May Wrap Up and June TBR

Hello and welcome to my giant May wrap up / June to be read post! A lot of bookish things happened this month, so lets get started.

At the end of April I decided this would be my May tbr...

 Not overly ambitious, but I will admit, I didn't complete it. Moranifesto was (is - I haven't finished it yet!) a lot denser than I thought it would be, so I haven't plowed through it as quickly as I anticipated. Additionally, I haven't even started Fangirl yet. This book has become really overhyped in my mind, and I'm not an enthusiastic contemporary reader at the best of times, so I couldn;t make myself pick it up. However, I also read two Novellas on my Kindle, and they are in the list of successful reads below...

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
5/5 Stars on GoodReads
2015 - a book that made me cry


The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey (reread)

5/5 Stars on GoodReads

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
4/5 Stars on GoodReads

Dystopian

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

5/5 on GoodReads (4 stars for plot, 1 extra star for layout)
Science fiction

Room 13 by Robert Swindells

4/5 on GoodReads
(I read this with my class at school)

For I Have Sinned (a Charley Davidson novella) by Darynda Jones

3/5 stars on GoodReads

Brighter than the Sun (a Charley Davidson novella) by Darynda Jones

5/5 Stars on GoodReads

Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran
5/5 stars on GoodReads
(I will have finished this book by midnight!!)

In May I recieved two book subscription boxes, that I loved...

Owlcrate arrived earlier in the month, and had a steampunk/ fantasy theme. 

Fairyloot arrived later in the month and had a high fantasy theme. I've reorderd both boxes for June and I can't wait!

I bought/ recieved quite a few books in May, so here is a photo of my May 'haul'

June To Be Read

In June I hope to read:

• Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Ruined by Amy Tintera
• Flawed by Cecilia Ahern
• Everland by Wendy Spinale
• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

GoodReads Update: 40/100 read

2016 Reading Challenge:

A book and it's prequel - Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas (January) Assassin's Blade tbr soon!

A Book Written by a Celebrity - Gangsta Granny by David Walliams (January)

A Graphic Novel - River's of London: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch (January)

A Book Set in Europe - My Sword Hand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick (February)

A Book Set in the Summer - Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (February)

A Book Based on a Fairytale - The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire (February)
A Political Memoir - I am Malala (I think this counts!) by Malala Yousafzai (March)
A Book With a Blue Cover - Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (March)
A Book Set on an Island - Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning (March)
A Book Published in 2016 - Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs (March)
An Autobiography - How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (April)
A Book Under 150 pages - Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell (April)
A Book Finished in the Day - Into the Woods by Kim Harrison (April)
A Book With an Unfamiliar Culture - Ms Marvel by G Willow Wilson (April)
A Book You Haven't Read Since High School - The Crysalids by John Wyndham (April)
A YA Best seller - The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (April)
A Science-Fiction Novel - Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (May)
A Dystopian Novel - The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancy (May)

2015 challenge continuation...

A Book I was Supposed to Read in School (I read all the books I was supposed to when I was a student in school - I've now read this as a teacher) - Gangsta Granny by David Walliams (January)

A Book Based on a True Story - Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (March)

A Book that made me cry - The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (May)

The sad task of choosing which books to take and which to leave...

Only until Christmas though, so I suppose it isn't too sad.

Today I am heading back to London so have to decide which books I take back with me. I have room for a fair few, but unfortunately I am not Thor, and do not have super strength. My big suitcase is already packed with heavy items that are necessities, so I am left with a bit of room in the small suitcase my brother will carry for me.

My options are basically ANY of my unread books (this really makes more sense, as I can't change them from unread to read if they're sat on a shelf 90 minutes away) or ANY of the books on my main shelf. I have so many to choose from, it hurts my head. HOW TO CHOOSE?!

Here is the pile of unread books...

A chance to look at them all a little closer...

Wool by Hugh Howey
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
The Wise Mans Fear by Patrick Rothruss
The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas
The Resurectionist by James Bradley
Delilah by Eleanor de Jong
Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James








Here are my non-fictions...can you see the theme?
Sisters to the King by Maria Perry
A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
An Utterly Impartial History of Britain (or 2000 years of utter idiots in charge) by John O'Farrell
She-Wolves by Helen Castor
The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer

And some more fiction I haven't read:
My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgewick
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern









Aaaagh too many choices, I'm sure you'll agree!

I had already decided on these two books, so completely forgot to take photos

Awful photo of the Winter Palace, but I chose this because it fit the theme - I wont be home until Christmas so any Winter or Christmas books are coming with me!
I started reading How to be a Woman during the summer (I met Caitlin Moran in June!) but it got misplaced during moving. Time to continue!

So, plus the Winter Palace I settled on these books. The Snow Child seemed perfectly seasonal, apparently Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is becoming a TV series, and The Night Circus has been eyeing me up for a while ;)

Now, I haven't finished packing yet but if there is room I will be packing these books that I have already read:

I packed The Host because I adore this book, and feel I could reread it very quickly.

The Bone Season because I want to reread it before The Mime Order is released.

Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho because they are London based and awesome!









Also, check out this on the front of the Moon Over Soho...

A recommendation from the author of Outlander, linking it to Harry Potter! How could this be more perfect?!

Right, it's back to lesson planning, packing and watching Phantom of the Opera for me :) Have a great Thursday!

Clair x