Once upon a time was monthly summaries was made on this blog. I haven’t decided yet if they are coming back but I thought I could do a summary for the first four months.
Books read in 2025, in reverse order
Read books: 22
Physical: 6 Ebooks: 1 Audio: 11 Mix: 4
Rereads: 5
Borrowed from library: 4 Self-owned: 2 Audiobook service: 16
English: 15 Swedish: 7 German: 0
Average rating: 3.3 Average book length: 351 pages
Shortest book: Country Doctor’s Nurse – Helen Wells (149 pages) Longest book: Sleeping Beauties – Stephen and Owen King (708 pages)
How are the book goals coming along? Read at least two of my thickest books: 0 so far (one started though) Read fewer books to take time to the thick ones: 6 ahead of reading goal (22/50) Read at least one book in German: 0, not started yet
Since I am doing the book blanket, I have kept track of when the books are originally published. Most books are recently published but I have read a couple of older gems as well, Before 1920: 0 1920-1939: 3 1940-1959: 1 1960-1979: 1 1980-1999: 3 2000-2019: 6 2020-2025: 7
My unread book collection has grown with 7 books so far. I did not make any goals specifically towards shrinking my unread book collection, this year was all about reading and buying what I was in the mood for. The number of library books might seem low but I have not been much of a borrower the last couple of years (ever since the big disease) so I am glad I am finding my way back, I used to borrow a lot of books.
Books I have enjoyed reading the most so far this year (in the order I read them): Wild Magic – Tamora Pierce (reread) Dating Dr. Dil – Nisha Sharma Drömgångare/The Bone Season – Samantha Shannon (reread) These Old Shades – Georgette Heyer The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year – Ally Carter
Another month is coming to an end and spring is in full bloom here! I really like spring, everything is coming to life after being in hibernation over winter and all the colours are coming back. The cherry trees outside work is in full bloom and they are beautiful!
I am currently listening to Clean Sweep on my audiobook service. It is written by Ilona Andrews, an author that I have read one series by before. I recognise the writing style and I do enjoy the listen. The physical reading is not really settled at the moment. I have The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon started (but have not read in since February) as well as Let Sleeping Vets Lie by James Herriot (slowly reading this one mixed with other books).
I reread The Bone Season (the original version) by Samantha Shannon in February and am now feeling an itch to finally continue with the series. I am thinking that I will read the original versions of the books in the series and then read the revised editions to see what Shannon changed. I really enjoyed the reread of The Bone Season (and The Mime Order back in the day when I read it) and am really looking forward to read the continuation and the “better” versions after. If they are so much better then people say, then they have to be amazing!
A blanket update? Sure!
The blueprint is looking quite nice, I had to put a few blocks of the same colour beside each other to avoid some holes though. The decision to have four blocks per books was perhaps not my brightest idea, I am a little behind on my crocheting and still have 42 to go to be up to date (46 made).
The books I am currently reading are of the colours yellow and blue and that might not be the most optimal blocks at the moment. Perhaps I should do a little inventory and see if I can squeeze something else in, if I have something of a reasonable length…
I should really start blocking these so that I can start putting them together!
What are you reading at the moment and do you have any fun crafts ongoing?
I found myself finishing an audiobook with no plan on what to read next. I thought the random number generator would be fun so I went on Goodreads, checked the length of my to-be-read shelf and generated a random number based on this. We hit number 205. This book happened to be Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer, number three in the Alastair-Audley series. I do not think these books needs to be read in order but my audiobook service did not have Regency Buck. It did have the first book in the series, These Old Shades, and I think that counts!
These Old Shades – Georgette Heyer Original title: These Old Shades (1926) Series: Alastair-Audley #1 Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Format: Audiobook Narrator: Sarah Nichols Length:12 hours, 1 minute
Synopsis from Storytel: Society believes the worst of Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon. When he encounters a young boy, Léon, who is running from his abusive brother, Avon employs the boy as his page, parading him around parties and other society events in full view of his bitter rival, the Comte de Saint-Vire.
But the truth is soon uncovered: Léon is in fact a girl named Léonie and is actually the legitimate child of the Comte and his wife. While Avon is intent on his plan to reveal the Comte’s duplicity and ruin him publicly, he is charmed by Léonie’s kindness, falls in love, and becomes a changed man.
