…blogtober day 28 :: on the bookshelf…

2022 started out strong, with 5 books completed in five days. An anomaly, to be fair, that only possible due to summer holidays, and those hot, lazy days where meals are nothing more than a dive into the various tubs of leftovers, and chores are a problem for later. Despite real life coming crashing back in with a thud, the habit was set, and I powered through the first half of the year, slowing down as the EOFY madness hit, but then with the help of a mini goal, saw my Beanstalk tick over to a neat half century right on the half way point of the year.

With such a satisfyingly neat achievement under my belt, I dared set a goal I haven’t attempted since my personal reading time gave way to a thorough study of the entire adventures of Maisy Mouse, and Thomas The Tank Engine. Surely, thought I, I could back it up with another 50 for the full century.

After starting out strongly, I’ve slowed down on my reading. With two months of the year to go, I’m stranded on “only” 64 completed, well short of where I should be if I’m to make my goal. In fact, I’ve just done the maths and if I’m to hit it, I’m going to need to finish a book every 1.7 days…with NaNoWriMo coming up, the rest of season three of the podcast, an advent blog along, all the fun stuff that makes the run up to end of year busy, and my homeschool renewal due, that seems…optimistic, at best.

It was only as I sat down to write this post that I realised despite the high level of reading, I haven’t shared a review wrap up in over 18 months! I’ve been sharing over in my Instagram highlights, but have lost the habit of sharing here. Here’s some of my favourites from recently:

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms :: Charlie N Holmberg // this was a find via the Kindle First newsletter. Very much out of my usual style, but not much else was grabbing me so I decided to give it a shot. It was a magical mystery with a side serve of light romance, and I actually quite enjoyed it! // book depository | kindle version //

The Geography of Friendship :: Sally Piper // an IndyReads discovery, it took me a little while to get into, but then I was hooked. I had hoped to have it finished just as it was due back, but the light thriller aspects were not ideal for my overactive imagination in the middle of the night so I paused and renewed and finished it the next day. A drama centred around three friends, and how sliding doors moments can resonate in large and unexpected ways. Aside from the midnight creep, it was a compelling read // book depository | kindle version //

Signal Moon :: Kate Quinn // I loved The Rose Code, and when I saw this come through as part of Kindle First I grabbed it straight away. An easy novella, it was a fun time slip crossed with historical, without being sci-fi. One of my favourites this year! // kindle version //

The Fragments :: Toni Jordan // a fascinating mystery across timezones, I loved this Aussie novel. A chance encounter at an exhibition, a decades old mystery, an inquisitive book seller. A literary whodunnit – or whowroteit, more accurately – I found it a total page turner. // book depository | kindle version //

The Widow Of Walcha :: Emma Partridge // despite jumping on the reserve list as soon as bookings opened, I found myself marooned at number 14. It didn’t take long to get my turn, and holy moly was it worth the wait. A true story of a marital murder here in the north west, it was a wild ride of a read. It’s full of the kind of craziness that you would write off as unrealistic if it was in a novel. So off the wall I was messaging my friends constantly until they caved and got on board, as equally hooked and horrified as I was. I read the whole thing in a weekend, absolutely unputdownable // book depository | kindle version //

The Ferals That Ate Australia :: Guy Hull // a narrative non-fiction, I loved this book for its easy to read style and factual information. From a humorous look at the disaster that is the cane toad, to lesser considered animals like sheep, it was an interesting look at the impact of European animals on the Australian environment. // book depository | kindle version //

The Glad Shout :: Alice Robinson // possibly reading a climate change dystopia, set on the east coast of Australia, wasn’t my wisest choice immediately after the northern rivers of NSW, and SE Queensland was completely smashed with record breaking rains and floods. It was terrifying accurate, but I could not put it down. Closed borders reminiscent of the first couple of years of the pandemic, tent cities, so many little realistic touches to remind me why I don’t read dystopia a lot! // book depository | kindle version //

I currently have two books on the go – The Ship That Never Was in hard copy, and The Forgotten Garden on audible. Both are quite enjoyable so I’m hoping to make some good progress on both over the weekend. If I’m going to have any chance of meeting my goal I’m going to have to start taking my kindle to bed and reading a chapter or ten instead of watching an episode of my current binge watch (Castle, on Disney+, is my current poison of choice).

36 books in two months. That’s doable, right? (Let’s pretend it is!)

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