Category: Uncategorized

  • Shattered Worlds reading challenge – a book about a boy???

    Well, this week’s story taught me not to be so prejudiced, frankly. There are 21 books in Shattered Worlds (minus my own) and my target is to read twelve in twelve weeks, so I need to cut them down a little. I only glanced at Richard’s Story, thinking I’d have a quick look and knock it right off…

  • Life is full of challenges

    … And I’ve found a new one. Having enjoyed my Alphabet Challenge tremendously, I’ve found myself a new challenge to keep me focused on my reading for the next twelve weeks. Today marks the start of my Shattered Worlds challenge. My new book, The Clockwork War, is one of the YA novels in Shattered Worlds,…

  • Hooray for holiday reading!

    Oh my goodness, I thought I might slacken off when I didn’t have my Alphabet Reading Challenge to keep my nose in a book. I’m delighted to say that hasn’t happened at all! Since blogging last I’ve had a lovely week off, taking a holiday by the seaside. I also caught up on some of…

  • My Reading Alphabet Challenge – sum up

    I had terrific fun with my alphabet challenge. It made me look beyond the books and authors I always choose, with the result that I’ve found some absolute treasures that I’ll be looking out for more from. Having to (mostly) stick to a particular letter of the alphabet provided some structure and there was a…

  • Z is for … Zoikes, fetch an editor!

    I have reached the end of my Alphabet Challenge! Whoop whoop, crack out the champagne! I’d love to be able to gush over my final, Z book, but that’s unfortunately not possible. There were very slim pickings for the final letter of the alphabet. It took about three searches to find something suitable on Amazon,…

  • Y is really for … young and flawed

    So, I knuckled down and read a Y book at last. I chose Marie Lu’s The Young Elites, and it should have been right down my street, but most of it was just … okay. I think a big part of it was because The Young Elites is written in present tense. I read the…

  • Y is for … why aren’t there more hours in the day?

    I’m sorry, I feel like I’m full of excuses lately. My alphabet challenge went so well for so long I think I thought I was home safe, but it seems to have derailed in the home straight. I should have been reading a book whose title started with Y, but I don’t even have a…

  • X is for … eXcessive fashion reports

    I always knew filling the X slot in my alphabet reading challenge might be difficult, so when I spotted a book titled Xoe early in the year I grabbed it. Due to my lack of choice I wasn’t especially hopeful. Fie on me for a cynical doubter! Actually, Xoe was mostly a fun read. The…

  • W is for … why is it “double” U?

    It’s always puzzled me why “w” doesn’t get its own name, but just gets called “two u’s”. I guess it didn’t need a name until it was written down, and then it does look a little bit like two “u’s” side by side. But in that case, why doesn’t “h” get called “long n” or…

  • W is for … well recommended!

    I joined Instagram recently, on a bit of a three-line whip from a group I’m working with. But I’m glad I got the push because Instagram (or, more accurately bookstagram, since I’m in it for the books) is fabulous. It reminds me of what twitter was like before everyone used it to promote and run:…