What I've been reading August - December

*Blows off the dust*

*Nervously approaches the keyboard*

Hi. 

It's been a while I know. And I even dabbled with another blog. I promise I won't do that again.

Turns out this actual adult thing takes up more of my time than I had originally thought. Quick update. I'm now an actual proper fully qualified teacher of science. I've moved 400 hundred miles from my home in Northern Ireland to take up a job in England. I've been teaching for almost a full term and I am exhausted.

Keeping up with reading and writing isn't easy when you're a full time teacher. "But don't teachers get to leave school at 3pm?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. No. And even if I do it just means bringing work to do it at home instead. 

But yes. Reading. I haven't read that much from August to December, and this is the first year that I don't thnk I'm going to complete my reading challenge. But never the less, let's get started!

1. Saga Vol. 1-3 by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer) and Fiona Staples (Artist)

This is actually my first graphic novel. And it's amazing. I bought the first volume on a trip into London and had it finished by the time the train pulled into my station and promptly ordered Vol 2 and 3. It's a wonderful Sci-Fi, Couple from opposite sides in a war, kick ass story. The humour is also something that tickles me. I really can't wait until Vol 4 is released, but it keeps being pushed back as Amazon keeps e-mailing me as much. 

2. Republic of Thieves (Gentlemen Bastards no. 3) by Scott Lynch

I love this world to death. The Gentlemen Bastards series is utterly amazing. I listen to it on audiobook as I find it easier to follow fantasy if I have someone reading out all the strange place names and character names to me as I tend to forget when I've read the names before and then lose track of who's who if I do it by myself. Mostly I was listening to it on the way to work and on more than one occassion I nearly crashed my car from laughing. Scott has an amazing whit that is passed on through Jean and Locke. This book also feathers the elusive Sabatha who's been a hot topic of book 1 and 2 and it was amazing to get to know her as well. The ending totally dropped a bomb on me and I'm dying for part 4. 

3. Edge of Eternity (Century Trilogy, No. 3)

I love Ken Follets 'epic' writings. My favourite duology is the Kingsbridge series Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. He's so good at creating huge overarching stories with interlinking themes and characters. However, Edge of Eternity fell a bit flat for me. It wasn't nearly as good as the previous two books Fall of Giants and Winter of the World. The main problem is that I think it covered too many years. However, it was nice to see how the 3rd generation characters of the protagonists of the 1st book Fall of Giants ended up. The series as a whole also shows how much of an extrodinary century the 20th century was. 

4. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (Cousins War #1)

I do enjoy historica fiction and I've found online that Philippa Gregory is very much a marmite author of the book community. What made me buy this series was the BBC TV show that aired in 2013. I am a sucker for Historical dramas. The older the better. The costumes and the dashing men and fierce women draw me in. The series was so powerful I had to get my hands on the source material to compare. I've only read 1 out of the 6 books currently in the Cousins' War series. Although this was the first published, it's not the first chronologically. Though I'm under the impression that you can read them in any order. They do follow the same story but from such vastly differing points of view that it doesn't matter whose side of the story you hear first. I found myself getting very wrapped up in the first 2/3rds of the story quite nicely, but after Elizabeth and her children go into santuary and the infamous 'Princes in the tower' storyline takes over I found this book dragged it's heels a lot. Perhaps its an analogy for how long Elizabeth didn't know what was happening to her sons, but I felt that it lost pace quite dramatically at that point. Otherwise, a very good and interesting read. I will doubtless be making my way through the others in due course.

5. Sex Criminals Vol. 1 by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky


I don't really want to say too much about this book other than it's a dream to read. Not for younger readers. If you like graphic novels, humour, good twists, and are not too put off by sex (I'd say that it's tastefully done for the most part) then this is definatly worth picking up.

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Let me know what you've been up to as well. I've been away so long, that I know some of you are bound to have news for me!

Sarah x