Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
This week has been a busy week of book buying. On Tuesday I visited my local bookshop. I am so lucky to have a bookshop so close to my house and it is really nice to support an independent bookshop. I bought three books from Booka Bookshop and filled another loyalty card so I have a £10 voucher to spend on my next visit.
I also had three books from Waterstones two were preordered and one was one that my husband and myself would both like to read.
Booka Bookshop
Table for Two by Amor Towles – I recently read A Gentleman in Moscow by Towles and absolutely loved it so I really want to read more of his books.
Mary I Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir – I absolutely love Alison Weir so any of her new books is a must buy.
The Voyage Home by Pat Barker – I read the previous books of this series on NetGalley so it is nice to read the third book and own a physical copy.
Waterstones
Crimson Lake by Candice Fox – We love the TV series Troppo and now we both really want to read the books.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros – I am currently reading Fourth Wing and I absolutely loving it so I’m happy to have the next book in the series.
Odyssey by Stephen Fry – I really like Stephen Fry’s books and I’m looking forward to reading this.
A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood.
The Free Navy – a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships – has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.
But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante’s problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
Review
Every time I read the next book in The Expanse series I think it can’t be beaten but yet again I am proven wrong. This book was fantastic and I could not put it down. It was also way better than the corresponding season of the TV show which after reading the book is a massive let down.
The main thing that I absolutely love about this series is that each book is told from several characters’ points of view. You get to see the story from several perspectives and learn about the characters. However, in previous books you have about 4 or 5 perspectives; this book had loads. Yes, we have the usual main characters such as Holden but we get to hear from even minor characters and it works beautifully. Some only have one chapter but it adds so much to the story.
There were quite a few emotional moments in this book for me and in particular one death really upset me as I always liked that character. There was also a really moving moment with Avasarala in this book which made me quite sad but it was so nice to see a different side to this usually super hard character. I found the growing relationships in the book really moving especially the family bonds that grew on the Rocinante.
This book was packed with action and really did not stop moving but at the same time it showed so much of the human struggle for survival. Earth is dying, people are dying on all sides and there is so much fear about what the future holds. The characters are all so real as well even though the setting is pure science fiction.
Amos has always been my favourite character and I was pleased he was on usual fine form in this book. However, my other favourite character in this book was Bobbie. Bobbie was wonderful in the hot seat of the Rocinante and she is definitely a part of the crew and family. I also loved Bobbie’s humour and how she interacted with Amos and Naomi.
This is definitely my favourite book of the series so far and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
James S. A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, George R. R. Martin’s assistant. They both live Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I have had a lovely day of teaching and reading today. I’ve also had rather an exciting book delivery which is always fun.
What I am Currently Reading
I am completely hooked on Fourth Wing and have been reading it today in every available spare minute I have had. I’m so pleased I have the next book lined up to read as well. A Crown of Swords is still plodding along and I’m still really enjoying it.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
Thoroughly enjoyed this and review will be published soon.
What I Think I will Read Next
As usual I have no idea what I will read next but here are a few possibilities.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For more info please check out Jana’s blog.
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have had a lovely day with a little bit of teaching, reading and book buying! I only went into my local bookshop to have a browse but I ended up buying 3 books.
I really want to dedicate November to nonfiction books so my TBR list for Autumn is a mix of fiction and nonfiction.
The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
The Princes in the Tower by Philippa Langley
Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard
Hera by Jennifer Saint
Klova by Karen Langston
The Household by Stacey Halls
What the Greeks Did for Us by Tony Spawforth
Medea by Rosie Hewlett
The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week.
My chosen book this week is actually the next book in a series I have been reading. This whole series has been sat on my TBR since I bought them all in one go. I love this series and I hope to read the next in the series soon.
Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey
An old enemy returns.
In the thousand-sun network of humanity’s expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace.
In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it.
New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity — and of the Rocinante — unexpectedly and forever…
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I had meant to post this post near the beginning of the month but I fell behind.
I have been really enjoying my challenge and even though I doubt I will finish it this year it has significantly lowered my TBR pile which I am happy about. I am definitely going to do a similar challenge next year but next time I will try and choose shorter books as most of the books on my current list are huge! Here is my original list.
I am very far behind with the challenge but I have managed to read 10 books so far this year and I have 30 pages left of book 11.
