Summer TBR: 20 Books of Summer 2022

May 21, 2022 Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

Hello lovely people,

I hope you’re all doing well. It seems like forever since I posted so apologies for my latest disappearing act. I seem to appear every 3 months with a seasonal TBR then disappear again. Things have however calmed down a little at work, I’m reading a lot more, taking part in challenges and have a few ideas for posts so hopefully I’ll start posting (or just floating around the blogosphere) a lot more.

For a little bit of extra motivation I’ve decided to try and combine my Summer TBR with the 20 Books of Summer challenge, hosted by Cath at 746 books. It seems like a fun, relatively low pressure way to knock some books off the TBR mountain over the summer months and I’m hoping that by posting regular updates it’ll ~~force~~ encourage me to be a lot more active here.

This will be my first time participating so of course I’m being overly ambitious and aiming for the full monty (there are options for 10 or 15 books). I’m also putting a bit of a twist on it and aiming for 20 books from my physical TBR. I’ve been buying sooo many books lately (I blame the special editions and sprayed edges) and have a couple of book subscriptions on the go so I had a lot of books to choose from. Narrowing it down to 20 was not easy and I suspect there may be some substitutions along the way but at the moment this is my list.

Hopefully I’ve got a really good mix of different books on the list and there are a couple I am very excited about so I’m sure I’ll be able to find something to fit my mood (I’m v much a mood reader). Have you read any of these or are there any you’re looking forward to reading yourself? Let me know in the comments below.

Ali x

Summer TBR

June 14, 2021 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

Hello all,

I hope you’re all doing well, or as well as can be expected. I know I’ve been MIA yet again but work got busy and I’ve been finding it really difficult to balance everything. Add to that a laptop that’s probably nearing the end of its life and yep, blogging has definitely fallen by the wayside.

Anyway, I’ve had a week off work (a rare occurrence), so am determined to do this thang, starting with a Summer TBR. I do love a TBR post as it fills me with the optimism that I have some goals and a plan. My full TBR list is significantly bigger than this but I’ve tried to pull out a nice mix of genres and authors from the books at the top of my list. I will no doubt deviate (what can I say, I’m a mood reader) but this gives me a good starting point.

Book Club Books

I’ve somehow ended up in about four different book clubs which I have to confess is not going great in terms of me actually getting to all of the books I’m supposed to be reading for them. I do try however to prioritise the books for my RL work book club. This month’s read is Scabby Queen which I started around a week ago but parked because I wasn’t in the right mood and was losing focus. I will however pick it up again soon as I think it may turn out to be one I love. The Midnight Library and The End of Men are on our list of future picks and are ones I’ve been looking forward to reading so I may try to get a head start on them.

ARCS

I have soooo many ARCs, someone seriously needs to shut off my request button on Netgalley. I’ve not done too badly in terms of reading a lot of them but I am very behind in reviews. I think I probably need to make an effort to read as many as possible (and get those reviews written) over the next few months and I suspect I’ll pick up whichever appeals at that particular moment but the following are some recent approvals that I’m pretty excited about.

Bookshelf/Backlist

As there’s not a huge amount to spend money on at the moment I have been doing quite a bit of book shopping. All those special/signed editions have been calling to me. As a result I’ve got a little bit of a backlog of books I’ve bought but not had a chance to read as yet. I also have a few books I’ve been putting off reading till the full series is available (I’m looking at you King of Scars) so hoping to pick them up too.

Audiobooks

Finally, I have a few audio books lined up on audible. The inclusion of Project Hail Mary is possibly a bit of a cheat as I’ve already started it but it’s pretty long so will probably take me till the end of the month to finish it. I do love sci fi stories on audio for some reason.

So that’s my list. I’m pretty excited about it. There are soooo many good books around at the moment, I just hope I manage to read them all.

Have you read any of these? Any recommendations on where I should start? Let me know in the comments.

Happy Reading

Ax

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR

June 19, 2020 Ali@abookishlife11 Comments

Okay yes, I know it’s not Tuesday so I am super late with this but between a not so well cat and a busy time at work I’m considering it a win I’ve posted it at all. Things have definitely been slipping blog wise over the last few months. Anyway, for those who don’t know, Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme that was started by The Broke and Bookish and moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists (something I share) and each week participants come up with a list of ten(ish) things based on a theme.

