Tag: roundup

February in books

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Hello there!

It is March already, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Genuinely though… February WHIZZED past. 

Today I’m here to share with you the books I read in February!

In February, I:

Had half term and it was brilliant
Started Priory of the Orange Tree and am still reading it!
Received lots of incredible book post (thank you publishers!)
Experienced lots of unexpected sunshine! 
Spent time with my goddaughters having a reading date
Shared lots of brilliant books with my kids
Had some bloody brilliant lessons
Read 14 books

So, what did I actually read in February? 

I read a whole host of books, with reviews for a load of them coming in the next few weeks – so watch out for those! Check out the reviews that are already live if it takes your fancy!

Let’s start with MG for a change!

feb mg

Everdark – Abi Elphinstone (World Book Day 2019 book!)*
Swimming Against the Storm – Jess Butterworth*
The Star Spun Web – Sinead O’Hart
Owen and the Solder – Lisa Thompson*
Asha and the Spirit Bird – Jasbinder Bilan*

And now some YA?!

feb ya

The Boy Who Steals Houses – C.G. Drews*
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali – Sabina Khan*
The Quiet at the End of the World – Lauren James
A Girl Called Shameless – Laura Steven
The Extinction Trials: Rebel – S.M. Wilson*
Song of Sorrow – Melinda Salisbury*
The Cold is in Her Bones – Peternelle van Arsdale*
Devoted – Jennifer Mathieu*
The Disconnect – Keren David*

(any books with a * were proofs or finished copies sent to me by the publisher)

How am I doing for my book challenges?

Goodreads challenge: 25/52 (lol I’m almost half way already!)
#52books challenge (just kids books): 6/52

How did you do with your reading in February? 
What was your favourite read of February? 
What would you recommend me from your 2019 reading list?

Talk to me in the comments. I don’t need more books… but will HAPPILY take more recommendations! 

S x 

January in books

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Hello friends!

How are we all? Hows February treating you so far? 

I’m here to share with you a round up of my January! Are you ready?!

January was a pretty shitty month for me personally, but now that we’re into February I am trying to move on from the crappy things that happened. Easier said than done, BUT we need to take each day as it comes!

I listened to a LOT of Dear Evan Hansen in January – I would COMPLETELY recommend that soundtrack. It came for me at the WORST of times and got me through a lot of tears. I’m still listening to it now and we’re a month on from when I first found it!

However, among all the shittiness, I did manage to read 11 books! I was CHUFFED when I noticed that. I didn’t think I’d get through that many. (It’s only the 3rd Feb as I write this post and I’ve already read 2 books in Feb). 

Would you like to know what I read? 

jan 2019 ya

YA books:

We are Blood and Thunder – Kesia Lupo*
Proud – Various authors*
All The Lonely People – David Owen
Paper Avalanche – Lisa Williamson
Two Can Keep A Secret – Karen M. McManus

2019 jan mg

MG books:

Against All Gods – Maz Evans*
Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of the Dark – Kevin and Katie Tsang*
Ghost – Jason Reynolds*
Hotel Flamingo – Alex Milway*
Our Castle by the Sea – Lucy Strange*
Call Me Alastair – Cory Leonardo*

(any books with a * were sent to me by the publisher)

How am I doing for my book challenges?

Goodreads challenge: 11/52
#52books challenge (just kids books): 6/52

How did you do with your reading in January? 
What was your favourite read of January? 
What would you recommend me from your January reading list?

Talk to me in the comments! I’d love to know what you’ve been reading!

S x 

2018 round up!

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WELL HELLO 2019.
How are you my dear darling? 

I’m here to give you a round up of the December, and then a short round up of all of the goings on in the old reading world! 

So let’s start with December! In December, I:

Finished my first term as an NQT
Read 11 books in total
Read most of those books in the Christmas holidays
Spent time sorting through a LOT of books
Laughed a lot
Hated the dark days
Rewatched so many of my favourite films
Helped pull off a brilliant nativity play with my brilliant kids
Had a lush Christmas and New Years!
Played pool for the first time in FOREVER and won!

So, what MG books did I read in December?

december mg

I was 100% spoiled with the MG books I read in December. The brilliant brilliant humans of all the publishers sent me these and I loved each and every one of them. I think The Midnight Hour is going to be SPECIAL next year when it comes out. The world building and the characters were just exceptional. Keep your eyes peeled in the next few weeks for reviews on all of these books! 

What about YA, Steph? Did you abandon it like you did a few months ago?

NO NO I DID NOT.

december ya

I had a thoughly enjoyable December in YA books. All of these books I adored for very different reasons. Oh My Gods was such a brilliant tale; Dry was dystopian that could be; Slay was just fun and This Lie Will Kill You terrified me. Watch out for full reviews of all of these books to come! I have lots to say about all of them! 

