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Hayley's Reading in 2021


Hayley

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Physik (Septimus Heap 3) by Angie Sage

4/5 - I really enjoyed it

 

The blurb of this books tells you that the main character is going to travel back in time and, to be honest, I thought that might be a departure from the previous two books which I might not enjoy. As it turns out though, it really wasn't a departure at all and the time travel element fits perfectly with the story. You don't really feel at any point like you've left the world you're used to. Otherwise I really enjoyed this for the same reasons I enjoyed the previous two books in the series - they're well-written, easy to read and fun bit of escapism. I'm very glad I have the full set because I'm looking forward to the next one!

 

I actually finished Physik while I was away for a few days, otherwise I probably would have started the next book in the series straight away. The only other book I had with me (I didn't think it was likely that I'd finish Physik, but I got hooked!) was Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland by Lisa Schneidau, so I'm part-way through that right now and it's also very good so far!

 

I also visited an antiques shop and a charity shop on that trip, where I found these:

7A9C209B-B0F0-45BD-8EE3-40B5EBFAB8B4.jpeg

Which I’m very pleased with!

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On 27/08/2021 at 6:34 PM, Chrissy said:

Septimus! Yeah! :D So glad you are enjoying them. 

I really am! I’m so glad I saw your post about them! 
 

On 27/08/2021 at 6:34 PM, Chrissy said:

I hope the missing of her is getting easier for you both

Thank you. I think we’re past the initial horrible shock of it now at least, so it is getting better.

 

I started the great book migration yesterday, with just two of the boxes. The only book storage I have right now is a technically not a bookcase, it’s a display cabinet - but it was £20 in the heart foundation and the perfect width, so I decided I could just replace the glass shelves with more solid ones and it will be perfect (downside being that I still don’t have the shelves!). The bottom part of the cabinet already had wooden shelves though, so I’ve started with that and I’m using it for ‘work’ books (some are still fiction but they’re books I’m likely to need for teaching/research). The shelves are deep enough for two layers of books but I’d like to avoid that for as long as possible, so things are easier to find!

 

AB703B4D-91D7-449D-84DE-4CEF33A50C5E.jpeg1D24167C-D3F5-43D3-8EA0-F4124A3C1B17.jpeg

 

I also definitely want to make a physical tbr mountain before I shelve the rest of my books :lol:

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The base of Mount TBR…

 

76598D2A-9199-4E17-8448-E252FC40990C.jpeg

 

I was checking the name of a book on Goodreads today and realised I’ve only read 12 books so far this year. Although I don’t feel like I’ve been reading that much less than usual, I suppose I’ve just had a really busy year. I am absolutely going to use it as an excuse to have extra autumn reading time though. 

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On 04/09/2021 at 9:26 AM, Athena said:

I'm glad you really liked Physik!

 

Yay for the book pictures ^_^!!

 

I hope you will have fun reading a lot during autumn :readingtwo:!

Thank you! :) 
 

On 04/09/2021 at 1:33 PM, muggle not said:

I will echo Athena. I love to see pictures of books.

 

On 04/09/2021 at 5:50 PM, lunababymoonchild said:

I love to see pictures of books too

I am glad because I have more :lol:. I unpacked another box earlier, so have added to the mount TBR:

 

1C866D73-24FC-4FC8-9294-05EBA4D3B159.jpeg

 

I thought I’d feel quite daunted by the physical size of my tbr pile, but I’m actually just really excited to read them all :lol:. It’s nice having them all (well nearly all, only a few left to go) out and in the same place! 

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4 hours ago, Hayley said:

Thank you! :) 
 

 

I am glad because I have more :lol:. I unpacked another box earlier, so have added to the mount TBR:

 

1C866D73-24FC-4FC8-9294-05EBA4D3B159.jpeg

 

I thought I’d feel quite daunted by the physical size of my tbr pile, but I’m actually just really excited to read them all :lol:. It’s nice having them all (well nearly all, only a few left to go) out and in the same place! 

I see 2 Jasper Fforde in that pile of books. :)

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On 30/08/2021 at 5:18 PM, Hayley said:

The base of Mount TBR…

 

76598D2A-9199-4E17-8448-E252FC40990C.jpeg

 

I was checking the name of a book on Goodreads today and realised I’ve only read 12 books so far this year. Although I don’t feel like I’ve been reading that much less than usual, I suppose I’ve just had a really busy year. I am absolutely going to use it as an excuse to have extra autumn reading time though. 


Love it. I've got : Earthsea, The Name of the Rose,The Dance of the Serpents . I've read : The Familiars, The Foundling, A Map of Days, Library Of Souls, The Five, Bone China, The Testaments, Piranesi, The Kraken, The Scar, Of Mice and Men, The Binding

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6 hours ago, Athena said:

Amazing looking pile ^_^! I'm glad you are really excited to read them all and see them in the same place :D.

Thanks :lol: it is a nice feeling. It didn't really feel right here without my books!

 

5 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:

Love it. I've got : Earthsea, The Name of the Rose,The Dance of the Serpents . I've read : The Familiars, The Foundling, A Map of Days, Library Of Souls, The Five, Bone China, The Testaments, Piranesi, The Kraken, The Scar, Of Mice and Men, The Binding

Oh you've read a lot of them! What did you think of The Kraken and The Scar? They were both really impulse buys from a charity shop, I'd only vaguely heard of the author before.

I've been saving The Dance of the Serpents because I don't want there to be no more left to read in the series, and it's so long until the next one!

 

44 minutes ago, Raven said:

Getting out of hand, now...

:giggle2: it's been really good exercise!

