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 Last week, I talked a little bit about the history I have with re-reading, and the fact that I’m trying to start again based on the fun I’ve had re-reading Harry Potter. So, this week, I thought I’d share with you my new to-be-re-read bookcase.
As it stands, I have two normal size bookcases, one for books I’ve already read and want to keep and another for books I haven’t read yet. Both are ridiculously full and double-layered, which means it’s hard to find specific books sometimes. When I bought a new desk for my computer, Ikea had a set with both a simple desk and a bookcase, on sale for less than the cost of a similar desk by itself, so the choice was really really obvious. I’ve designated this smaller bookcase for re-reads (I have another for hardcovers that are personal favourites) and I’ve started putting a few books on it already!
On this top shelf, I have my two favourite urban fantasy series (plus Discount Armageddon, which won’t be due for a re-read for a while, but fit well with McGuire’s other books). I will almost guaranteed re-read the Kate Daniels series when the next book comes out, as I actually managed to do before Magic Slays was released, and I’d really like to read all of the October Daye series again before the next book in that series comes out later this year. So, that choice was easy, and I also love to see those matching books lined up without hiding behind other reads. I also put The Name of the Wind here. I still haven’t read The Wise Man’s Fear although I own it because I genuinely remember very little about the first book except that I loved it, so I really need to read them in order.
This is a mix of books for me and my husband to read. 1984 was recently removed because he’s actually reading it. Chime earned a place immediately after I’d finished it. The Lions of al-Rassan is my favourite Guy Gavriel Kay, but I haven’t read it more than once, so I brought it back to the UK with me this time and am really looking forward to it. Foreigner and Dune are sci-fi classics – I actually enjoyed the former, but not the latter because I was much younger when I read it (or so I think), and thus I’d like to give it another try. And on the right, we have the first three books in A Song of Ice and Fire. I also have the next two, but on the hardcover shelf.
More series I’d like to re-read – the Tiffany Aching series, of which I also have the next two books, but one is with a friend and the other is on the hardcover shelf. I adored these books to bits and I definitely want to read them again. Same, really, with the next set of books by Megan Whalen Turner, except I don’t even own the fourth one because I need to read these three again first. And then, The Hunger Games trilogy, which I hope I’ll read before they release the second film. I know Mockingjay had issues, but I still very much want to read these three again. I’ve got Girl Reading on the side there, another book I absolutely adored but which I read recently, so I’m going to wait a while until I re-read that.
And finally – The Wheel of Time. I attempted to start a re-read of these chunksters last year and failed miserably. They are incredibly dense and time-consuming, which is a difficult to justify when I have so many other series to read (and there are 11 of these that I own and two more to come). I do, however, want to finish the series when it’s completed, so I will at some point start once again. Fortunately, I think I remember the first now, so at least I won’t be starting from scratch.
What books do you want to re-read most?
When I was young, I was a frequent re-reader. I read my favourite books on a regular basis. This isn’t to say my parents didn’t buy me new books, because they did, especially when the Scholastic book orders arrived, but certainly they couldn’t afford to at the amount of books I actually read. I read nearly every day after I’d finished my homework, and so I needed to return to my old favourites over and over again. I re-read books so often that my dad used to boast I didn’t have a single book I hadn’t read twice.
I had a number of books that I read over and over again; the Little House on the Prairie books, for instance, I regularly read over again, as I did the two books I had that Julie Andrews wrote, especially The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. One of my favourites was Princess Nevermore by Dian Curtis Regan, as was, of course, Anne of Green Gables. I adored the Dear America series and I’m confident I read the first few more than five times – history creeping up on me without me truly realising it.
But as I got older, and had a bit of my own money, I started to get more and more books. I started to have an unread pile all the time, instead of just shortly after the Scholastic book orders came in. I discovered longer, more complex books, that took me more than couple of hours to read, especially the fantasy doorstoppers with which I immediately fell in love. I still remember the vivid excitement that overtook me when Robert Jordan’s ninth Wheel of Time book graced the top of my then-single TBR pile, which I used to structure in order to give myself variety.