The theme for this weeks Top Ten Tuesday is books on my Summer TBR so as I’ve been planning on doing a Summer TBR post for a while I thought this would be a good step back into blogging. It’s pretty safe to say my reading has been a little all over the place for the last few months. Focus on anything for any length of time has been nigh on impossible. Sci fi and fantasy books have been particularly hard so my reading list has been around 90% rom coms, 8% crime/thriller and 2% other. It seems doubtful that’s going to change any time soon so my TBR is a little heavier on these genres but I’ve snuck a few fantasy and sci fi that I was really looking forward to (pre covid). As always the links take you to the Goodreads page.

Owned Physical

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – Curiosity got the better of me with this Hunger Games prequel. It’ll either be awful or brilliant but I do feel like I need to read it and find out. Plus I love a villain origin story.
Burn by Patrick Ness – A Patrick Ness book with dragons, this has been on my most anticipated list since I first heard about it. I’ve just been putting it off because of the whole lack of focus when reading thing.
The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware – I read my very first book by Ruth Ware, The Turn of the Key, a month or so ago and loved it so I feel I really should read more.

Audio

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – I’m most of the way through this one already so it’s a bit of a cheat but would be good to have one book on the list that I’ll definitely be finishing 🙂 Well… that’s if I do finish it. I don’t want it to be over.
Britt Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman – I love Backman’s writing and have been wanting to read this for a while so when it popped up on a 2 for 1 deal on audible I couldn’t resist.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – This was another book that was 2 for 1 on audible. I do have a physical copy too but have never gotten around to it. Am hoping I find the audio a little easier to get into.

Library

The Cat and The City by Nick Bradley – I’m not sure if Japanese cat fiction is a real genre but if not it totally should be. This is a series of short stories set in Tokyo that are connected by a cat. I’ve already read the first story and loved the writing and the magical realism elements so can’t wait to read the rest.
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix – Not gonna lie I’m not entirely sure what this is about as the title was the main draw.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo – Despite some reservations around whether I could actually read a book in verse form I ended up loving The Poet X so I’m going to give this one a try. Not sure how I’ll get on with two pov’s but fingers crossed it lives up to expectations.

Owned Ebooks

Very Nearly Normal by Hannah Sunderland – I read the first couple of chapters of this on ReadersFirst a few months ago and knew instantly it was a book I was going to want to read. There is just something about a socially awkward, overly hostile and grumpy protagonist that appeals to me.
Love the One You Hate by R.S. Grey – I generally love this authors books and I love the hate to love trope so this one is a no brainer. Plus romcom for the win.
Little Siberia by Antti Tuomainen – Palm Beach Finland was one of my fave books last year so I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while. I’m hoping for quirky characters and some dark comedy.

ARCs

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – I’ve pretty much been requesting and reading every romcom I can get my mitts on from Netgalley at the moment and this sounds like such a cute and fun story. Also good to have a bit more diversity in my reading.
One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London – I’m kind of missing my reality TV (it’s a guilty pleasure) so am hoping this will fill the Love Island shaped hole in my life. Also love that the main character is plus sized, yay for body positivity.
Again, Again by E. Lockhart – I’ve spied a few not so great reviews for this which are making me question whether I should be including on my TBR but I loved the other books I’ve read from this author so I shall give it a shot. It sounds quite unusual.

Coming Soon

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – I really love Haig’s writing no matter the genre so as soon as I heard about this I had it pre ordered. It will, like a lot of Haig’s books, no doubt make me cry but that’s why I love them.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Morena-Garcia – I hadn’t heard of this till someone on Twitter suggested it as a good choice for a slightly different book club read but having investigated it sounds right up my street.
Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston – I was a little grumpy about the first book in the Once Upon a Con series (it was too similar to one of my all time fave reads) but book 2 totally made up for any niggles so I have high hopes for book 3 particularly with the Beauty and the Beast theme.

So that’s my TBR for the summer months. Hopefully I’ll manage to find my focus and read most of them. Are any of these on your TBR or are there any books you think I’m missing?

Feel free to leave comments below and links to your top tens or Summer TBRs.