 

5 hours ago, muggle not said:

I see 2 Jasper Fforde in that pile of books. :)

I'm glad you pointed that out because First Among Sequels shouldn't be on that pile, I've already read it! I always enjoy Jasper Fforde books, so I'm already very confident that I'll love The Fourth Bear :) 

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35 minutes ago, Hayley said:

Thanks :lol: it is a nice feeling. It didn't really feel right here without my books!

 

Oh you've read a lot of them! What did you think of The Kraken and The Scar? They were both really impulse buys from a charity shop, I'd only vaguely heard of the author before.

I've been saving The Dance of the Serpents because I don't want there to be no more left to read in the series, and it's so long until the next one!


Nothing feels right without books, especially your own.
 

I liked The Kraken (stand alone, just to be clear) and The Scar is the second book in a trilogy referred to as The Bas-Lag Series - I loved that. The first in the BL series is Perdido Street Station about which I bored for my country the whole time I was reading it! I love China Miéville and, for me, Perdido Street Station is his greatest work. It's impossible to describe and you can't put it into any kind of genre that could describe it, and that applies to most of his books PSS is a massive 880 pages long and I got lost in it for hours at a time. 
 

I have Dance of the Serpents on Kindle and I don't want the series to end either.

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9 hours ago, Hayley said:

Thanks :lol: it is a nice feeling. It didn't really feel right here without my books!

 

I would feel the same!

 

9 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:

Nothing feels right without books, especially your own.

 

Agreed!

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On 9/6/2021 at 8:26 PM, Hayley said:

 

What did you think of The Kraken...

 

 

I read it in 2011 (or so my blog tells me!) but I was on a hiatus from here when I did so I didn't talk about it at the time.

 

I thought it was a good urban fantasy, but I felt Miéville had a habit of getting an idea, running with it for a bit and then discarding it for a new one.

 

It was good, but I found the chopping and changing  slightly vexing!

 

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On 06/09/2021 at 9:01 PM, lunababymoonchild said:

The Scar is the second book in a trilogy referred to as The Bas-Lag Series - I loved that. The first in the BL series is Perdido Street Station about which I bored for my country the whole time I was reading it! I love China Miéville and, for me, Perdido Street Station is his greatest work.

Well that's the perfect excuse to buy another book :lol:. I'm excited for those now!

 

12 hours ago, Raven said:

I read it in 2011 (or so my blog tells me!) but I was on a hiatus from here when I did so I didn't talk about it at the time.

 

I thought it was a good urban fantasy, but I felt Miéville had a habit of getting an idea, running with it for a bit and then discarding it for a new one.

 

It was good, but I found the chopping and changing  slightly vexing!

I'll prepare myself for some choppiness when I start that one then. Kraken was the book that actually drew my attention to the author, I'm pretty sure originally I saw it in one of those 'if you like this author, then you'll like this one...' lists, where he was compared to Neil Gaiman.  

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I always laugh to myself when I see a photo of books on shelves, as I will automatically tilt my head so I can read the titles. On occasion I may even have used the magnifier function to scan them. Thank you for then posting photos of stacks - so much gentler on the neck! :D

 

 

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4 hours ago, Chrissy said:

I always laugh to myself when I see a photo of books on shelves, as I will automatically tilt my head so I can read the titles. On occasion I may even have used the magnifier function to scan them. Thank you for then posting photos of stacks - so much gentler on the neck! :D

:giggle2: You're welcome. I do the head tilt too! :lol:

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  • 3 months later...

Well this thread was very neglected in 2021 - but so was my reading, actually.  I’m not sure this is 100% accurate but I’m fairly sure I read 16 books this year, which is nowhere near as many books as I usually read! On the plus side, I’m sure I can beat that in 2022… 

Before we get to the 2022 book blog though, I wanted to finish up this one with some very brief thoughts on the books I have read…

 

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

The thing that really sticks in my head about this one is just how beautifully it was written. Not a great deal actually happens. It’s definitely not action packed. But it was a genuine pleasure to pick up every time and become immediately immersed in the atmosphere of the Essex marsh. For that reason it was also incredibly easy to dip in and out of. It also makes some interesting observations on different kinds of love. Would definitely recommend this one. 
 

Botanical Folk Tales by Lisa Schneidau

I loved this book. It contains a series of short folk tales from Britain, organised by season (and related in some way, of course, to a flower, plant or tree). Another one that was very easy to dip in and out of but, at the same time, I found myself desperately wanting to read just one more story whenever I picked it up. The selection of stories is excellent and most were totally new to me. I love folk and fairy tales anyway but this collection is like going on a journey through the seasons as well. 
 

Queste by Angie Sage 

The fourth book in the Septimus Heap series and I’m still really enjoying it. I thought the concept behind the plot of this one was very clever and there were some developments with a couple of characters which I really didn’t expect. Looking forward to the next one! 
 

The Dance of the Serpents by Oscar de Muriel 

I think everyone knows by now that I just love the Fray and McGray series. This one had me just as gripped as they always do and ended with a hint that makes the next book seem all the more exciting. 
 

Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

I loved this book too! It totally surpassed my expectations. It was absolutely gripping, I had no idea what was going to happen and it had a whole cast of memorable and interesting characters. Victorian sensation fiction at its finest. I would definitely highly recommend this one.


Writing this actually made me realise that, although I didn’t read that much this year, I really enjoyed what I did read! Let’s hope next year is full of books just as good but in higher volume :lol:.

 

Happy New Year everyone! I’m going to start as I mean to go on now - by putting my pyjamas on and curling up with a book :)

 

 

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