July 2018 Wrap-Up

I'm very surprised I managed to get through all of these books in July, especially considering the length of some of them! 

Everything is chaos here at the moment - I start a new job in a new city on 14 August and I'm trying to prepare for that, as well as cleaning out and packing my possessions in order to move. It's not going well. Many angry tears have been shed and many unintelligible noises have been made.

My new job has a library literally right next door though, so I can't complain :)

Why yes, there is definitely a fantasy theme to my July reading. I read The Eye of the World, the first book in the Wheel of Time series, because Charlotte told me how amazing it was and then I had to get the next book immediately.

At the same time, she was reading my favourite fantasy series, The Belgariad by David Eddings, and then I had a sudden urge to reread those as well... so I ended up alternating between series. I've currently finished neither series (understandably considering The Wheel of Time books are long and there are fourteen of them) but I'm persevering! 

I finally finished Wilkie Collins: A Life of Sensation, which I was reading as part of Alice's read-a-long. I enjoyed learning more about him (and his multiple STDs), but I didn't also need to learn more about everybody he passed in the street. 

Fiction

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time #1) by Robert Jordan

The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan

The Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time #3) by Robert Jordan

I love this series and I'm simultaneously annoyed and thrilled that I haven't read it before. The first book is mostly scene setting, but the second is amazing. So much plot development and twists and... argh. There are some really great plotlines.

I didn't review the third book because a) the reviews are probably going to start getting repetitive, but also b) I didn't like it quite as much as the others. It was in the middle of frantic packing and throwing a strop-fit, so I possibly wasn't the most impartial! 

Graphic novels

Super Mutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

Rereads

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Pawn of Prophecy (Belgariad #1) by David Eddings

Queen of Sorcery (Belgariad #2) by David Eddings

David Eddings was one of the first adult authors I ever read. As a teenager, I devoured this series and his other books on multiple occasions, and so I was really concerned that they would stand up twelve years down the line. They do, they really do. The dialogue is still very dry and witty and, whilst I've now seen the same plot devices used in other books, it doesn't matter as it's still done well. I'm looking forward to reading the others!

I'd say that I enjoyed Ready Player One slightly less than I did on my original reading, but only slightly. I think I was so blown away by all the references to my favourite things that I wasn't paying attention to the actual plot! There are a few holes and there is some shoe-horning in relation to a certain character, but it didn't stop me from loving it overall.

Non-fiction

Wilkie Collins: A Life of Sensation by Andrew Lycett 

Best Book of July 2017:

The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan 

Despite the fact that I'm moving and I'm meant to be depleting my possessions, I have somehow still managed to accumulate eleven more books. I know. It's space I don't have... but hey, they were books I didn't have! :)

I bought The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn whilst reading the previous book and each time deciding I would absolutely need the next installment. On one such occasion, Charlotte accompanied me to Waterstones and, after rearranging the shelf to her liking, encouraged me to buy Across the Nightingale Floor too. Which I did, because I have no will power.

All the rest are from charity shops, aside from The Power (which I bought at 2am using next day delivery because I was that desperate to read it - which, naturally, I still haven't done) and The Haunted Hotel, which is a Wilkie Collins novel that I heard about from his biography.

I'm particularly excited about Saplings, an adult novel by Noel Streatfield, the author of Ballet Shoes. I can't even remember what it's about but I know I want to read it!

August is my birthday month so it's highly unlikely that there will be no books coming in... but hopefully I'll have finished moving soon so I can justify books again. Not that my lack of justification matters, clearly!

What was your favourite read from July? Which book are you most looking forward to reading in August?