Weekly Wrap-Up (12 Feb)

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a bit of a stressful one at times. Last weekend was horrible  – both stressful and upsetting for me. Firstly there was a mix up over my pain medication, which was very worrying but eventually got sorted late in the evening on Friday. Then Saturday morning brought a stressful and upsetting letter, which couldn’t be dealt with until Monday so I spent the whole weekend feeling awful. It’s on the way to being sorted out now but it’s frustrating when you have to deal with the effects of companies being incompetent. The stress left me feeling really unwell for a few days so I had a quiet couple of days at the start of the week and tried to escape into some books. I haven’t managed to blog as much as I would have liked, or to read and share posts, but I’m trying to catch up now.

Then my Kindle Voyage died. I predominantly read on Kindle so I feel lost without it. I do have instant replacement warranty on it but the company aren’t replying to emails and Amazon are being very unhelpful. Luckily, I have my iPad so can read on the Kindle app  but it’s not so good on the eyes to read off a screen so I can’t read for long periods on it, plus my iPad is heavy for me to hold. All of my notes and highlights for recently read review books have been lost too so I’m going to have to try and write reviews from memory, which isn’t the best. I just hope I can get a replacement Kindle soon.

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In better news, I’ve finally managed to regain access to my Facebook account. I still don’t know what happened with FB but I’m just glad it’s back up and running. If you want to like my page, you can find me here. Also, feel free to send me a friend request, my account is here.

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I also decided to join Instagram so I’m now sharing photos of what I’m up to and what I’m reading on there. You can find me here or search for me, I’m Rathertoofondofbooks on there.

 

This week I’ve finished reading eight books:

Just Kids by Patti Smith

This book was so beautiful, I loved it. It’s definitely a book that will stay with me and I’m sure I’ll re-read it in the future. 

F*cking Apostrophes by Simon Griffin

My husband bought this as a surprise to cheer me up this week and it was a perfect gift after a stressful week. The title alone made me giggle! I enjoyed reading this short book – it’s great for people who are pedantic about apostrophes but it’s also a great book for people who want to learn more about how to use apostrophes.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

This book really got under my skin and once I had an ebook copy I flew through it in one sitting, I honestly couldn’t put it down. I hope to get my review written and posted soon.

The Breakdown by B. A. Paris

I read this novel in one sitting – it’s such a fast-paced book that hooked me in from the opening pages and next thing I knew it was a few hours later and I’d finished it. I was sent this for review so hopefully I can get that written very soon.

Rage by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)

I have no idea where my copy of this book came from, I found it when I was sorting out my books but I’m pretty sure I didn’t buy it. I opened it to see what it was about and before I knew it I’d read the whole thing. It’s a book about a school shooting but it focuses more on the mindset of the killer than his actions.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

I love Chris Bohjalian’s novels so was really looking forward to reading this one when I got it for my birthday. It was a good read, not my favourite by this author but still an enjoyable book.

The Secrets of Happiness by Lucy Diamond

I listened to the audio book of this earlier this week and really enjoyed it. It was the right book at the right time when I was feeling very stressed out. It was great escapism.

Last Night Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

I very much enjoyed this novel. Like Station Eleven it has a lot of layering, and gradual adding to the depth of the story, and I loved it.

 


This week I’ve blogged three times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap Up (5 Feb) post where I shared all of my blogging, reading and real life news from the previous week

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post where I shared what I was currently reading, what I’d  recently finished reading and what I was hoping to read next

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post where I shared all the books I’d added to my bookcases in the last seven days

 


This is what I’m currently reading:

A Game For All the Family by Sophie Hannah

I’ve had this book on my TBR since it was published so it’s great to finally be reading it. It’s such an engrossing read, and it has a modern-day Agatha Christie feel with the way the mystery is being set out. I can’t wait to find out how it all turns out in the end!

Watch Me by Angela Clarke

I really enjoyed the previous book in this series so was looking forward to this one coming out. I finally got to start reading it yesterday and it’s very good. It’s so fast-paced and has me hooked!

