Monthly reading round up

September 2019 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in August: 7
Comics/ Graphic Novels = 1 | #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 1 | the remainder = 5

The Ritual (Tales of Mentara #2) by Ashley Uzzell
A YA fantasy about a rag tag band of kids who end up accidentally trapped in another world.
I really like the world Ashley has created, I liked the plot, and I love the magic abilities Ashley has created for POV Charlotte. But in both the first and second book, while reading and being in the characters heads, they felt older to me, more like 15-19 rather than 9-13.
My Review | View on Goodreads

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
Mr Fox and his furry family and friends Vs Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Classic Roald Dahl. I read this out loud to my boys and they were both captivated. Mr Fox is still just as fantastic as I remember from my childhood!
View on Goodreads

Runaways, Vol. 1: Find Your Way Home by Rainbow Rowell
Vol 1 collects the first 6 episodes of Rowell’s reboot of Vaughan’s original series and what a fantastic reboot it is!! I’ve already gone and ordered the next two collections!
I don’t think you would need to have read all the previous series by Vaughan to enjoy Rowell’s reboot, she does summarise a little, but It makes it all that much more epic if you are already invested in the characters.
View on Goodreads

My Father’s Shadow by Jannali Jones
My Father’s Shadow is the kind of book you just can’t put down. The constant uneasy vibe that Jannali Jones has created with her magnificent writing propels you forward and keeps you right on the edge of your seat. It is an outstanding #ownvoices #loveozya debut. It is nail bitingly, edge of your seat brilliant!! A must read for all #loveozya aficionados and crime/mystery/thriller buffs.
My Review | View on Goodreads

Minecraft: Diary of a Minecraft Enderman Book 1 by Pixel Kid
My son brought this home from his school library for us to read, rather strange as he’s never played the game – Nevertheless it was an amusing read and quite easy to read out loud.
View on Goodreads

Nemesis (Circuit Fae, #4) by Genevieve Iseult Eldredge
Lesbian Fae queens, magic and mayhem, multiverses collapsing and colliding, action packed battles, love triumphing overall…it would have been better if I hadn’t come in at the fourth book in the series but…ummm…oops.
My Review | View on Goodreads

The Jinni (The Forbidden Wish prequel) by Jessica Khoury
This is the story of the Jinni we grow to love in The Forbidden Wish. You do not need to have read The Forbidden Wish in order to enjoy this short story, but you might find it contains mild spoilers.
Add to Goodreads

Conclusion: I managed to get three review books in during the month, and a few shorts and comics to boost those reading feels.

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

AUGUST 2019 BOOKISH SUMMARY

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Total books read in August: 3

The Forbidden Wish (The Forbidden Wish #1) by Jessica Khoury
A dreamy retelling of Aladdin, that dare I say I prefer to the Disney version. The writing is beautiful and the action captivating. This version has so many kickass female characters and that’s always a win for me. Girl power!
The biggest differences: the jinni is female! She is powerful, smart and cunning, but also lonely and sad. The princess is a great warrior, but also compassionate and caring of her people. And then there is her kickass Watchmaidens who are loving, loyal and fierce warriors also.
View on Goodreads

Silken Scales & Perfect Pitch (The Chameleon Effect, books 1 & 2) by Alex Hayes
By the end of the epilogue of Silken Scales I was hooked! Aliens, Action and Romance. What more could you ask for – well some Queer characters would have been nice.
Amongst the romance and alien slaying, there are some deeper things dealt with; mental health, alcoholism, and parental neglect/abuse.
All in all, I liked both books and I am keen to read the next one.
My review | View on Goodreads (book 1) | View on Goodreads (book 2)

Conclusion: August was a super busy and I only managed to get three books read and I am now super behind on my years TBR, but it was a AWESOME month.

On August 1st Shane and I went down to the Sydney international boat show and lusted after things we can’t afford.

I partook in the @AusYABloggers Buckley’s tour HERE.

