Showing posts with label currently reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label currently reading. Show all posts
Thursday, 31 March 2016

Goodreads: ARC April

Goodreads: ARC April
Thursday, 31 March 2016
Read post

I decided that this month, in keeping in line regarding my book ban, that I would introduce “ARC April” and read absolutely nothing but things that have been sent to me by publishers. Luckily for me, I have 6 ARCs waiting patiently for me on my to-read pile so I have plenty to get my teeth stuck into. 

The first of the ARCs I’ve received recently is The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft, published by Bookouture. This one has already been published, I’m just really slow at getting to books, but I won’t let a good book go to waste so I’ll be reading and reviewing it as normal. It’s a psychological thriller (my favourite kind of book!) and sounds like it’s going to be right up my street. I’m really looking forward to reading this book and seeing what Kathryn Croft, an author I’ve never read before, has to offer. 

I also received The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, a YA fiction contribution from Pan Macmillan and Macmillan Children’s Books. Again, this isn’t an author I’ve read before but the cover jumped out at me when putting my NetGalley requests through and I couldn’t resist requesting to read and review this one. I absolutely love YA fiction and have recently really got back into reading the genre more seriously so it’ll be really interesting to read an author that I know nothing about and see how it measures up to the Young Adult authors that I already love so much. The Square Root of Summer will be published on May 5th. 

I received a copy of The Primrose Path by Rebecca Griffiths from the lovely team at Little, Brown Book Group UK, and is another psychological thriller. There’s a chance I might have already read this by the time it gets to this post being published, as its publication date is March 24th and I’d prefer to have reviewed it as close to this date as possible, but I thought I’d include it in this list anyway just in case I don’t get the time. I think of the four books I have here, this is the one which jumps out to me the most as being one that I’m really excited to read- it sounds creepy and exciting and creepy and exciting is EXACTLY what I love about a good old psychological thriller. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous and really adds to the appeal of the book, while the creepy quote on the cover makes is blatantly obvious that this book is going to be no picnic in the park. Very excited.

I was also fortunate enough to be approached by the lovely Cara at Harlequin books. She sent me 2 books to read and review and I’m absolutely thrilled by these two as well. The first of the two is The Good Mother by A.L. Bird, yet another psychological thriller for me to grip my teeth into! I also received The Chic Boutique on Baker Street by Rachel Dove which is something different to the type of books that I usually read, but one that interested me quite a lot when I looked through the possible request choices. Both of these books are to be published in April, on the 4th and the 21st respectively. 

My final ARC for ARC April is The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson, provided by Bloomsbury UK. It’s written by the woman who wrote Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand which I haven’t personally read but I’ve heard amazing things about. That was what drew me to the novel and the reason why I chose to request a review copy so naturally I’m thrilled to be allowed the opportunity to give it a read. The book is set in 1914, so this book also falls into the War Fiction Challenge which I’ve been doing for the last few years (which I will blog about very soon- watch this space). Again, the cover is absolutely beautiful and I absolutely LOVE the little poppies scattered around. This one’s also going to be published on March 24th, so it’ll be an early April review from me. 

What are you reading at the moment? Which ARCs should I request for next month? Let me know in the comments! 


Thursday, 24 March 2016

Goodreads: What I'm Reading This Spring

Goodreads: What I'm Reading This Spring
Thursday, 24 March 2016
Read post




About a month ago, I told myself that enough was enough and I was going to partake in a book buying ban. I have SO many unread books piled high in my bedroom which I haven’t had a chance to read yet, so as well as the fact that I’m not lacking in material, this will also mean that I’m able to save a few pennies for my holidays. I have a RIDICULOUSLY long to-read list and my amazon basket is full to brim with goodies but I am resisting and I’m starting this period of resistance by picking out five of my current books to read between now, the first week of spring and June 21st, when summer begins… 

The Secret History - Donna Tart 
My boyfriend bought me this as one of my Christmas presents and I’m looking forward to finally getting stuck into it. I’m not all that sure what this book is about, I was just told by a friend that I HAD to read it at some point so I stuck it on my Christmas book list without a second thought. I get the impression that it’s going to be quite a deep read but I don’t think that’ll stop me from enjoying it. 

A Daughter’s Secret - Eleanor Moran
I started this one a few months back and never finished it, oops. If you read my blogs regularly, you’ll know that I love a good psychological thriller (see my reviews of The Silent Twin, The SistersI Let You Go and The Girl on the Train for a wee bit of proof) and this seems to fall perfectly into this genre of books. I have no doubt that I’ll love it when I finally get around to reading it properly. 

The Day We Disappeared - Lucy Robinson
I must admit that it was the cover more than anything that drew me to this book as I’ve never heard of the author before but the premise of the story seems really interesting and I get the impression that it’s going to be a really lovely read. Again, I’m not too sure what the book entails but the blurb seems really interesting and a bit of a break from the heavier stuff I’m reading for university. 

