It’s been another surprisingly prolific reading week for me. I have zero control over my impulse to read – sometimes it dissipates completely, other times it’s insatiable. They tend to even out. Lately it’s been on the insatiable side, and this week I made it through five books, with mixed results.
Just Shelved
I finished Remarkably Bright Creatures on Monday last week, so it barely missed inclusion in last week’s post. I hadn’t heard a thing about it, but man did it ever prove itself worthy of being talked up. I never thought I’d read a book with an octopus as one of the main characters, but here it is, and he was my absolute favourite character. I want an entire book written from his perspective. I spent a whole day listening to back-seasons of The Graham Norton Book Club, and The Midnight Library was one of the books discussed in the early episodes. I was curious after hearing the mixed discussion, so I decided to give it a listen (I had the audiobook read by Carey Mulligan in my TBR queue). I can see why it received such mixed commentary, it’s a bit of a mixed bag for me as well, but I’m glad to have finally gotten around to reading a Matt Haig book. I watched the series of The Night Agent last year and was looking for something that would be easy to read, so this won out. I doubt I’ll review it as there’s just not that much to say. It’s good for what it is – very similar to the show, and will definitely keep you reading or listening well past bedtime. I don’t know if it’s really necessary to read, however, if you have watched it.
I have been reading Snapdragon for a while, in part because I didn’t want it to end. But I finally finished it this week, and expect to pick it up to read again in the very near future. I adored this book – it’s got a wonderful inter-generational friendship, explores themes of belonging (or not, as the case may be), identity, friendship, violence, morality, motherhood, and death – all without it seeming to be trying very hard to do so. If you’re a fan of graphic novels, this is definitely one you should pick up immediately. And finally I got Tom Felton’s autobiography from the library, just because I was curious. I enjoyed it more than I expected to – Felton narrates it himself and makes you feel like he’s just hanging out with you, sharing some stories from his life so far. I enjoyed hearing his stories of life on set, but more than that I appreciated his introspection and ability to share his own struggles candidly and with humility. Worth reading if you’re a fan.
Currently Reading
I’m not really stuck into any of these books yet, but technically I’ve started them in the past week. As to whether I’ll continue or finish any…. well, that’s up for debate. The Swallows’ Flight is the sequel to The Skylarks’ War, which I finished recently and loved. This one deals with WWII, and has some of the same characters, but focuses on a new generation I believe. It hasn’t instantly gripped me the way The Skylarks’ War did, so I’m unsure about it. Manhattan Beach has been on my TBR since it came out, and I’m interested in the premise but not sure if I want to commit to it – it’s chunky. I finished Snapdragon and loved it, and picked Sheets from my small collection of TBR graphic novels to fill the void it left behind. It’s good so far, but a lacks the whimsy of Snapdragon. We’ll see how it goes. Managing Expectations was another of my infamous whims – Minnie Driver was on The Graham Norton Book Club reading a short excerpt and discussing writing the book, and I was reminded I’d meant to read it. Again, not sure if I’ll stick with it this time around.
Up Next
As always, absolutely no clue what I’ll read next, but decided to switch it up from the same books I’ve had in here for the past few weeks for some variation! Interestingly all of the books that stood out to me this week are non-fiction, which wasn’t intentional. But the first two just came up on my holds list from the library, Underland I’ve been meaning to read for literally years, and I enjoyed Miriam Morgolyes’ This Much Is True, and I’m still feeling like I’d like a bit more from her. I discovered there is, in fact, more, so it’s high up on my TBR currently!
That’s it for me this week! What about you guys? Did you read any corkers this week? Have you read any of the books I’ve listed this week? Any you’d like to read?
A weekly post that encourages bloggers to share what they have read in the past week, what they’re currently reading and books they’ve recently added to their TBRs. Originally started by Sheila at Book Journey, it is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.