The stack of books I brought home from #Gladstones25

Thank you @squirrelbrain and @MicheleinPhilly for being my postboxes across the channel and the big pond.

Thanks @Oryx for the BDWAB book (tagged).

Last impressions from #Gladstones25 😉

@Oryx @TrishB @MicheleinPhilly @scripturient @squirrelbrain @Leniverse @BarbaraBB @rockpools @RaeLovesToRead @jenniferw88

Cows today.

#Gladstonerds #GladstonesLibrary #ReadingRetreat #Gladstones25

@Oryx @TrishB @MicheleinPhilly @scripturient @squirrelbrain @Leniverse @BarbaraBB @rockpools @RaeLovesToRead @jenniferw88

Met my spirit animal this morning.

#Gladstonerds #GladstonesLibrary #ReadingRetreat #Gladstones25

@Oryx @TrishB @MicheleinPhilly @scripturient @Leniverse @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @rockpools @RaeLovesToRead @jenniferw88

#FirstLineFridays

'Ah, for Christ's sake...'

Gratuitous picture of my morning walk, which took me in the opposite direction of where @squirrelbrain went.

#Gladstonerds #GladstonesLibrary #ReadingRetreat #Gladstones25

@Oryx @TrishB @MicheleinPhilly @scripturient @Leniverse @BarbaraBB @rockpools @RaeLovesToRead @jenniferw88

Thanks for the socks, @scripturient - perfect for keeping warm in the Reading Rooms.

#Gladstonerds #GladstonesLibrary #ReadingRetreat #Gladstones25

First book of the #ReadingRetreat, #Gladstones25, finished at the airport before departure.

A retelling of Cinderella as a ghost haunting her father's house and serving her step-mother and her daughters. Until she goes to the ball.

Novella #NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

Also pictured: books that @squirrelbrain and @MicheleinPhilly brought vor me. Directionally challenged signs, book cover, carrot cake,
me, in front of the camera

And so it begins.

A weekend with friends, reading and cake and tea.

#ReadingRetreat #Gladstonerds

@Leniverse @squirrelbrain @scripturient @BarbaraBB @TrishB @MicheleinPhilly @RaeLovesToRead @Oryx @rockpools @jenniferw88

Haven't shared my #weekendreads in a while.

Cinder House (ARC) - novella, retelling of Cinderella, but only loosely connected to the fairytale, includes sapphic lovestory and some spice 🌶️🌶️

City of Stairs (🎧) - it's been on #MountTBR for ages

Ladies in Hating (ARC) - two Gothic novellists w/ a past, w/ current beef, but also w/ chemistry, sapphic 🌶️🌶️🌶️

@rachelsbrittain

Book not in database

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC #audiobook

Martin, an octogenarian, is convalescing from hip replacement surgery at the local retirement home. He's convinced he used to work as a spy for the British government and is determined to use his skills to solve the murder of another resident of the home. Albie, Martin's next door neighbour, is reluctant to be roped into the operation, he thinks Martin is loosing his marbles, ⬇️

From today's Discworld Emporium's Newsletter:

THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN TURNED 10!
The final Discworld book is now a decade old. All these years later, the understandable reluctance to read it can be felt as strongly now as it did that dreadful year when Terry died, and the Shepherd's Crown was published. For many fans it has remained an unread treasure in order to hold back the end and keep the turtle moving.⬇️

#Discworld #OokBOokClub

My bookshop is not very reliable, but at last one pre-ordered book (strangely the one that was published most recently) has arrived.

It fits very well with the colour of my accent wall.

My son passed on a lovely (not!!!) cold. Listening to the tagged #audiobook and drinking tea is all I can do at the moment. 😬 I'm grumpy about it, because I would rather get my to-do list done.

History is... propaganda. When the dictator of a small kingdom demands that twelve scholars construct an ancient city and its history from scratch, to justify his 'expansion plans', that's what they do.

A KJ Parker Dark Academia/Historical Fantasy novella, with his usual unnamed narrator that might or might not be unreliable.

Sorry Ms Jackson, but this was utter rubbish!! Especially for your adult mystery debut.

Flat characters, repetitive, and I knew I should have bailed the moment the doctors let the main character leave the hospital about 36 hours after a massive brain injury and emergency brain surgery with "change the bandages daily".

#audiobook narration didn't help the book either. But at 2.5x it was over quickly.

#OokBOokClub

Just a friendly reminder that we'll be reading #NightWatch next! Dig out your books, put in your library holds, or place your orders! The next Discworld adventure continues on October 8th! Woohoo!

If anyone wants to be tagged/untagged for future posts please let me know! Happy to oblige!

#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead

#OokBOokClub-ers, our Discworld adventure continues TODAY with #TheFifthElephant!

Looking forward to our discussion next month!

#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead

#OokBOokClub

Hello friends! Open discussion is in the FOLLOWING POST marked as a spoiler. Find the #Jingo post & tap "show me" on the spoiler tag to join in the discussion. Join in whenever you can! Today. Tomorrow. Next month! The post will always be up so just tag each other & we'll jump in to discuss with you. Feel free to chat about anything!

#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead

August wrap up - since I'm sure I won't finish another book in the next 55 minutes. 😉

39 books read
2 books DNF'd

I liked Cassandra in Reverse, but I really loved this one. I needed tissues, more than once.

Friendship, family, love, grief, betrayal, forgiveness, cats, dogs, neighbours,.... And a magical twist.

