30 Books in 30 Days – May 2018

26th May 2020

Throwback to two years ago – Sana came up with a really fun idea: starting 30 books in 30 days. With a currently reading pile of 20 books in the beginning of May, participating in this would be a really stupid move on my part, right? Well, who cares?! I didn’t want to let this silly game pass me, so I decided to tweak it a little: reading in 30 books in 30 days? That I could do, being both able to start some new ones and trying to finish ones that have been on my CRP for years. So this is how it went:

  1. Dingle Peggy: Further Travels in Ireland on Horseback (Ireland on Horseback, #2) by Hilary Bradt

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 58
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: I had started this one on April 30 and got on rather well, so I was able to finish it on May 1. It’s a much quicker and more interesting read than the first one – with an ending that’s not quite as drastic and enraging but also kind of sad. I couldn’t warm up to Ms Bradt, but her ponies are quite the characters. On a side note: this made me miss Ireland a lot!

  2. Time Was by Ian McDonald

    Days spent reading: 3
    Pages read: 148
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: I didn’t even mean to start this book after I came home from a lovely dinner with my colleagues. But the first sentence got me:

    We kiss and the sea catches fire.

    It wasn’t what I had anticipated, the blurb being a little misleading. It’s not wrong, but it describes the plot, not the story. I nevertheless liked it a lot and I didn’t see the ending coming!

  3. The Sword of Shannara (The Shannara Trilogy, #1) by Terry Brooks

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 27
    Status: 14% read
    Thoughts: I started this one in early 2016 but only read about 70 pages. It only took me a couple of pages to remember why I hadn’t picked it up in so long: it’s an obviously inferior Lord of the Rings copycat.

  4. Laura und der Ring der Feuerschlange (Laura, #5) by Peter Freund

    Days spent reading: 5
    Pages read: 248
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: One of my favourite MG series. There are two more books I didn’t read back then but I really want to finish the series eventually. To refresh my memory, I started rereading in 2010. It took me six years to get to the fifth book which I’ve “been” reading for the last two years. About time I finished this one! I still really enjoyed it but it’s lost a little of its appeal. I still gave it its 5 stars because I will never forget how that ending broke me the first time. It’s one of the few books that has blown my mind to the extend that I stared paralysed into the air for minutes on end before rereading those pages time and time again.

  5. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 40
    Status: 40% read
    Thoughts: I started this back in 2015 and just don’t really get anywhere. The stories are so ponderous and exhausting to read, my concentration going out the window the second I hit the second page. Some of the stories are truly spooky if you set aside the difficulty I have to read them. The most memorable so far was “The Rats in the Walls.” Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

  1. Every Breath (Every, #1) by Ellie Marney

    Days spent reading: 4
    Pages read: 310
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: Wow, this got me hooked! I wasn’t really into it at first (that’s why it ended up on my CRP for over a year), but when I picked it up this time, it really drew me in. I squeezed some reading time in between the a-new-book-a-day. Such an enjoyable YA contemporary Sherlock Holmes retelling! I already own the sequels, though I’m not quite sure when I’ll pick up the second book in this trilogy.

  2. Dear Martin by Nic Stone

    Days spent reading: 4
    Pages read: 211
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: This hit me on an emotional level and covered the whole spectrum from happy over upset and angry to sad. The writing and story are quite engaging, I almost couldn’t put it down, which made it for a very quick read.

  3. The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 105
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: The cover is glorious! It was a very quick read but I’m not quite sure what to make of it. It did remind me a little of the film Crimson Peak and I loved the spooky house but it wasn’t quite atmospheric and spooky enough. I wasn’t really scared for the protagonist. Oh, and the ending was weird and rushed and I can’t decide whether it’s open or not.

  4. Deception’s Princess (Deception’s Princess, #1) by Esther Friesner

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 54
    Status: 55% read
    Thoughts: Unfortunately, this one is borderline boring, which is truly a shame considering this is set in Ireland. It’s not bad, but as much as I like Maeve, the story is just a little too draggy.

