Monday 24 June 2013

Once Upon a Time VII wrap-up

Goodness, that three months whizzed by! It doesn't seem five minutes since the 21st. March when I was thrilled that Once Upon a Time VII had begun.





Now here we are, three months later, and it's over again for another year. Sad, but on the other hand it's been huge fun.

Anyway, back in March I decided to do:




Which was to read five books that fit anywhere within the fantasy genre.

The books I read were:

1. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

2. The Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

3. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

4. Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

5. Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch

6. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

7. The Various by Steve Augarde

8. The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

9. The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip

A bit of a mixed bag there. There're the three Rivers of London books that Ben Aaronovitch has written so far. I had no idea I would like those so much that I would have to read them all very quickly! And at last I've made a start on Robin Hobb's Ship of Magic series, so I'm very pleased about that. There were a couple that were basically romances in the fantasy genre and none the worse for that - Casting Spells and The Iron Duke. I read one book I'd never had any intention of reading because I knew it was about football, Unseen Academicals, and was shocked at how much I liked it. And then there were two books, The Various and The Bell at Sealey Head that felt almost real enough to actually happen when I read them, that was an odd experience I have to say!

A favourite? That's a tough question as I was lucky this year and all nine books were good reads. I think it's a tie between Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett and The Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. Both of these were absolutely superb and I loved them to bits... Unseen Academicals especially so as it was such a shock that I liked it as much as I did. It's always nice when that happens.

This is the photo I posted on the 21st. March of some of the books I thought I ought to read:



Looking (rather shamefaced) at that it seems I managed two and a half. The half is because I read about half of Terry Pratchett's new book of short stories but have not yet finished it, so am not counting that. All in all I read five of my own books, which include two from that shelf and one Kindle book. Three on the list were library books and the last belongs to my eldest daughter. To be honest I'm actually quite pleased that I did in fact manage to read five books off my tbr pile!

So that's it for another year. I've really enjoyed the challenge and would like to thank Carl once again for hosting. Last week I put aside two books for R.I.P. in September. Yes... I really, really did. LOL.
~~~oOo~~~

8 comments:

DesLily said...

wow.. I am glad you enjoyed all of them! I love when we get on a streak like that :o)

it seems impossible that OUaT is over already! it seems I judge each year now by OUaT and then RIP and the year ends! gah! I am tooooooooo Oooold for time to keep going faster and faster! I wish I could read faster! I keep getting books faster than I can read books!

Sam (Tiny Library) said...

Well, you may have not read the books you intended to but you smashed your goal out of the park! Well done :)

Margaret @ BooksPlease said...

You've read far more than I did. But at least this time I did reach my target with five books. I've enjoyed reading about the books you've read and like you I still have some earmarked for RIP.

Cath said...

Pat: I like a good reading streak like that too. I get more and more of them these days as I'm now far more picky about the books I read... trying to be sure they're my kind of thing before I start them. Not to mention giving it after 50 or so pages if they're not doing it for me.

This speeding up of time as you get older is not a comfortable feeling. The trouble with us two is that there are so many books we both want to read!

Sam: Thank you. I'm really pleased with the total. :-)

Margaret: I think it's just nice to reach the target regardless of your actual total. I'm just going to check out your post in a moment. Glad it's not just me who's started to earmark books for RIP! LOL.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Cath,

I can't believe where the time has gone either, although I think that a total of 9 books read, is a great achievement.

The fact that you managed to clear 5 from your TBR pile, is even better news. I have had instruction to cull more of my TBR pile, as it seems to be spreading and growing at an alarming rate, with scant prospect of me ever getting to read anything from it, as I have so many author and publisher review copies littering my desk!!

I have managed to part with a couple of carriers so far, but have you any idea just how difficult it is to part with a book which you haven't read? I look at each one longingly!!

I should think that you will be glad of a change of genre now and a chance to get back into some of your favourite series reads.

Yvonne

Cath said...

Yvonne: Yes, I am rather pleased that 5 books got taken off the tbr mountain. (Mine is probably every bit as big as yours...)

I do indeed know how hard it is to part with books you haven't read as I did this myself last year. Had to take a long hard look at all the books and finally realise that there quite a few that never were going to be read for one reason or another. It wasn't easy as I felt bad about spending money on them in the first place. On the other hand the Sue Ryder charity shop benefitted tremendously so that made me feel a bit better about things.

Yes, I'm quite happy to change genres now and return to crime books and also get into non-fiction again.

Susan said...

Excellent list, Cath! The fact you were delightfully surprised by one is fabulous, and just getting any off the TBR pile is wonderful. I've been doing the same - some off my TBR pile, some from the library unexpectedly. I'll be doing my post for OUaT shortly. I had one real surprise, and some good books I read, so it was a fun challenge again. I'm glad we all enjoy it so much!

I have Unseen Academics, funnily enough, and I like football! I should read this one sooner rather than later....but I'm into mysteries now, so it might wait until I need a change of pace. I still have to read the Robin HObb, that was one I didn't get to, and I really want to. I'm delighted it was one of your top two for this challenge.

As you say, we are all getting ready for RIP, aren't we??? I have a pile already too.

Cath said...

Susan: I do so agree that getting *any* books off the tbr mountain is an achievement. It would help my pile a lot if I weren't such a library addict, but there you go, libraries need to be used by those of us that can get to them.

Unseen Academicals was such a revelation to me. As I read it I felt a continual sense of surprise that I was loving it so much. I don't own it but am sure at the first opportunity I'll be putting that right.

The Robin Hobb was amazing. I have book 2 sitting here on my shelf waiting for me to have a week free to read such a massive tome (900 pages). Ain't happening this weekend as I have a hugely busy couple of days coming up with our granddaughter staying and Peter's birthday on Sunday.

Yep, a small pile is forming for RIP and also a written list of books to look into getting. LOL. Lost cause.