First impression (5% in): When I looked into this book before starting it I saw that it was published in 1926 and that surprised me a bit. Most books I have read from this time period have been cosy murder mysteries so I was expecting that kind of slow-going writing style. Cosy in a way that is pleasant but not exciting in a way that makes you want to read at every change you get. This book has so far surprised me. We have not come long in the story yet but I do feel the excitement to pick it up again.
I saw on Goodreads that Tamora Pierce rated this book highly, and other than me just having finished one of her books, I find it a little amusing that we in These Old Shades so far have a girl pretending to be a boy and is going to be someone’s page, sharing some plot points with Alanna: The First Adventure.
I find the main male character to be a bit of an ass, like how he speaks to “the boy” but I guess we will see if it can be justified.
8% in: Wait, is this going to be a 20 year old gap sort of book?
25% in: We are getting somewhere. This is different to any romance I have previously read. I am still a little concerned for the age gap thing even though I am aware that the age gaps were larger historically. The point of view, how we are perceiving the story is quite different and that I really enjoy. The pace of the story is quite slow but I do not mind.
29% in: Does she want to continue to be a boy for real or just because she does not want to change things between them?
52% in: Half way in and I think we just got to follow the story from Léonie’s perspective for a while?
69% in: It feels like even though she praises the duke so much, she has a very strong will and does not do something she does not want to.
76% in: There are so many people! I can not keep track of who is who in the social gatherings. Except the pig person, his wife and the prince?
86% in: I do not want to stop listening but I have to work. Things are happening and it squeezes my heart.
Final thoughts: I really liked this book! I am a little surprised that it has aged to well. In the afterword, written by someone who I think wrote a biography about Heyer, it said that Heyer started writing this when she was only 19. I would have guessed that someone older wrote this.
I think some words might have changed meaning since this was written, and today’s society does not typically have these age gaps (but was probably much more common when the book takes place?). I can see why this book has been recommended many times and why it is still being read.
I did find the utter devotion a bit repetative and annoying at times but it was also a bit endearing and since Léonie also has a very strong will and is stubborn, it makes the relashionship dynamic (rather than if there had only been a blind following) between them work better.
How this story was written is very different to many other romances I have read. The perspectives we get to follow are rarely from Léonie and I think that this makes a big part as to why I liked it.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars — I really liked it!
It is time for another round of Down the TBR-hole, where I go through the books in my To Be Read shelf on Goodreads and try to decide if I still want to read them (should they stay?) or not (should they go?).
The Faerie Guardian – Rachel Morgan I was feeling semi interested when I read the description now but I see that it is available on my audiobook service. I’ll give it a chance. Verdict: Stays
The Masked City – Genevieve Cogman I read the first book in the series a couple of years ago and really liked it. I do not remember anything about it now though. I think I will do a re-listen to the first book in the series to freshen up my memory before I decide if I should let this one go. Verdict: Stays
Fall of Giants – Ken Follett This one was also recommended to me by a friend. Added it to my audiobook account (it is almost 40 hours long!). Verdict: Stays
Renegades – Marissa Meyer I really liked The Lunar Chronicles books that I read and I should probably try to finish reading this series. I am not feeling a strong urge to read this one so I will let it go from the TBR. I might revisit it when I finish the Lunar Chronicles though… Verdict: Goes
Pride, Prejudice, and Cheese Grits – Mary Jane Hathaway I am torn. I do like a Pride and Prejudice story. But I was not very intrigued when I read the synopsis now. And it seems to be expensive to get ahold of. I think it will have to go. Verdict: Goes
The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax – Dorothy Gilman This one sounds like it could be a delight! A woman (older than the typical main character) that becomes a CIA agent? Verdict: Stays
The Perfect Horse – Elizabeth Letts I find this book intriguing. It is a second world war book about the rescuing of horses? Does not seem to be easily found on my audiobook service or the library but I think I will keep it here anyway. Verdict: Stays
Bonny’s Big Day – James Herriot I was pleasantly surprised that my library had this one! It is a short childrens’ book and I very much enjoy the books about James Herriot so this read was a no brainer. I reserved it. Verdict: Stays
Walk on Earth a Stranger – Rae Carson I can not remember adding this book to my shelf but I do see that I have a couple of Goodreads friends have added it as well (none of them has read it though) so a good guess is that I saw it passing by in the timeline. My audiobook service had is as an audiobook so I saved it to give it a try. Verdict: Stays
Deception’s Princess – Esther M. Friesner This book will sadly leave. It is not available in my library or my audiobook service and I do not want to read it badly enough to buy it. It is a beautiful cover through and that is probably why it landed on my shelf to begin with. Verdict: Goes
How did it go this time? Books in the TBR shelf at start: 240 Number of staying books: 9 Number of leaving books: 3 Total amount of leaving books: 50 Number of reserved books at the library: 1 Number of books put in to-borrow-shelf: – Number of books added to audiobook-account: 3 Current amount of books in my TBR shelf: 269
Mostly staying books in this round. I am pleased that quite a few of them were available in the library or on my audiobook service.
