A Couple Of Ideas...

I've had a couple of thoughts about my TBR list going forward. 

I think I've mentioned before that I have a spreadsheet with all my books listed (books that I own, and books that I still need). I can filter the list by the date that I acquired a book, and I think that every month I'm going to go right back to the 'oldest' one on the list, and have that as one of my choices. I do have a TBR prompt for 'oldest book on list', so if I happen to pull that prompt, then I'll just choose the next oldest.

I do think that, as my tastes are changing, I have some books which I'm not really too keen to read any more, and I think this is one way to make sure that I don't keep ignoring those books. If I decide to DNF them, that's fair enough, but at least I've given them a try.

I've also been thinking about doing some kind of author challenge. I did think about trying to read every Agatha Christie book, just because there are so many for me to work through. But the thing is, I'm not really a murder mystery fan! So I've gone for another obvious choice - Stephen King. I know it's almost sacrilege to say this, but I'm not really a Stephen King fan either! Not disputing that he's an amazing and prolific writer, but I can't say I've really enjoyed the books of his that I have read. But it's been years since I've read any, so maybe I was a bit too young to appreciate them.

I went to his website where you can see a list of all his work, by publication date, and there is a lot. A VERY LOT! So I've decided to only focus on the novels; I'm not including novellas or short stories or collections or anthologies or anything like that (I have read a few of the short stories, like The Shawshank Redemption [which I actually did enjoy] and [is it called] The Body? The one that was made into the film Stand By Me?)

So I've now got a list of his novels, oldest to most recent. I was looking for the books on Amazon at the same time as I was making the list, and there were two that I couldn't find. I thought maybe they were really old / least popular ones, so I deleted them from my list, but I think I have since found them. But I can't be bothered to add them back into the list! As I said, I don't even really like Stephen King so I don't want to get obsessive about this. I think I'm going to try and read one SK book a month, starting with the oldest (which is Carrie) and working forwards. Although I've added all the kindle versions to my Amazon Wish List, I don't really want to spend much money on them (I bought The Shining because it was on a 99p deal), so I think I may actually request them from the library instead. I've placed a hold on Carrie so hopefully that'll come to me in time for me to read it in May.

As for my TBR Jar, I think I'll still continue to pick out my ten prompts, because most months I seem to manage to get through more than 10 books, especially because I usually DNF at least a couple.

So that is my new reading plan for May onwards!

A Head Full Of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Started: 11.4.26

Finished: 17.4.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Body part in the title

This is the story of Marjorie, a 14 year old girl who starts to display problematic behaviour. Is it mental illness or something else? A psychiatrist doesn't seem to have helped, so her father, turning increasingly towards his faith, brings in the local priest who believes she may be possessed by a demon. Told from the POV of her younger sister Merry, we watch the gradual unravelling of the family as they seek to understand what is happening, even resorting to being filmed for a reality TV show. It remained ambiguous as to the cause of Marjorie's behaviour; her explanations for it varied between believable and far-fetched.

There are a few nods to horror films (an obvious one being The Exorcist) and other horror writers (and even one to Mr Tremblay himself!) which he explains in his extended liner notes at the end of the book; I enjoyed reading these.

 

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing

Started: 14.4.26

Finished: 16.4.26

Kindle / Audiobook

TBR Prompt: Blue book

After I DNF'd Dark Voyage, I wanted another Kindle book to read, so I used my TBR Jar and pulled out the prompt 'blue book'. Looking through my Kindle options I had a few, and I chose this one. After reading a couple of chapters, I realised that I could listen to the audiobook with one of my Audible credits (I need to use them up so that I can cancel my subscription), so I've partly read and partly listened to this. I have to say, the audiobook is quite different from the kindle version, there's a lot more of Paul and Bob just chatting. It loosely follows the format of the book, but it's certainly not word for word. I didn't mind that though, because listening to these two just nattering about fishing and generally being a bit silly is actually quite relaxing! 

Dark Voyage by Helen Susan Swift

Started: 12.4.26

DNF: 13.4.26

Kindle

TBR Prompt: Set in the early 1900s

I really wanted to like this book, as it's the first in a series of five, I believe all set in Scotland (I'm not sure if they're connected). I made it to page 30 but I just couldn't get past the awful dialogue, it felt so stilted and wooden. This, in turn, made it very hard to even begin to like or get a feel for the characters. It's a DNF, and I'll be removing the other books from my TBR list.

Hold On to Your Kids by Dr Gordon Neufeld & Gabor Mate

Started: 8.4.26

Finished: 12.4.26

Paperback

Extra book choice - not TBR

This was a spur of the moment purchase. A very interesting, thought-provoking book about the need to nurture the attachment between a child and their parents (or significant adults) rather than letting them be 'brought up' by their peers. Definitely one I want to re-read and highlight.

