Back again!
As luck would have it, the eclipse has reawakened my desire to blog about books. What a perfect time to do it, as it’s also the start of the Bout of Books #20!

I have wanted to do this specific reading challenge for a while, but the timing was never right. But the stars, sun and moon have apparently all aligned to make this the time for me to finally meet this challenge. Quite literally, I was looking at my bullet journal, trying to determine my goals for the week. It looked pretty sparse from a work perspective, and right then I glanced at Litsy and noticed a photo of a lovely TBR with the #boutofbooks and I was intrigued. I followed the links and next thing you know, I was signed up.
A new kind of challenge
This will be the first time I have done a week-long challenge, Monday through Sunday. I tend to enjoy weekend readathons. But this seems like a great opportunity to bust through some books that I brought back from my summer trip to London and Oxford! I made it through a few for the last 24 in 48 Readathon and even won a prize for this post which was a challenge to recommend some books that would fulfill the Own Voices/Diverse Books requirement. But there are more just waiting for me to crack open. So the timing couldn’t be better.
Now, I just need to narrow down what I want to read. As I have mentioned before, I am a mood reader. I never know what I will want to read until I am ready to pick up a new book. I am also someone who will read many books simultaneously. Needless to say, I have quite a few in rotation at the moment.
On my current shelf:
- A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience by Emerson W. Baker.
I lead a book club at work and this was the choice for the month. It’s a very interesting non-fiction look at the Salem Witch Trials and the impact it had on the region and history. It’s a long book and a bit of a beast. I have to get it done by Thursday when we are set to have our discussion on it. I am only 20% through it now, so this challenge will be very helpful in getting me focused.
- The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor
I picked this one up on the excellent advice of Jack, the bookseller at Daunt Books in London. Their shop is so lovely and he had such fantastic recommendations. This is a historical murder mystery set in London in 1666. The tagline of the book reads: “1666. As the city burns, the hunt for a killer begins.” How could I resist?! A bonus is that one of the characters mentioned, Dr. Christopher Wren is someone who designed many buildings around Oxford, where I stayed for a week this summer. So that is a lovely surprise! I am about 22% of the way through that one.
- Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
I am listening to the audiobook version of this novel, which just made the 2017 Man Booker Prize Longlist. I just started it this morning, but am in love with it already. I hope to hustle through this one on my commute!
- Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive by Kristen J. Sollee
I was granted access to this Advanced Reader Copy of this book and am making my way through it, also. It’s a nice counterpoint to the first book above, as this is a more modern feminist take the role of witches in our society. I am about 13% through that one, as well.
Hoping to get to:
I make no promises, but I am itching to start the N.K. Jemisin Broken Earth trilogy, starting with The Fifth Season. I was thrilled to hear that she shattered the record books for winning the Hugo Award two years in a row for this series. Now that she just published the third, critics are suggesting she might also win it next year because it’s just THAT good. I am loathe to start a series before I know that it will wrap up well. I have been burnt too many times to trust that a novelist can close an arc of a series well.
Other than that, we will just have to see what the week presents in terms of reading material. I have some holds that may come in that could be fun to try to add in:
- the new Celeste Ng book, Little Fires Everywhere which was just released.
- The Force by Don Winslow which may shake me as only he can. I can’t stop thinking of The Cartel, and how comprehensive and visceral it was as a reading experience.
Wish me luck!
Are any of you planning on joining in on the week’s fun?