The best there is at what I do

A double update on my progress for my reading challenge because I was on holiday at the beginning of last month and forgot to do it when I got back. To recap: my plan is to finish some of the series that I've got ongoing - I've selected 14 series with a total of 44 books. I managed to read 4 books last month which is not bad going. They were:

Bound by Benedict Jacka
Marked by Benedict Jacka
Fallen by Benedict Jacka
Forged by Benedict Jacka

I've only got one more book from the Alex Verus series left so I am hoping I will get that finished this month. I got a bit sidetracked with other books over the last few weeks because I got several library books for my holiday that weren't part of my challenge so I've been reading those instead. Naughty!

This is what the full list of series looks like now:

• ✔ The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 1 book COMPLETED
  
  
• The Starblade Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 2 books
  
  
• The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich - 7 books *
  
  
• ▶ Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka - 10 books - IN PROGRESS
  
  
• Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo - 1 book
  
  
• ✔ The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - 1 book COMPLETED
  
  
• Gentlemen Bastard by Scott Lynch - 1 book *
  
  
• ✔ Her Majesty The Queen Investigates by SJ Bennett - 1 book COMPLETED
  
  
• Spellcaster by Charlie N Holmberg - 1 book
  
  
• The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - 6 books *
  
  
• Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens - 7 books
  
  
• The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell - 1 book *
  
  
• The Locked Tomb by Tamsin Muir - 1 book *
  
  
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - 4 books *

* These series are still being written so there may be more books to come! There was a new Murderbot book out in May and one for Her Majesty The Queen Investigates is coming in October. I'm unsure as to whether I should include those in my challenge as they've come out after I announced it.

A slightly belated update on my progress for my reading challenge this year. My plan is to finish some of the series that I've got ongoing - I've selected 14 series with a total of 44 books. I managed to read 3 books last month. They are:

Burned by Benedict Jacka
The Queen Who Came In From The Cold by SJ Bennett
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

I was hoping to complete 4 books but I didn't quite manage it so I'm currently a book behind. The fourth book was Bound by Benedict Jacka so that will go towards my target next month. I think I'm doing all right overall at the moment. I'm up to date with Her Majesty The Queen Investigates now, but there's a new book for that series due out in October. I'm not sure yet whether to add it to my challenge or not. I'm thinking possibly not, seeing as my challenge was made before the book came out. I might see how I'm doing with the challenge towards the end of the year and if I can afford to add extra books to it.

This is what the full list of series looks like now:

• ✔ The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 1 book COMPLETED
  
  
• The Starblade Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 2 books
  
  
• The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich - 7 books *
  
  
• ▶ Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka - 10 books - IN PROGRESS
  
  
• Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo - 1 book
  
  
• ✔ The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - 1 book * COMPLETED
  
  
• Gentlemen Bastard by Scott Lynch - 1 book *
  
  
• ✔ Her Majesty The Queen Investigates by SJ Bennett - 1 book * COMPLETED
  
  
• Spellcaster by Charlie N Holmberg - 1 book
  
  
• The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - 6 books *
  
  
• Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens - 7 books
  
  
• The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell - 1 book *
  
  
• The Locked Tomb by Tamsin Muir - 1 book *
  
  
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - 4 books *

* These series are still being written so there may be more books to come! There's a new book for The Murderbot Diaries out in May and one for Her Majesty The Queen Investigates in October.

Today is the Trans Day of Visibility.

Each year on March 31, the world observes Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) to raise awareness about transgender people. It is a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of Trans people, while also drawing attention to the disproportionate levels of poverty, discrimination, and violence the community faces compared to non-Trans people.

International TDOV was created in 2010 by Trans advocate Rachel Crandall, in response to the overwhelming majority of media stories about transgender people being focused on violence. She hoped to create a day where people could celebrate the lives of transgender people, while simultaneously acknowledging that due to discrimination, not every Trans person can or wants to be visible.

Hello, I'm a Trans person *waves* 👋 Ask me anything!

Happy Birthday to me! 🍾 🥳 🎉
*hangs up birthday decorations, sits on birthday throne wearing birthday crown 👑 at a jaunty angle*

All birthday presents 🎁, goodies, and oaths of fealty welcome!