  5. Die Spur der Bücher (Die Spur der Bücher, #1) by Kai Meyer

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 56
    Status: 65% read
    Thoughts: Memo to myself: don’t let books sit on your currently reading pile for too long, you’ll forget everything that happened. I love this world and I like this book better than the last book set in this world. I just keep forgetting everything that has happened, which is a little annoying. I should just sit down and finish this one.

  1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 44
    Status: 73% read
    Thoughts: Now I remember why I still haven’t finished this book. It’s really bad for my mental health. It full on triggers my anxiety because I’m just so scared for these characters. Not sure whether I should try and read it as quickly as possible or take baby steps.

  2. A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) by Sarah J. Maas

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 29
    Status: 68% read
    Thoughts: Well, these relationships are just so fucked up. But god, I know the allure. I get it. I’m usually very good at turning a blind eye, too. I know if I had read this in my teens – or even just a couple of years earlier -, I’d worshipped this series. I am paying attention though and all those double standards are problematic as hell. This series would be perfect to dissect for a thesis.

  3. Lizzy Carbon und die Qual der Wahl (Lizzy Carbon, #3) by Mario Fesler

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 6
    Status: 44% read
    Thoughts: I love Lizzy to pieces, but I’m currently just not into reading for work. I really have to get back into that mood soon though.

  4. Der lange Weg zu einem kleinen zornigen Planeten (Wayfarers, #1) by Becky Chambers
    [The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)]

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 53
    Status: 13% read
    Thoughts: Oh, I think I’m going to like this, I just need to stick to it for once.

  5. Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by Robin LaFevers

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 32
    Status: 15% read
    Thoughts: I still haven’t figured out whether I like this or not. There’s just something missing for me to truly latch on, but maybe that’s still to come.

  1. Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1) by Gail Carriger

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 22 pages
    Status: 21% read
    Thoughts: Reread, because I still haven’t read the fourth and final novel in this series and have forgotten a lot from the first three books. I love this world so damn much, I’m always having a blast with the books from the Parasol Protectorate universe. 

  2. your name. #1 (your name., #1) by Makoto Shinkai & Ranmaru Kotone

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 171
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: I very seldom read manga or comic books but ever since I saw the film trailer and watched a fanvid on Youtube, I wanted to read this story as well. Really enjoyed this one – and quite a cliffhanger it has!

  3. your name. #2 (your name., #2) by Makoto Shinkai & Ranmaru Kotone

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 163
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: Liked this one even better than the first! Such an intriguing story!

  4. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

    Days spent reading: 3
    Pages read: 362
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: While I like time travel, it’s also a concept I’m really wary and critical about. It’s seldom done right, or without faults, or written in a way you can wrap your head around. In this case, I was pondering most of the time whether this makes any sense. Plus, I did figure out most of the twists pretty early on, so it wasn’t that exciting to read either. I think it just wasn’t for me. Still like that cover very much, though, so I’ll keep it for now.

  5. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

    Days spent reading: 7
    Pages read: 483
    Status: Finished!
    Thoughts: I enjoyed this one so much! However, the diary and what came with it, did throw me off a little. That took up too much space and wasn’t that intriguing so I got a little bored every time that part of the story came up. I very much loved the storyline of the present. A very well structured read with a great protagonist.

  1. Ein Schimmer von Glück by Bettina Belitz

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 39
    Status: 13% read
    Thoughts: Well, well, well, what do we have here? So far, an unlikable protagonist and a very unlikely set up (I’m pretty sure there were more realistic options for this book to have a plot). I think it took only one page for me to raise my eyebrows at this book. I hope this’ll get better.

  2. The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire, #1) by C.J. Redwine

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 27
    Status: 18% read
    Thoughts: I feel like I should love this book (fairytale retelling with lots of magic and magical beings), but somehow, I’m just not getting into it. I really hope it will manage to draw me in soon.

  3. The Lake House by Kate Morton

    Days spent reading: 1
    Pages read: 24
    Status: 4% read
    Thoughts: Since it’s already this warm, I decided to start with my summer read: the Kate Morton novel I haven’t read yet. Really looking forward to it. It’s already off to a good start.

Aaaand that’s it. Yep, I didn’t make it to 30, but 23 books and 2,707 pages read is quite something. I should probably do this more often …

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