20 Books of Summer 2025

Hello!

I didn’t take part in the 20 Books of Summer last year and I will be honest I really missed it so I knew that I had to take part again this year. I am so pleased that Annabel at AnnaBookBel and Emma at Words and Peace have taken over the challenge. Of course a big thank you goes out to Cathy at 746 Books for creating this amazing challenge.

The challenge runs from June 1st to August 31st. You can find all the details of the challenge here.

I am planning on reading a mix of physical books and kindle books with the hope of lowering my my physical and kindle TBR lists. Some of these books are recent additions to the TBR and some have been sat on the TBR for a very long time.

Medea by Rosie Hewlett
Hera by Jennifer Saint
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
The Royal Game by Anne O’Brien
The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
Lessons by Ian McEwan
Lady Catherine and the real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
The Princes in the Tower by Philippa Langley
The Curator by Owen King
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom

Wish me luck! If you are taking part please drop me a link and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading!

Etsy

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Bookish Goals 2024 Update

Hello!

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.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Bookish Goals 2024 Update

Hello!

As we are now half way through the year I thought it was time for a check in on my Bookish Goals for 2024.

What were my goals…

Read 50 books
Read 24 books that I own in 2024 (official list will be published soon)
Finish the Shardlake series by C. J Sansom
Read at least one chapter from The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan a day. I started The Shadow Rising yesterday and have read just over 2 chapters so far.
Keep going with my Maigret, Agatha Christie and Classics Club challenges.
Keep up to date with my book reviews.

Read 50 books

I really lowered my target for this year because I planned on reading some very big books. However, this target is not going very well because so far I have only managed to read 19 books of that target. I’m really hoping to catch up during the summer holidays but I am worried I might have fallen too far behind.

24 Books in 2024

Technically I should have read half of the list by now but yet again I am behind! Here are the books I have read off the list so far.

The Midnight Folk by John Masefield
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women by Emma Southon
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Finish the Shardlake series

Well this isn’t going to plan because I haven’t picked up a Shardlake book all year! Hopefully I will manage to read the next book in the series but I doubt I will finish it this year.

Wheel of Time

My original plan for this challenge was one Wheel of Time chapter a day but I have slightly adapted it. Basically I am now reading the Wheel of Time books at night. This means sometimes I manage a few pages and sometimes I manage several chapters. I’m making steady progress with the books which I’m happy about.

Maigret, Agatha Christie and Classics Club Challenges

These challenges are sadly not progressing at the moment. I really hope to get moving on them soon though and have several books lined up for my summer reading.

Book Reviews

So far I am up to date on my book reviews which is big progress because every year I am usually way behind.

Overall, my challenges are not going well but I am really hoping I will manage to pull them back soon.

I hope everyone has made better progress with their challenges than I have so far this year.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

24 Books in 2024 – Update

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I meant to do this post at the beginning of the month but I completely forgot.

I have been really trying to read the books on my list of 24 Books in 2024 with the aim of reducing my TBR list. Here is the post with the original list.

I have so far managed to read a total of 5 books off the list which is behind on where I would like to be but I am hoping to catch up. Reading hasn’t been going very well this year but I live in hope it will improve!

Books I have read

Just 19 books to go!

How are your book challenges going so far this year?

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2024

Hello!

I have decided to take part in the Historical Reading Challenge hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader. I love reading historical fiction so I thought this would be a perfect challenge for me.

Each month a new post is created by Marg where we can post our links for the books we read and review in that month.

Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, History/Non-Fiction, etc.)

There are different reading levels to work towards:

20th Century Reader – 2 books
Victorian Reader – 5 books
Renaissance Reader – 10 books
Medieval – 15 books
Ancient History – 25 books
Prehistoric – 50+ books

I think I will aim for Ancient History but hopefully I might get higher than that.

I would love to hear if any of my fellow book bloggers are taking part in this challenge. Please drop me a comment with what level you are aiming for in 2024.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Classics Club: Spin #36

Hello!

It is time for another Classics Club Spin event! I’m really hoping to make a dent in my Classics Club list this year as I haven’t done very well so far.