And now, I’ve reached a stage where I very rarely re-read anything. I have an entire bookcase of unread books staring at me every time I go downstairs. Re-reading makes me feel a bit guilty, especially if I have review copies lingering. But recently, as most of you probably know, all of the Harry Potter books became released in ebook format. Harry Potter is the one series that always calls to me for re-reading. It’s just that type of story, where settling down in the world each time makes the entire experience richer.
The other series that has been calling out recently is A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. I have, at long last, started watching Game of Thrones, and am surprisingly completely caught up. The first book is the only one of the entire series I’ve ever read twice, and I found that, correspondingly, I knew what was going to happen. Now that we’re halfway through the second season, I honestly can’t remember what’s coming next or what really happens in the rest of the series, besides some vague feelings about various characters.
That, combined with actually re-reading Harry Potter now, makes me long to re-read everything else that I know I loved, so much so that I’ve actually designated a new bookcase (my fourth here in the UK) the shelves where the books I want to re-read the most will sit.
But even so, I think the piles of unread books will call to me more than the ones I’d like to read over again will; I simply hope that now and again I will made an exception, and allow myself to delve into another world.
How do you feel about re-reading? Do you do it often, wish you did it more, or think that there are too many books left in the world for you to read those you’d already experienced over again?
Good morning Saloners! I’ve had a computer-filled weekend which, after some stress on Friday and Saturday, has ended very well. I have been without a proper computer of my very own for a while now. My old laptop, which I used in college and graduate school, still actually functions, but it crashes too often for me to use it reliably, and we’ve never actually been able to figure out what is wrong with it. In lieu of my own computer, my husband and I have generally been sharing his top-spec desktop PC, which has led to some frustration. Recently I discovered that one of my friends had a cast-off older computer, which he was kind enough to give to me. I bought some new parts for it over the past week, and was all excited to have it working on Friday night at long last, exactly the way I wanted it.
Unfortunately, it turns out that the new processor I’d purchased was dead before it ever made it into the PC. At one point we didn’t know what was wrong and I’d potentially have to wait even longer, spend more money, and have an uncertain result even at that stage. So after a ton of testing, we put the old processor back in and the computer finally worked; it’s not up to the spec I’d planned, but it’s now running smoothly and happily and I am independently on my own PC once again. The dead processor has been sent off for a return, and I will probably end up with a better one in a couple of months when I can afford it. I’m very excited about this, as you can imagine; I’m hoping to do all sorts of things now that I don’t have to share, and blogging definitely has a place amongst them.
In reading news, I’m deep into a reread of all the Harry Potter books, thanks to their launch in ebook form last month. I’ve been alternating one of them in between review books and it has been fantastic getting re-acquainted with this world. I’m on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the moment and, while I recall this being the most annoying of all of them, I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s appropriate to spend this weekend reading as we’re currently drowning in the UK. The river nearby – the Ouse in York – and many of the fields are flooded and it’s still raining. To give you some perspective, here’s the river – those are submerged benches on the right. The river is usually a good six feet below the grass, if not more, and yesterday it was right at the edge and ready to spill over.
It’s also very chilly, which makes us reluctant to go outside and do much, truly the perfect day for holing up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
I have a couple of reviews already scheduled this week and I’m hoping to update with a third at some point too. I have only been reading a couple of books a week, and I look forward to actually getting caught up now that I have a computer and the time to do it. My last client visit for a while is tomorrow, and I’m blissfully not scheduled for anything else throughout the month of May.
Wishing you all a very lovely week and some good reads for your free time!
Good morning Saloners! I hope you’re all doing well, and that those of you who have been participating in this weekend’s Readathon have had a lot of success and amazing reading.
I intended to participate myself, as I have in all of the Readathons since 2009, and it was kind of strange not to do so, but there was simply no way I’d have been able to. I came back from the US on an overnight flight on Monday, got home Tuesday around when I’d get home from work, worked for 2 days, and went to Brussels for work on Friday, which was a day lasting from 4:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night, and I simply needed this weekend to have a break. NOT stay up for 24 hours tied to the computer. I’m still disappointed that I missed it, but I hope it was wonderful for everyone who did participate.
