2024

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

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 hope everyone has had a good day today. I have been at school all day but I have managed to read a page of my book every 20 minutes when my students change over. I read this page whilst marching on the spot to get my step count up, this got me a very strange look from the head when she walked in to collect something from the room.

What I am Currently Reading

I am thoroughly enjoying The Hedgerow! Parrish’s writing style just reminds me of Dorothy Whipple and I love it. Lord of Chaos is still plodding along but the story is getting slower and slower.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

I could not put this book down and pretty much devoured it over the weekend. Review will be appearing this week.

What I Think I will Read Next

I’m doing quite well with my reading so far this month and I really hope it continues as I am so behind with my challenges. Hopefully, one of these books will be my next read.

Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

Goodreads Monday: 10/6/2024

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 so far. We have building work starting on the house tomorrow and I’m not entirely sure how peaceful our house will be over the next few weeks.

My chosen book to feature is one I’m really interested in because I studied this topic when I was doing my Masters in Classical Studies so I’m really intrigued to read about it in a different period of history.

In her previous two bestsellers, Professor Alice Roberts powerfully and evocatively revived people of the past through examining their burial rites, bringing a fresh perspective on how they lived. In Crypt, Professor Roberts brings us face to face with individuals who lived and died between ten and five centuries ago. The stories in this book are not comforting tales; there’s a focus on pathology, on disease and injury, and the experience of human suffering in the past. We learn of an episode of terrible brutality, when hate speech unleashed a tide of violence against an ethnic minority; of the devastation caused by incurable epidemics sweeping through medieval Europe; of a protracted battle between Church and State for the heart of England – a battle that saw the most famous tomb in the country created and destroyed; and a tumultuous story, forged in the heat of warfare, that takes us out of the Middle Ages into the sixteenth century and the reign of Henry VIII. In the Middle Ages, there’s barely a written note for most people’s lives. The information we can extract from archaeological human remains represents is an essential tool for understanding our history. Most of these dead will remain anonymous. But, in the thrilling final chapter, Professor Roberts introduces an individual whose life and bones were marked by chronic debilitating disease – and whose name might just be found in history… Beautifully written, vividly drawn, and expertly researched, this is a brilliant and unexpected portrait of modern Britain.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

June 2024 TBR

Hello!

I was really pleased with how I did with my May TBR, reading two out of my four books was a big improvement on how I usually do with my planned TBR. I’m really hoping I manage to do the same with my June TBR or even better.

Where the Crawdads Sing and Queens of the Age of Chivalry are both books off my 24 Books in 2024 list. The Hedgerow and Klova are both books very kindly sent to me by publishers. The Household is the book I will hopefully read if I manage to read the first four.

I hope everyone’s planned reading for June goes well.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

WWW Wednesday: 5/6/2024

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

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 hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have actually managed to finish a book today which felt good as it seems to be such a rare occurance for me at the moment.

What I am Currently Reading

I’m about 50 pages into Where the Crawdads Sing and so far so good. I’ve always been a bit nervous about reading this book because of the hype it has received and I am so often let down by books with a lot of hype. Fingers crossed it lives up to the hype. Lord of Chaos is still plodding along but I’m only managing about 10 pages a night before I fall asleep.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

I finished this book this morning and the review will follow soon. I enjoyed the book but there were a few areas I wasn’t keen on.

What I Think I will Read Next

I really need to get moving on my reading challenges so most of my planned reading is from my 24 Books in 2024 challenge currently.

Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read

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 can’t believe this is my first Top Ten Tuesday of 2024! I have no idea why I haven’t taken part this year as I usually love taking part in Top Ten Tuesday.

One of my aims this year was to buy less books and read them as quickly as I can rather than leaving them to get lost on one of the many TBR piles in my house. So far I have probably managed to read about 50% of the books I have bought or acquired this year.

So here is the list of books that I have been super excited to buy and even had on preorder for months and months and yet I still haven’t read.