Pick up your party hat 🎩 on the way in and your party bag with a balloon 🎈 and the obligatory slice of cake 🍰 in a serviette on your way out 😁

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus!

A quick update on my progress for my reading challenge this year. My plan is to finish some of the series that I've got ongoing - I've selected 14 series with a total of 44 books. I managed to read 3 books last month which is reasonable, although only one of them was actually for the challenge. That was:

Veiled by Benedict Jacka

Unfortunately, I got a little sidetracked with a new series! Whoops. I picked up Doing Time by Jodi Taylor in the library, not realising that it was the first of a series, I thought it was a standalone novel. When I returned that book to the library, the second book was available so I thought I might as well get it while it was there... Ah well, it was a nice break and the books still count towards my annual target of books read so it's not too bad. I've currently read 7 and my target is 46 so that's going well at least!

This is what the full list of series looks like now:

• ✔ The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 1 book COMPLETED
  
  
• The Starblade Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 2 books
  
  
• The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich - 7 books *
  
  
• ▶ Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka - 10 books - IN PROGRESS
  
  
• Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo - 1 book
  
  
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - 1 book *
  
  
• Gentlemen Bastard by Scott Lynch - 1 book *
  
  
• Her Majesty The Queen Investigates by SJ Bennett - 1 book *
  
  
• Spellcaster by Charlie N Holmberg - 1 book
  
  
• The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - 6 books *
  
  
• Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens - 7 books
  
  
• The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell - 1 book *
  
  
• The Locked Tomb by Tamsin Muir - 1 book *
  
  
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - 4 books *

* These series are still being written so there may be more books to come! There's a new book for The Murderbot Diaries out in May and one for Her Majesty The Queen Investigates in October.

A quick update on my progress for my reading challenge this year. My plan is to finish some of the series that I've got ongoing - I've selected 14 series with a total of 44 books. I've managed to read 4 books this month which is an excellent start. These are:

Spook’s: Seventh Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
Taken by Benedict Jacka
Chosen by Benedict Jacka
Hidden by Benedict Jacka

Seventh Apprentice was the last book of The Wardstone Chronicles series, so that's that all finished. It was a bit odd in that it was the last of the series but actually a prequel. And the series itself continues in The Starblade Chronicles which I've already made a start on. It's very confusing. The other three books - Taken, Chosen, and Hidden - are all from the Alex Verus series. That's the one with the most books so I wanted to get it finished early on. I've got another 6 left yet but I'm having a little break from it which was completely unplanned. I happened to see an intriguing book in the library a couple of days ago, so I'm reading that now. It's Doing Time by Jodi Taylor which happens to be the first book in the Time Police series! I didn't realise it was part of a series, it looked like it was a standalone novel otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up!

So this is what the full list of series looks like now:

• ✔ The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 1 book COMPLETED
  
  
• The Starblade Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 2 books
  
  
• The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich - 7 books *
  
  
• ▶ Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka - 10 books - IN PROGRESS
  
  
• Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo - 1 book
  
  
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - 1 book *
  
  
• Gentlemen Bastard by Scott Lynch - 1 book *
  
  
• Her Majesty The Queen Investigates by SJ Bennett - 1 book *
  
  
• Spellcaster by Charlie N Holmberg - 1 book
  
  
• The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - 6 books *
  
  
• Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens - 7 books
  
  
• The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell - 1 book *
  
  
• The Locked Tomb by Tamsin Muir - 1 book *
  
  
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - 4 books *

* These series are still being written so there may be more books to come!

I only just became aware of this, so I imagine a lot of other people aren't aware of it either.

As of December 29th, LiveJournal made a rather major change but only announced it in ru_news as it only seems to apply to those with Cyrillic Services. The post in question is here, and thanks to Google Translate, this is the content: ( Important ChangesCollapse )

What it boils down to is that anyone in Russia has to either pay or get verified with their government ID, and they can no longer see any post from anyone who doesn't have Cyrillic Services. It seems as though the LJ owners (Rambler, who are owned by Sberbank) are wanting to isolate the two halves of LJ from each other - the Russian side and the non-Russian side. There are rumours (again!) that they are also wanting to get rid of the non-Russian side, either by selling it to someone else, or closing it down. However, due to sanctions, they're going to be limited in selling it to an organisation outside of Russia. I know that there have been warnings about LJ's imminent demise before but it is always better to be forewarned and prepared, just in case. Given that LJ has a history of doing things without warning, you can guarantee any sale or shutdown will happen suddenly too. Back up your LJ if nothing else!

For my reading challenge this year, I was considering redoing some of my earlier Reading Bingo cards that I'd not been able to complete originally. But I wasn't really feeling it and to be honest, I was a little bored of doing them. I still have my annual book target, so I thought that I just do that instead. I was looking over my list of Books That I Own And Really Need To Read OMG, when I realised that some of them were from various series that I have started and not got around to finishing for whatever reason.

I have a ridiculous amount of series ongoing - generally because I read the first book, maybe the second one, and then either the next book hasn't been written/published or the library doesn't have it yet or it's currently out on loan. While I'm waiting, I find another series, start reading that instead, and forget about the first one. Then I have to wait for a book from this other series, and I find a third series... etc etc etc. A few years ago, I started keeping a record of the series I have ongoing and which books I've read or have to read, but there's still a lot. 38 series actually. That's so bad.

So, my plan for my reading challenge this year is to reduce that number and actually get some of them finished. I've picked out the series that are close to being finished or that I particularly want to read. I've come up with the following list: 

• The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 1 book
  
• The Starblade Chronicles by Joseph Delaney - 2 books
  
• The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich - 7 books *
  
• Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka - 10 books
  
• Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo - 1 book
  
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - 1 book *
  
• Gentlemen Bastard by Scott Lynch - 1 book *
  
• Her Majesty The Queen Investigates by SJ Bennett - 1 book *
  
• Spellcaster by Charlie N Holmberg - 1 book
  
• The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - 6 books *
  
• Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens - 7 books
  
• The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell - 1 book *
  
• The Locked Tomb by Tamsin Muir - 1 book *
  
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - 4 books *

The series marked with an asterix * are ones that are currently still being written so the figures may change. I know there's a new Murderbot book out in May.

That's 14 series and gives me a total of 44 books. They vary quite a lot in length, from the pretty short to the very long - 168 pages for Fugitive Telemetry from Murderbot, compared to the 722 pages for Republic of Thieves from the Gentlemen Bastard series!  I managed to meet my target of 45 books last year, so my target for this year is 46 books. That works quite nicely with this list of books and gives me a bit of leeway to read a couple of others. I have one book in progress at the moment - Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce which I got from NetGalley - but after that, I will get started on this challenge. Wish me luck!

Happy Holidays by Nathanielism

Merry Christmas, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Zalig Kerstfeest, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, God Jul, 메리 크리스마스, and Nadolig Llawen to all of you!

I hope you all have lots of fun, yummy foods, and good times this festive season 🥳🎄🎅🏻

It's the first of November which means it's writing season. I'm not doing any official challenge as such this year. I've set myself a target of 15,000 words for the month, so it's just a small challenge. I'm hoping that will be enough to finish off my novel-in-progress. I can't believe I'm actually getting close to the end of it!

Who else is doing a writing challenge this month? What's your target and what will you be writing?

As of Sept 30th, Imgur has decided to block all of its content to anyone in the UK. That includes people's own accounts and images that are on Imgur or anything it hosts that may be embedded elsewhere, such as on LJ/DW, Reddit, etc. They're saying it's because of the OSA (Online Security Act) but it turns out that that is not the case, or at least, not all of it. Imgur is currently under investigation from the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office), the UK's data watchdog, because it doesn't comply with UK data protection laws or the children's code. When you set up a social media account online, you generally have to confirm that you're over 13, but Imgur doesn't ask for that at all. So they are mishandling the data of children which is obviously quite a major concern.

So I'm now having to look for another site to host the photos that I put on here! I moved from Photobucket to LJ and then to Imgur, so I'm not having an awful lot of luck. Any recommendations for decent [free] sites will be gratefully received.