Little Addictions by Catherine Gray

Started: 30.3.26

DNF: 12.4.26

Kindle

Extra book choice - not TBR

This was another Kindle Daily Deal. I'd just read The Unexpected Joy of The Ordinary, and I was curious what this would have to say about phone addiction. I don't think I'm completely addicted to mine, but I would like to spend more time away from it. Again, it's well written and there's nothing wrong with it, but I just read the bits I wanted to rather than the whole thing, so I'm classing it as a DNF.

Glimmers by Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips

Started: 30.3.26

DNF: 12.4.26

Kindle

Extra book choice - not TBR

I picked this up as a Kindle Daily Deal. This book is about Glimmers, which are the opposite of Triggers. It suggests that we should try to notice as many glimmers in our days as possible; those moments which make us smile, laugh, feel loved, joyful, connected, experience a positive emotion or reaction.

There are explanations about how the nervous system works, and how glimmers can contribute to feeling calm, present and safe.

The sisters who wrote the book give a lot of examples from their lives, in particular a turbulent childhood, and there are spaces for you to write about your feelings (obviously not in the kindle version), so it's a bit like a workbook too.

I DNF'd the book, not because I disliked it in any way, but just because I felt I'd got enough out of it by about the 25% mark.

As I was reading it, I did start writing down 'glimmers' as I noticed them. I've never been any good at keeping up with a gratitude journal, which is a similar idea, and sure enough, I only kept this up for a few days. I don't disagree with the idea of trying to record the good stuff, but for me, I'd liken it to going to a concert and spending the whole time 'watching' via your phone as you take photos and videos. Having to remember to write things down seemed to take me out of the moment. So I will continue to try and be aware of the glimmers, but I'll just notice them quietly, in my head.

Ascension by Nicholas Binge

Started: 6.4.26

Finished: 10.4.26

Hardcover

TBR Prompt: Water on the cover

Well, I don't really know what to make of this book! I think it's speculative fiction, maybe a touch of cosmic horror with a bit of sci-fi thrown in for good measure. A group of scientists join a secretive mission to investigate a mountain - several thousand feet higher than Everest - which has suddenly appeared in the middle of the ocean. Time and space behave differently, memories fade, moods and temperaments become erratic. Suspicion and mistrust abound, and inexplicable things are discovered on the mountain. Harold, the physicist of the group, writes letters to his niece as a form of journalling; the majority of the book is told in this epistolary fashion, although it reads more like... well, a novel, rather than letters. 

I quite enjoyed the mystery and suspense surrounding the appearance of the mountain, and what they might discover as they climbed towards the summit, but some of the things that they found left me a bit "meh", and at times the themes of science and religion got a bit heavy for me. 

The Sword Of Kaigen by M. L. Wang

Started: 2.4.26

Finished: 6.4.26

Kindle Unlimited

TBR Prompt: Newest / most recently acquired book

Well, it's been a minute since the last one, but I think I can safely say that this is a 5 star book! The Sword of Kaigen had me gripped; I'm a bit amazed at how much I loved it! The extensive glossary / new vocabulary used in the story was quite overwhelming at first (and I think some words were unnecessary), but it was so well written that it gets easier to follow as you go. This is a standalone fantasy about love and loss, duty and family honour, politics and propaganda. There is a LOT of violence; the fight scenes are cinematic in their visceral brutality, and there are heartbreaking moments (one in particular that I read several times because I couldn't actually believe that it was happening?!?!?) The deep misogyny was frustrating, to say the least, but I think it went some way to highlight the isolation and distance of Kaigen from some of the more forward-thinking regions.

I'm still very new to the fantasy genre, but I think I can see that my preferences are leaning more towards high fantasy like this, or grimdark like The First Law Trilogy (I've only read book one so far), rather than romantasy or cosy / light fantasy. I'm so excited to read more!

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Started: 2.4.26

DNF: 2.4.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Oldest book on my list

I got to page 104 but I wasn't enjoying it. A story about an author whose wife disappears without a trace, I found the MMC to be quite whiny and helpless. I get that he was grieving, but after the story jumped to a year later, it felt like every other sentence mentioned how much he loved his wife and couldn't write or do anything, really, without her. It was very repetitive. So I'm afraid I read some spoilers, then skipped to the end and read the last couple of chapters. There was definitely a big twist or two, but I'm not sorry that I DNF'd this. I do like books that are set in Scotland, so I presume this is why I had this book on my TBR, but even the Scottish island location wasn't enough to save it. I used to read a lot of thrillers but I definitely think my tastes are changing and these kinds of stories don't appeal to me as much as they once did.