N.E.W.Ts Readathon | Week #2 Update

Has it really been a week already? I managed to read three books for the N.E.W.Ts Readathon in the first week, something I haven't quite managed this week, so this past week feels as though it's flown by!

Like last week I'm going to list my progress below and then briefly chat about my past week of reading. If you're unfamiliar with this readathon, which is running throughout August, you can check out Book Roast's introduction video here.

Ancient Runes

1. Read a book set in the past Riddle of the Runes by Janina Ramirez
2. Read an ancient book on your shelves that you haven't yet read
3. Read a translated book

Arithmancy

1. Read a book of at least 300 pages The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2. Read a book that ends on an even numbered page Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton
3. Read a book that's not a first in a series

Charms

1. Read a book with magic in it The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
2. Read a book with a cover that charmed you
3. Read a book that you think will leave a mark

History of Magic

1. Read a book that you think would fit right in at Hogwarts Library
2. Read a book that was published at least 5 years ago
3. Read a book that's at least 400 pages long

Last week I mentioned that I was struggling to start History of Magic and, as you can see, I still haven't - oops! I've read Bree Barton's Heart of Thorns since last week which I mentioned in my previous post, I was thinking of using it for my A in History of Magic because the cover reminded me of Devil's Snare, and unfortunately I didn't like it as much as I hoped to. I've reviewed it here if you're interested!

In the end, as it ended on an even numbered page, I decided to put it towards my E in Arithmancy rather than my A in History of Magic. After finishing The Obelisk Gate I really wanted to carry on with the series and read The Stone Sky which I can put towards my O in Arithmancy, so I needed to get my E in the subject, and once I get my O in Arithmancy I've 'passed' - the main goal of the readathon is to get at least one O and one A in two separate subjects.

Like I said last week I know it's just a readathon and it's just a bit of fun, but it'll genuinely ease things up for me if I can get an O under my belt and then I can take my time with all the other books I'd like to try and read before the end of the month. I'm about a third of the way through The Stone Sky now, and really enjoying it, so I'm hoping to have that one finished soon and then Arithmancy is done!

My goals for the rest of the month are to get an O in Charms, reading Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, and to get Es in Ancient Runes and History of Magic. In a perfect world I'd get Os in all four subjects, but I don't think I'm going to have the time and I'm planning to buddy read Spinning Silver with my friend Natalie @ A Sea Change this month so I need to get to it soon.

To get my E in Ancient Runes I'm planning to read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, which I've been meaning to read for years, and for History of Magic I still need to choose a book to get my A. At the moment I think I might go for Circe by Madeline Miller, which funnily enough I mentioned I wasn't in the mood for last week as it was originally on my Charms TBR, but as Circe is considered one of fiction's first witches I think it's only fitting that a book about her would be in the Hogwarts library and considering its Ancient Greek setting, I'd like to try and read Circe before the autumn comes around.

With any luck I'll get a good way through The Stone Sky tonight and I'll be back next week with another update! How's your reading going?

N.E.W.Ts Readathon | Week #1 Update

If you saw my TBR at the end of last month then you know I'm taking part in Book Roast's N.E.W.Ts Readathon this month, with the subjects Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Charms and History of Magic. 

I've never done update posts on my blog for readathons before, although I am tweeting regularly here if you're interested, but I thought it would be fun to do for this one because it's such a great idea for a readathon and my TBR has already changed quite a bit.

My challenges (and the books I've read so far) are:

Ancient Runes

1. Read a book set in the past Riddle of the Runes by Janina Ramirez
2. Read an ancient book on your shelves that you've not yet read
3. Read a book translated from another language

Arithmancy

1. Read a book of at least 300 pages The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2. Read a book that ends on an even-numbered page
3. Read a book that isn't a first in a series

Charms

1. Read a book with magic in it The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
2. Read a book with a cover that charmed you
3. Read a book that you think will leave a mark

History of Magic

1. Read a book that looks as though it would fit in at Hogwarts Library
2. Read a book published at least five years ago
3. Read a book over 400 pages long

As you can probably tell if you saw my TBR, I've been tweaking it a little.

Originally I planned to read Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend, On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back by Stacey Dooley and The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin for Arithmancy. However, right at the beginning of the month I finished The Beautiful Ones, which I thought I'd finish in July, and because I finished it in August (and it was one of the books on my big End of the Year TBR) I decided to count it towards this readathon.

