November Wrap Up (2025)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And I'm back with my November Wrap Up (2025)! 

Not as successful a month as last month, with just three finished books- and two of them were re-reads!

I think I just needed a free month, in the past couple of weeks for the very least. 

To be honest, I don't see much changing in December, because of how full on I know it's going to be- but what I will be looking forward to is the posting I'll be doing on here! 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading about my finished books for the month- despite it being shorter than usual. 

1. Neverwhere (London Below #1), by Neil Gaiman 

I finally read a new Neil Gaiman book! It's a shame that I enjoyed it so much- the sequel has been in the preparation stage for several years. I'm holding out on hope that it'll someday be released- and that when the time is right, Neil Gaiman will pick up a pen and carry on working on it. 

I have so many thoughts on this book that they're all fighting to be written down first. I have way too many thoughts on this book to suck them all into a wrap up. Maybe I should replace that Christmas book tag with a review instead... 

Okay, normal human being thrust into the world of the supernatural, with treachery, spies, murder, violence, challenges, and most of all, an epic adventure with unforgettable characters. All for one simple act of kindness, which is rare nowadays. Especially in London. 

Part of me wishes I hadn't read this, because then I wouldn't have become attached to this story, and have to wait for the sequel like the rest of the world. But then I never would have read it. 

And that's even worse.

Definitely a contender for one of my top three Neil Gaiman books. 

2. 32C, That's Me, by Chris Higgins

An old favourite, which I read in one morning. Sometimes you just need to pick up an old favourite. 

32c, That's Me, is about a girl called Jess- who thinks she has it all. The female lead in her school play, Macbeth, a great, not very annoying family, a gorgeous boyfriend. Then her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer- and everything starts to fall apart. She doesn't know where her Dad is half the time, the witches want their clutches on her boyfriend- who plays Macbeth. And then there's her Mum- who might just end up dying. 

I'm not sure what it was that created such a need to pick this book up, or to read it in one sitting, but I'm so glad I did. Chris Higgins was very much a comfort author for me growing up. She deals with very transitional issues in her books, from first love, breast cancer, dementia, eating disorders. You get the picture. They're always short, and impacting, but with extremely likeable protagonists. To be honest, it was just nice to go back to an enjoyable, but hard-hitting book. 

3. Paula: My Story So Far, by Paula Radcliffe

Nothing has made me more excited to start Marathon training than reading this gem. When I turned to my list of comfort reads, in a time when I verging on a reading slump, this was the first book in the pile. Admittedly, the writing isn't the best, but then, Paula isn't an author, she's an athlete, and although it might not be the greatest masterpiece, it's a very honest account of her upbringing and professional career, through and through. 

Whether you are a seasonal runner, or just starting out, this book is worth the read. Because this book is straight to the point. It's real. It shows the highs and lows. It deals with doping, injuries, set backs, world records, and all that comes with the demanding life of a professional distance runner. Of course, the average runner doesn't have to deal with doping allegations or losing out on a world record, but believe me when I say, there's something in this book for everyone. 

Okay! Those are all the books I read in November! It may have only been three, but I'm satisfied with that. I'm sure there are people that read more than me this month, but even if you just picked up a book this month, that's still great. Welcome to the club :-) . 

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I'll see you all soon with my December TBR (loose)! 

Byeeeeee! 

-Abi 

The TBR I Posted in August

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And today I'll be discussing the last TBR I posted this year: the TBR, where I vowed that I wouldn't be posting another one until all the books on that list have been read. 

Anyway, as this is just the introduction, I won't reveal anything more than that. 

I hope you enjoy my, reality check, of sorts. 

~The TBR I Posted in August~

I'm drawing a line below it. When I posted this list of books. If you still don't know which post I'm talking about, I'll link it here. 

Basically, I thought it would take a matter of weeks, maybe a couple of months at most to finish this pile of books. But, December is a week on Monday, and I still have a significant list of them left to read. 

1. American Gods and Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman 

2. The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton 

3. I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes

4. Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell 

Now, the only ones I feel truly bad about are the Neil Gaiman books, because I was gifted those over a year ago (still going to try and finish those before the end of the year), but I've decided that it's in my best interest to pause that list for now, or maybe, not to push myself to read them, one after another, when I don't want to. 

Most of the time I'll argue that it's worth pushing through a book at the start when 1) you know the book will improve- like if you've read books by said author in the past, and you know the writing style, or 2) you know you'll end up regretting not pursuing said book (like Great Expectations, for example). 

Let me explain. With Great Expectations, I knew the language was going to be difficult. I knew I was going to struggle with it. Yet I read it any way, because I like the story, and wanted to, despite how difficult the language was. Pushing through was what got me through it. It just required a lot of focus and determination on my part. 

That's Great Expectations. But when you feel like that with almost book on that list, and the motivation to carry on with that dwindles rapidly, it's so hard to keep going. 

Which is why I'm drawing a line under it. I don't want to go into December, and possibly even January, reading books I don't have the interest in. I want to read fluffy romances about Christmas, or even, I want to be able to read books I want to read on the spur of the moment, not books on a list I feel obligated to pick up. 

And that's fine. For the rest of the year I'm going to be picking up books on the spur of the moment. Right now I'm re-reading Paula Radcliffe's autobiography, a book I've been thinking of re-reading since she took on the Tokyo and Boston marathons earlier this year. 

I will be posting a loose TBR in December, but I definitely won't be sticking to it 100%. 