I did manage to read, though. I read quite a bit while I was at home, and yesterday I sat down with Chime by Franny Billingsley and completed it in a single sitting. What an amazing book – I am so glad I paid attention to Ana’s excellent review. I have also been re-reading the Harry Potter series since I purchased all of the ebooks, and have really delighted in spending more time in that world. It’s been too long – and I suspect that I’ll have forgotten much of what happened in the sixth and seventh books as I read them quite a while ago.
As always, I brought some books back from the US – the 15 I took with me this time is dwarfed by some older numbers, but I’ve virtually stopped accepting physical review copies from US publishers unless I am incredibly eager to read the book. Here’s what snuck into my suitcase – let me know how you’ve felt about these books!:
 I’m really looking forward to a lot of these reads; you’ll probably see I, Iago on the blog first, as I’ve enjoyed Nicole Galland’s previous books a lot, and the publication date for this is coming up very soon. Several of them came from The Strand in New York City, which has to be one of my favourite bookstores, and where I could happily spend far more time than the half hour to hour I get to browse on our visits.
Today, I’m hoping to spend some time catching up on reviews, as usual, and also finishing Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire. Since I’ve become involved in the Newsflesh trilogy, and the next October Daye comes out in September, I decided I didn’t need to save it (am I the only one who sometimes puts books off to avoid a long wait for the next in the series?). I’m really enjoying it so far; Verity still has the attitude of McGuire’s other main female characters, but she’s refreshingly different at the same time, and the world is stunning.
Wishing you all fantastic Sundays and a great week ahead!
As always, another month gone, another post wondering where all the time has gone! We’ve now finished a quarter of the year and it has been an overwhelming one for me. I’ve been promoted at work and have finally laid to rest all of the side jobs I’ve been doing, which has left me feeling happy and invigorated for the first time in months. I have new trips to look forward to – visiting my parents on Friday and possibly going to visit Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic this summer – plenty of books to read, and new-found time in which to remember who I am outside of work.
April is going to be a bit crazy, though; I’m headed down to Southampton for two days this week for work, then I’m off home, then the week I return, I’m headed to Brussels for a day also for work and possibly to another part of the UK the week after. The best part about all that travelling is the reading I’ll be able to do, at least.
But it’s Bloggiesta this weekend, and so even though I haven’t signed up, I’ve been trying to write posts and get back into the groove of blogging. There are many things I could improve on in this neck of the woods; writing something that isn’t a book review is one of them, and now that my head is clear of cobwebs, I hope I can work out what that something should be here.
March was not the most spectacular reading month; I had a small life crisis towards the start, which put me off reading for a while, but I’ve picked up the pace towards the end of this month and am really pleased with some of the gems I’ve read. I finished 12 books in total this month:
Fiction
- Spider’s Bite, Jennifer Estep
- The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin
- A Week to be Wicked, Tessa Dare
- Blame it on Bath, Caroline Linden
- Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed
- The Queen’s Secret, Victoria Lamb
- Darker Still, Leanna Renee Hieber
- A Fierce Radiance, Lauren Belfer
- Feed, Mira Grant
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
Non-fiction
Favorite of the Month
I couldn’t choose just one, so please have two.
We are now a quarter of the way into the year, which means for me that it’s time to take a look at some stats! So far, I’ve read:
- 35 books, which puts me behind my goal of 200 for the year by a massive 60 books
- 9 fantasy novels
- 9 historical fiction novels
- 23 books from my own stacks
- 12 books for review
- 21 books by women, and 14 books by men
Ahead for April
Besides watching the trees spring to life and enjoy the sunshine in the evenings, I’m hoping to review some of the gaps up there, and catch up on some of the books I’ve been longing to read. A few of the many books on my agenda that I’m hoping to finish and review this month:
- The King’s Agent, Donna Russo Morin
- Blackout, Connie Willis
- The Girl King, Meg Clothier
- I, Iago, Nicole Galland
- Discount Armageddon, Seanan McGuire
What’s ahead for you in April?
Good morning Saloners! Despite the fact that we’ve lost an hour this morning, the recent spring weather and my renewed time for reading, blogging, and other favourite tasks has me feeling surprisingly cheerful. We went for a walk around town yesterday and being greeted with daffodils in every area of greenery is welcome, even if we did have a lack of sun up north. Yellow is my favourite colour, so it’s inevitable that I am happier every spring. Summer is coming – at last! In many ways, this winter has felt like an eternity.