Reading Lolita in Tehran- Azar Nafisi 
This one’s been on my reading list probably longer than any book has for a long time, and I finally picked up a copy of it for a mere £2 in a little bookstore. I absolutely love memoirs and this one is one that I’ve really been attracted to as book a woman and a book lover. It also makes me think about how fortunate I am to have never been actively involved in a situation where what I am allowed to read has been decided for me by outside forces. I’m looking forward to reading about Nafisi’s views on western fiction from a non-western perspective and I think that this book will be really eyeopening. 

How to be Both - Ali Smith 
This one has won basically every prize going and that’s what originally drew me to buy it. If I’m not mistaken, the book is split into two and the same story is told from two different people’s perspectives and that in itself is an interesting concept for me and one which I regularly enjoy. I’ve bought another of Ali Smith’s books to read after this one, The Accidental, and I’m looking forward to that one as well, for different reasons. 

What are you planning on reading now that spring has sprung? Let me know! 

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Goodreads: March Currently Reading

Goodreads: March Currently Reading
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Read post



My March To-Be-Read list is a little bit on the late side, as we’re currently more than halfway through March but I thought I’d post it anyway for those who were interested. I’m sticking to my monthly target of three books, which is working quite well for me whilst I don’t have an awful lot of time to read for pleasure. I’m currently on a book buying ban (and probably will be for the foreseeable future) so these are three books that I bought a few months back and never got around to picking up. 


The Woman Who Stole My Life - Marian Keyes
I picked this book up as part of the Vipers Book Hunter Challenge and I started reading it at the beginning of this month. I’m just over halfway through it and I’m absolutely loving it so far. I’ve never read anything by Marian Keyes before, in spite of her being such a big name in the literary world, mainly because I remember my mum reading her books when I was younger and I kind of associated her writing with older women (even though my mother can’t have been older than 30 herself at the time). This one was published at the end of 2014 so quite a new publication really, and I’m really glad that I took a step back from my presumptions about it being for the older woman and gave it a go. It is definitely NOT an old lady book. It’s fast-paced, exciting and I love the split in the narration between the present day and the past. No doubt this one’ll be included in a future summary review as it’s an absolutely cracking read.

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
This is a book that has repeatedly referred to in my French literature lectures throughout the course of my (4 year) degree,  so I thought I’d give it a go and see what all the fuss was about. I’ve read about a chapter of it so far, it is quite heavy going but that’s reflective of the time but I’m not NOT enjoying it as things stand. It’s a really short read so no doubt I’ll get this one finished off fairly quickly when I put my mind to it properly.


The Bees - Laline Paull
When I lived in Strasbourg, one of my friends was reading this book. He recommended that I give it a go so I added it to my ever-growing amazon wishlist and forgot all about it. This is another I purchased a few months back with the intention of reading straight away but again, life got the better of me and I never had the chance to start it. I still haven’t started reading it, but university breaks up for the Easter holidays at the end of this week so I’ll have ample opportunity to start a new read. 

What are you reading at the moment? Let me know in the comments! 




Tuesday, 23 February 2016

Goodreads: February Currently Reading

Goodreads: February Currently Reading
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Read post


It’s only the beginning of February and I already feel like I’ve absolutely failed on my Goodreads challenge already: taking a French literature based module with 5 (LONG) set-texts AND a European history module with a Spanish set text and 2 Italian set texts is not good for my reading-for-pleasure habits in the slightest. However, in spite of this, I’m trying to get back into the swing of things so I’ve put together a little currently reading post on a few texts I’m hoping to get through over the course of the rest of the month. 

Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay
A friend of mine from university recommended this one to me and lent me a copy of it this week. It’s made up of short essays which is handy as you can just read a few at a time and I’m really enjoying this one so far. I love feminist writers but have never read anything written by Gay before so I’m looking forward to properly sinking my teeth into it. 

L’Ingenu - Voltaire 
This is a set-text for a French literature module that I’m taking and we have seminars on the book over the course of the next few weeks so I’ve gotten stuck well into this one over the course of the last few days. It’s the second text that I’ve read by Voltaire (the other being Candide) and I’m absolutely loving it so far. I absolutely love Voltaire’s use of language and style so I’m thrilled to be studying this as part of my degree.

Please, Mister Postman- Alan Johnson 
I read Alan Johnson’s first autobiography, This Boy, whilst I was living in France and I absolutely loved it. I’ve since lost a little bit of respect for Johnson himself but my boyfriend bought me the second of his autobiographies for Christmas so I decided to give it a go this month as it’s quite a short one so I can fit it in amongst all of my university reading. I really enjoyed the first of his books so hopefully I like this one as well. 


What are you reading at the moment?