting review on NetGalley – two of them are already read, but I’m just waiting to find the time to review them. I’m determined not to let this creep any higher, so I need to review some more before I can request any more!
Finish Series
No movement again on getting up to date with my series, but I’m hoping to get to book 5 of the Spellslinger books this month!
- the Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis. 1/7 (with the 8th coming in July 2020).
- The Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor. 6/11 are read, plus bucketloads of short stories and a spin-off series that already has one book out.
- The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. 4/6 are read, and 7 and 8 are coming but don’t currently have publication dates.
- The Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell. 4/6
Overall
As I say, I’m still adjusting to the new normal. I have to be careful to make time for reading if I want to make any progress on my TBR, as they don’t stop releasing new amazing books just because I slow down a bit! But I’m still here, still reading, and hopefully will be posting at least once a week.
Review: Octopus Shocktopus
I don’t know if I’ve ever really mentioned it, but we love a good octopus in this house – so I just had to request this fun new picture book!
Review: The Tea Dragon Tapestry
The final instalment in the Tea Dragon series is just as heartwarming, inclusive, and beautiful as you’d expect!
Review: 44 Tiny Secrets
If you’re looking for a sweet, fun read for the summer holidays, look no further!
TBR Check In: July 2020
I mentioned last month that I was expecting a bit of a slowdown on the reading front, and… yeah. I still managed a little bit, though!
Goodreads Reading Challenge
I only managed to read 8 books in June, which is not great compared to my usual, but is fantastic considering how exhausted I’ve been and how broken my brain is right now! This brings me up to 203 books, though two of them are advanced copies and annoyingly, haven’t been loaded into Goodreads yet, so my tally looks a little lower on the site. Still, I’m over my goal for the year, so everything from now on is a bonus.
My Owned TBR
My TBR is up 4 books to 440 – I had a couple of review copies from Little Tiger Books, and I also started using NetGalley again, though heavily in moderation! I only let myself request three, and I’ve read and reviewed one already. I’m hoping that The Tea Dragon Tapestry will be a nice quick read, and I was just too excited for A Deadly Education to resist requesting… I’m going to cap my requesting to 3 books at any given time, so hopefully it won’t get ridiculous again!
Finish Series
No series books this month – I’ve been plumping for things I don’t mind if I get distracted from, and these are all books I want to pay maximum attention to.
- the Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis. 1/7 (with the 8th coming in July 2020).
- The Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor. 6/11 are read, plus bucketloads of short stories and a spin-off series that already has one book out. And book 12 was just announced for April next year!
- The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. 4/6 are read, and 7 and 8 are coming but don’t currently have publication dates.
- The Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell. 4/6
Overall
So not a great reading month overall, but still one that exceeded my expectations! Hopefully I can snatch time to finish up a few more books in July – maybe even 10… We’ll see. There are so many amazing books on my TBR that I want to get to, and even more great books coming out in July, so I hope so!
I am finding that I’m spending more time online, because it takes less time to get into than a book, so link me to your wrap ups and check-ins if you like and I’ll try to visit!
Review: The Blue Beyond
I was very intrigued by the concept of an illustration-heavy crossover between picture book and chapter book – The Blue Beyond is a great idea, beautifully executed!
Review: Queen of Coin and Whispers
You ever just read a book so perfect for you that it’s like the author wrote it on spec to your preferences? Yeah, this book is EXACTLY what I’m looking for in a YA fantasy.
TBR Check In: June 2020
So I’m a few days late with my check in this month, but given that I gave birth to a whole human on the 26th May, I think I can maybe be allowed a little leeway! We’re both doing really well, but as gorgeous and wonderful as my lovely boy is, he’s definitely put a bit of a slowdown on my reading progress, so it remains to be seen how the rest of the year will go, haha…
Goodreads Reading Challenge
I read 33 books in May, bringing me up to 195 by the end of the month. I’m pretty sure I’ll manage to hit that 200 target for the year! I even started a book while at the hospital waiting to be assessed on the labour ward (though I didn’t manage to finish that one til a week later… I wonder why!)
My Owned TBR
My owned TBR is down to 436, from 465 last month, so I definitely undid the damage caused by my birthday! I only had one reread, Calling on Dragons by Patricia C Wrede (which I wanted to reread while still pregnant as the heroine herself is pregnant while on the adventure!) so most things came off my TBR. I also DNFed a whole bunch of ebooks I’d picked up for free over the years – I wanted to have a bit of a clearout of things I’d lost interest in, or things I discovered I wasn’t a fan of the writing style of. I did receive some ARCs this month (some pretty amazing ones – Orbit Books is having a great summer!) so that added a few to the list, but I don’t think I bought a single book for myself!
NetGalley
On May 16th I officially finished my NetGalley shelves! Yep, all the way to 100%, no books left waiting or pending! I will come back to reviewing e-ARCS from NetGalley eventually, but for now it’s nice not to have a ridiculously long list hanging over me, so I can focus on reading some of the physical copies I have on the shelf.
Finish Series
I finished two more of the St Mary’s books in May. These are just wonderful reads, really engrossing and fun, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series – I’m over half way now. The other series have still been rather neglected, sadly.
- the Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis. 1/7 (with the 8th coming in July 2020).
- The Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor. 6/11 are read, plus bucketloads of short stories and a spin-off series that already has one book out.
- The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. 4/6 are read, and 7 and 8 are coming but don’t currently have publication dates.
- The Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell. 4/6
Overall
Overall, I’m very pleased with how May went. There was downwards progress on the TBR as a whole, and having that NetGalley obligation gone is a fantastic feeling. So far in June I’ve read a grand total of three books (one of those started, as I say, while in labour back in May, and one just a novelette), so I have a feeling this is not going to be my finest reading month, but for the first time (possibly in my life!) reading is not my top priority… You probably won’t see many posts from me for a few weeks while I adjust, but I’ll be back soon, I’m sure!