As December was the last month of 2018, my book challenge round ups are for the WHOLE YEAR. 

What about my book challenges?

#BritishBooksChallenge: 113/12 (maybe more!)
#52books2018: 99/52 (just kids books!)
Goodreads challenge: 162/52

I read some ABSOLUTE SMASHERS this year. I think 2018 was an incredible year for books. I had quite a lovely time going through my Goodreads challenge to see all of the books I read! Check them all out below!

Just look at all of them together!
What a beautiful set of books I read in 2018! 

Here’s to 2019!

How did you do on your reading challenges?
What was December like reading wise for you?
What 2019 releases are you most excited for?

Talk to me! I’d love to know your thoughts!

S x

November wrap up!

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It may be December 10th, but I still am yet to round up my (rather pitiful looking) November reads!

In November, I:

Only read 3 books!
Started a few books, but my brain wouldn’t let me read.
Suffered from some pretty bad SAD.
Was a bit poorly.
Slept a lot.
Started rehearsing for the Christmas play at school.
Experienced my worst reading block for a while.
Did some Christmas shopping!

My November in books is a pretty TINY pile comapred to some months… but hey, when you’re not in the mood, you’re not in the mood!

The books I managed to get through were:

2 YA books and 1 kids book. 

I was SO VERY FORTUNATE to be send a proof copy of Fierce Fragile Hearts and I consumed it in a matter of hours a few weekends ago. I’m currently still trying to process my thoughts on it, but I tell you this guys, you NEED to get on it. It’s out next year and I just think Sara Barnard has yet again written an absolute winner. She is 100% one of my faves.

I’ve written a review of The Boneless Mercies here and my review of Fortunately, The Milk is to come!

What about my book challenges?

#BritishBooksChallenge: 105/12 (maybe more!)
#52books2018: 92/52 (just kids books!)
Goodreads challenge: 152/52

Now, for all this month wasn’t a GREAT success reading wise, I am still streets ahead of my yearly goal… which pleases me to no end! I’m hoping to read 4 books in December, so that I’m on 156 books (300% of my original target). Bring on the Christmas holidays!

How is your yearly goal looking?
Are you looking forward to Christmas festivities too?
What’s on your Christmas to read pile?

Let me know in the comments!

S x

October in books!

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Well hello November, you snuck up on me indeed.

I’m not sure where October went (it took half of my half term with it too!), but here we are… the end of another month, around for another bookish round up!

In October, I:

Visited Edinburgh with my favourite.
Spent most of my half term poorly.
Loved every second of being a teacher.
Got to interview David Levithan and Laura Steven at Waterstones (!!)
Went out to breakfast with my best friends.
Finished my first half term as an NQT.
Sang a lot of Livin on a Prayer.
Read 15 books (!!)

October was a pretty incredible month! I NEVER expected to have read 15 books! That’s blown my mind a little bit!

What MG did I read?

october mg

A Chase in Time – Sally Nicholls *
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters – Andrea Beaty *
The Dog That Saved Christmas – Nicola Davies *
Isadora Moon Makes Winter Magic – Harriet Muncaster *
Max the Detective Cat: The Phantom Portrait – Sarah Todd Taylor *
The Boy Who Lived With Dragons – Andy Shepherd *
The Truth Pixie – Matt Haig
A Pinch of Magic – Michelle Harrison *

* reviews to come!

What about YA?

october ya

Thunderhead – Neal Shusterman*
And The Ocean Was Our Sky – Patrick Ness*
Jack of Hearts and Other Parts – L. C. Rosen*
Someday – David Levithan
Firebird – Elizabeth Wein*

Anything else?

I also read The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. I am a massive Mitch Albom fan. My review of this is to come!

I’m really chuffed with how many books I managed to read last month! There were definitely some stand outs! Keep your eyes peeled this week for a round up of reviews and some more in depth reviews too!

What about my book challenges?

#BritishBooksChallenge: 104/12 (maybe more!)
#52books2018: 91/52 (just kids books!)
Goodreads challenge: 148/52

Now that it’s November, we will be in for full swing Christmas mode at school! I am also  sticking to my pledge of reading every night before bed.

How are you getting doing with your book challenges?
What was your favourite read in October?
Do you prefer my in depth reviews or my round ups?

Don’t forget to let me know in the comments/on twitter if there’s anything you want to see me read/want to see on my blog. I love your suggestions!

S x

 

September in books

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Well hello October, you came quickly my friend!

I did not think September would go as quickly as it did, but here we are… the end of another month, around for another bookish round up!

