Howdy Bibliofriends!

September definitely felt like a ‘blink and you’ll miss it moment’ – seriously where has that month gone?! Although the pace was fast, looking back on it there were actually so many things that happened: the return of the Magical Readathon, starting my new job at a new school and our first stable yard Open Day (post-pandemic restrictions). Overall, this September seems to be the most positive month I’ve had in ages filled with lots of wonderful times! ☺️

We’re off to see the James Bond film tonight and I’m so excited!! I also have a new Audible subscription so please send recs of audiobooks as I’m totally procrastinating on what to get with my 2 free credits – HELP! 😂🙈

Life Update

Starting at my new school has been so wonderful and such a breath of fresh air after all of the work related problems from the past couple of years. I am actually loving my job again and it’s brought about a whole new energy which I’ve really been missing. Even friends have commented and said I seem like a much more positive person nowadays! 😂 I guess it’s pretty amazing what a change of scenery and a reduction of toxicity can do for your personality!

For the first time in about two years we were able to hold our annual Open Day at the stable yard I’m a part of. It was so nice to have visitors around the yard again and show them our fabulous horses and facilities. So far, this is our best season yet as we’ve had more winners already than ever before with the biggest part of the jumps racing season still ahead of us. The good vibes are in full flow at the minute, long may it continue!

I was so happy to see the return of the Magical Readathon hosted by Book Roast! I loved it back in it’s HP form but G has really pulled out all of the stops to make this bigger, better and more unique than ever before. You can read my original TBR below or scroll down to the What I’ve Been Reading section to find out more!

The rest of this Wrap Post follows my usual format (Past Reads, Current Reads, Upcoming Reads, Films/TV, Music/Podcasts, Pokemon Go) so feel free to skip any irrelevant parts!

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What I’ve Been Reading

Having a readathon definitely helps my drive and determination to try and plough through the books – I think is probably my best reading month of the year so far. Despite only needing to fulfil two prompts to ‘pass’ the readathon, I always try to pick something for every prompt just in case I change my mind on the book I want to read, I’m such a mood reader at times! I’m going to write a proper wrap post for the Magical Readathon soon to go back over the prompts and challenges etc. but for now, here’s what I read in September:

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book was so much fun and the perfect ‘end of school holidays’ distraction that I needed!

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I finally started the Percy Jackson series! Greek mythology is one of my favourites so I can’t believe it took me this long to get around to it. I loved the way Riordan blended ancient Gods and contemporary worlds together. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It took me ages to finish this behemoth of an audiobook (clocking in at 19hrs long) and I’ve decided audio is definitely the way forward for me in terms of reading more of Murakami’s works. I much preferred Kafka to The Wind Up Bird Chronicle as I think I had a bit more of an understanding as to what was actually happening! Nakata’s character was adorable and the loved the speculative, magical-realism element the book had.

The Violent Season by Sara Walters (eARC)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Violent Season comes out into the world next week! I was fortunate to get an eARC of it via Netgalley. The story revolves around a sleepy little town called Wolf Ridge where every November a strange sickness takes over the town’s residents and it turns into the season of violence (hence the title). I thought it would have paranormal / The Purge style vibes but this wasn’t quite the case. It was still an enjoyable read though. Review to come next week!

You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I think this was probably my favourite read of the whole month! I listened to it on audio with narration by Julia Whelan and it had me both laughing and crying at different points! Sometimes a book just comes along for you at the right time and it becomes everything you needed in that moment – You and Me on Vacation was exactly that. I’m turning into such a fan of Emily Henry’s writing, she creates some endearing characters and storylines. You can check out my spoiler-free review here.

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Never Have I Ever is a short story collection from Isabel Yap and is based on Filipino folktales, myths and legends. I first came across the book on the Book Riot SFF Yeah! podcast and remember having to wait weeks for it to arrive from Bookshop.org as it had to be ordered direct from the supplier. I’ve always been intrigued by mythologies and tales from different cultures. Yap has a superb writing style which mixes threads from fantasy, speculative and magical-realism genres with contemporary vibes for modern readers. It’s a remarkable anthology and definitely got me in the spooky Halloween spirit!

#CurrentlyReading

As it was only £4.99, I completely caved and purchased the audiobook of Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer. I was determined not to continue anything to do with the Twilight series as I read it so long ago but curiosity (and my love of bargains!) got the better of me! I can’t believe it’s over 24 hours long and I must confess that I’ve had to crank the speed up to 1.5x because Edward’s narration is a little drawn out in places. I’m loving the background into the Cullen family so far.

In a bid to try and ‘read it before you see it’ I’ve recently started Dune by Frank Herbert in the hope I can finish it before the film comes out in cinemas later this month. At over 500 pages and tilted more into the Sci-Fi part of the SFF genre, I was a little apprehensive at first but now I’m about 200 pages in and loving it. Now I have majorly high expectations for the movie! 😂

Upcoming Reads

My book haul this month is making me so excited about my upcoming reads! I got the Illumicrate edition of Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff which is so stunning – the sprayed edges, the pearlescent hardback… it’s so gorgeous I almost don’t want to read it. (if that makes any sense?!)