 Daffodils always seem to be around York’s most historic places – surrounding the walls, on the motte of Clifford’s Tower, and around the gravestones of Holy Trinity Church, tucked away from the bustle of a small city on a nice day.
 This is the way that York’s history surrounds you, but sneaks up on you at the same time – little hidden alcoves, monumental historic discoveries just left for the curious passerby to find on her own. There is so much here, and I am even now still exploring.
In reading news, things are picking up nicely; I finished 3 books this week, and I’m on track to finish a fourth today, a lovely chunkster about a mystery surrounding the mass production of penicillin during World War II, A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer. I actually managed to write a review directly after I finished a book yesterday, which reminded me how much I like writing about books in the first place. With all of the old obligations on writing gone, I can remember that yes, I do like writing, and yes, I like blogging. I started for a reason.
In fact, this Sunday holds more reading – I have a book to finish, after all – and I’d like to get started on completing my outstanding reviews. After my mini-reviews this week, there aren’t that many left, and I’m looking forward to having a clean slate for once. I’d definitely like to achieve that before Easter, when I’m heading home to visit my parents for the first time in many months.
Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!
Hello everyone! I’ve just taken what is almost definitely the longest blogging break since I started blogging. My life over the last two weeks has been absolutely ridiculous, and to be honest, not in the best possible way, as it has mostly consisted of work and work-related activities. Fortunately, in some respects at least, things are finally calming down, and I’m actually hoping to post some reviews this week and start putting thought back into my blog. This is definitely good news for me, and I hope it’s good news for all of you, too; I’ve missed blogging, and it’s strange to think how much I’ve organised my reading life around this little corner of the internet over the past nearly five years.
Another massive time suck I’ve encountered this past week has been Mass Effect 3. I’m a gamer as well as a reader, and I’ve been looking forward to this game since I finished the first two – obsessively in succession – back in December. So far, it’s fantastic. I’ve heard very uncertain things about the ending, but I’m going to reserve judgement until I actually get there, which will probably happen at some point this week. Then I will really be back to reading and blogging, at least until another gaming obsession decides to take over my life. In the meantime, this one is certainly satisfying my need for science fiction and incredible, engulfing narratives and characters. That may not be what you expect from a video game, but this has been an epic three-part experience and I am seeing it through to the end.
Since the craziness ended roughly this past Thursday, I’ve been reading, too. I’ve read several very good romance novels, which I needed as stress relief, and I’ve even managed some non-fiction with Lucy Worsley’s If Walls Could Talk. I’d already watched the TV show, which aired on British television several months back, but the book filled in some gaps and was very entertaining reading. You’ll be hearing more about it soon. I also, a bit further back, read The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal, which I’m still organising my thoughts around in preparation for writing a review.
Anyway, I do hope to be back in full force this week – I even managed to leave some comments over the past couple of days, which I’d sorely missed doing. I’m at some point going to hit the dreaded “mark all as read” button, though – so if you’ve posted something and you’d love me to have a look, please do say so in the comments, and I’ll pop over to visit.
Thanks for sticking around and I hope you all have fantastic Sundays!
February wasn’t a great month here at Medieval Bookworm. My reading slowed way down, and my blogging slowed down even more, neither of which spelled great things for you, faithful readers. The various distractions in my life are probably set to continue for the next month, too; but I’m hoping to squeeze out more time for reading and blogging somewhere in there, because I miss it a lot.
Overall, it was a good month for me, though; in particular there was a long weekend trip to London, in which I geeked out:
I visited the Royal Manuscripts exhibition at the British Library while I was there, and it was about as amazing as I’d expected. No pictures allowed inside, but the accompanying book above is gorgeous and full of photos of them. No trip to London is complete without visiting Forbidden Planet, and Ezio, from one of my most recent favourite game series, Assassin’s Creed, elected to come home to York with me. We also visited Fifteen London in advance for my husband’s birthday, which is actually today.
I’ve spent the time since we returned being ill, though still going to work; I’m improving now, though, and hopefully will continue to do so.