I am going to do a new try to keep these posts more regular. It would be fun to get the number on this shelf down a bit. When I take too long in between the posts, I have time to add so many books…
I have been home with a cold for a couple of days and I am now starting to get back some energy. Yesterday was mostly spent in the sofa but I did manage to fasten some threads on the squares for my book blanket.
Today, I have been listening to Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce (book three in The Immortals Quartet). This series is a comfort read and it has been relaxing to listen to while being ill. I carefully laid out the squares on the floor (moving gives me a headache) to see where we are in the square status.
I think I have finished three yellow squares today with one more in progress. You might notice that this layout might not correspond to the latest update I gave you. After I did lay out them last time I thought that the blanked would benefit from being a bit wider so I adjusted it a little.
There are a few squares to go to being up to date with what I have read. If I were up to date, the blanked would look like this:
I am hoping to get a dark blue Tetris block (shape mirrored to the orange) in soon, fitting nicely in above the yellow 10. I am currently reading Let Sleeping Vets Lie by James Herriot, the third book in the series about James, that will give me that block.
I think that will do for today, I hope you are at least half as excited as me about my book blanket. It does encourage me to pick up books from a bigger release year span. Let Sleeping Vets Lie was published sometimes in the 70s, a decade that is not a common one in my bookshelves.
I did a lot of thinking about my book blanket last month and I finally settled on my blocks and have started to crochet. I did in the end choose to go with the original colours of the blocks and chose yarn colours that had a good contrast so that the colours would not be too similar.
My online version of the blanket looks like this at the moment (the numbers represent in which order they have been placed, and yes it starts with two):
My reading is a bit affected by this blanket. I try to mix up my reading to not get too many of the same time span in a row, and I am more selective in which books I pick up (and put down) knowing that they will be represented in the blanket. But, in the end I am a mood reader so that will always be what is deciding what I pick up next. This week I have one purple and one yellow coming up and then we will see what is coming.
I have started to read the thickest book in my unread collection: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. It is over 800 pages so it is a big one! In the beginning there was a lot of world building and information so it was hard to know what would be important to remember. I think I am past that point now and things are going to take off. I have really enjoyed reading it so far!
I met up with my university book circle last week to discuss Färskt vatten till blommorna (Changer l’eau des fleurs / Fresh Water for Flowes) by Valérie Perrin. We were a bit divided in our opinions so it was an interesting discussion! For my part, I can understand why it has gotten the hype its gotten but it was not a book for me.
This Thursday we are going to discuss Sleeping Beauties by Stephen and Owen King at work. It is also a thick book (over 700 pages) so it has taken us quite some weeks to read it together. It will be interesting to hear everyone’s final thoughts.
A new year has begun and the yearly book counters has been set to zero.
How did last year’s reading go?
I did squeeze in a Nancy Drew the last hour of the year to reach my goal of reading 80 books.
I tried out a new book app (Fable) the last part of 2024 and they summarized my reading like this:
My most read author was by far Eric Ugland with 15 books. The series The Good Guys and The Bad Guys have been warming my ears since July and I still have 11 to go before I am all up to date, and then one book in the series The Grim Guys.
My average rating 3.4 is slightly lower than 2023’s 3.8, but higher than 2022’s 3.2.
