#ShelfLove - October Check-In

Didn't I just write one of these updates? If anybody knows what happened to September please do let me know... October, R.I.P., spooky reads, horror movies - my favorite things in one month! I've hit my R.I.P. reading target already so anything I read in October is going to be both a bonus and from the TBR pile. Still no surgery news but I do have an appointment with my orthopaedic surgeon on October 19th so keep your fingers crossed for me.

I read 32 books in September. And how many were from my TBR pile?  Not as many as I hoped. My #ShelfLove total increased by 17 this month, taking me up to 118 books from the TBR pile so far this year. Over the next 3 months I have to read 62 books from my TBR pile which is probably not a realistic target.

I'm almost done with my Goodreads challenge though. I'm currently at 92% with only 20 more books to read to hit my target. I'm deliberating over whether to leave it as is or to change it slightly by increasing the total up to 275. What to do...

Here are the facts and figures for September's reading and Shelf Love.

Aims

• Read at least 15 of my own books a month - they have to have been on my shelves up to and including December 2016
• For every 15 books read I'm allowed to buy 3 brand new books
• For every 20 books donated to either charity or the library, I can buy 2 new books

 Progress

Ill Wind - Rachel Caine (reread)

Heat Stroke - Rachel Caine (reread)

Knife - R J Anderson (reread)

The Boy With The Cuckoo-Clock Heart - Mathias Malzieu (reread)

Masque Of The Red Death - Bethany Griffiths (reread)

Velveteen - Daniel Marks

Prom Nights From Hell - Meg Cabot

Cuckoo Song - Frances Hardinge (reread)

Karen Memory - Elizabeth Bear

Golden Girl - Sarah Zettel

Inside The Worm - Robert Swindells (reread)

Don't Look Now & Other Stories - Daphne du Maurier

The Fall Of The House Of Usher & Other Stories - Edgar Allan Poe

Fox - Jim Crumley

The Word For World Is Forest - Ursula K. Le Guin (reread)

The City Of Dreams & Nightmare - Ian Whates

The Dresskeeper - Mary Naylus

TBR SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHT

September Reading By Numbers

Read - 32

Own - 19

Kindle - 6

Library - 7

 

TBR Challenge - 17

Review  - 4

Re-read - 6

 

 #ShelfLove Target - 118/180

Wishlist - 2652
TBR (Vaguely more accurate) - 1546 (It went up again...)

 

Goodreads Challenge Update

#ShelfLove - September Update Check-In

It's September... How on earth did that happen? Time has flown and before you know it? Christmas. Yes, I said it. The C-word. I'm still waiting for news as to when my surgery might happen but nothing yet. The only good thing about the wait is that the only thing I can really do is read. Which is good but I'm starting to get cabin fever. I also think my Instagram will have to start comprising of books and coffee at home because I'm not going anywhere except the hospital.

I read 34 books in August!!! And 13 of those books were on my TBR pile! This meant my #ShelfLove total increased by 13 in August, taking me up to 101 books from the TBR pile so far this year. That means over the next 3 months I have to read 79 books from my TBR pile which I'm not overly optimistic about. We shall see. Here are the facts and figures for September's reading and Shelf Love.

Aims

• Read at least 15 of my own books a month - they have to have been on my shelves up to and including December 2016
• For every 15 books read I'm allowed to buy 3 brand new books
• For every 20 books donated to either charity or the library, I can buy 2 new books

 Progress

Dust Girl - Sarah Zettel
Ruin And Rising - Leigh Bardugo

The Orphan Choir - Sophie Hannah
Pears On A Willow Tree - Leslie Pietrzyk 

Local Girls - Alice Hoffman 

  The Outside Child - Nina Bawden
City Of Light - Lauren Belfer
Apple Bough (Traveling Shoes) - Noel Streatfeild
The Painted Garden (Movie Shoes) - Noel Streatfeild
Party Shoes - Noel Streatfeild

Tennis Shoes - Noel Streatfeild

White Boots - Noel Streatfeild

Iron And Gold - Hilda Vaughan

TBR August Highlight

August Reading By Numbers

Read - 34

Own - 14

Kindle - 6

Library - 14

 

TBR Challenge - 13

Review  - 4

 

 #ShelfLove Target - 101/180

Wishlist - 2685
TBR (Still not accurate) - 1526 (It went up again...)