On to what I actually read this month!
- The Turning of Anne Merrick, Christine Blevins
- Where She Went, Gayle Forman
- A History of the World in 100 Objects, Dr Neil MacGregor
- Leviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey
- And Then He Kissed Her, Laura Lee Guhrke
- The Glovemaker, Stacia M. Brown
- Dead Beat, Jim Butcher
There may only be a few books on that list, but I can safely say I enjoyed each and every one. I also read a bunch of short stories as I started digitally subscribing to Asimov’s, to satisfy the science fiction craving, though I reviewed just one. I find them actually easier to read on my iPhone, as I can absorb a short story while waiting somewhere very easily. And I’ve simply adored almost all of the stories, novellas, and novelettes, so I’ve been very happy with my subscription.
Ahead for March; as I said, time is short this month, but I’ve finished two books so far and I believe I am about to embark upon a third. I have a number of books I’m really excited about reading, and I have a lot of review copies for this month. So whatever I end up doing, I’m sure the books I read will be fantastic.
How was your February?
It’s a bit late on a Sunday after another busy week, so I’m going to keep this quick with something I found particularly exciting about blogging this week – my authorship snippet has started to show up in Google!
Whether you like Google or not, I still think it’s great to see my name and face next to my review. It adds an extra level of accountability for bloggers, too, I think.
I noticed that particular review was referring me a ton of visits this month, so lo and behold I am the first review ranking and have that great little snippet there! It ties into my Google+ profile, which admittedly I barely use, but it’s nice to see my name next to my review and makes the result stand out. I suspect it’s resulting in the extra traffic, which is also nice. I hope I’ve inspired more than one purchase, as I love Bernard Cornwell.
If you’d like to do the same, there are instructions here and in many other places online.
I felt like January was an exceptional reading month. It was good in other respects, too; I received my Indefinite Leave to Remain visa for the UK and celebrated my birthday on the 12th. I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m never going to resume a review every weekday, I don’t read enough or have time to write 5 reviews, and have aimed for 3 instead, which I’ve been managing pretty well. I haven’t decided if I’m going to fill the other two days with something or not, we’ll see where the mood takes me!
In terms of actual reading, I finished sixteen books and most of them were excellent. I typically haven’t found the time to review them all yet, not even close, but if you stick around, I’ll be sharing some absolute gems with you later on this month!
Here’s what I read:
Fiction
- Arthur & George, Julian Barnes
- Castle in the Air, Diana Wynne Jones
- Death Masks, Jim Butcher
- The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach
- If Jack’s in Love, Stephen Wetta
- A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal, Meredith Duran
- Miles, Mutants, and Microbes, Lois McMaster Bujold
- Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King
- A Rogue by Any Other Name, Sarah Maclean
- Spartacus, Ben Kane
- Affinity, Sarah Waters
- The Winter Palace, Eva Stachniak
- Blood Rites, Jim Butcher
- Agent to the Stars, John Scalzi
Non-fiction
- The Etymologicon, Mark Forsyth
Though I didn’t do so well with the non-fiction, it’s partly because I’ve been reading an absolutely massive history in the background with all of these books. The fiction I read was incredible. In many ways it was typical of the latter half of last year, but better – there’s a ton of variety in there, and I feel as though I’ve read some meaningful stories that are going to stick with me. Isn’t that what all readers are looking for?
Favorite of the Month
 
I can’t pick just one, so have both! I loved both of these and recommend them whole-heartedly. It’s early now, but I’m confident they will end up on my best of 2012 list.
Ahead for February
There are so many books I wish I could be reading now that it’s difficult to choose! I’ve just started World War Z and I’ve been reading The History of the World in 100 Objects, which covers the history of the whole world through various objects at the British Museum. It’s a fascinating book – I love how much the author can pull from just one object, and I’m looking forward to seeing some of the objects in person (most for the 2nd or 3rd time) when I head to London towards the end of February.
Other books I’d just love to get to:
- Leviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey
- A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness
- The Hare with Amber Eyes, Edmund de Waal
- The Kingdom of the Gods, N.K. Jemisin
How was your January reading month?
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