It easily could have been my A in Charms, but because I'm on such a fantasy kick I wanted to save the 'book with magic in it' challenge for more of a high fantasy read than a fantasy of manners, and as the first challenge for Arithmancy was simply to read a book at least 300 pages long then I thought I might as well count it!

Then recently I had such a craving to return to the Broken Earth trilogy that I couldn't wait. Luckily The Obelisk Gate has magic in it, so it could go towards my A in Charms!

Originally I was planning to read Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, Circe by Madeline Miller and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik for Charms, but right now I'm not quite in the mood for Circe, despite it being one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I'm worried I won't like it if I make myself read it just so I can read Spinning Silver which I'm very in the mood for right now. I'm also planning to buddy read Spinning Silver with Natalie @ A Sea Change this month, so the sooner I can get to it the better and now I can move on towards my O in Charms.

As I was planning to read The Obelisk Gate for the final Arithmancy challenge, now I can simple pick any book off my shelves that ends in an even number and then read the final book in the trilogy, The Stone Sky, to get my O in the subject.

I'm also planning to rejig my TBR for History of Magic, as it's proving a little trickier; particularly the first challenge which involves reading a book that looks as though it would fit in at Hogwarts Library. The only one I could initially think of is my copy of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, which has a very medieval parchment look about it, but I don't know if I'm in the mood for Assassin's Apprentice right now and if you hadn't already guessed I am very much a mood reader. This is particularly a problem when the second two books on my TBR for History of Magic, The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu, are both books I'm really looking forward to and I can't read them and get an O unless I've read something to fulfill the first challenge.

I know many of you are probably thinking 'Jess, just read the damn books - it's only a readathon!' and part of me thinks that too, but as I said before it's such a fun idea for a readathon and I'd love to complete as many challenges as I can just to prove to myself that I can.

So, instead of Assassin's Apprentice I'm now leaning towards Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton. I hadn't even heard of Heart of Thorns until I received it in a Fairyloot box, but it feels like the kind of fantasy story I would have loved when I was a teenager - there are dark elements to the story, but more than anything it feels like an adventure and I love that - and because fantasy is where I'm at right now I'm excited for it. Plus it has thorns on the cover that immediately made me think of Devil's Snare, so I think it's a cover that would definitely fit in at the Hogwarts Library!

Are you taking part in this readathon? How's your progress going and what are you reading at the moment? Let me know down below and I'll be back next week with another update!

N.E.W.Ts Readathon TBR!

Earlier this year I took part in Book Roast's O.W.Ls Readathon, a readathon inspired by the exams fifth year students take at Hogwarts, and this August it's time to take our N.E.W.Ts! There are a number of challenges, N.E.W.Ts are more difficult than O.W.Ls after all, and you can only take N.E.W.Ts for the subjects you 'passed' at O.W.L level.

For my O.W.Ls I completed Ancient Runes (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll), Arithmancy (Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo), Charms (The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine) and History of Magic (Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough), so those are the subjects I'll be tackling throughout August with a TBR of 12 books. Will I read all 12 of these in August? I'll be very impressed with myself if I do, but I've chosen all but three of them from my huge end-of-the-year TBR so I'm hoping I'll be able to get a good chunk of them under my belt. 

So, as tomorrow is the start of the readathon and today is Harry's birthday, I thought I'd share my Fantasy-heavy TBR with you!

Ancient Runes

• Read a book set in the past - Riddle of the Runes by Janina Ramirez
  This is historian Janina Ramirez's first foray into fiction with the start of a Middle Grade series set during the Viking era, and I was sent a review copy by Oxford University Press. It looks so fun and I couldn't resist the opportunity to read a book with 'runes' in the title.
• Read one of the most ancient books on your shelves that you haven't yet read - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
  I've been meaning to read this book for years and years and now that there's a new adaptation on television more of my friends want me to watch it so they have someone to talk to about it, but I can't watch it until I read it and I want to read it soon.
• Read a book translated from another language - Macbeth by Jo Nesbø
  I don't know yet if I'll get to this one because it's quite chunky and I haven't been a big fan of the Hogarth Shakespeare series so far, but Macbeth is my favourite Shakespeare play so I'm not going to say no to a crime fiction retelling. I've yet to read any Nesbø so this should be an interesting introduction to his work.