I’ve also got some pretty cool ARCs on Netgalley and the release dates are fast looming so I’m keen to make my way through those pretty soon:
Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar – publication date: 28th October
The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl – publication date: 2nd November
Swashbucklers by Dan Hanks – publication date: 9th November
A Three Dog Problem by SJ Bennett (Book 2 of the HM the Queen Investigates sereis) – publication date 11th November

What I’ve Been Watching

TV this month has been all about Grey’s Anatomy (again!) – it’s one of my all-time favourite series so I’ve been binging my backlog including Seasons 14, 15 and 16 and I’m now trying to rapidly make my way through Season 17 before it disappears from Sky later this month. Season 16, episode 16 (Leave a Light On) had me bawling my eyes out! In one way I’m so angry and gutted that the storyline had to go in that direction but what the writers did with it was so sentimental and just felt so right for that particular character that even though I don’t like it, it’s pretty perfect really.

Money Heist is back!! I can’t believe I got to the end of the 5th episode and then have to wait another few months for the second part of the season! Another cliffhanger/resolution/ending which made me grab the tissues. I get so sucked in to these TV programmes! 😂

Has anyone seen The Chair on Netflix with Sandra Oh? It’s on my watchlist but I haven’t started it yet.

Cinema movies this month have been:
Free Guy (LOVED IT!)
Respect – Aretha Franklin biopic (I never knew how turbulent her life was)
Shang Chi and the Ten Rings (the dragon scenes were epic)
The Many Saints of Newark (Sopranos prequel film)

Pokemon Go Update

I’ve definitely lost a bit of interest in the game since school started again. I basically leave my house at 7.15am and don’t return until 6.30pm so with the nights drawing in and the weather definitely turning more autumnal by the second, I’m not able to get out and play as much as I used to. The Fashion Week event was quite fun but it was a real sprint to the line to make sure I found all of the Fashion Challengers to battle for the Timed Research. I did manage to get a hundo Chansey and a hundo Furfrou out of it though.

September’s Shiny Haul
Lugia (finally!)
Oshawott (and all it’s evolutions on Comm Day)
Galarian Meowth (spotlight hour – I was so happy to see this guy!)

My Trainer Code: If any fellow Pogo players want to add me, my trainer code is: 8327 7170 2277

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And that’s a wrap! How was your September? Are you heading into Autumn or is your weather still sunny and warm? I’m totally feeling the spooky vibes of Halloween and the witching season so feel free to send some bookish recommendations my way! What are you all looking forward to reading in October?

As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx

Howdy Bibliofriends!

“August slipped away like a moment in time…” – wow, where have those holidays gone and how is it September already?! Looking back now it feels like it disappeared in the blink of an eye although actually feel like I reached the perfect balance of relaxation and recreation to prepare for the forthcoming month!

Life Update

It was really nice to get back into reading and blogging again Summer – it’s definitely been my most active month for a while. I spent a majority of my holidays by the sea in Cornwall. We had some beautifully warm weather and sunny days. Where we are there is a main beach where all the tourists congregate but if you walk about a kilometre further up you discover a little secret beach which I literally had to myself every single day bar the rare dog-walking local ambling past. It was bliss!

Away from Cornwall I managed to catch up with some wonderful friends; we had an indulgent afternoon tea that was filled with all sorts of goodies and even a cheeseboard! I felt like such a Snorlax afterwards. I went to the races a few times with our stable yard which in turn led to seeing UB40 perform. But by far, my highlight of the entire month was our DB BBQ. DB is one of my racehorses and in amazing style he managed to win his hat-trick race (his third back-to-back win) on a day when two of the other yard’s horses also achieved the same feat so it was a treble of trebles! The whole of our syndicate got together to celebrate and it was a night filled with fabulous food, friendship and fizz. We each got mugs with our lovely horse on it and I came away with a stunning framed picture of one of his wins which now takes pride of place in my Office.

As August drew to a close I prepared myself for starting my new job at a brand new school – unloading my car I just couldn’t help but look around in awe at the school settings and the disbelief that I actually get to work there! I’m finally feeling super excited and positive about starting work again and I can’t wait to meet my new class! Wish me luck for September though, I know it’s going to be such hard work! 😂🙈

The rest of this Wrap Post follows my usual format (Past Reads, Current Reads, Upcoming Reads, Films/TV, Music/Podcasts, Pokemon Go) so feel free to skip any irrelevant parts!

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What I’ve Been Reading

August felt like I got my reading mojo back (slightly!) – I read 4 books in total and although I’m still 6 books behind my reading goal schedule, August’s progress has been the best since about March. Here’s what I read in August:

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (Strike #5)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love the Strike novels. The plot just feels so well crafted and by the time I think I’ve finally figured out whodunnit, there will be a red herring or twist in the tale to make me have to rethink everything! This was edge-of-my-seat, page-turning crime and I loved every minute of it!

Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O’Brien
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you’re looking for a weird Sci-Fi, Poetry, Comptemporary fusion then look no further than this book! I received an eARC of this Carribbean author’s work from Netgalley. It takes Lovecraft and modern hip-hop influences and turns them completely upside down. I went into it on a bit of a whim but it was incredible and seriously made me consider the power of writing and imagination to send a message and challenge ideals without resorting to cancel culture. You can read my spoiler-free review here.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a delightful Fairytale retelling of The Wild Swans. I was blown away by the magical world Lim created and can’t wait to read more of her writing. Check out my review here.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Inheritance Games #2)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Puzzles, secrets, invisible ink and a whole heap of family drama… I adore this series of books and have literally devoured each read in just a day! After the ending of The Inheritance Games, I had no idea where the sequel would go but I was SO HERE FOR IT! I couldn’t believe it when I got my ARC request accepted on Netgalley and now I’m left twiddling my thumbs until the final installation of this gripping trilogy. My review is up next week so swing back to check it out!

#CurrentlyReading

I’m still going with my Kafka On The Shore audiobook by Murakami – I have about three hours left but I’m finally starting to pull together some little threads about what I think is going on! Perseverance has definitely been the key with this read!

For now I have parked She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. I’ve heard great things about it so I’m determined that it will not become a DNF (I’ve only ever done that once before!), but I found it so hard to get into a reading rhythm and found myself just abandoning it and turning to TV – so for now, to keep my reading motivations on track, it’s on the bench. Anyone else ever feel that way with this book or is it just me?

I have FINALLY started my Rick Riordan reading journey with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief! I haven’t even seen the films so I’m completely unspoiled. I only picked it up last night but I’m already halfway through. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to discover Camp Half-Blood, I love it!

Upcoming Reads

This month I am taking part in the Magical Readathon hosted by G (Book Roast). I loved this so much in it’s previous format with the Harry Potter OWLs/NEWTs theme but this time around it’s back… refreshed, rebranded, with it’s own unique magical world created specifically for readathon purposes! It’s like the readathon of all readathons and always helps me tick off my reading goals. G has put so much work into this, it’s epic! She’s epic!!
You can read my TBR for it here.

What I’ve Been Watching

Far too much TV in August to be honest but it was the holidays, so who cares?!

I have discovered the absolute joy that is Outer Banks on Netflix. If you’ve been following me for a little while you will know that treasure hunting is practically my favourite trope in the whole wide world. Hence why this treasure-hunting, mystery teen drama set in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Bahamas was one of my favourite summer binges!

Greys Anatomy has long been one of my favourite TV shows until I somehow stopped watching it around Season 13 – probably as everything moved to streaming services and my broadband signal back then was so poor I couldn’t even watch a YouTube vid without it buffering! For some reason I just seemed to ‘remember’ that it was on Disney + now so I steamrollered my way through Seasons 13, 14 and 15 – I’m forcing myself to take a little break before launching back into Season 16 but I don’t think I can really wait that long before curiosity eventually kills the cat! 🙈

I caught the second season of the French programme Lupin on Netflix. Assan is a the main character who fashions his escapades on the French literary character Arsene Lupin, a gentleman burglar and master of disguise, from the novels by Maurice Leblanc. I liked that it wasn’t a terribly long series and answered the big cliffhanger of a twist from season one. I’m not sure whether there’ll be a third season but the storyline kind of feels resolved for me know so who knows whether it’ll be back.

My friend recommended Sex/Life to me so I watched that on Netflix. Isabella Summers, the Machine part of Florence + the Machine, did the music for it so that also pulled me in (FATM are my all-time favourite band!). It was an interesting series although I got a little annoyed in the end by Billie’s character and the very, very final scene was a bit of a WTF moment! Love triangles irritate me slightly as I always end up changing my mind about who should end up with who – I know that’s kind of the point but I procrastinate enough in my own life, I don’t need to be overwhelmed by it in other people’s too! 😂

It’s been a bit of a quiet month at the cinema but I did manage to catch:

• The Suicide Squad – I’ve decided I’m definitely a Marvel girl – the DC movies just don’t keep me entertained enough.
• The Courier – This was an interesting film that was definitely worth the watch and whilst I appreciated the storyline (based on real events) I don’t think it’s one I’ll need to watch again.
• Don’t Breathe 2 – This was an entirely different film to its predecessor and was more violence than horror. I enjoyed the story they created with the blind man’s character as it gave the film a little more depth than the first one.
• Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins – A fun film but a little longer than it needed to be.

What I’ve Been Listening to

Not much other than my audiobook of Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami.

Pokemon Go Update

Eevee Community Day was the best event of the month – and not just because Eevee is one of my favourite Pokemons, it definitely helped in me completing the Eevee shiny dex! My favourite wild shiny catch was Clefairy! I wasn’t really paying full attention as I was walking to the cinema but when I caught sight of those shiny green ears I could have squealed!

August’s Shiny Haul
Kabuto
Eevee x 11
Clefairy
Caterpie

My Trainer Code: If any fellow Pogo players want to add me, my trainer code is: 8327 7170 2277

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And that’s a wrap! How are you all doing? What are you looking forward to this September – are you taking part in Magical Readathon or any other Readathons? How are you doing with your 2021 reading goals now that we’re in the final quarter of the year?

As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx