The Monthly Round-Up: August 2015

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Welcome to the first post in my Monthly Round-Up feature. Join me as I look back on the past month to see which books I’ve read, the reviews I’ve posted, the goals I’ve completed and my all important Book of the Month!

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| Books Read |

August was pretty much my first month in the bookoblogosphere and, barring a few missed posts here and there, I don’t think it’s gone too badly! Over the course of this month I managed to get through ten books. Not bad. I even finished all those neglected classics that had begun to stack up on my currently reading pile. Hurrah! One goal complete and reviews for said classics will be appearing shortly! I’m moderately happy with ten books (actually, very happy!) but I would have liked to see more fantasy in the mix. I was obviously deceived by my reviews of fantasy novels from other months. Oh well, there’s nothing like self-deception to spur on new goals! So without further preamble, in order of reading, here are this month’s time consumers:

| 1. |

Agamemnon by Aeschylus

| 2. |

Inquisitor by Mitchell Hogan

| 3. |

The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

| 4. |

Armada by Ernest Cline

| 5. |

Doctor Who: The Drosten’s Curse by A.L. Kennedy

| 6. |

Pigs Have Wings by P.G. Wodehouse

| 7. |

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

| 8. |

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

| 9. |

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

| 10. |

Persuasion by Jane Austen 

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A Darker Shade of Magic

by V.E. Schwab

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| August Goals |

To finish the classics on my currently reading pile (Agamemnon, Pigs Have Wings, The ABC Murders and Hard Times) 

Status: Completed

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| Goals for 2015 |

Goodreads 2015 Reading Challenge: 82/100 Books Read (82%)

Status: +10% during August

Dragons and Jetpacks 2015 Reading Challenge: 36/50 Books Read (72%)

Status: +12% during August

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| Reviews Posted |

August has been a month of very good reviews, most of which were at the four and a half (heart shaped) star level! The highest rating given was five stars (awesome!) and the lowest rating given was three (still a good read!). Here’s the run-down:

The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd

The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe

The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Morningstar by David Gemmell

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Inquisitor by Mitchell Hogan

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Armada by Ernest Cline

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Doctor Who: The Drosten’s Curse by A.L. Kennedy

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| Other Posts From August |

The Month Ahead: August 2015 

Blast from the Past: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner

Bookish Beats: The Machine OST

Bookish Beats: The Secret Garden OST

Bookish Beats: Röyksopp – The Inevitable End

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Authors on my Bookshelf

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Auto-buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Books in Escapology 101

The Rapid Review: Crime Classic Firsts

N.B. Reviews can also be found in the Blast from the Past and The Rapid Review features

The Month Ahead: August 2015

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Welcome to the first post in my The Month Ahead feature. Here I will be discussing the books I am currently reading, the ones I will start this month, and the ones I intend getting my mitts on… if I haven’t already! I will also be sharing any news about features or posts on Books by Proxy, and anything in the book world that has me all excited!

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| Currently Reading |

Oh so much to read, so little time! Only recently I was ploughing through books, one after the next. Open – read – done! Since returning from vacation (where my luggage allowance wouldn’t even let me slip in a flimsy paperback), I have slowed down considerably and now have a backlog of started books to finish. I usually like to intersperse my biggies – those heart wrenching, lip biting, palm sweating tomes of awesomeness – with a classic or two. It just so happens that I’ve now acquired four of those classics on my currently reading list. I just can’t seem to resist starting another from the top of my to-read pile. So this month I intend to finish all the books that I’ve started before I pick up any more – I do hate to leave even a bad book unfinished (N.B. I am enjoying all my currently neglected classics).

The Big Ones

Inquisitor by Mitchell Hogan – I recently received Inquisitor by Mitchell Hogan as part of the Goodreads First Reads scheme and couldn’t wait to get started. So far, so SO good! I will be reviewing it as soon as I’m finished, and it really is promising to be a very exciting read.

The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – The other big cheese is The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett. I started this book a while ago and, despite enjoying it, somehow let it slip beneath my notice. But worry not! Despite its huge size, it will not find its way to the bottom of that unfinished classics pile.

And on that classics pile we have…

Crime Classics

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

Comedy Classics

Pigs Have Wings by P.G. Wodehouse

Plays and Classic Classics

Agamemnon by Aeschylus

And Just Plain Old Classics

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

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| August Acquisitions |

I received Armada by Ernest Cline through Blogging for Books, which looks brilliant and I’m very excited to read. A friend also lent me Wodehouse: A Life by Robert McCrum, a biography of one of my favourite humourists P.G. Wodehouse. I recently bought Half a War by Joe Abercrombie (yay!) and Chocolate Covered Katie by Katie Higgins, which will no doubt be in constant use in my kitchen. And I’ve just discovered that I can use my supermarket loyalty points on books! Hurrah! So arriving very shortly will be: Fatherland by Robert Harris, Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett, The Axeman’s Jazz by Ray Celestin, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen and The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.

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| New Features |

Well the blog is in its early stages so brand spanking new features will be cropping up all over the place. So expect more to come! This month’s new features (so far) are:

Blast from the Past – A weekly feature where I will discuss the most memorable books from my past.

The Month Ahead – A monthly feature (which you are currently reading) where I will discuss what’s coming up on the blog this month.

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Blast from the Past: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner

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Blast from the Past is a new feature where I discuss the books and authors that, over a lifetime, have meant something to me. These are the stories I grew up with; the books which inspired me, changed the way I thought and started me off on a journey of discovery through imagined worlds.

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I remember my mum sitting on the edge of my bed, my hands clutching at the covers, as she told me the tale of Colin and Susan and their adventures with goblins and demon dogs, with warlocks, witches and wizards, and the forces for good and evil. I remember my heart beating faster, my eyes widening in anticipation, as the heroes started out on an adventure which was equal parts exciting, enthralling and terrifying. I was walking hand in hand with Colin and Susan to Alderley Edge; I was following them deeper underground, with the earth closing up around me and the forces of darkness at my heels. I was part of their adventure. For me, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen really did inspire a love of fantasy fiction which has lasted a lifetime.

Garner’s first tale of Alderley is rooted in folklore and local mythology, and is ultimately about the battle between the powers of good and evil. The book follows the story of two children, Colin and Susan, a brother and sister who are deposited by unwitting parents at a family friend’s house near Alderley Edge. Unknowingly, Susan has in her possession the Weirdstone – a magical jewel incorporated into a bracelet, and passed down to Susan as a family heirloom. This jewel holds the only magic which can defeat the evil spirit Nastrond.

When evil stirs, Colin and Susan must embark on a quest to return the Weirdstone to the wizard Cadellin, who guards an army of sleeping warriors in the dwarven caves of Fundindelve. Through tunnels and caves, forests and mountain; the children  must outrun the creatures of evil who pursue them and keep the Weirdstone from falling into enemy hands. Their very lives depend on it.

As a child, living not far from Alderley, we made frequent visits to the Edge. I spent my childhood playing in the woods and standing on the sandstone ridge, staring out onto the plains and peaks beyond. We would become witches and sorcerers at the Wizard’s Well and hunt for fairies in the Druid’s Circle. We even made trips down the old mines which riddled the area – dark tunnels breaking out into huge, earthy caves; the red sandstone glittering with coppery green. Alderley Edge was a place of magic and adventure, and there is nothing quite like discovering that your fantasy world is real. That every bird you see above you is an enemy spy, and that deep underground, under the very earth you stand on, dwarven caves and mines host an army of sleeping warriors. This wasn’t fiction – It was reality.

A few years later I was sat in a classroom, legs crossed on the floor with thirty other children, as my teacher told us the tale of the Weirdstone and how two young siblings, much like us, embarked on a journey to return it to where it belonged. After countless readings, I was delighted to find myself back in a world which, to me, epitomised adventure. I have gone back to Alan Garner’s world of Alderley time and time again, and will in all likelihood continue to do so. I love The Weirdstone of Brisingamen as much now as I did then. And perhaps there’s still something in me that sees the furtive looks between birds, and hears the rumblings from underground, and truly believes that the world of fantasy is closer than we think.

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