What I've Been Reading Recently- Winter Edition 2021

2021 really has flown by and suddenly we're into the final two months of the year. This means it's time for my "what I've been reading recently this autumn" post. Across September and October, I read 14 books. This was a step down from my summer reading, but I'm still happy with what I've been reading. Here's to hoping the end of 2021 will be as good as the last few months as I'm well on my way to hitting my Goodreads challenge.  

September 

In September I read 6 books, two of which were rereads. September ended up being kinda of a busy month as I went on a mini-holiday with my family, which meant I didn't have much time to read. 

The Foundling by Stacey Halls 

My first read of September was a book I was excited to read and had been leftover from my August TBR. You might have seen in my last what I've been reading recently post, that I loved The Familiars by Stacey Halls. So much so that I immediately bought her second book to read. Sadly, I didn't end up enjoying this one as much. I really didn't like one of the characters and struggled to connect with the story. I have a full spoiler filled review, which you can read here. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

This book had some of the most beautiful writing I have ever written. SMG has become someone I am dying to read from again. Thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the story and the setting. My only qualm with this book is that the main character could be a bit annoying and repetitive at times. I will be making my way through her other books as that was just some of the best writing I have ever read. I gave it 4/5 stars.

  

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The first book I reread this month. After really enjoying the TV show adaptation, I have been giving the books a second chance. I wasn't wowed by the SoC duology when I first read it in 2019, but I'm happy to say I enjoyed it a lot more this time. It still didn't quite live up to the hype for me, but you can really see the improvement in the quality of writing and characters. I cared a lot more this time, perhaps because I knew what was going to happen at certain points. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

My other reread was the other half of this duology. Again, this book grew on me with this reread. I can see why it's so beloved. I am interested as to why it's getting a sequel, as I felt the ending was strong. It would take away from some of that mystery. I'm now interested in reading the Nikolai duology, which I'm finally going to read at some point. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Autumn by Ali Smith

I have wanted to read this series for a while and am so happy that I've started this. At first, I wasn't sure about it, but I ended up really enjoying it. I liked the intertwining storyline. I liked the themes being discussed and how Ali Smith approached them. It was a nice, short and easy book to read. I am looking forward to continuing this series throughout the year. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

My final read of September was the prequel to The Hate U Give. I was looking forward to this as Angie Thomas is such a good writer, however this ended up being my least favourite of her books. I found Maverick a hard character to connect with and this didn't add much to what I already knew from THUG. It was an important story to tell, but just didn't have the same emotional punch as THUG. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

October

During October, I participated in Spoopathon, a month long readathon for Halloween. This really helped me stay motivated with my reading and I managed to read 8 books this month. Most of them were for Spoopathon, but I did fit in three non-Spoopathon books. 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

I decided to join the new local book club in my town and the pick for October was this. It's a translated fiction book and I did not like it. I didn't like the characters, I found them too similar and whiny. I didn't like the story. I just didn't like it. I don't think I'm the target demographic for this book, especially as I'm the youngest in the club by 10-15 years. I would not recommend this book. I gave it 2/5 stars.  

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

On the other hand, I would highly recommend this book. I read this in one sitting and I adored it. It has such a sweet message at it's core. The artwork is beautiful. It's one of the most heartwarming books I've ever read and I wish I could read it for the first time again. I loved it. An easy 5/5 stars from me. 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

This book was so hyped and beloved, that I had wanted to read it for a few months. In short, this book just wasn't for me. While I liked the characters, I didn't like the story or the writing. I think this is a case of a celebrity getting to write a book. This was a murder mystery and I still don't know who committed which crimes. I won't be continuing with this series and I'm going to give my copy away. You can read my full spoiler filled review here. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

I adored Stuart's other book, the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so I was excited to read this as it was finally out in paperback. This did not disappoint. This was another clever murder mystery. I liked the characters and I loved the confined setting of the ship. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending, but aside from that, I had a great time with this book. I cannot wait to see what Stuart Turton writes next. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

This book had a very rocky start, which meant I leant towards giving it 3 stars for most of my time reading it. However, it grew on me. I liked Mina as a character, she felt realistic. I wasn't convinced by the instalove storyline. Overall, this was quite a fun and easy read. I do plan on reading the sequel when it comes out next year. I gave it 3.5/5 stars.

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

This was probably one of the most disappointing books I have read. I went in expecting spookiness and witches and I did not get that. I didn't like the characters or the story. This reminded me of Where the Crawdads Sing, which was another book I didn't like. I will not be keeping my copy as I was just so disappointed by it. I gave it 3/5 stars.

Mouseguard: Autumn 1152 by David Petersen

If you are looking for a fun, fantasy graphic novel with mice in it, then I'd recommend this. I liked the world building and the premise of this. I also really enjoyed the artwork. I struggled with working out which character was which at times as some of the mice looked similar and you could only tell by the colour of their cloak, which they wouldn't always wear. I am interested in continuing this series as it was entertaining. Kinda like a mice version of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. I gave it 3/5 stars.

