As I shared in my previous post, we had a 5/6 week break from this blog without really meaning to, so some of these posts may seem slightly outdated while we get caught up. Of course we know not many people read this and it is more so just for our own records and memories, hence posting these rather than skipping them. The below was in part written as I the months went along and the rest in recent days.
Another three months have passed, meaning it is yet again time for a quarterly reading round up. In the first quarter of 2020, I read 13 books, in the second quarter 18... that made 31 total in six months, only 5 away from my yearly goal so let's see what I managed to get through in our third quarter!
July
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is something I owned but gave to a charity shop unread years ago, then we repurchased in December of last year. I got around to choosing it for my TBR in July and was really looking forward to it but it ended up being slightly different to what I was expecting. For something labelled as 'Fairy Tale' and 'Fantasy Fiction' some of the themes and language used was a lot more adult than I hoped. I'm a big girl and can take it, but maybe because I read so much middle grade etc I prefer cleaner reading.
Overall the storyline was good and I'm interested in what the next book will follow.
A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It's common knowledge by this point we are Peculiar fans in our house. I enjoy all the books...or have done so far.
Haunted by James Herbert
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Looking at the cover of this and comparing it to the rest of the stuff we own and read, it didn't seem like something up my alley. However, the blurb did pique my interest and I gave it a go. Again, it was another that was slightly unexpected with moments that helped drop my rating down.
August
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was super excited to put this on my TBR for August because I'd loved the sound and look of it and been looking at it sitting on my shelf since April. Of course, my hunch was correct and the whimsical, strange storyline was right up my street.
Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had high expectations for this one, the title being something I say often haha. It also holds some sentimental feelings from when and where it was bought. And I did actually really enjoy the main plot. Obviously a 3 star isn't usually a rating you'd give a book you liked the plot of so much, however I docked stars for the (what I feel were) very unnecessary 'adult' themes. This seems to be becoming a running theme and a reason the majority of my reading consists of middle grade and other young fiction.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Yeah, it was fine. Not quite sure why it is so incredibly popular but it wasn't a waste of time to read.
The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
⭐️⭐️⭐️
See every other review of this series haha! I'm only still reading just to complete the series. I definitely prefer these in movie/tv show form and it's not often I say that...and it feels wrong too...but it's true.
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I finished the book I had been reading in bed one night and wasn't ready to go to sleep, so of course my choice from our bedroom bookcase wasn't one of the many books I've never read, but one of my all-time favourites that I've read plenty! I had planned on re-reading the whole series again but I've had a lot of other things on my TBRs recently.
September
As Old As Time by Liz Braswell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Despite owning all of the Disney Twisted Tales and Villian stories I'm still slowly working my way through them. I've probably mentioned in the past how I really don't like the Villian series by Serena Valentino but I actually have super enjoyed the Liz Braswell twisted tales so far including this Beauty and the Beast re-telling.
The Great Elephant Chase by Gillian Cross
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So this came to me through a recommendation on Goodreads (not that they have a good reputation for recs or anything) and I bought it second hand online. I wasn't 100% sure what to expect and was hoping that there wasn't any animal abuse that was too hard to read but it was set in a time period I enjoy so gave it a go. The storyline progressed well and they managed to respect the elephant more than I thought was going to be the case considering the subject.
The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I think I've talked here before about E Nesbit and my thoughts on her, so when I saw this on the free Audible Stories website I made it my 'on the way to pick up Husband' driving listen. Loved it.
The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Still one of my favourite book series. It's been a while since I rated it, so I'm unsure as to why it doesn't have five stars from me, but I know that the horrible cliffhanger endings annoy me. I know it's to keep you interested so you will pick up the next book but Mr Riggs' feel like he has written a book and then just ripped it in half leaving me completely in the dark for months on end.
The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton
⭐️
It pains me to rate this 1 star. I have always hated poetry but I thought my love for Tim Burton may override that. Nope.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was technically on October's TBR list, however after having already completed September's TBR plus another two books on top of that I decided to get a head start on the following month too.
I had had this in our Amazon wishlist for months and bought it in time to read over spooky season. Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I enjoyed it overall...especially seeing as I've really been loving middle-grade fantasy.
So that's another 14 books down for the past 3 months adding to the 31 from the first half of 2020 to bring me to 45 books. My total goal for the whole year was 36 which means I as of October 1st I had surpassed that by 9! Woo! Let's see if I can reach 60 before the end of the year...
