vivdunstan

Considering switching from Goodreads to Storygraph to keep track of my reading. Now to see how long it takes to import my 2500+ row reading database from Goodreads to Storygraph. Estimate so far up to 72 hours. Eek! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/feb/16/goodreads-amazon-nadia-odunayo-the-storygraph

Just read this, for my book club. It's an incredibly short read. It took me just 11 minutes to read the main story in the book, and 4 more minutes to read the author's afterword.

There were elements I liked. The illustrated small hardback book (and I lucked out by chance getting a signed one) is a gorgeous item. The illustrations are beautiful. And there is a sense of magic and winter running throughout. Some very nice animal elements in the book.

But it feels like the first draft of the start of a story that needed much more depth and especially length. I think if it had been improved in that way it could have been something incredibly special. As it is it is disappointing me and the other book club members who've read it.

The author's afterword is interesting, and worth reading. But if anything it just highlights how slight the main story is. For example the afterword discusses other wintry stories in the lyrics of Kate Bush songs. And those sounded far more interesting than what I just read ...

I am glad I read it. But equally glad I still have loads more to go in my first (and leisurely) read of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Because I'm enjoying that way more than I did this.

Rating 2.5/5, or generously rounded up for Goodreads purposes to 3/5.

Many more books finished since last time, so I need to do a catch up! Luckily easy for me to do, since I note the books I've read, plus a rating, in Goodreads.

I'd been slowly reading the Sisto and Marchese Middle Earth book, and finally finished. An absolutely brilliant book, for both the newcomer to Tolkien's worlds, and old timers. So much useful reference material I even bought myself a print copy after finishing the Kindle version.

I continue to adore the Insomniacs After School manga series. It probably helps that one of the lead characters looks uncannily like a schoolboy version of my husband! But it's a charming and gentle slice of life, including hefty astronomy elements. I expect to read all of this.

I learned about Intellect Books' Fan Phenomena range of books from the Glasgow Worldcon dealers' room, which I was browsing from a distance. The Lord of the Rings book is very out of print sadly. But I've got the Doctor Who one to read, and first read a bargain copy (£3) Game of Thrones one I picked up secondhand. A huge range of essays exploring different perspectives of fandom. Worked even for me who has never properly read or watched Game of Thrones.

A Darker Shade of Magic got better and better for me as I read it, after a slightly rocky start. I expect to complete the trilogy. And probably go onto the sequel trilogy that is newly starting.

The Phantasmagoria magazines/books were things I'd picked up a while back. Print on demand books from Amazon, large format, collecting a huge range of articles, art work, reflections, and fiction by and about the subjects. The MR James one was a solid 5/5 stars for me. I am keeping it.

The Girl From The Other Side manga wasn't a hit for me. Just too strange, though it got more interesting on the way through.

( earlier books )
1. Why We Love Middle-earth: An Enthusiast’s Book about Tolkien, Middle-earth & the LOTR Fandom by Alan Sisto and Shawn Marchese
2. Insomniacs After School (manga) volume 3 by Makoto Ojiro
3. Fan Phenomena: Game of Thrones edited by Kavita Mudan Finn
4. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
5. Phantasmagoria Special Edition Series #3: M.R. James
6. Phantasmagoria Special Edition Series #2: The Lovecraft Squad
7. The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún (manga) volume 1 by Nagabe

Last year I finished 60 books. In some previous years I've finished more, sometimes less. For 2024 I'm setting myself a reading target of 25 books, though will probably smash it. But I want to focus on more longer books, albeit interspersed with and alongside shorter ones.

Long books that I plan to read include rereads of Lord of the Rings and Our Mutual Friend. But I also intend to read a couple more Wheel of Time books, which are pretty chunky, and can take some time.

I'm also intending to read more books in translation, including some long ones. Will be drawing up a list of those soon. It depends which ones I can get in Kindle format, so I can read them with an utterly gargantuan font. Due to my progressive neurological illness audiobooks haven't been a good option for me since the 1990s, but gigantic font ebooks work well for recreational reads.

And of course there will be lots of non fiction books read alongside the fiction. That is already underway, and I expect to keep that more flexible.

But yup, a year of quality reading over quantity this time.

Shame it wasn’t my 42nd book of the year …