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

I bought this book on a whim last month as I loved the cover and the title. I’ve only read the first couple of chapters so far but I’m enjoying it and keen to see where it goes.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

This novel is beautifully written. I’m deliberately taking my time over this one as I want to savour everything about it. 

And The Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain by Adrian Tempany

This book is a fascinating exploration of football since the 80s and how the political landscape of the time has had such an impact on how football has changed.

The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla

This is a collection of essays and is such an important read. I’m reading it slowly so that I can give myself time to really think about each essay in turn.

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

I’m still reading this book and still very much enjoying it. 


Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1904

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 16 (I did buy couple of audio versions of books I already owned so my TBR only increased by 13. See the books I added this week in my WWW Wednesday post)

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 8

Books I’m currently reading: 7

TBR Books culled this week: 2

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1900

 


 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 


How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

51 thoughts on “Weekly Wrap-Up (12 Feb)

  1. Such a shame you’ve had a worrisome weekend and week to follow. Hope things improve soon. But I. Am impressed at how you find refuge in books and read so much. I’ve found that all of my recent rubbishy weeks have resulted in a drop in quantity and quality of the reading. The Kindle breakdown is such a pain, kudos to you for persevering.

    • Thank you. Sometimes when life is stressful I can’t read at all but other times I seem to be able to get lost in a book. I’ve been so grateful for the escape into books in recent weeks. I finally got a replacement kindle through the warranty this week so that was a relief. x

  2. I am so sorry to hear about all the bad stuff from the week. I know I would panic without my Kindle so I understand your feeling. My eyes won’t let me read on iPads or even my phone. I hope the warranty and Amazon have their shit sorted soon so you can have your new Kindle!
    I really need to start counting books and keeping track of what’s read and not read etc but my spreadsheet is too complicated 😦
    Anyway, you’ve made me add stuff to my Amazon list again!
    xxxx

    • Thank you. I finally got a new kindle though the warranty this week so I’m very happy to be back ereading! I can only read on my iPad in short bursts as the screen hurts my eyes too. I used to only track my books on Goodreads but I have a spreadsheet of what I’m buying and reading for 2017. I don’t have all the books I own in a spreadsheet though – I’d like to but it would take so long to add them all. xx

  3. Sort to hear about your week, that’s all horrendous, and to happen in one week is even worse. Writing this must have been a relief in terms of putting a crap week to bed so you can hopefully (everything crossed), move into a better week. As for the books, I have to have to get effing apostrophes;) , sounds brilliant! There’s a few above I want to read, I still haven’t read any BA Paris so I need to get moving on it, as for Days Without End, it’s been sitting on my kindle as has Lucy Diamond (not sure if it’s that book). Boo to the Kindle thing, I adore Amazon but have always had to go buy a new one when they gave up the ghost, is there any chance your notes are saved into your account somehow or is that a stupid question? Ugh on all above but excellent wrap up books wise-you’re amazing and again all the brightest best wishes for next week (well now really!)

    • Thank you. It was a rough few days but it’s getting sorted out now. I got my new kindle through the warranty a couple of days ago so am relieved to have an ereader again.The BA Paris book was good – I still have her debut to read and am keen to read it now. Days Without End is a beautiful novel. I usually manually back up my notes once a week but the books I read over the last few days before my kindle broke are lost. It’s so frustrating but hopefully I can write the reviews for those books from memory as they were all books I enjoyed. x

    • Hi, thanks for stopping by my blog. I’ve just followed your blog 🙂 It took me a while to figure WordPress out, and to decide how I wanted to set my posts out. Your blog looks good, I’ll look forward to reading more of your posts. 🙂

  4. I am so sorry to hear you had such a horrible week. I hope this week goes a lot better. I know what you mean, too, about wanting to escape into books. I find books to be a real source of solace when things are going wrong. And you’ve got some lovely ones there, too. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed those you’ve read.