Moving on, I wanted to add a brief word about the posting I'll be doing in December. They're your standard December posts: 

1. December TBR (2025)

2. Anticipated Releases for January- March 2026. 

3. Favourite Books of 2025. 

4. Maybe a Christmas tag, if I have time?

5. Yearly Wrap Up (the big whoopang!) 

I know, right? Barely posts three times a month, then decides on 5 at the end of the year? Anybody want to put a bet on that I won't do it? Well, we'll see. 

Okay! That is all that I have for you guys for now, but be on the lookout for my November Wrap Up, coming up some time next week! 

I hope you have a wonderful evening and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxxx

Reading Tastes

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And recently I've been thinking alot about our reading tastes. How they change as we age, books we get the urge to go back and re-read, and how we simply forget the entire plot of others, as new, more interesting books come into the picture. 

I've been doing some digging on Goodreads this evening, looking for my 'Most Read Authors' section on my profile, only to find it missing. Turns out, it was removed from Goodreads 6 years ago. 

Anyway, I wanted to see whether I still thought the same about these books, all those years ago, to now. 

That section may be gone now, but I'm still going to discuss it on here.

This is basically going to be another rambler post so sorry to anyone that was looking for QUALITY tonight, because this won't be it. 

But I'll do it anyway. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

~Reading Tastes~

Okay, so. Growing up, I was a HUGE distopian fan. Like most preteens discoving the wide world of books. They're exciting, full of adventures, romances, fights, death. They're great gateways to the adult fantasy genre, as well as middlegrade adventures, like Harry Potter, or Narnia, Percy Jackson, etc. 

Authors like Cassandra Clare, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Meyer. They were my introduction to the dystopian genre. Of course the YA subgenre was smack bang in the middle of that too. 

Fast forward to today, I keep thinking about how golden a time that time was. Late 2000s, the Twilight film came out. A few years later, A City of Bones, The Hunger Games and Divergent all got film deals. I am so thankful that I was the right age for these book release/ film releases, to feel the magic when my favourite books became loved by all who knew them. 

It was at this time that #Booktube reached an all time high. Live shows, getting to talk to Booktubers in America about these releases. To this day, I remember reading the entire Lunar Chronicles series in time to finish Winter, in time for the liveshow (which I fell asleep for, in the end, because in the UK it was 2am that it took place). There was #UKYAChat, a Twitter conversation with youtuber Lucy Powrie (now author of The Paper & Hearts Society series), who created the theme, and posted questions, every Friday night. It was the time for booktubers and distopian fiction. 

And now, as a 28 year old woman, I want to go back. Not to re-read, but for the first time. To all of it. I'll reach to one of these favourites every so often, when I'm in danger of dissolving into a reading slump. Teri Terry, Lemony Snicket, and of course, I'm still reading Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant novels, sixteen years later. 

Because of that Booktube community, I feel like certain books, that were popular within the group, led me to my reading tastes today. The Book Thief, is what started my interest in historical fiction, I'm 100% sure of it. Cassandra Clare, Nicola Yoon, Adam Silvera, all authors that I discovered and loved, because of those liveshows. 

Now, that wasn't all I was reading. I had a strong love for Sci-fi, I still do. But, is it just me, or do not as many people go in for Sci-fi as much as fantasy? Like, I get that magic and all is amazing, but space, stars, unknown species from outer space, and a world without gravity is interesting too, surely? 

My love of Science Fiction hasn't changed much at all, really. I still have a long list of Science Fiction books that I'm eager to get to, the Skyward series at the top of the pile. 

Saying that, if anyone has any recommendations for sci-fi novels, let me know in the comments- I don't have as many on my list as I'd like. I think maybe the subject pool is bigger for fantasy, hence why there's a bigger interest for the average reader. 

Before I move on to fantasy, I just want to make a note about fiction/ contemporary. Looking back at my reading taste as a teen, there's a single book that springs to mind that's the most similar to the type of fiction book I like to pick up now. That book is Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell. That book, the light-hearted tone, about a writer, going to University, and trying to figure herself out as an individual, without her twin sister, was the gateway to authors like Taylor Jenkins Reid, Marian Keyes, Jodi Picoult, Fredrik Backman. Not that I don't like cutesy fiction, but I'm very much a sucker for a tough journey. 

Now, moving on to fantasy. There was never a chance I wasn't going to like this genre, after picking up Skulduggery Pleasant, age twelve. Conjuring fire, powerful boxers with a face full of scars, kick-ass women with knives running up walls- that book completely changed my life- and with the final book due to be released in March, I don't know how I'm going to deal with it (though there's an epic re-read coming up, you mark my words). That book series sparked a love for fantasy, for magic, every kind of it, and it's never gone away. It's just changed somewhat. 

The kind of fantasy novels I crave now, are huge, 700-800 pages of dialogue, discovery, vast worlds, complicated characters, a full series I can lose myself in. I've changed from reading Cassandra Clare, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, to wanting to read Robin Hobb, R.F. Kuang, Fonda Lee, N.K. Jemison. 

Which is natural. It's normal to grow as a reader, to develop a liking to different themes, tropes, different authors. 

That's what's great about reading. There's something for everyone. 

Okay! Those are all my thoughts on reading tastes! I'm sure I'll be thinking of a lot more than what I've written, the minute I publish this, but for now, that's my lot. Please don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments if you feel like chatting though! I love any imput! 

Okay! I hope you have a lovely evening and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxxx