I’ve signed up to Cathy’s annual ‘20 Books of Summer‘ challenge every year since 2016. Although you can pick your level of 10, 15 or 20 books – I’ve always aimed for the full 20, but only achieved it three times – in 2022, 2021 and this year. This year I even reached twenty books Read More
Category: Reading Challenges
Review of the Year #1 – 2023, A Year of Reading and Blogging
As always, I’m saving my books of the year for the 31st, and you’ll get my book stats (my favourite post) on the 29th, but today I plan to share some other blogging highlights, including all those reading weeks, months and challenges I took part in over the year. You’ll also find a book group Read More
2023 Resolutions
I don’t really like to impose restrictions on my reading. That way lies the spectre of reading block! A good balance between own books and review copies/blog tours is essential, and I was happy with how that went last year. The key statistic from 2022 was looking at where my books came from. For the Read More
#20BooksofSummer – the last four – Melo, Steinberg, Warner, Royle
Hurrah! I finished my 20 Books of Summer (hosted by Cathy) with ten days to spare, and will continue to alternate my own books with review copies as much as I can. In an effort to keep reading more of my own books, I am not going overboard on requesting ARCs etc at the moment, Read More
Two reviews in short & 20 Books of Summer Plans
Firstly, a few words on my plans for 20 Books of Summer hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. Cathy is such a forgiving host, allowing us to choose our books, be it 10, 15 or 20 however we want; cheating and swaps are allowed – even encouraged! Consequently, I’m not going to nominate 20 specific Read More
Review Catch-up – Cox and Caspian
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat: My Autobiography by Brian Cox I read this fascinating book after Christmas, but it didn’t fit in with my Nordic reviewing in January, so I’m returning to it now. Cox is one of my favourite actors, I’ve been lucky enough to see him on stage quite a few times Read More
Weekend Miscellany
GoodReads Challenge I’ve done it! Pressure’s off now, except I’d like to beat my best ever total of 142 in 2018! With a clutch of novellas (see more below) that might be doable too! However, I doubt I’ll reach my best ever total page count of over 41k from 2016, I’m currently in the 31k Read More
20 Books : Paris in July : Euro Reading Challenge
Today, two more reviews for you that fit into multiple challenges, namely: 20 Books of Summer 21 hosted by Cathy, Paris in July hosted by Tamara, and the European Reading Challenge hosted by Gilion. Maigret’s Madwoman by Georges Simenon Translated by Siân Reynolds My 8th book reviewed for 20 Books, and 2nd for Paris in Read More
20 Books of Summer 21 #1 & #2
I’ve read my first two books – 18 to go, although I have three review books to read next before reading any others that count towards my 20. Here are my thoughts on the first two. #1 The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams When this book was published last year, there was so much love Read More
Preparing for 20 Books of Summer
I’m so glad that Cathy is running her ‘20 Books of Summer‘ challenge again for 2021. Although I always sign up for the full 20 with good intentions, I’ve never quite managed it yet. Any challenge that gets me reading from my TBR piles is a good nudge for me not to only read the Read More
One challenge ends, another begins: RIP XIII
The RIP Challenge is now in its thirteenth year! I’ve never signed up before, but the basic premise of this one should be a doddle for me given my penchant for dark books as autumn gets into full swing. Find out the full details and participation levels of the challenge here. The purpose of the R.I.P. Read More
20 Books of Summer: wrap-up
It’s September, and not only was it back to school yesterday for INSET – more of which to come on Monday (groan!), but it’s the end of the 20 Books Of Summer Challenge hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. My original 20 are pictured on the right – all pre-2018 acquired books from my TBR. Read More
20 Books of Summer: 8 & 9 – St John Mandel & Ferguson
The Singer’s Gun by Emily St John Mandel After the brilliance that was Station Eleven (reviewed here), I’ve been keen to read more by the Canadian author, finally managing it with this one, her second novel from 2010. While The Singer’s Gun differs thematically from Station Eleven, Mandel’s style of writing, with its elegant observational Read More
20 Books of Summer 2018
Hosted again by Cathy at 746 Books – her 20 Books of Summer challenge is one I’d followed for a few years, finally taking part last year – I managed 11 out of my pile of 20. I shall try to better that this summer. This morning I have picked my pile of twenty books Read More
Bloggers & Book Groups – Keeping the Mid & Backlist Alive?
I originally wrote this post in November 2010, and was going to reinsert it back into my blog’s timeline (it was one of my missing posts). However, it occurred to me that the subject I was discussing then, is even more pertinent today, so I’ve brushed it down a little and updated it to get Read More
20 Books of Summer
This year, rather than do Book Bingo, I’m going to join in with Cathy of 746 Books and do the 20 Books of Summer challenge. I’ve chosen my 20 books. All are books I’ve acquired, not review copies. I make no apology for none of them being chunky – but choosing slimmer volumes, it might Read More
Looking forward to 2017
I’m not good at challenges and planning ahead of my reading – see all my project tabs up top and the last time I updated them! Hence my main reading resolution for 2017 has a new mantra: Read where the mood takes me. However, I can qualify that a bit: Having taken over as one of Read More
Putting my 2016 Bookbingo card to bed…
After my recent post about my unused book jar (here), it’s time to call in another reading challenge. I’m never sure when the Books on the Night Stand Book Bingo is supposed to run until – but given that it starts in early summer each year, I figured that now we’re in mid-autumn, it’s probably Read More
Yet another grand projet bites the dust!
The dusty death of the Book Jar Back in June 2013, I put 200 or so slips of paper each with a book from my TBR pile into a jar – and made a Book Jar – you can read my original post at my old blog here. I read precisely one book from it and Read More
Beryl and Summer Reading Challenges
I need to get a wiggle on, as my friend Suzanne would say – for soon the return of Beryl Bainbridge Reading Week will be upon me. I still have plenty of Beryl’s novels to read but I also plan to re-read a couple that I read many years ago, alongside fitting as many as I can Read More
I’m taking the TBR Double Dog Dare…
For the past few years I’ve signed up to take part in James’s TBR Dare. Hosted by James of James Reads Books and featuring his beloved pooch Dakota in the graphic, the TBR Dare is very simple – Read only from your TBR from Jan 1 until April 1. You can make your own exceptions Read More
The TBR Double Dog Dare
For the past two years, James over at Ready when you are CB has hosted the TBR dare, and I signed up for the full dare both times. The TBR Dare became the TBR Double Dare, and this year has become the TBR Double Dog Dare, as James’s dog Dakota is in on the act! Read More