  5. Oh no, so sorry to hear about your Kindle! That happened to me once, my Paperwhite just froze on me and it still is. Until the replacement came I felt so lost and desperate, reading on my phone’s Kindle App… Got major headaches too!

    One of these days I will give Instagram a go, eh.

    It seems you still managed to get a lot of lovely things done. Hope next week is better!

  6. Wow, you still managed to polish off several books, despite the horrific weekend and week….I would die without my Kindle! Maybe not literally, but it would feel that way.

    I love Sophie Hannah, and I’ve been meaning to get that one….my problem? So many books already.

    The Breakdown is also on my list, but I have a while to wait, as it isn’t coming out here until June, and I didn’t get it from NetGalley….preference to UK readers….LOL. I can understand that.

    The Roanoke Girls looks very tempting, too.

    This week is bound to be better…here’s hoping! Thanks for sharing, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

    • I was a misery to live with when I was kindle-less – I read on it so much so it was horrible to be without it. I have a new one now though, thankfully. I love Sophie Hannah’s novels – she always manages to make me feel creeped out and usually to keep me guessing.

  7. Hi Hayley,

    It sounds as though you have had the week from hell, but to put a positive spin on it, surely things can only get better, I do hope so 🙂

    The amount of books you manged to get through puts me so much to shame and I am so afriad to even add them to my list, as I just know that I shall never get to read them all. I have even had to stop checking out NetGalley on a regular basis, which has left me feeling desolate – all those lovely ‘freebie’ books going to waste!!

    You had some great titles to share, but if I had to pick favourites … the ‘Angela Clarke’ and the ‘Sophie Hannah’ would be my choices.

    Great post and enjoy the rest of your weekend 🙂

    Yvonne

    • Thank you. 🙂 I don’t browse on NetGalley anymore either as it’s too tempting to just keep requesting books. Now I just go on there if I’ve heard about a book that I really want to read and I’ll search and request and then shut the page! Watch Me was a fast-paced read, I enjoyed it. The Sophie Hannah book was really good for the most part, I hope to review it soon.

  8. Well, that sounds like the week from hell… I very much hope that you soon recover – you don’t need that kind of incident messing up your daily life. And then no Kindle?? Here’s hoping the coming week is a LOT better!

  9. I haven’t heard of that Roanoke Girls book, is it a spooky book? Or more of a drama? I need that apostrophes book. We also have one at the bookstore where I work called Delusions of Grammar I think that I need to buy. I would be so upset if my Nook died, although I do read a lot on my iphone with the Kindle or Nook app when I have to. Hope you have a better week!
    Check out my Sunday Post

  10. Great post! I really hope you get a replacement Kindle soon! I’m looking forward to reading Roanoke Girls and The Breakdown! Glad to see you enjoyed them both! I’ve just followed you over on Instagram but I don’t really use mine as often as I should! Something to work on next month I think 🙂 I also love how you track your TBR at the bottom!

  11. Sorry to hear it was a rough week, and hope everything works out.

    Just Kids and The Last Night in Montreal both look interesting. Watch Me does too.

  12. Stacks of great books there but I’m sorry you had a horrible week. It sounds like it was one thing after the other and I really hope it’s all being sorted out now. Take care and I hope this week is a better one.

    Will make sure I’m following you on Insta.

  13. Sorry to hear things have been a bit grim… You are a marvel, Hayley. And thank you for reminding me I really must get hold of a copy of Patti Smith’s book. ❤

  14. What a troubling week! I hate when companies are incompetent and it ends up becoming our mess to deal with and sort out. It is upsetting, and I don’t even have time to call my damn doctors, let alone some 800 number to be routed to 9 different people. I’m glad it is getting underway.

    • It was so stressful trying to sort the Kindle out – it’s frustrating when you by a warranty in good faith and then the company makes it as difficult as possible for you to get a replacement product. Thankfully I got there in the end and now have a new Kindle.

  15. Pingback: Weekly Wrap-Up (19 Feb) | RatherTooFondofBooks

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