It has been ages since I took part in a Top 5 Tuesday so I thought it was high time I took part again. I also love this weeks topic as who doesn’t love a good villain!
So here are my villains…
Cruella de Ville from 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith – I read this book as an adult and loved it and I have since read it a few more times as it is an absolute favourite. Cruella is the perfect villain in this book.
Alec D’Urberville from Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy – Now this villain is a real baddie and one I hated whilst reading the book. Sometimes you can get a soft spot for a villain but I had no soft spot for this monster.
Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I’m sorry but they were both as bad as each other so I have put them together. These two deserved each other as they were both masters of destroying peoples lives.
Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – I’m sorry but he was a mean man. He had no qualms about dressing up as a gypsy and messing with Jane’s mind. He lied to Jane and mentally tortured the poor woman.
Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda by Roald Dahl – This is a childhood favourite of mine but one I have also read as an adult. Trunchbull is such a meanie beanie and I think she is great. Dahl was so good at creating villains it was hard to just pick one.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I have done 8 hours of teaching today so my brain is feeling rather frazzled but I’m looking forward to my book later.
My chosen book today is one that I hope to read soon as I really enjoyed the previous book.
The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Many years ago, Odysseus sailed to war and never returned. For twenty years his wife Penelope and the women of Ithaca have guarded the isle against suitors and rival kings. But peace cannot be kept forever, and the balance of power is about to break . . .A beggar has arrived at the Palace. Salt-crusted and ocean-battered, he is scorned by the suitors – but Penelope recognises in him something her husband, Odysseus, returned at last. Yet this Odysseus is no hero. By returning to the island in disguise, he is not merely plotting his revenge against the suitors – vengeance that will spark a civil war – but he’s testing the loyalty of his queen. Has she been faithful to him all these years? And how much blood is Odysseus willing to shed to be sure?The song of Penelope is ending, and the song of Odysseus must ring through Ithaca’s halls. But first, Penelope must use all her cunning to win a war for the fate of the island and keep her family alive, whatever the cost . . .
Since the start of September I’ve been having a think about my Bookish Goals for 2024 and I’ve realised that some of my goals need to change because life is just too busy at the moment.
So here are the goals and what is happening with them…
Read 50 Books
Reading 50 books is never going to happen and I’m now so far behind I know it needs to change. With this in mind I have lowered my target to 40 books. I’m really hoping I manage to read 40 books and if I manage to read more I will be over the moon.
Read 24 Books in 2024
I have now read 10 books off my list but again it is doubtful whether I finish all 24 books before the end of the year. Especially as quite a few of the books on the list are huge. However, I’ve decided to not change my target by reducing the list but to just try and tick off as many of the books as I can. Whatever the final number is will be good because it means I have significantly reduced my TBR pile.
Finish the Shardlake series
Nope, never going to happen! I haven’t even read one of the Shardlake books this year so I haven’t got a hope in finishing the series. I’ve decided to just scrap this challenge and not worry about it. Hopefully, I will read the next book in the series this year but if not I’m not worried.
Read at least one chapter from The Wheel of Time series a day
This challenge is now out of the window but I am still reading The Wheel of Time series. Instead of pressuring myself to read a chapter a day I am reading this series last thing at night and I just go with whatever I manage to read each night. Some nights I read loads, some nights I manage 2 pages which I have to reread the next day because I was so tired I fell asleep whilst reading and dreamt some random rubbish.
Keep going with my Maigret, Agatha Christie and Classics Club challenges.
These challenges are meant to be ticking along in the background this year but instead of ticking they have just stopped. I have the next books planned for these challenges so hopefully I will get around to reading at least one book from each challenge before the end of the year.
Keep up to date with my book reviews
Finally, a challenge I am managing! This year is the first year I am on top of my book reviews and not so far behind that by the end of the year I leave loads of books with no reviews as I just can’t stand looking at them any longer. I’m now in a good routine with my reviews so I am hoping I can complete this challenge this year and for the future.
Overall, I’m quite disappointed with my goal progress this year but I also realise that this year is not an ordinary year. Since the beginning of June the house has been covered in scaffolding and the work that has been going on has not been conducive to reading. We’ve also been busy working on the garden and on the inside of the house so there has been less time for reading.
I really hope all my fellow Book Dragons are having better luck with their reading goals this year but if not remember it is the joy of reading that matters the most.
Lady Book Dragon 