I have a spread where I in the beginning of each year attempt to set a goal to read my thickest books. Last year I managed to read two of those books, Fourth Wing (5 stars) and The Spanish Love Deception (4 stars)
Reading plans for 2025
I have set my Goodread’s (and Fable) goal to 50 books. The reason behind my lowered goal is to make room for those thicker books and also to actually read more in German. Both of these goals are quite familiar, they have been set before, but let us give it a go again.
The thicker books have now an updated spread with the following books:
Let us see if I can tick off at least two of these books.
The German reading goal is a little trickier. I do have the second Harry Potter book in German (unread) at home and have read the first previously. I am pondering rereading the first one before starting the second or if I should go directly to the second. I have been looking for other books to read in German and I find this quite tricky. Ideally I want a book where I know the story well so that I recognise it and have an easier time following the story.
My audiobook service are offering some books in German (both audio and ebook) but many, where I know the story, are abridged and I want the full length ones. I do not think that the Swedish book sellers have a big selection of books in German either. I will have to keep digging for a bit to find a suitable book.
A few days ago, I stumbled upon someone online making a book blanket. The wheels in my head started turning and I am playing with the thought of making one of my own as well. The most common version seems to be using granny squares. I finished my granny square blanket not too long ago and am therefore thinking about doing something different. And since I am planning on reading less this years, I might not get as many squares anyhow. The current idea: a Tetris blanket!
I am still playing around with the details but I am leaning towards doing a Tetris blanket where each block represents one book published during a certain time span. This will hopefully also encourage me to pick up books from different time periods. Each block will probably consist of four squares so the blanket will hopefully not grow too slow.
I am still playing around with the colour scheme and have yet to settle on one.
I think that is it, my book thoughts at the moment. I will also leave my good old Bookshelf tracker here. It shows the current book status of the books that was unread in my book collection at the start of 2020 and the ones added since. I noticed last year when I tried to keep track of my unread pages on a monthly basis with this app that it was not accurate but I think it is fun to get a rough idea on the status anyway.
It is time for another round of Down the TBR-hole, where I go through the books in my To Be Read shelf on Goodreads and try to decide if I still want to read them (should they stay) or not (should they go?). I have written more about this in my first post in Swedish.
The Storyspinner – Becky Wallace I do not remember how I found this book but I have a feeling the bow on the cover caught my attention. The story sounds intriguing so I think I will keep it. The library has number two in the series so I think I will request them to buy this one so I can borrow it. Verdict: Stays.
Uppslukad / Lost in a Good Book – Jasper Fforde I did enjoy the first book in this series and was thinking that I would continue to read more of the series. I can unfortunately not remember anything from the first book so I would have to reread or recap it before starting this one. I will add this one to my to-borrow shelf and try to figure out what to do. Verdict: Stays.
Mördar-Anders och hans vänner / Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All – Jonas Jonasson I really enjoy Jonas Jonassons writing and have every intention of reading this. I have not finished the last one I picked up by him though so I am not sure I will get to this one soon. But since I am planning on reading it, I guess I should keep it here as well. Verdict: Stays.
The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul – Deborah Rodriguez I am a little torn. I do not remember why I added this book. On the one hand this is a setting that I usually do not read about and that makes me a bit curious but on the other hand the reviews are not great on Goodreads. I am not super eager to read this one so I think it goes. Verdict:Goes.
Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett – Georges Simenon I was gifted a couple of Maigret books a few years ago and I have so far only read one. This one is the first in the series and I think it would be interesting to read the introduction of this character. Verdict: Stays.
Få det gjort! / Getting Things Done – David Allen This book seems to contain a few tips and tricks for being more productive and having more time over for other things. I found that my audiobook service has this book (as an ebook) in a newer edition that is adapted for life with smartphones and the online every-day life. I have a feeling that this might be a bit work related and that I perhaps found this book in some list of nice books to read. I am adding it to my bookshelf in the audiobook service. Verdict:Stays.
The Priory of the Orange Tree– Samantha Shannon I own this book and will pick it up not too long into the future. That is at least what I keep telling myself, hopefully sooner than later. Verdict:Stays.
The Last Kiss Goodbye– Tasmina Perry I think that stories with different timelines can be a bit difficult to get right. I do want to give this one a shot so I am adding it to my to-borrow shelf. Verdict: Stays.