In September, I:

Read 8 books.
Started my first term as an NQT.
Had my first NQT observation.
Announced I was doing another event (with Laura Steven and David Levithan)!!!
Had days of not reading and then a weekend of binge reading.
Got very excited for some 2019 releases.
Received some absolutely lush book post. 

September was an incredible month. I finally started teaching and it’s genuinely the best thing. I love it so much. 

But you’re here for books, yes?

Let’s start with MG:

I managed 6 MG books this month!

sept mg

It seems September was the month of beautiful turquoise covers. Trust me… they’re LUSH. Watch out for reviews this week! I can’t wait to share my thoughts on all of these!

Now, some YA:

I got through 2 YA books this month!

sept ya

I loved BOTH of these books. I’ve already reviewed Scythe. My review of The Treatment is still to come… but trust me, it is EXCELLENT, if not a bit spooky!

I’m chuffed with this! I felt like tiredness stopped me from reading, so was under the impression I’d done NO reading this month, so to find that I’ve actually read 8 is brilliant. 

What about my book challenges?

#BritishBooksChallenge: 97/12 (maybe more!)
#52books2018: 82/52 (just kids books!)
Goodreads challenge: 133/52

Now that it’s October, I’ll have a half term to get some reading done. However, I am sticking to my pledge of reading every night before bed.

How are you getting doing with your book challenges?
What was your favourite read in September?
Do you wanna know more about any of my books?

Don’t forget to let me know in the comments/on twitter if there’s anything you want to see me read/want to see on my blog. I love your suggestions!

S x

August in books

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Well hello there! Sorry this wrap up is late… the end of August came upon me suddenly! 

Goodbye August – the month of sunshine, trips to London, relaxing with my favourites, reading many books. You must make way now for September, the month of back to work nerves, new jobs and many changes afoot! September is going to be both an exhausting and exhilirating month! 

In August, I:

Read 31 books (!!)
Spent a few days in London with my best friend
Enjoyed the Summer holidays
Worried about my new job
Was excited about my new job
Spent a lot of time relaxing
Did a lot of sorting
Set up my first classroom (!! – more on that coming this week!)
Announced I’m chairing another event (!! – more on that here)

August was an incredible month. A lot of reading happened! Want to see what I read?!

Let’s start with middle grade!

In August, I read 14 MG books! From jumping the rooftops in Paris, to sailing the seas and making friends with islands; from being a detective, to travelling in and out of books; from running with the memory of the war to being chosen by the elements – all of August’s kids books I would wholeheartedly recommend. 

August MG

Just look at that assortment! Definitely keep your eyes peeled for these – some of them are out already, others are yet to be released!

Now on to YA 

August saw me take on MANY YA books, with me managing to read a grand total of 15 YA books (which I believe is my highest monthly YA total this year… I could be mistaken!) I read a whole range of books – from ones that had been on TBR forever, to brand new books, to new releases and soon to be released! I definitely enjoyed all of them, but some will stay with me a lot longer!

august ya

If all of those covers aren’t enough to entice you, I’ve posted a few reviews already, with the rest scheduled in the coming weeks!

Mini reviews: London edition

BOOK BLOG: Hayley Barker

BOOK BLOG: Chloe Coles

BOOK BLOG: Philip Pullman

Now for a miscellaneous 2 – not YA, not MG… but adult?! I don’t know?

So yeah, there’s all the books I read in August… but what does this mean for my book challenges?

What about my book challenges?

#BritishBooksChallenge: 92/12 (maybe more!)
#52books2018: 76/52 (just kids books!)
Goodreads challenge: 125/52

Now that it’s September, I can bet that I won’t get through as many books, but I am making a pledge to read every night before bed, so hopefully I’ll still get through books! 

How are you getting doing with your book challenges?
What was your favourite read in August?
Do you wanna know more about any of my books?

Don’t forget to let me know in the comments/on twitter if there’s anything you want to see me read/want to see on my blog. I love your suggestions!

S x

July in books

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Goodbye July, you were wonderful and filled with books and my friends, but you now must make way for your neighbour August – she who brings me Summer holidays and many relaxing! There will be work things happening, but August is a teacher’s time to recharge and recuperate, ready for whatever September brings!

In July, I:

Read 11 books.
Spent a weekend at YALC
Bought a fair few books
Saw Matt Haig talk for the second time
Broke up from school
Saw some of my favourite people in the world
Fell deeply in love with Kaz Brekker again
Finally got my hands on a book I’ve been wanting forever
Celebrated my 2 year blog anniversary!
Graduated from university!
Qualified as a teacher!
Got my own classroom!
Did my first transition day with my new kids!