I’m looking forward to seeing what my next read will be. The end of the spin period is the 3rd March so that is my deadline to get the chosen book read by.

Here is my list:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Cecilia by Frances Burney
Evelina by Frances Burney
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Love in Excess by Eliza Haywood
The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Candide by Volatire
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Have you read any of the books off my list? I will be honest some of mine are rereads but you can never read Jane Austen too many times!

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

24 Books in 2024

Hello!

I decided 2024 was the year I read through some of the books that I own and that have sat on my TBR pile for way too long. So with this in mind I have selected 24 books off this TBR pile and have decided to try and read them all in 2024. I have popped a few rereads on to this list as well because I really wanted to read them again this year.

24 Books

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
~~The Midnight Folk by John Masefield~~
~~The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia~~
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
Children of England by Alison Weir
Tudor England A History by Lucy Wooding
Queens of the Age of Chivalry by Alison Weir
~~Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors~~
~~Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard~~
House of Odysseus by Claire North
~~Yellowface by R. F. Kuang~~
~~The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan~~
Revelation by C. J. Sansom
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
~~Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati~~
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
Babylon’s Ashes by James S. A. Corey
~~A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women by Emma Southon~~
The Curator by Owen King
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
~~Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens~~
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
Dune by Frank Herbert

Hopefully, I will manage to read two a month and I will smash this little challenge.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Reading My Height in Books: The Results!

Hello!

I thought it was time to share the results of my 2023 challenge of attempting to read my height in books.

I read several books on Kindle in 2023 so I got the dimensions of each book off Amazon and worked out that together they added approximately 5.8 inches. I then went hunting around the house to find something that would represent that on the pile of books. My husband found a notebook which when stood up was the correct height, hence the book stood up on the top of the pile of books.

So here is the final picture!

I did it! The stack of books measures 67.5 inches and I am 67 inches. I’m so pleased because I was rather worried I hadn’t made it again but finally I have managed to complete the challenge. The stack is made up of the 72 books that I read in 2023.

Here is the stack growing through 2023.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Reading My Height in Books #11

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far.

Sadly, I missed October’s update on my reading challenge which has also added to my panic because I had no idea how much reading I needed to do to hit my challenge.

I have still not added the height of the digital books I have read so I am hoping they will make a difference as well. Here is the latest height.

The stack now measures 54.5 inches and I must admit I am a little nervous about whether I am going to manage the challenge. I have 12.5 inches to go!

Look at that stack grow!

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Bookish Goals for 2023: Can I Succeed!

Hello!

I have been thinking about the goals I set myself for 2023 and whether I will succeed with any of them.

Here are the goals that I set myself:

Read my height in books
Read 80 books
Read more Ancient Greek and Roman literature
Classics Club, Maigret and Agatha Christie Challenges
Read one nonfiction book a month

Reading my height in books has been going well so far. Am I allowed to say that I am quietly confident I will make this challenge? I haven’t read many books in October so far but I am hoping to read more in half term and I always generally read a lot of books in December so I am really hoping that will be enough.

Read 80 books is not going to happen! Not unless I suddenly win the lottery and give up work before the end of this year. I finally decided to lower my Goodreads Challenge this month because the amount of books I had fallen behind was just stressing me out. My new challenge is 70 books but I am still hoping I will read more than 70 books.

Reading more Ancient Greek and Roman literature has been going better than it did last year. I still want to read some plays before the end of the year but I am pleased with how this challenge is going so far.

The Classics Club challenge could be better but I have been making progress. I’m hoping to read two more books off the list before the end of this year. The Maigret challenge is not going so well but is better than the Agatha Christie Challenge. I haven’t read one Agatha Christie book this year! I have read some Maigret books but not as many as I had hoped. There is still time to read some Agatha Christie before the end of the year!

Read one non-fiction book a month has been no problem. In fact most months I have read more than one non-fiction book a month. Some months non-fiction is all I want to read. I have really been enjoying my non-fiction reading this year and I hope it continues.

Overall, my goals have good points and bad points but I still have a couple of months to improve on certain goals. I’m happy with how things are going so far but rather disappointed that I won’t manage the 80 books in a year.

How are your book goals going this year?

Happy Reading