Read and reviewed in July #NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

Eleanor and the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel are back on English soil, but that doesn't mean their fight is over. On the contrary, the vampires are conspiring again and are trying to take down the League one member at a time, it seems. Eleanor's mission, given to her by Anima, leads her to uncover a centuries old secret that could mean an end to the vampires influencing humans.
⬇️

#audiobook because my pre-order hasn't arrived yet

Loved the story, the characters, the writing! I'm in awe at all the research that went into this book.

Violet is neurodivergent, extremely book smart, but inexperienced at interacting with people and charmingly blunt. She's a new doctor just out of university and doing her rotation in a hospital. She meets Gus, an anaesthesiologist, on her first nightshift. He's confident, likeable, easy on the eyes, and nice to Violet. Violet could fall for him instantly, but he's still hung up on his ex-fiancée.

⬇️

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

I enjoyed spending time with the wonderfully strong women of this series, Taishi, Salminde and Qisami again. And yes, I also enjoyed seeing Jian, the chosen one, continue to struggle with the burden of being the chosen one.

The third book has all the same things I liked about the other instalments in the series: found family, banter, well-crafted fight scenes, and characters to root for.

And now I'll re-read the whole series.

#NetGalley #ARC

Thanks for all the feedback last week, it spurned me on and I've finished all the ribbing. What's left now is the double stitching of the librar card part.

#ShowandTellTuesday #LitsyCrafters @Catsandbooks
#KnittersOfLitsy

Berry crumble. I could have licked the bowl clean.

The tagged zombie #RomCom #audiobook has reached "cringe" level (words for private parts ??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️). I think I'm going to bail.

For anyone who doesn't have the Murderbot Diaries (incl. two short stories) and five of Martha Wells's fantasy novels yet, here's your chance: https://www.humblebundle.com/books/martha-wells-murderbot-and-more-tor-books

#BookMail - book four just arrived. Book three is still missing in my collection. Why did I have to get the US editions?

#LitsyCrafters #ShowandTellTuesday @Catsandbooks

Finished the bottom ribbing and ribbing on one shoulder of my Library Vest. 🎉🎉

Loved the story and especially appreciated the research about Georgian society, shops around St James's and conman schemes of that period that went into this book.

Thanks @RaeLovesToRead for "pushing" me to read this.

#audiobook

List of this year's Hugos: https://locusmag.com/2025/08/hugo-lodestar-and-astounding-awards-winners-2/

A vampire mystery is less about gory details or enthralling vampires and more about lonely people. Don't get me wrong, it's also about catching the murderer, but mainly it is about how lonely the individual POV characters and some of the side-characters are.

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

Pub date: 14 August 2025

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

Fourth and last book in the Tomes and Tea series.

Dedication made me chuckle.

Published: 12 August 2025

This last book wraps up the series nicely, but I'm still sad this is the last book. I hope we get some spin-offs or novellas set in this universe in the future.

⬇️

#OokBOokClub

Just a friendly reminder that we'll be reading #FifthElephant next! Dig out your books, put in your library holds, or place your orders! The next Discworld adventure continues on September 8th! Woohoo!

If anyone wants to be tagged/untagged for future posts please let me know! Happy to oblige!

#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead

#OokBOokClub-ers, our Discworld adventure continues TODAY with #Jingo!

Looking forward to our discussion next month!

Happy reading!

#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead

Humble Bundle is offering a Crochet (and Knitting) book bundle.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/comfort-crochet-amigurumi-and-knitting-open-r...

#LitsyCrafters #HookersOfLitsy #KnittersOfLitsy

My son bought Murderbot prints from Tommy Arnold https://www.tommyarnoldart.com/ and I just totally unprofessionally framed them.

#OokBOokClub

Hello friends! Open discussion is in the FOLLOWING POST marked as spoiler. Find the #FeetOfClay post & tap "show me" on the spoiler tag to join the discussion. Join whenever you can! Today. Tomorrow. Next month! The post will always be up so just tag each other & we'll jump in to discuss with you. Feel free to chat about anything!

#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead

Collection of three stories featuring the "Warp Drive Five". All center around Second Contact with alien species.

The humour of the TV show plus popping art work in each panel.

I really enjoyed it

Have finished the main body of the Library Card Vest. Now I'm stuck with the ribbing, which takes ages.

#audiobook #audioknitting current #OokBOokClub read

#LitsyCrafters #ShowandTellTuesday @Catsandbooks

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

This is the one I've recommended most in the past years. I absolutely loved the "Gosford Park" meets "Groundhog Day" vibes of the book.

And I've finished.

I'm leaving a few thoughts in the comments under spoiler tags.

#buddyread @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ @AllDebooks

#BuddyRead

Started the audiobook this morning.

Should anyone want to join us, we're also discussing the book on StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/buddy_reads/2a0342c8-7d83-4120-b3b6-3f632132978d?l...

@thegirlwiththelibrarybag @BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ @AllDebooks

Thanks to @Robotswithpersonality

I liked it, but didn't love it. It feels like I was missing some information at the beginning.

July wrap up

30 books finished, 2 DNF'd

This was a short read. Great fun.

Caveat: Some things to say to piss off men might only work with men from the US, other phrases are more universal or can be tweaked for more international impact.

#BookMail

Top left: total cover/title buy
Top right: Trevor Noah
Bottom right: was recommended for people who liked K-Pop Demon Hunters - it's mainly for my daughter 😉
Bottom left: wish this had a yellow cover

I'll link to the books in the comments