July was an incredible month – professionally and personally – and now it’s over I am very thankful that all these wonderful things happened. Whether it was through luck, charm or dogged hard work, I’m very proud of the past month, but also the past year (more on that to come in the next few weeks!)

But anyway, you’re really here to hear about what I read in July, aren’t you?

Let’s start with MG books:

july mg

6 MG books this month and all of them were a delight! Reviews coming in the next few weeks for all of them as I am READY to shout about them all!

Now, YA books!
(Last month I only read 2, so I have definitely done better this month!)

ya july

Notes on a Nervous Planet TECHNICALLY isn’t a YA book, but I didn’t want to single it out! Reviews to come for all of these too – would recommend all 100%.

What about my book challenges?

#BritishBooksChallenge: 68/12 (maybe more!)
#52books2018: 62/52 (just kids books!)
Goodreads challenge: 95/52

Now that its the Summer holidays, I should get lots of reading done! So look out for all of those updates on my Goodreads, Instagram and Twitter! Give me a follow on Instagram and Twitter – I’m @eenalol on both! 

How are you getting doing with your book challenges?
What was your favourite read in July?
Do you wanna know more about any of my books?

Let me know in the comments/on twitter if there’s anything you want to see me read/want to see on my blog. I love your suggestions!

S x

Half year in review!

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Hello there!

Since we’ve done half a year already, I thought I’d share with you my half year in review! Sharing my fave 5 books for MG and YA with you!

Tomorrow comes my MG books I’m excited for for the rest of the year and next week I share the YA version of that! So many books I’m excited for! 

Books read this year: 84

MG books read this year: 56

YA books read this year: 28

I didn’t realise just how many kids books I had read this year. But Summer is an excellent chance for me to catch up with some YA. YALC is coming, so I need to prepare my brain for much YA reading. There’s a whole host of YA books that I need to purchase and get reading over the summer, so I have no doubt that by the end of August those numbers will both have increased but YA more so.

I read so much MG because I’m always on the look out for new books for school – both for me to use for teaching, but also to add to the school library. 

When I was thinking about what to include in this blog post, I initially went with “top 3 MG and YA books of the year so far” and then when I looked at the sheer amount of books I’ve read so far, I had to change that to top 5. This is HARD guys. I generally LOVE all of the books – that’s just who I am. But here goes… (ask me again for my top 5 in about a week and it’ll probably be different. No regrets. I just love the books)

Let’s start with…

5 favourite MG books I’ve read this year

fave mg

5 favourite YA books I’ve read this year

fave ya

There are SO MANY other books I could’ve included (honourable mentions galore, if you wanna know them ask me! I can recommend SO MANY OTHER BOOKS) and whittling it down to JUST books I’ve read this year (not books necessarily that have been released this year) and only 5 was HARD. 

(If you’re wondering, I read Goodbye Perfect and State of Sorrow LAST year, otherwise they’d be on the YA list WITHOUT a doubt)

So there you go. If you have any questions about other books, these books, anything else first half of the year bookish related, please ask! I am always happy to answer questions!

What have been your fave 5 books of the year?
Are there any books on my top 5 that you’ve not read?

Talk to me! I wanna know your top 5s!

S x

June in books

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Hello there!

We are already 3 days into July. Where did June go? This year is FLYING. However, now that it’s July SO MUCH EXCITING IS HAPPENING. But that is not what we’re here tot alk about… today is June’s wrap up of books. 

In June, I:

Finished my teacher training (!!)
Enjoyed a lot of sunshine
Suffered from a LOT of hayfever
Found out wich class I’m teaching next year
Was asked to be involved in an event which I’m VERY excited for
Added LOTS of books to my TBR
Received an awful lot of book post (thank you so much to the wonderful publishers and publicists, I love you all dearly!)
Read 10 books 

June was a gloriously sun-filled month! 

So what did I read in the end?

MG books

june mg

I had a very busy MG month! Reading 8 MG books! Reviews for these books are to come, if they haven’t already been posted!

Check out my reviews for Candy and Sam Wu!

YA books

june ya

Poor June was only graced with 2 YA books… but if we’re honest it’s 2 YA books that I had been waiting for FOREVER. I have MANY thoughts about Floored, and I posted my review of Theatrical yesterday, so check that out!

What about my book challenges?

#BritishBooksChallenge: 60/12 (maybe more!)
#52books2018: 56/52 (just kids books!)
Goodreads challenge: 84/52

July promises to be a YA heavy month what with YALC coming! 

How are you getting doing with your book challenges?
What was your favourite read in June?
Do you wanna know more about any of my books?

Let me know in the comments/on twitter if there’s anything you want to see me read/want to see on my blog. I love your suggestions!

S x