 

Goodreads Challenge Update

 

#ShelfLove - August Update Check-In

It's August! And I'm almost caught up, sort of!!! Here's my TBR Challenge update for July. I read more of my own books this month than I realized, a lot of the books I was reading for #YALC were from last year so that was a pleasant surprise! What was also a surprise was the fact that I didn't read any books on my Kindle this month, not a single one. My sister and I were talking about how we have both stopped reading that way recently and I must say, I didn't really notice I hadn't used it. Maybe next month I will...

My #ShelfLove total increased by 10 in July, taking me up to 88 books from the TBR pile so far this year. As the end of the year rapidly approaches I don't see how I'm going to reach my target of 180.I don't want to adjust my final target but I also don't want to feel like I'm hugely disappointed in myself either. Decisions, decisions! Here are the facts and figures for July's Shelf Love.

Aims

• Read at least 15 of my own books a month - they have to have been on my shelves up to and including December 2016
• For every 15 books read I'm allowed to buy 3 brand new books
• For every 20 books donated to either charity or the library, I can buy 2 new books

 Progress

Monster - C. J. Skuse
The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman (reread)

The Graces - Laure Eve
Pantomime - Laura Lam (reread) 

The Falconer - Elizabeth May 

  The Square Root Of Summer - Harriet Reuter Hapgood
Fen Runners - John Gordon
The Midwinter Watch - John Gordon
Alice Jones: The Impossible Clue - Sarah Rubin
Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot - Horatio Clare

TBR July Highlights

July

 

Read - 21

Own - 20

Kindle - 0

Library - 1

 

TBR Challenge - 10

Review  - 3

 

 #ShelfLove Target - 88/180

Wishlist - 2684
TBR (Still not accurate) - 1525 (It changed! It went down...)

 

Goodreads Challenge Update

#ShelfLove 2017 - July Check-In

Welcome to July! I'm writing this in August, after having spent weeks without a computer, in hospital or both! I'm posting June progress today and July's progress on Sunday/Monday. I've got so much to catch up on that I'll probably be behind for the rest of the year.

My #ShelfLove total increased by 12 in June, taking me up to 78 books from the TBR pile so far this year. Not good at all, I don't see how I'm going to reach my target of 180 by the end of the year. Both June and July were hit and miss on the TBR thanks to traveling, #YALC, and other assorted things sent to try my patience. I think August is going to be the best month for my challenge as I've had nothing to except read but I'll discover that next week!

Aims

• Read at least 15 of my own books a month - they have to have been on my shelves up to and including December 2016
• For every 15 books read I'm allowed to buy 3 brand new books
• For every 20 books donated to either charity or the library, I can buy 2 new books

 Progress

The Gifts of Reading - Robert Macfarlane
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher(reread) 

Appointment With Death - Agatha Christie (reread)
Circus Shoes - Noel Streatfeild(reread)  

Dancing Shoes - Noel Streatfeild (reread) 

 Theater Shoes - Noel Streatfeild (reread)
The Girl In The Steel Corset - Kady Cross
Monster Slayer - Chris Riddell
The Song From Somewhere Else - A F Harrold
Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass) - Philip Pullman(reread)
Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo (reread)
The Mysterious Misadventures of Miss Clemency Wrigglesworth - Julia Lee

TBR June Highlights

June

 

Read - 23

Own - 15

Kindle -3

Library - 5

 

TBR Challenge - 12

Review  -4

 

 #ShelfLove Target - 78/180

Wishlist - 2683
TBR (Still not accurate) - 1531 (No change again...)

 

Goodreads Challenge Update

#ShelfLove 2017 - June Check-In

Welcome to June! Even though I'm actually writing this in July... I'm so far behind with everything that I'm just frantically trying to catch up in one way or another.

My #ShelfLove total has increased by 15 in May, taking me up to 66 books from the TBR pile so far this year. Not bad but not great either, I'm definitely going to struggle to reach my target of 180 by the end of the year. I expect June will be library/Kindle books as I'm away for most of the month and July will be a bit of a TBR reading black hole as I'll be reading my way through my YALC list before ComicCon at the end of the month.

Aims

• Read at least 15 of my own books a month - they have to have been on my shelves up to and including December 2016
• For every 15 books read I'm allowed to buy 3 brand new books
• For every 20 books donated to either charity or the library, I can buy 2 new books

 Progress

Divine By Mistake - P. C. Cast
Divine By Choice - P. C. Cast
Reasons She Goes To The Woods - Deborah Kay Davies
The Red House - Emily Winslow
The Versions Of Us - Laura Barnett
American Gods - Neil Gaiman (reread)
The Book of You - Claire Kendall
The Lascar's Dagger - Glenda Larke
On The Edge - Ilona Andrews
Defiance - C. J. Redwine
Poison Heart - S. B. Hayes
Shadow And Bone - Leigh Bardugo (reread)
The Last Girl - Jane Casey
Utterly Charming - Kristine Grayson
Silent In The Grave - Deanna Raybourn

TBR May Highlight

May

 

Read - 24

Own - 19

Kindle - 2

Library - 3

 

TBR Challenge - 15

Review  - 1

 

 #ShelfLove Target - 66/180

Wishlist - 2682
TBR (Still not accurate) - 1531 (No change...)

Goodreads Challenge Update

#ShelfLove 2017 - May Check-In

Welcome to May! I'm not entirely sure where the time has gone but figured an update was better late than never! I'm completely lost by what I've read or what I should be reading thanks to a fair bit of traveling over the last month or so...

My #ShelfLove total has increased by 14 this month, taking me up to 51 books in total. This still means though, that I'm going to struggle to reach my target of 180 by the end of the year. What's not helping is the fact that I'm requesting lots of library books to try and stop myself buying books and of course they have to be read within a certain period of time, which can be quite restricting... In June and July, I think I'm going to try to not request any, especially as July is ComicCon time!!!

Aims

• Read at least 15 of my own books a month - they have to have been on my shelves up to and including December 2016
• For every 15 books read I'm allowed to buy 3 brand new books
• For every 20 books donated to either charity or the library, I can buy 2 new books

Progress

 

Read - 26

Own - 18

Kindle -1

Library - 7

 

TBR Challenge - 14

Review -

 

 #ShelfLove Target - 51/180

Wishlist - 2644
TBR (Still not accurate) - 1531

Goodreads Challenge Update

My 2016 In Books, According To Goodreads...

Discounting my poor blogging habits (the amount of posting, mostly) 2016 was a pretty good year for reading. I managed to rate 62 books with my highest '5 clock' rating. Even more incredible is the fact that 12 of those are graphic novels!

I am so pleased I managed to read over 100 of my own books, fingers crossed that trend will be continuing this year. I'm also happy that my Kindle reading went down and my library borrowing increased slightly. 2016 was obviously the year of reading physical books!

I started the year with a Kindle cozy mystery freebie,

and finished the year with the cutest children's book I read in 2016 (bought for Emily of course, not me...)

According to Goodreads...

Top Ten Tuesday #114 - Books We Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the fabulous girls cover at The Broke & The Bookish. This week's topic is -

Top Ten Books We Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads

Wow, this was fun! What a great idea to do it using Goodreads! I was quite surprised by the results, especially as all the picture books that are listed on my Goodreads account courtesy of Em & Fred came up too. I started by listing books with under 2000 ratings but after going through 4 pages of books I realised that that number was far too high and decided to go for books with 1000 or fewer ratings. That still threw up an awful lot of books but I've somehow narrowed them down to less than 100 books!

Here are some of my most underrated reads according to Goodreads...

 211

A British thriller I borrowed from the library on impulse.

176

I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited, it's a 'magic vs. technology' fantasy which was okay.

111

Required reading for every teen here's my review...

557

I love Ali Shaw's writing so I'm flabbergasted by the low rating number!

650

How does this book only have 650 ratings?!? Here's my review!

164

This had to be one of the quirkiest books I've ever read, a must for anyone who likes fairy tales and books.

66

What? I can't believe this beautiful book has only been rated 66 times. Read it and I defy you not to have at least a tear in your eye by the end.

6

A fantastic YA thriller by the author of Poison Boy this was a complete page turner!

215

I really expected this to have a much higher number. I saw people talking about it everywhere!

 170

 I'm a huge fan of Oscar de Muriel's series featuring Frey and McGray, if you enjoy crime historical thrillers with a hint of woo woo then definitely read them!

305

This is another one that I'm really shocked by. I've seen this mentioned in so many places I can't believe it only has 305 ratings...

97

A hugely enjoyable thriller/mystery I loved this book, here's my review!

551

This really does surprise me, especially as it won the Costa Book Award 2014 and was nominated for a Carnegie award. Here's my review!

So That Was... #2 - February

What a great month for reading! I've had nine '5 clock' books this month, thirteen '4 clock' books and just one dud (a '2 clock' freebie on Kindle) so I think I might have really got into a rhythm with my reading at the moment. Of course, whether this carries on throughout the rest of the year remains to be seen! Having so many high rated reads also makes it impossible to pick a favorite book of the month so I've picked 3, and that was too hard... I narrowed it down even more by not including rereads which helped a teeny tiny bit!

I managed to read slightly more books from my own shelves this month (yay!) and despite still not having my replacement Kindle have read 6 books whilst hunched over the Kindle app on my phone.

Statistics

Total Books Read 28

Adult 12
YA 12
Middle Grade 0
Picture Books 5

Format

Hardcover 8
Paperback 14
Kindle 7

Source

Own 15
Library 7
Review 1
Kindle 6

Reviews

Behind Closed Doors - B A Paris 
The Sin Eater's Daughter - Melinda Salisbury
The Sleeping Prince - Melinda Salisbury

Favorites Of The Month

Challenge Update

Goodreads 72/275

TBR Pile Challenge 12/50

Retelling Challenge 6/26

Books Bought

Tommy & Tuppence - Agatha Christie

 

So That Was...#1 - January

I tried to do a monthly roundup of all things Bookish on a regular basis back in 2014 but never really quite got organized! It really would be a huge help doing end-of-year stuff if I had these monthly posts so I'm going to try again. Top rated books, reviews and challenge updates all wrapped up in one neat and tidy bundle - hopefully...

Statistics

Total Books Read 43

Adult 21
YA 14
Middle Grade 4
Picture Books 4

Format

Hardcover 10
Paperback 20
Kindle 13

Source

Own 12
Library 18
Review 4
Kindle 9

Reviews

And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
The Hawley Book Of The Dead - Chrysler Szarlan
Best Of Apex Magazine Volume 1 - Lesley Conner & Jason Sizemore
The Seventh Bride - T Kingfisher

Favorites Of The Month

The Hawley Book Of The Dead

Luna: New Moon - Ian McDonald

The Seventh Bride

Challenge Update

Goodreads 43/275

TBR Pile Challenge 5/50

Retelling Challenge 1/26

Books Bought

Challenge Update...April - July 2015

 Oh dear... As a result of not bothering to keep Goodreads updated regularly and forgetting to fill out my book journal I've no idea where I currently stand with any of my challenges! I have a sneaky suspicion I may have to throw in the towel with the Fairy Tale Challenge and as for my Goodreads challenge, the less said the better.

Goodreads Challenge

Goal -

Read at least 300 books

Total so far -

139

This puts me at 46% for the year so far and 36 books behind schedule. I will leave my target at 300 until September and then I may have to reduce it *sadface* As ever, to see the list of books go here!

Fairy Tale Challenge

Hosted by Mel at the Daily Prophecy

Goal - 

Wicked Fairy Godmother Level, 21 to 25 books

Books Read -

3

British Books Challenge

Hosted by Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies

Goal - 

Read at least 12 books by British authors

Books Read

17

 

Hurrah! I finished a challenge! I had an idea this might be the one I finished first, especially as I've read a lot of UKYA recently. I'll continue to keep track of any more books to see how I finish up at the end of the year.

 

 

2015 TBR Pile Challenge

Hosted by Evie at Bookish

Goal - 

Married With Children Level, 50+ books

Books Read

28

 

This hasn't gone up much as I've not been at home to read my own books...

 

Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge

Hosted by Falling For YA

Goal - 

Gold Level, 50 books

Books Read

19

This should shoot up after the end of the month, thanks mainly to my participation in ARC August!