The Places in Between by Rory Stewart

The final book I read in October was the November book club book. This was a non-fiction book about a guy walking across Afghanistan in 2002. I don't read much travel writing, it isn't a genre I naturally gravitate towards. I found Rory a difficult narrator to connect to. A lot of what happened became quite repetitive. The only thing I really liked about this book was the parts featuring the dog he adopted along the way as I wanted to know if it was okay. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

So those conclude my reads for autumn 2021. What books did you manage to read this autumn??

The Power of the Readathon| CarenzaOnBooks

This post is inspired by the Spoopathon, which is a readathon I am currently taking part in. If you want to know more about it and what I'm reading for it, then click here. In today's post, I want to talk about the power of readathons and how they've made me motivated to read.

Prior to this, I have taken part in one or two readathons during my time in the book community. I like the ones where you can fit whatever books you want to read to prompts, rather than having a specific group book to read. In recent years, there hasn't really been a readathon that has captured my attention. Either the timing didn't work for me or the premise wasn't one I was interested in. Then Spoopathon came along, created by the wonderful Holly from @spoopyhol. A Halloween themed readathon? Sign me up. What was great about this one was that I could already fit my TBR plans for October around the prompts. The prompts are very generous and you can get quite creative with how you pick books for them. 

Since taking part, I've noticed that I am more motivated to read. In the first week of October, I read three books. I don't remember the last time I read that many books in one week. Compared to normal months, where I'm just reading for me, I'm more likely to pick up a book. I think that's because of two reasons. One, I have a goal to complete and two, I want to collect points for my teams. This is the first readathon I've taken part in where there's a bit of a competition element. It feels like I'm working towards something and that at the end, there's going to be a reward. 

Readathons are a community event. I know for this one, there are reading sprints you can take part in at certain times, where everyone reads at the same time. There's teams and obviously, you want to see to see your team win. You can interact with other people and see what they're reading or what content they're making around the readathon. I think the community spirit created around readathons makes them a wholesome event to take part in.

The Spoopathon isn't finished yet, but I'm certain I'd take part in more readathons in the future. I've had so much fun challenging myself to read more this month and it's given me a chance to create content that's a bit different from what I normally do. Readathons are very powerful and lovely events. I'd recommend taking part in one. 

These were my short and somewhat ramble-y thoughts on readathons.      

My Spoopathon TBR| CarenzaOnBooks

I know we're a few days into October, but I thought I'd share my TBR for the Spoopathon readathon taking place this month. In case you don't know, this is a month long readathon hosted by @spoopyhol on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The aim is to escape the haunted house by completing reading prompts which give you points. The points go towards your team. This is a very brief summary and you can find more information on the @spoopathon Twitter account. I am a member of Team Order of Spies and I am super excited to take part. Without further ado, here is my TBR and the prompts they will be completing.   

This also includes some non Spoopathon TBR books for the month

Gifted to You

My first book of the readathon completes the "gifted to you" prompt as this was a birthday present from my best friend back in August. I have wanted to read The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse for some time. I keep on seeing it around and know that quite a lot of people like it. I don't actually know what this is about other than it can make people quite sad. It's a graphic novel and it's on the short side, so I thought it would be the perfect book to start with. 

Autumnal Cover

For the second prompt, I have chosen The Thursday Murder Club. This has a fox on the cover and I would say foxes are very autumnal. Again, this is another book I have heard nothing but great things about. I love a good cosy, murder mystery, so this sounds like it should be something I should enjoy. 

500+ Pages and Team Colour

I really enjoyed Stuart Turton's other book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so I cannot wait to read his latest book. This comes in at just over 500 plus pages and it very subtly features my team colour of yellow as the chain on the cover is yellow. I may be stretching it to fit the prompt, but I think that is a shade of yellow and therefore, it counts. 

Bonus photo of my cat Mac with my TBR!

Diverse Rep and LGBTQIA+ Rep/Author

It seems I have picked books that I've heard a lot of good things about and so my next pick is Mina and the Undead. I love a good YA urban fantasy and this one has vampires in it, so it should be good. The diverse rep in this book is that it's written by a female author (which I checked does count for the prompt) and that one of the characters is LGBT+. Part of the reason I want to read this is that I saw James Marsters, who played Spike on Buffy, saying some really nice things about this book and that made me want to read it more,  

Read it After Dark and Spooky Book 

My final book for the Spoopathon is Wakenhyrst, which is a gothic historical fiction. I bought it almost a year ago, really wanting to read it and here we are a year later. I've really gotten into historical fiction in the past year and would consider it one of my favourite genres. Add in some gothic, spooky elements and well, you've got my attention. 

That concludes my TBR for the Spoopathon. I've only pledged to go around the house once because I want to enjoy the books and I don't want to rush myself, plus I think this is quite an ambitious TBR as is. I can't wait to help lead Team Order of Spies to victory!