Brooklynne and I chatted about Trans fiction and Brooklynne’s hunt for excellent Trans girl fiction. We discussed books we’ve read and books we are looking forward to reading HERE.

I took a solo trip down to Sydney to attend an event for the release of It Sounded Better In My by Nina Kenwood, view my review of the book is HERE.

I then attended a @read3rz_revu luncheon celebrating the release of The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim.

And then of course there was the Sydney Tea Festival that mum and I attended.

So a fantastic, but busy month 🙂

Past Monthly Summaries: Jan 19 ∣ Feb 19 ∣ Mar 19 ∣ April 19 ∣ May 19 | June/July 19 

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

June/July 2019 BOOKISH SUMMARY

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Total books read in June/July: 14

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 6 | #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 6 | the remainder = 2

Comics: In the last two months I continued reading the Runaways and Heartstopper series and started reading the Lumberjanes series.
I’m still really enjoying the Runaways and Heartstopper series. I love that as the series goes on Runaways, has gotten queerer. Currently there is one Lesbian main character and another shapeshifting genderfluid one – awesomesause!
Heartstopper is the queerest, most heart-warming and adorable comic series I’ve ever read.
And out of the three collected Runaways editions I read, I especially loved Vol 6, as we spent most of the issue just hanging out with the youngest Runaway, 11-yr-old mutant girl Molly – she’s kick ass and adorable.
I found Lumberjanes to be whimsical and super cute. It follows a group of girls banding together to deal with magical and evil things that start happening at their camp.

Poetry: I’ve also been trying to indulge in more poetry compendiums to fend off readers burn out. I really enjoyed being submerged in Amanda Lovelace and Omar Sakr’s worlds.

Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOZYA Stories – anthology.
I loved the variety of own voices rep! The story highlights for me were Light Bulb and Questions to ask straight relatives. A breathtakingly beautiful, dark and deep story. And while not really “YA”, still a brilliant personal essay. I felt both deep down in my soul.
View my Full Review | View on Goodreads

Devil’s Ballast by Meg Caddy
Devil’s Ballast is a fictionalised historical YA tale based on the life of female pirate Anne Bonny and is set at the start of Bonny’s pirating career. The friendship between Bonny and Read was the shining highlight of the book for me and I would love to read a sequel that follows the two creating pirate-y mayhem together.
View my Full Review | View on Goodreads

Hive (Hive #1) & Rogue (Hive #2) by A.J. Betts
I finished the last page of Hive, made a fresh cup of tea and started reading Rogue, so for me it was one 618-page epic dystopian Australian story. The only thing that could have made it better would have been some queer characters – But they were two lovely and exciting books that focused mainly on friendship and exploring the world around the protagonist.
View my Full joint Review | Hive on Goodreads | Rogue on Goodreads

Meet Me at the Intersection #ownvoices – anthology
Necessary reading for all Aussie teens and adults alike. A brilliant inclusive anthology featuring #ownvoices authors from marginalised groups. This anthology shows how beautiful and diverse Australia can be, but also how we need to look after each other better.
Stars In Our Eyes, Sheer Fortune, DNA, The Other Son and The Last Stop were highlights for me.
View on Goodreads

It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
It Sounded Better in My Head is a new #LoveOzYA Contemporary YA Romance that is adorable, entertaining, relatable and warmed my heart. And while it may be a romance, there is also a heavy focus on friendship – which is always a winner for me.
Full Review COMING SOON | View on Goodreads

Buckley’s Unexpected Adventure by Dion Summergreene
I’m part of the #AusYABloggers tour for this #LoveOzMG title, it kicks off on Monday the 5th with review posts my myself and Star. So come back (pretty please) on Monday and or follow along with the tour HERE.
Full Review COMING SOON | View on Goodreads

Conclusion: June was that crazy that I didn’t even get a bookish babble reading round up posted. July was a little better. I did a Q&A with author Helen Scheuerer HERE and a Queer Book Chat HERE (over on the #AusYABloggers site) with fellow queer book lover and out and proud lesbian, Star.