Arithmancy

• Read a book of at least 300 pages - Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
  I haven't seen a single bad review for this one yet and, as well as Fantasy and YA, I've rediscovered a love for Middle Grade this year too. I think this will be a fun one to blast through if I feel myself getting a bit bogged down during the readathon.
• Read a book that ends on an even numbered page - On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back by Stacey Dooley
  I haven't read any non-fiction yet this year but I keep eyeing up Stacey Dooley's first book because I love her documentaries. This one's actually less than 300 pages and is written in Dooley's conversational style so this is another one that I think will be fairly quick to blast through.
• Read a book that's not a first in a series - The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
  It's about time I returned to this trilogy! I really enjoyed The Fifth Season and I've actually started The Obelisk Gate and got about a quarter of the way through it, so it's about time I got back to it so I can try and finish this trilogy this year.

Charms

• Read a book with magic in it - Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
  This is another one I've heard nothing but good things about and I've been craving some African-inspired fantasy, so I can't wait to get to this one.
• Read a book with a cover that charmed you - Circe by Madeline Miller
  Admittedly this wasn't really a cover buy because I would have bought it anyway having loved The Song of Achilles so much last year, but the cover is absolutely gorgeous, even more so in person, and I can't wait to read this one.
• Read a book that you think will leave a mark - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
  I'm nervous about this one because I didn't enjoy Uprooted as much as I hoped to, but I've been longing for a novel-length retelling of Rumpelstiltskin for a long time now and I've seen so many amazing reviews that I'm hoping this will become a new favourite. I'll be buddy reading this one with the lovely Natalie @ A Sea Change!

History of Magic

• Read a book that you think would fit right in at the Hogwarts Library - Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
  That cover looks exactly like the kind of cover I'd expect to see in Hogwarts. I'm ashamed to say I've yet to read any Robin Hobb but she's an author I desperately want to try and, I hope, love.
• Read a book published at least 5 years ago - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
  This is another modern classic of Fantasy that I've been meaning to get to for years and ever since I read and adored Six of Crows I've been craving more Fantasy about thieves. I believe this one also has a setting inspired by Venice and I love Italy so I'm very excited about this one.
• Read a book that's at least 400 pages long - The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
  This is another one I've started but put aside to try and get through some review books and to read some more YA which I've been rediscovering my love for this year. I've enjoyed what I've read so far so I'd be very proud if I could finish it in August!

Are you taking part in the N.E.W.Ts Readathon? What are your reading plans for August?

#Victober TBR!

Ange @ Beyond the Pages, Katie @ Books and Things, Kate @ Kate Howe and Lucy @ Lucy the Reader are back for the second year in a row with #Victober - a read-a-thon focused on British and Irish literature written during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837-1901.

Victorian literature was always my favourite era of literature to study when I was a student, I studied Victorian Popular Fiction and Victorian Gothic in the final year of my undergraduate degree and loved it, but I don't read much of it now that I'm no longer a student. There are so many more contemporary writers, particularly non-British, LGBT+ and poc writers, whom I'd rather devote my reading time to.

Having said that, I do still enjoy classics when I pick them up so I thought I'd join in and try to read a bit of Victorian literature this October alongside all of the other books I want to read this autumn!

There are five challenges:

• Read a Victorian book by a Irish, Scottish or Welsh author
• Read a Victorian book that was recommended to you 
• Read a supernatural Victorian book
• Read a lesser known Victorian book
• Read a Victorian book by a female author

I'm only going to attempt three of them, because I don't want Victorian literature to completely take over my reading month, so the challenges I've crossed through are the ones I won't be tackling.

Read a Victorian book by an Irish, Scottish or Welsh author // I'm going to re-read The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen, because I think I need to read it again to appreciate it. It's described as one of the best horror stories ever written but I remember being left a bit disappointed with it, so I'd like to give it another try. Arthur Machen was a Welsh author who focused on supernatural/horror stories, so he's worth checking out if you're into Victorian Gothic.

Read a supernatural Victorian book // Another re-read, this time of one of my favourite pieces of Victorian literature: Carmilla. Carmilla is a vampire story that pre-dates Dracula and I really, really enjoyed it when I had to study it for university. It'd be nice to read it again just for the pure enjoyment of it.