Happy Reading ❤

My Summer TBR

June 30, 2019 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

With July fast approaching (how did that happen?) I thought it was about time I posted my Summer TBR. I probably should have done this a month ago but ummm… *frantically tries to come up with an excuse and fails miserably*

I’m notoriously bad for sticking strictly to my TBRs but I do find it a useful way to keep track of what books I’ve got to read and how I’m doing against my reading goals (not well). There are probably more books on this list than I’m realistically going to get through but I like to set stretch targets 😀

FROM MY SPRING LIST

I posted my last TBR list back in March and while I did manage to read 11 of the 28 books listed I did wander a little off course. There were a few on the list I can admit I’m probably never going to get to – or won’t get to any time soon – but there are a few ARCs I received from NetGalley I still plan on reading in the near future.

Believe it or not I’m still kind of okay date wise for Rosamund Lupton’s book Three Hours. There’s still a bit of time before it’s released which is part of the reason I’ve been bumping it down the list. I’m also a little wary of books about school shootings but it does seem to be getting great reviews. I do not have the same excuse for Tana French’s The Wych Elm. I’m a big fan of French’s writing and this was published ages ago. I think it’s more a case of occasionally finding her books hard to get into so waiting til I’m in the right mood.

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer and The Queen’s Resistance by Rebecca Ross both fall into the category of sequels to books I really enjoyed. But, both are YA genre fiction which I’ve been a little down on lately. Not sure if I’ve been reading too much of it but they’re all starting to feel samey.

It’s kind of a similar story with Light Years and Nocturna. Both are new to me authors and these series look great but they sound similar to other recent reads and I’ve been reluctant to start yet more series until I finish off some of the million others I seem to be midway through.

FROM NETGALLEY & READERS FIRST

My spiraling out of control NetGalley shelf (there are currently 79 books on it) does not seem to be stopping me from requesting more books. I am reading them, just haven’t been doing so well at reviewing them… oops.

Given my downer on YA fantasy I probably shouldn’t be requesting more but I just can’t resist. I mean look at the cover for We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal, there’s no way on earth I wasn’t going to try and get my hands on a copy. Sea Witch Rising is the sequel to Sea Witch (a kind of Little Mermaid villain origin story) which I loved so I couldn’t resist, and Sorcery of Thorns just seems to be getting lots of great reviews.

Thankfully I do have some crime/thrillers in the form of Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas and Shari Lapena’s Someone We Know. Then She Vanishes will be my first book by Douglas and I’ve already started it. So far it’s going well. I’m a big fan of Lapena so I have faith that Someone We Know will be fantastic.

Arctic Zoo, Serious Moonlight, and Recursion were slightly more impulsive requests. I haven’t read anything by these authors but they sound quite unique and different so am very excited about them.

FROM MY BOOKSHELF

I have sooooo many books on my bookshelf I haven’t read it’s frightening. I’m thinking I may actually need to instigate a book buying ban which is a truly terrifying thought.

At the start of the year I set myself what I thought was the easy goal of finishing off some of the series I’m midway through. I thought this would be incredibly doable because I knew two of my fave trilogies were coming to an end this year. Holy Sister and Finale have both been on my most anticipated list but despite pre ordering them and having them sitting on my shelf I’ve been putting them off.

I actually won The Corset and Social Creature in a twitter giveaway but they were already on my want to read list. They just sound so different and intriguing. Other Words for Smoke has pretty much been on my TBR since I finished Spare and Found Parts. I loved that book so am keen to get to Other Words for Smoke asap.

ON AUDIO

So I took out an audible membership this year and there have been a lot of very tempting deals. I’m a little slow on getting through audio books but I do love them. The narrator can make or break them but they’ve definitely helped me tackle books I otherwise wouldn’t have considered reading.

Illuminae and Rosemary and Rue are both new series to me but I’m a big fan of the authors. I listened to Seanan McGuire’s whole Wayward Children series on audible and loved it so I’m hoping Rosemary Rue will be of a similar quality. As for Illuminae, a few people have recommended listening to it and reading at the same time so am gonna give it a bash.

I absolutely adored the narrator of the Diviners by Libba Bray, she brought the story to life so I feel like I have to listen to continue the series on audio with Lair of Dreams. I actually can’t imagine reading the books now. I read Lady Midnight a couple of years ago and am afraid I didn’t love it but I noticed that the second book Lord of Shadows is narrated by one of my fave narrators James Marsters so I’m gonna give it a go that way.