In case anyone is interested, there is a 60-day novel challenge starting on the 1st October, as a sort of alternative to NaNoWriMo. It's being offered by Dabble, who previously worked with NaNo in November. Their novel challenge is in two halves - October is all about planning your novel, and November is all about writing it.

The info says, "Every Monday, we’ll drop a video going over what you need to know to complete that week’s exercises, then we’ll come together live every Thursday to discuss the work, answer questions, and keep each other motivated. Plus, in November, we'll have daily writing sprints, Monday through Friday. Many of the sprints will be co-hosted by best-selling authors and experts in the writing community!"

In addition, they're offering a free trial with all the site's Premium features for the length of the challenge. On the 1st October, if you sign up for a free trial on the Dabble website, there will be a pop-up inviting you to join the 60-Day Novel Challenge. They also have a (free) challenge template which has exercises and resources included.

I used Dabble one year to do NaNo and I did manage to write 50k words that year so it was quite good. I'm currently in the middle of a novel and I don't really want to take a month off for planning something that I've already been writing! Otherwise, I would certainly be giving it a try.

Today, the 6th of September, is National Read a Book Day in the US. It's aim is to encourage everyone to take some time out of their busy lives to read a book. It's also a reminder of the joy and importance of reading, as well as an opportunity to promote literacy and a love for literature.

I'm pretty sure most of you don't need any encouragement to take some time for reading! So let's share our current reads instead.

I'm currently reading iBoy by Kevin Brooks. It's not one I'd heard of before. I happened to see it on a second-hand book stall that was raising funds for Elsie's Story (a charity set up in memory of Elsie Dot Stancombe, one of the victims of the Southport attack) and thought it sounded interesting. The basic story is that a teenage boy is attacked and ends up with bits of an iPhone embedded in his brain which gives him superpowers. Radioactive spiders are obviously so passé. He uses his new-found powers to get revenge on the gangs responsible for an attack on his friend, Lucy. I think it's more of a YA book and is an easy read so far, although it's quite dark and gritty.

What are you currently reading?

Books read for squares:
A book that features a ship/boat: The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
A book about a holiday: People We Meet On Vacation - Emily Henry
A book with a season in the title: Spring Tide - Chris Beckett
A book set somewhere you want to visit: Six Lives of Fankle the Cat - George Mackay Brown

Currently reading:
Shadow In The Empire of Light - Jane Routley

Thoughts:
I am pleased to announce that I have finally finished the 2025 Reading Bingo! Yay! 🥳 It took me a little longer than I would have liked but I've finished it around this sort of time of the year before so it's not too bad. Better than not finishing it at all! I would have finished it sooner but I made the mistake of reading 5 books that didn't fit any of the bingo squares. I'm aiming at reading 45 books this year - that's one more than my total last year - and I'm currently on 30, so those extra 5 books have helped there. That gives me 15 books to read in the remaining 18 weeks, so that seems doable!

( Full list of squares and books:Collapse )

Books read for squares:
A beach read: Arcana Academy - Elise Kova
A book set in a different country: The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece - Tom Hanks

Currently reading:
Nothing yet!

Thoughts:
This has been a bit of a disappointing month with only two books and two squares completed. Arcana Academy was a real slog to get through, it took me almost a month. And to make it worse, it didn't even fit any of my remaining squares. However, a few days after I'd finished it, I got a notification from Google Play about their beach read selection of books, and right in the middle of the list was Arcana Academy! Brilliant! So my result for July is slightly better than I thought it was going to be! Just four squares left now. It would be nice if I could get them all read in August, but I'll have to see how it goes.

Just recently, I've been told about news stories from the US and Canada that hadn't made it to the BBC so I wasn't aware of them. It made me think what other news from other countries am I missing out on - both nationally and more locally.

One of the recent big news stories in the UK that might not have made it to international news was the trial of the two men accused of cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree - BBC article here.

More locally, there's been a row at Lancashire County Council over the new flag policy that the newly elected Reform UK council want to bring in. They want to limit the flags flown at council buildings to national and military ones, rather than ones for 'political causes', i.e. the Pride flag - article here

What major news stories has there been where you are - either nationally or locally? And what is your preferred reputable source of news?