Read a Victorian book by a female author // I love Anne Brontë, but I've never read her masterpiece the whole way through. I've read bits of it here and there and I understand the social importance of it, but I want to read it properly so I can appreciate the often forgotten Brontë's genius. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the book I'd like to focus my attention on for this read-a-thon.

Are you taking part in #Victober? What are some of your favourite Victorian novels?

#TBRTakedown Readathon | Wrap-Up!

Last week I took part in Shannon @ Leaning Lights's TBRTakedown Readathon. I managed to finish three books in total, which I'm pretty pleased with!

Lolly Willowes

by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Lolly Willowes is a twenty-eight-year-old spinster when her adored father dies, leaving her dependent upon her brothers and their wives. After twenty years of self-effacement as a maiden aunt, she decides to break free and moves to a small Bedfordshire village. Here, happy and unfettered, she enjoys her new existence nagged only by the sense of a secret she has yet to discover. That secret - and her vocation - is witchcraft, and with her cat and a pact with the Devil, Lolly Willowes is finally free. 

My Rating: 

How To Be a Heroine

by Samantha Ellis

While debating literature’s greatest heroines with her best friend, thirtysomething playwright Samantha Ellis has a revelation—her whole life, she's been trying to be Cathy Earnshaw of Wuthering Heights when she should have been trying to be Jane Eyre.

With this discovery, she embarks on a retrospective look at the literary ladies—the characters and the writers—whom she has loved since childhood. From early obsessions with the March sisters to her later idolization of Sylvia Plath, Ellis evaluates how her heroines stack up today. And, just as she excavates the stories of her favorite characters, Ellis also shares a frank, often humorous account of her own life growing up in a tight-knit Iraqi Jewish community in London. Here a life-long reader explores how heroines shape all our lives.

My Rating: 

Stargirl

by Jerry Spinelli

From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, hallways hum “Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. Until they are not. Leo urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her - normal.

My Rating: 

As I'm sure you can tell by my ratings, How To Be a Heroine was the best thing I read last week, and probably one of the best things I've read this year. I've been on a real non-fiction kick lately, and I'm on the lookout for more!

Did you take part in the readathon last week? What did you read?

#TBRTakedown Readathon | TBR

Over on BookTube Shannon @ leaninglights has announced a casual reading challenge to run throughout the first week of June, and as May was very busy and something of a slow reading month for me I thought I'd join in!

The TBR Takedown Readathon is all about crossing books off your TBR. Shannon has created five challenges that you don't have to follow if you don't want to, but I'm going to see if I can at least tackle one or two of them. 

A book that's been on your TBR shelf for over a year

Stargirl

by Jerry Spinelli

I'm pretty sure I've owned this for at least two years, if not more, after I found it for just 99p in a local charity shop. I've heard lovely things about it and it's not even 200 pages long, so I think it'll be a good read for a readathon!

An unread sequel sitting on your TBR shelf

Mortal Heart

by Robin LaFevers

I got this for Christmas and I still haven't read it. I'm terrible at finishing series no matter how much I love them, and it's about time I finished this one!

A first book in a series on your TBR shelf

A Darker Shade of Magic

by V.E. Schwab

I've heard nothing but amazing things about this one and I've owned it since February, so it's about time I read it.

An "out of your comfort zone" book on your TBR shelf

How To Be a Heroine

by Samantha Ellis

I'm not sure if this is out of my comfort zone exactly because the last book I read was a non-fiction book about heroines and I loved it, but I still don't tend to read much non-fiction. I'd like to cross this one off my TBR!

A book from your most recent book haul

Resistance Is Futile

by Jenny T. Colgan

This is the most recent book I hauled after I pre-ordered it. This is probably the book I'm least likely to get to, only because it's been on my TBR shelf the shortest amount of time!

Are you taking part in the readathon? What are you planning to read?

Bout of Books 13 | Bookish Survey Challenge!

It's the first day of Bout of Books 13, and Lori @ Writing My Own Fairy Tale is hosting the very first challenge, complete with a giveaway! I've never taken part in any of the Bout of Books challenges before, but this survey seemed like too much fun to pass up - I love getting the chance to talk about books I love and recommend them to people!

