It has to be said the Christmas interfered with my planned reading schedule. Am I annoyed.. not so much. Christmas, was fun, haphazard. Busy in parts and thankfully lazy days on others – in short, had a great time. Maybe I didn’t plan for this contingency or perhaps in the moment prioritised other things. Either way that’s done and dusted and I’m not crying over spilt milk. Although it does mean that January is likely to be a catch-up month.

Find out what I did read in the the recap here.

Added bonus

Abandoned

Unnamed, I started a ARC which was offered by the author to review the audio version of a kindle publication. It sounded a bit like Frank Castle (The Punisher) which is a story I can enjoy violent revenge  and all.  After reading 3 chapters, I had to apologise and say I couldn’t continue.  The narrator’s voice, pitch and pace was wrong for the style and genre, together with the clunky plot made it so aggravating that it made sense to stop before I continued with the savage critique of all aspects.

The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams, I’ve already said my piece in the Goodreads review here, but it was disappointing as the idea was sound and the knowledge of the era on point. Gave up at Chapter 17.

Abandoned but picked up in a different format

The Porpoise by Mark Haddon, I started listening to at the very end of November with the plan to finish sometime in December. But the style of different timelines, myth and present was difficult for me to understand, I needed to see the words rather than have them read to me. Shortly after I got my hands on an ebook version and read it in no time and was rewarded for doing so. Greek myths retolded, timeless tales about family and relationships, it is highly recommended. I should have a review completed shortly.

Read but wish I hadn’t

Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike, I was hooked by talk of a ghost with regrets. Instead it was the standard US High School drama which I’m not a fan of. Read my Goodreads paragraph here

What wasn’t read and why not

I’m finding it hard to read actual books (paperbacks/ hardbacks) now as I do a lot of reading late at night in bed or first thing and it’s easier to do so using an e-reader. If I can I will try to catch up with this backlist in January..

  • Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  • Castle In The Air by Diana Wynne Jones
  • House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey
  • Wild Cards Books 2-6 edited by George R. R. Martin

My library reservation for The Testaments by Margaret Atwood isn’t due until the end of January – I mistakenly thought it was December – so that will be the read in February to balance out the Science Fiction overload

Fingers crossed it goes to plan thing and even if it doesn’t it will be okay.

Engrossed Reader
email@engrossedreader.com
Female, in her 40's who reads when she can, often to the detriment of sleep. Enjoying most genres and formats with a preference for ebooks, mainly for convenience
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