Books read for squares:
A book set in space: Embers of War - Gareth L Powell
A book set on another planet: Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells
A book set somewhere you've lived: The Outsmarting of Criminals - Steven Rigolosi

Other books read:
The Game Is Murder - Hazell Ward

Currently reading:
Arcana Academy - Elise Kova

Thoughts:
Just half a dozen squares left now! I doubt I'll get it finished this month, especially as my current book is a bit of a slog. I do have books lined up for the remaining squares, apart from a beach read and a book set somewhere I want to visit. I think there should be quite a few options for the beach read, but it might be a little harder to find something set in a place I want to visit. I'll have to have a good think to come up with places I want to visit first!

Books read for squares:
A book with a place name in the title: The Jerusalem Puzzle - Lawrence O’Bryan
A book that takes place in a single day: Hogfather - Terry Pratchett
A book that features a train: Everyone on this Train is a Suspect - Benjamin Stevenson
A book with a map inside: Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz - Garth Nix

Currently reading:
The Game Is Murder - Hazell Ward

Thoughts:
I was really fortuitous last month in completing 5 squares but I knew I wouldn't be able to repeat that feat. I fully expected to do 2 or 3 as usual but I was rather lucky. I randomly picked up Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz at the library, and discovered when I started reading it that it had a map at the front so I was able to use it for a square. I love it when that happens! I've got two books from NetGalley to read next and I don't think I'm going to be so lucky with those. I can't see either of them fitting any of the remaining squares but I've been surprised in that way before! You never know!

Books read for squares:
The start of a series: We Solve Murders - Richard Osman
A book with mode of transport on the cover: Between The Stops: The View of My Life From the Top of the Number 12 Bus - Sandi Toksvig
A book to match the season you're reading it in: Arsenic for Tea - Robin Stevens
Free square: The Examiner - Janice Hallett
The end of a series: The Heart of the Phoenix - Brian Knight

Other books read:
Relight My Fire - C.K. McDonnell

Currently reading:
The Jerusalem Puzzle - Lawrence O’Bryan

Thoughts:
I did very well last month! Six books completed and five squares crossed off. That gives me a total of 12 squares completed so I'm about halfway through now. I've got books lined up for pretty much all of the remaining squares, although I want to see if I can find any better options for a book with a season in the title, and a book set somewhere I want to visit. I've also read 16 books so far this year for my target of 45 so that's a third of that done as well. Woohoo!

Today is World Book Day. It's also the anniversary of the birth or death of several notable authors, including Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, PL Travers, Bernard Cornwell, Samuel Pepys, and Miguel de Cervantes. The idea was conceived by Cervantes' publisher in 1922, initially to promote that author and boost sales of his books!

On this day for the past few years, I've done a book-themed post. It's actually good timing because I found out about a reading quiz yesterday that I wanted to share. It's called Read Your Colour, and it claims to be able to identify books you'll love by exploring how you think, feel, and approach stories. Rather than just going off genres, it focuses on pace, tone, characters, emotional resonance and the way a story is told to identify your reading personality. Bet you didn't know you had a reading personality, did you? Well, now you do. The site lists 6 different ones which it links with a colour: yellow, red, blue, orange, green, and purple.

I did the quiz and was told that I was 50% purple, 40% red, and 30% orange, with blue and green on 10% and yellow on 0%. Apparently a purple reader is someone who reads wild and unconventional books that are impossible to categorise, with stories that break rules. I didn't think that sounded anything like me at all, but then I remembered that I'm currently reading The Examiner by Janice Hallett, an author I enjoy particularly because her books are so unusual. So maybe it's not that far off. It gave a few suggestions of books that I would love, including Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I've read Life of Pi and really did not like it at all. I have heard good things about Le Guin and she's on my list of authors to try at some point. Same with Vonnegut although I'm leaning more towards reading Le Guin than Vonnegut. And I've heard of The Metamorphosis but I've never really had any interest in reading it for some reason. Maybe I should give it a try! I was only thinking a few days ago that there are lots of classic books that I've never read and I think that's possibly counted as a classic.

So tell me, what result did you get on the quiz and what do you think about it?