Medea by Rosie Hewlett – I loved the sound of this book and had it preordered in 2023 and yet it arrived this year on the day of publication and I have still not read it! I really hope I get to read it soon.
Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard – I love this series and after reading Blade Breaker I was desperate to read Fate Breaker to see what happens next and yet I still have not read it even though it is currently sat looking at me from the top of one of my TBR piles in the lounge.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes – This is another book I had preordered and yet it is still not read.
Twelve Caesars by Mary Beard – I love Mary Beard’s books and I will be honest I have actually read half of this book but haven’t finished it yet. I really need to concentrate with this book and I just haven’t had that concentration recently.
Queens of the Age of Chivalry by Alison Weir – Anyone who has followed my blog for any length of time will know just how obsessed I am with Alison Weir. I dream about reading all of her published books and yet so many sit unread on my TBR pile, this is one of those many books.
Henry the VIII the Heart and the Crown by Alison Weir – Same reasons as number 5.
House Odysseus by Clare North – This is another sequel that I have been excited to read and yet haven’t managed to read yet for no particular reason.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati – This is a new author for me and a book I found in a bookshop and liked the look of but sadly it still sits unread.
The Templars by Dan Jones – I’m not overly fond of Dan Jones’s translation work but I do enjoy his books and I was very excited to get this book and read it.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King – I haven’t read much by Stephen King but I was really excited when this book came out and thought I would make the effort to read more King as I like his books but sadly this hasn’t happened yet.

I do wonder if the reason so many books I am excited about sit unread is because I am a mood reader. I know my fellow book bloggers have the same problem. Please feel free to tell me why you think you do the same as I would love to hear your theories.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

Goodreads Monday: 27/5/2024

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’ve had a lovely few hours working in the garden and I’ve managed some reading. Having the day off work really is the best!

The book off my Goodreads TBR is from an auto buy author for me. I love the books of Stacey Halls so when I saw this book coming out I had it preordered straight away.

From the Sunday Times bestseller and winner of the Women’s Prize Futures Award, the captivating, highly anticipated new novel, inspired by real historical figures and events.

In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women. The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life – but how badly do they want it?

Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, makes a discovery that leaves her her stalker of 10 years has been released from prison . . .

As the women’s worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

WWW Wednesday: 22/5/2024

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

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 hope everyone is having a great week so far. I am having a fab week and it is mainly because my reading has been going so well. I finally feel like I have got my reading mojo back, I just hope it lasts as this year has not been going well so far.

What I am Currently Reading

I have been thoroughly enjoying my night time reading of the Lord of Chaos, it finally feels like the series might be going somewhere after the lack of action in book 5. I started Destination Maisie today and so far I am really enjoying it.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

My review of A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women is here. I just finished Accidental Dragons today so hopefully I will get the review up tomorrow. I absolutely loved these two books which I think was the reason I read them so quickly.

What I Think I will Read Next

I’m so excited to read these books and I’m not entirely sure which one I will read but it will definitely be one of these.

Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

Goodreads Monday: 13/5/2024

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’ve been back to work today which has been nice.

My chosen book today is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke which has been on my Goodreads TBR for many years and I think it is about time that I read it.

The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation’s past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country.

Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange.

Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

WWW Wednesday: 8/5/2024

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

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 hope everyone is having a good week so far. I’ve been doing quite well with my reading so far this week which is good.

What I am Currently Reading

I am absolutely loving these three books so far. In fact I’m struggling to choose which one to read at a time.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

This seemed to take forever to finish and I now remember why this book put me off continuing with the series when I last read it. I’m not giving up this time though so I will continue onwards with the series.

What I Think I will Read Next

I’m trying for shorter reads this month but to be honest I can never be sure what I will choose to read next.

Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

Goodreads Monday: 6/5/2024

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 sadly have started to come down with something and I am feeling pretty awful so that isn’t the best start to my week but never mind.

My chosen book to feature off my Goodreads TBR this week is another nonfiction book. I seem to be really craving nonfiction reads again at the moment so I might be reading this sooner rather than later.

An enjoyable, accessible exploration of the legacy of ancient Greece today, across our daily lives and all forms of popular culture

Our contemporary world is inescapably Greek. Whether in a word like “pandemic,” a Freudian state of mind like the “Oedipus complex,” or a replica of the Parthenon in a Chinese theme park, ancient Greek culture shapes the contours of our lives. Ever since the first Roman imitators, we have been continually falling under the Greeks’ spell.

But how did ancient Greece spread its influence so far and wide? And how has this influence changed us?

Tony Spawforth explores our classical heritage, wherever it’s to be found. He reveals its legacy in everything from religion to popular culture, and unearths the darker side of Greek influence—from the Nazis’ obsession with Spartan “racial purity” to the elitism of classical education. Paying attention to the huge breadth and variety of Hellenic influence, this book paints an essential portrait of the ancient world’s living legacy—considering to whom it matters, and why.

Happy Reading