FROM MY E-READER

I’m kind of scared to check how many unread books I have on my kindle. I think when I looked a year or two ago there were around 300 and I have definitely been buying more than I’ve been reading. Would be nice to get that number down a bit and actually read some of the books I’ve bought.

Another of my bookish resolutions this year was to read more translated fiction and books set, or by authors outwith the UK/US. I started the year pretty well but most of my recent reads have been by US or UK authors. I’m therefore hoping to get to Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir and The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen. I read and loved Palm Beach Finland by Tuomainen earlier this year so have high hopes for The Man Who Died, and Snare has been on my want to read list for a while.

To balance out all of the sci fi and fantasy I also want to pick up The Puppet Show and The Passengers. I know the second is technically sci fi but I’m intrigued by the mystery/thriller aspects to it and I’ve heard so many great things about it.

As the list is looking decidedly light on romance I think I’m also gonna pick up The Risk and Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating. I doubt these are the only romance reads I’ll pick up (it’s summer after all) but I love these authors so it’s pretty certain these will get read.

So that’s my reading plan for the next couple of months or so. Hopefully I’ll manage to stick somewhat close to it and not get tempted by too many other new books on Amazon or NetGalley (ha who am I kidding).

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

Happy reading ❤

Summer TBR Wipeout – Update (2)

August 5, 2018 Ali@abookishlife11 Comments

Oops I’m afraid I’m a little bit late in posting my second progress update for Candid Cover’s Summer TBR Wipeout but I have a really good excuse, I was busy reading 🙂 I actually can’t believe that we’re more than two thirds of the way through this 7 week challenge as it seems hardly any time since my introductory post at the start of July where I set myself the goal of reading 21 books. I will admit that finishing 21 books from a list was probably never going to happen (I’m too much of a mood reader) but it has proven to be great motivation. So how have I done since my last update, read on and find out.

Read / Currently Reading

I’m actually pretty happy with my reading progress since my last update, yes I’ve wandered off my list a bit (that was always going to happen) but since my last update I’ve finished 8 pretty brilliant books, including a couple I gave 5 stars to.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers – 5 Stars – Yep you read that right, 5 out of this world stars. I absolutely loved the second book in Chambers Wayfarers series. There’s a bit more of a story than the first book and it’s more contained giving me a greater connection to the characters and making me much more emotionally invested. I cried a lot and I just loved it.
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig – 4.5 Stars – Another great read, the only thing holding me back from 5 stars is that while I loved how Haig pulled together scientific theory, facts, psychology and his own experiences, I’m not sure I could say there’s anything new in it. It’s very readable, informative and uplifting but I wouldn’t necessarily say I learned anything new, other than I should worry about robots.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman – 4 Stars – My first wander off course but it’s one of my fave books so I’m pretty sure it’s allowed. Only 4 stars though I’m afraid as this was an abridged audio version and while Rob Reiner’s narration was great it felt a little rushed and he didn’t do any of the voices (inconceivable).
Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin – 4 Stars – Roughly based on Frankenstein but with a futuristic, post apocalyptic type setting. It took me a little while to warm up to main character Nell, and to get my head around a world without technology (the horror) but it’s a very dark and intriguing story that makes you think (and that’s never a bad thing).

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – 3.5 Stars – I don’t think I was in the right mood for this book as while I loved the concept (a little mermaid retelling) and found it an engaging read it never really wowed me the way I thought it would. I do think it was me and not the book though
The Mermaid by Christina Henry – 4 Stars – Yep another mermaid book but this time with a dash of historical fiction thrown in. It’s a much more serious read and a lot more depressing but has more depth and feeling in it. Also I’m kind of obsessed with the whole Barnum thing so it was fascinating to see him portrayed in a very different way.
As You Wish by Cary Elwes & Joe Layden – 5 Stars – Another wander off the TBR for exactly the same reason as the previous one, my true love of The Princess Bride. I love the film so I was always going to love this look behind the scenes. I swear I’ve been boring everyone senseless reciting Elwes anecdotes about cast and crew. Sorry everyone.
Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire – In progress – OK I’m not quite finished this yet but I only have an hour to go so I’m counting it. Another book not on my list but it is one I’ve been wanting to read for ages so when my hold came in from the library I grabbed it and started immediately and I’m really enjoying it.

Up Next

There are only a couple of weeks left of the challenge so it’s doubtful I’m going to finish every book on my original list but I would really like to read the following four books.