Thanks, Lori, for hosting this challenge!

The Questions

1) How do you organise your shelves?

I don't, really. I try to have some semblance of organisation, but as I'm pretty much entirely out of room I stick my books where there's room for them, although I do have spaces of organisation. I have one shelf dedicated entirely to my classics, and I always keep my series together, and, if I can, I'll keep books written by the same author together, too. One day I'd love to have a big house with a huge library room where I can organise them to my heart's content, either alphabetically or by genre.

2) What is one of your favourite books that's not in one of your favourite genres?

This is a great question. I think I'll have to go with Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble, which I really, really enjoyed when I read it a couple of years ago. I don't dislike contemporary, but it's certainly not a genre I tend to read a lot of.

3) What is the last 5 star book you read?

Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction's Most Beloved Heroines by Samantha Hahn. It's a beautiful book, and I'm really glad to have it on my shelf.

4) What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon?

Probably Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, which is a modern classic from the mid '2os about a spinster who dabbles in witchcraft.

5) What book do you recommend the most?

It has to be my favourite book of 2015 so far, and one of my all-time favourites now, Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It's exquisite and you should read it. You can check out my review here!

Happy reading!

Bout of Books 13!

Bout of Books 13 is on its way, which is great because I've been in the mood for a readathon!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I have a tentative TBR. I'm rubbish at sticking to TBRs, but I always like to make them - just in case! I know I won't read all of these, but if I could get through one or two of them I'll be a happy bunny, and if I don't I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever else it is I read.

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner: This is a relatively new find - I saw Lesley @ Words of a Reader talking about this book on her channel and I was immediately intrigued. Ever since I started reading Daphne du Maurier and Shirley Jackson I've been getting into modern classics more and more, especially modern classics written by women, and this one sounds right up my alley!

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton: I own three of Jo Walton's books now - Tooth and Claw, Among Others and My Real Children - and I've heard such great things about her writing that it's about time I read something of hers. This sounds bizarre but brilliant, and I'd like to cross it off my TBR soon!

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: I really want to finish this. I haven't picked it up for a couple of weeks, not because I wasn't enjoying it but simply because it surprised me so much I've needed time to recuperate. I think I'm ready to return to it now!

Where She Went by Gayle Forman: I always like to toss a short, contemporary read into my TBRs whenever I take part in a readathon - sometimes they can be just what I need to stop me from falling into a slump. I really enjoyed If I Stay, so it's about time I read this one.

Persuasion by Jane Austen: There's a teeny tiny chance I might use this readathon to give Austen another try. Maybe.

Are you taking part in Bout of Books? What are you planning to read?

The Underhyped Read-a-thon | #UnderHypedReads

I imagine plenty of us in the book blogging world are familiar with our vlogging counterparts over on booktube, and I imagine a lot of you are going to be taking part in the BookTube-A-Thon which starts tomorrow. I love the BookTube-A-Thon and I think it's a great idea, but right now I have a little too much work to do to warrant a read-a-thon with so many different challenges.

Earlier today, however, I came across the announcement for an Underhyped Read-a-thon (which you can find here) and I thought it was a great idea! I'm not really the kind of reader who stays on top of the current trends any more - there are so many popular books I haven't read or tried to read and didn't like, so the majority of my favourite books are books barely anyone else seems to have heard of. Particularly because I haven't come across that many bloggers or vloggers who read historical fiction as often as I do. They must be out there, I just need to find them!

It will be running from the 21st-27th of July, and the challenge is to read as many underhyped books as you can! It's up to you how you classify underhyped, but I've decided to give myself the challenge of only reading books (or book, I don't know how much reading I'm going to get done!) with less than 1,000 ratings on Goodreads.

I'm in the middle of working on my MA portfolio right now so I have no idea how much reading I'm going to get done, so for now I've decided there are three books I own that I'm going to try and read during that week, and they are: Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb, Burn Mark by Laura Powell, and White Star by Robin Llywelyn.

This read-a-thon is being hosted by Charlotte/RamblingsofanElfpire, who you can find here, here and here! There's also a group on Goodreads for this read-a-thon, which you can find here!

I think it's a great idea to spread some love for some of the underhyped books on our shelves.

Will you be taking part?

J.