Midnight Jewel– Richelle Mead I adore Mead’s Vampire Academy series and want to read her other works. This is number two in a series and the first one was only okay. I do want to this one anyway so it will go into the to-borrow shelf. Verdict: Stays.
Paper Princess – Erin Watt I am a bit torn. Part of me feels ugh when reading the description and the other half is a little intrigued. I guess I will have to give it a go. Verdict:Stays.
How did it go this time? Books in the TBR shelf at start: 240 Number of staying books: 11 Number of leaving books: 1 Total amount of leaving books: 47 Number of reserved books at the library: 0 Number of books put in to-borrow-shelf: 5 Number of books added to audiobook-account: 1 Current amount of books in my TBR shelf: 274
Many books that are staying this time around. I currently have a bunch of books at home from the library in a pile so I will not reserve any of the books added to the to-borrow shelf at this time.
Do you see any books that I should prioritize from this round of books?
Alien Claimed – Julie K. Cohen Series: Zyanthan Warriors #1 Original publication year: 2021 Type of book: ebook
Synopsis from the author’s page: Ivy Earth isn’t exactly paradise, not since the Coalition took control, but it was home… until Ivy’s brother shoved her onto an alien ship to be a mail-order bride. Against her wishes. Without asking her. Without caring about her. Quite frankly, she was better off without the murderous psycho, but that doesn’t mean she was prepared for the universe. She only knows she won’t marry some horned alien. She’ll make her own way back to Earth and stay far away from her brother and his nefarious ties to the Coalition. Nothing will change her mind. Not even a tall, sweet, protective warrior who makes human males look like boys and the universe look much more appealing than she ever thought possible.
Quinnov Quinnov’s alone in the universe. Except for his planet… war torn, burned out Zyan. No one in his family survived the war, except maybe his older brother Jaizon. Quinnov’s been searching for him since the war ended. But when he crosses paths with his heartmate, his priorities shift. To keep her safe from those hunting her, he may have to return her to her world, even though she makes his heart soar and both of his cocks harden.
I do not think that I have a lot to say about Alien Claimed but let’s do a little sharing of thoughts anyway.
Everything went very quickly. They had this heartmate thing going on, so I half buy the story but if she did not have the bond the same way as a human, it went too quickly.
His two … things … was a bit weird. I get that it might be a thing in monster romance but it was a bit weird. It is good that she liked it anyway, whatever floats your boat or how the saying goes. Not really my taste though.
I am a bit sceptic to reading more books in this series. I did read it because I downloaded it for free during one of those stuff your kindle days and it was fun to try but it was just that.
I hope you are having a good week! Today I am showing you my latest finished books and my current Goodreads goal.
Starting from the bottom: Divine Rivals was a book that I thought had a promising start but I am not sure I agreeing with the turns of the story towards the end. Haven’t decided whether I want to continue the series or not.
Home, Siege Home was good, I included it in the review of the first six books in The Good Guys series. I have started listening to the next one in the series. Might take a break from the books after this and listen to something else before moving on to the next book.
Alien Claimed was a book that I grabbed while it was free on Kindle. I did download it to the Kindle app and read it on my phone. Not sure that I am going to review this one, I do not think that I have so much to say about it. It was okay. The alien has two thingies and I see what the author tried to do with that but I am not quite sold on that concept.
Strimmor av hopp (Between Shades of Gray) was recommended to me by a friend. It depicts a horrible history but from a viewpoint I have not read from before. I thought it was a really good book and I can see why it has so many good reviews. I typically do not read “depressing” stories but I am very glad that I picked up this one. I thought I would have a harder time reading this than I did. Thanks for the recommendation!
I am just about to read the final pages in our book circle book for work; Enklaven (not translated to English that I know of). It will be very interesting to hear what people thought of the book. We are going to have a discussion about the last couple of chapters tomorrow and then we will talk about the whole book next week. I think that we will be joined by a couple of more people that has read this book previously as well then.
Goodreads goal wise I am on track and ahead a couple of books. I got in a good reading mood during my vacation and have managed to keep it up. I am hopefully going to start on a pretty chunky book soon and that might slow down the number of finished books a while. But numbers are not the important part, even though they are quite nice to look at (when they are looking good).
What are you currently reading? Do you have a reading goal for this year? If so, how is it going?
Have You Read This One? 