I am however going to replace the other books from my existing list with the following three. The first, The Travelling Cat Chronicles fits a task on a team challenge I’m doing, Down Among the Sticks and Bones is the sequel to Every Heart a Doorway and The Governess Game I received from NetGalley and can’t resist reading asap.

So that’s where I’m at. Unlike when I posted my first update I’m feeling a lot more positive and upbeat about my progress, maybe reading Haig’s Notes on a Nervous Planet has actually helped 🙂

Have you read any of the books on the list? What did you think of them? Are there any on my list I’ve tempted you to pick up?

Happy reading everyone ❤

Summer TBR Wipeout – Update (1)

July 15, 2018July 14, 2018 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Doesn’t time fly when you’re taking part in a reading challenge 🙂 It seems like only yesterday I posted my introductory post for Candid Cover’s Summer TBR Wipeout but it seems we’re already more than two weeks into the 7 week challenge so it’s time for a progress update.

Read / Currently Reading

Time does seem to have gotten away from me a bit so I haven’t finished as many books as I’d hoped by this stage (note to self: don’t sign up for a reading challenge when you’re trying to sell & buy a house) but on the positive side I have at least managed to stick to the list. The following books I’ve either finished or have made a good start on.

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence – 4.75 Stars – I absolutely loved this sequel to Red Sister. There’s lots of action, a few unexpected twists and some fantastic character development. I especially love the relationships between the characters in this story, they’re just wonderful. Not sure what’s holding me back from giving it the full five stars but there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on (maybe just that the author keeps killing off my fave characters or that I’m going to have to wait almost a year for the next book even though it’s already written)
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – 4.5 Stars – A funny and wonderfully sweet romance with a main character who has autism. It’s kind of a gender switched Pretty Woman with our MC hiring an escort to teach her how to be in a relationship. I loved both leads and the relationship between them but did get a little frustrated with the lack of communication at times. For a debut though it’s pretty impressive and I certainly learned a lot about autism.
The End We Start From by Megan Hunter – 4 Stars – This was a very short but completely unique read about a woman trying to keep herself and her newborn baby alive when the southern parts of the UK flood. It has a very quirky style to it, it’s very much inside the head of the MC, with very little in the way of descriptions, detail or dialogue (the other characters are referred to by their initials only) but there’s something about it that made it difficult to put down.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – In Progress – I’m currently around half way through as I’m writing this post and really enjoying this story of a mixed species spaceship crew making a long and dangerous journey. The characters are incredibly likeable and even though there’s not much in the way of story it’s pretty addictive reading.
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig – In Progress – I started this about a week ago and am currently about a quarter of the way through. Haig’s a great writer but this real story of his battle against depression and anxiety is a challenging read for me so I’m dipping in and out.

Books Added/Removed

I know it’s not been long but yep, I think I need to switch some books around on the list.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers – Added – Given I’m going to see Becky Chambers on the 24th July for the launch of the third book in the Wayfarers series I think it’s probably a good idea for me to read the second book. Plus I’m really enjoying the first book 🙂
The Power by Naomi Alderman – Removed – I was planning on reading this as part of a buddy read starting today but as I’m midway through another couple of books and have quite a few others to read in the next 9 days I don’t think I’ll have time. It’s staying on my TBR but probably won’t be read as part of this challenge.
Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings – Removed – The negative reviews for this are really putting me off reading it so with all of the other books on my TBR I’m really excited about I’m going to knock it off the list. I may change my mind if loads of people tell me it’s brilliant but that seems unlikely.
Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella – Added – I meant to include this in my original list but felt like the 21 books I already had on it were more than enough. Kinsella is however one of my fave authors and I managed to snag a copy from the library so I’ll definitely be reading this at some point. And I need a bit more romance on this list 😉

So that’s my progress to date, it’s actually kind of freaking me out that I haven’t read more (I blame the weather). Hopefully I’ll have made a bit more progress by my next update around the end of the month.

Have you read any of the books on the list? What did you think of them? Have I made the right decisions to drop a couple off the list or would you recommend I keep them on there? Feel free to leave comments and links to your summer TBR below.

Happy reading everyone ❤

Summer TBR Wipeout 2018 – Introductory Post

July 1, 2018June 30, 2018 Ali@abookishlife24 Comments

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.