Planning to read – A Bookish Life

Yep it’s that time of year again where I start freaking out about how many books are on my TBR and decide to take part in Candid Covers Summer TBR Wipeout.

I did this last year and for the first time ever found myself actually sticking to a reading plan (well mostly). The challenge runs until 12th August and you don’t have to have a blog or website, just be willing to post on social media somewhere or other (instagram, facebook etc) and you could be in with the chance of winning a book of your choice up to a value of $20USD 🙂 If you’re interested you have until July 5th to sign up here.

So with only around 7 weeks how much can I read?? Well yet again I’m completely over committing (it’s supposed to be a challenge after all) with a mix of ARC’s, backlist books and new releases. I’ve tried to include a mix of genres so I have lots of options (I’m a mood reader) to make it easier for me to stick with it, so here we go.

NetGalley ARCs

Yet again my NetGalley shelf is getting out of control (there are just too many good books) so my focus over the next few weeks is going to be getting my ratio back up above 80% and reading some of those that have already been published (rather than just the shiny new ones).

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence – I recently finished the first book in this series, Red Sister, and loved it so looking forward to starting this today as a buddy read. I don’t think it’ll be a quick read but the world building is amazing and fighting nuns…. need I say any more?
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody – I keep bumping this down my list because I’ve been down on YA fantasy but everyone keeps telling me I have to read it… so I will 🙂
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – I thought my list needed a bit of romance and I’ve heard some wonderful things about this one.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth – Have to confess I hadn’t heard of this one until I spotted it on NetGalley and found out it was being adapted into a movie. Very excited to find a book featuring a F/F relationship.
In Bloom by C.J. Skuse – Think British female version of Dexter with a lot of dark humor and you’ve pretty much got In Bloom. This is the sequel I’ve been waiting on.
Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates – This was a bit of a random NetGalley pick but sounds like an interesting premise.
The Sea Witch by Sarah Henning – A Little Mermaid retelling from the POV of the villain. Count me in… although I have noticed I seem to have a few mermaid type stories… hmmm
The Light Between Us by Katie Khan – The publisher offered me this as I enjoyed Khan’s previous book and given it features time travel I couldn’t really resist.

Author Events

I have tickets to a few author events over the next couple of months and while I’m very excited about all of them I have to confess I haven’t necessarily read all of the books by the authors. In a few cases I haven’t actually read any of the books by the author so I think maybe I should…

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – 24th July – Hmm getting tickets to an event where you haven’t read a single book by the author was probably not my wisest idea but it’s a series I’ve wanted to start for a while so this gives me an excuse.
The Falconer by Elizabeth May (25th July) – I met May at an event last year and have heard nothing but great things about her trilogy.
To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (25th July) – Another book I bought but haven’t found the time to read despite being very excited about it
Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings (25th July) – This seems to have a lot of negative reviews which has made me a bit wary of picking it up. I suspect if I’m short on time this will be the book that slips off the list.
Vicious by V.E. Schwab (2nd August) – I’ve been putting this off till nearer the release date of Vengeful but would love to read before I get the chance to see Schwab in August.
Lost Boy by Christina Henry (2nd August) – Henry is actually promoting her latest book The Mermaid (which I also hope to read) but I’ve had Lost Boy sitting on my bookshelf for a while so would love to read it too.
Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin (2nd August) – I loved the sound of this one (a modern Frankenstein story) and was tempted by the cover.
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (25th August) – I am very excited about this event as I’m a huge fan of Haig and everything he does to raise awareness of mental health issues. I’m hoping to read a few more of his books before I go (including Notes on a Nervous Planet which is the one he’s promoting) but this is the one currently sitting on my bookshelf.

Other Books

These are the books I’ve been wanting to read or am curious about but never seem to find the time to read because I’m focusing on ARCs. Hopefully if I include them on this list I’ll have to read them 🙂

The Power by Naomi Alderman – I’m reading this as a buddy read which I think starts next week (I should probably check that). It’s one I’ve been curious about for a while.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – I absolutely loved Circe so this is on my have to read as soon as possible list. I have however been warned it’s sad so maybe not one for the train.
The End We Start From by Megan Hunter – Spied this one in the library and despite some decidedly mixed reviews I borrowed it.
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden – I read the first book in this series and wasn’t wholly convinced but everyone seems to say this is better so fingers crossed.
Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill – A Little Mermaid retelling, I couldn’t resist. I’m just waiting on my library hold to come in.

So that’s the plan. It looks like a lot of books but I’m treating it as a goal to aim for rather than a must achieve. If I slip or wander I’m not going to beat myself up too much.

Have you read any of the books on the list? Any you think I should ditch or switch for something else? Do you have a summer TBR list or do you prefer to just read whatever you feel like? Feel free to leave comments and links to your summer TBR below.

I seem to have given myself a lot of reading to do so I’m off to curl up in bed with my first book.

I’ll probably emerge around the 15th July with an update on how I’m doing. Wish me luck and happy reading everyone ❤

It’s not feeling particularly spring like here at the moment, we’re still getting snow, but the clocks went forward last night so I thought it was about time I posted my Spring TBR.

Despite my bookish resolution at the start of the year to not request more ARCs than I read and review each month I have to admit I have given in to temptation (I blame NetGalley and the publishers and not my lack of shelf control). There are therefore quite a few ARCs on this list, but I’m also determined to finish off a couple of series I’ve started and maybe read a few of those books I’ve bought because I’ve been tempted by a pretty cover. Anyway, without further ado…

Thrillers (ARCs)

Liz Nugent’s Lying in Wait was one of my favorite books of 2016 and had one of the most deliciously horrid characters I’ve ever come across so I can’t wait to see what she does next. She is famous for her opening lines so I have to admit I’ve had a sneaky peek and it’s brilliant. I’m expecting more morally repugnant characters, doing horrible things to each other
Belinda Baur is another author whose books I’ve really enjoyed. I’m expecting a fast paced page turner of a read in Snap.
Coincidentally it turns out Snap is endorsed by Sarah Pinborough the author of the wonderfully unexpected Behind Her Eyes and the third book on my list Cross Her Heart. I have my suspicions that this will be another twisty tale, I can’t wait.

Fantasy (ARCs)

LEGENDARY!!!!! I can’t believe I managed to get an ARC of this. I really, really enjoyed Caraval and I’ve heard that sequel Legendary is even better. It’s not out for a couple of months but I keep staring at it on my kindle and will no doubt be starting it very soon.
Ash Princess doesn’t necessarily sound the most original of stories (heroine trying to reclaim a throne stolen by an evil tyrant) but I don’t care. I love these types of stories and I’m not even put off by rumours of a love triangle
I have actually started The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton but have to admit I’m struggling. It’s a little on the slow side with a lot of different povs and characters but I’m going to persevere and hope it clicks for me.

Contemporary (ARCs)

After a slightly shaky start I’m already around a quarter of the way through The Exact Opposite of Okay and feelings are mixed. I’m loving the main characters voice and attitude but not sure how I feel about some of her actions.
My request for Dear Martin was only approved in the last few days but I am so excited about this one. There does seem to be a lot of buzz around it so fingers crossed it lives up to the hype.
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is possibly my favorite ever Christmas read and Cohn and Levithan make such a great writing partnership that I couldn’t resist their latest offering, Sam and Ilsa’s Last Hurrah.

Series Reads

Another of my bookish resolutions was to finish off a few of those series I’v kind of stopped midway through but also to knock a few books off my TBR.

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton is the third and final book in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy and it is absolutely ridiculous that I have not read it yet particularly as I’ve owned it since it was released. I suspect I just don’t want it to be over (and I’m scared she’ll kill off my fave character)
So I’m very late to the party as far as the Shatter Me series goes, I only read Shatter Me a couple of weeks ago, but I think this is a series I could very easily binge on. As soon as I’ve made some progress on my NetGalley shelf I think this will be next.
With the release of Obsidio I think it’s time I finally picked up Illuminae. I bought physical copies of this and Gemina ages ago but have never gotten around to reading. I am however beginning to fear I’ll stumble across spoilers so yep I think the time has come to finally read it.

Other

These are pretty much just random books I’ve picked up in bookshops over the last few months.

I have to admit it was the cover that first drew me to The Wicked Cometh, I have the hardback and it is soooo pretty (I’ll need to post some pics on my bookstagram as this doesn’t do it justice), but it does sound like a very intriguing and dark story.
Spare and Found Parts was a fairly similar story. I spied it in the bookstore and was tempted by the shiny, pretty thing that it is. I didn’t buy it immediately but after seeing some great reviews was back like a shot. It is apparently a modern Frankenstein type story, I am so excited.
It was the hype around the film that drew me to Call Me By Your Name. I haven’t seen it yet, I want to read the book first, but it just looks so good. I currently have a hold on the audio for this.

So that’s my reading plan for the next two or three months. It’s looking a little light on the romance front so no doubt I’ll add a few of them in and I will be trying to squeeze in a few more from my monster TBR pile but this should certainly keep my busy.

Have you read any of these? Are there any others I should make room for on my list? Any you’re particularly excited about?