I also partook in a seven day, no descriptions, black and white photo challenge on Instagram, which was kinda fun and changed up my feed for a while.

Shane and I signed up for the Camp Quality FUNx4, you can read about that HERE.

Past Monthly Summaries: Jan 19 ∣ Feb 19 ∣ Mar 19 ∣ April 19 ∣ May 19

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

April 2019 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in April: 6

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 0  |  #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 2 |  the remainder = 4

Highway Bodies by Alison Evans #LoveOZYA
Highway Bodies is an utterly Australian and brilliantly Queer Zombie Apocalypse story with heart and soul. It is a story of survival and learning how to function in a new world. It is a story of friendship and finding a place with people where you feel you belong.
Published February 1st 2019 by Echo Publishing [View on Goodreads]

Winter Wishes of the Heart by Ashley Uzzell
Winter Wishes of the Heart is a short and sweet read for when you need a quick pick me up. It contains four holiday themed tales of romance that were a delight to read. All the stories centre around protagonists dealing with varying levels of social anxiety, I loved that part!
I commend Ashley for fitting so much heart into so few words.
Published November 30th, 2017 by Ashley Uzzell [View on Goodreads]

Stay With Me by Kira Hawke
I went into this thinking I was going to get a little snap shot romance between two guys. What I got was an intense and bitter sweet story of two strangers lives colliding. A bitter sweet short story that highlights some of the worst and best parts of humanity. Wow, just wow. I was blown away by this one! I need to find more works by Kira Hawke!
Published October 18th, 2014 by Kira Hawke [View on Goodreads]

 

Dig by A.S. King
A skilfully written, intense and at times extremely dark tale of terminal illness, poverty, physical & sexual abuse, parental neglect, racism, white privilege and the danger of family legacy.
If you put in the emotional effort and get to the end of the book, you will be rewarded – the ending if worth the journey.
Published April 2nd, 2019 by Text Publishing [View on Goodreads] [View My Full Review]

Lost in LA (The Bikini Collective #2) by Kate McMahon #LoveOZYA
Back with the three Aussie surfer girls again; Lost in LA is a charming tale of friendship and learning to appreciate the things we have, set to the back drop of the Malibu round of the World Junior Tour. There are surfing scenes that are written so descriptively you feel like you are out on the wave and there are friends sticking up for each other and woman banding together – A fantastic combo.
Published February 28th, 2019 by Kate McMahon [View on Goodreads] [View My Full Review]

Concrete Queers – issue 4 (romance), #6 (smut) and #7 (spec fic).
Concrete Queers is a zine made by queer people for queer people, edited by Katherine Back and Alison Evans.
I enjoyed all three zines very much, but there was a personal essay by Tegan Elizabeth in the romance issue that I really connected with.
Find out more at the Concrete Queers Website and Alison Evan’s etsy zine store.

Conclusion: April, oh April where did you go. You came in a rush and I don’t want to let you go. While I only managed to read 3 actual books this month (with some short stories and zines in between), it was still a fantastic month as the Newcastle Writers Festival took place. This year was my 5th year volunteering at the festival and yet again I had a great time. Friday was the highlight for me as I was ushering as part of the schools program and it was so fantastic to see the kids and authors engaging.

The Newcastle Writers Festival first ran in 2013, I heard about it through the Hunter Writers Centre, of which I was a member at the time, and attended the festival as a patron. I missed 2014 (baby drama), but started Volunteering in 2015 and will continue into the foreseeable future.

 Past Monthly Summaries: Jan 19 ∣ Feb 19 ∣ Mar 19

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

March 2019 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in March: 6

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 3  |  #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 0 |  the remainder = 3

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James.
A YA Sci-Fi tale that follows Lowrie and Shen, the last teenagers on earth, as they live in the aftermath of a virus that caused global infertility. There are plenty of twists and turns and plenty of moments that make you ponder life and what it means to live.
Published March 7th, 2019 by Walker Books [View on Goodreads] [My Full Review Here].

Runaways, Vol. 4: True Believers by Brian K. Vaughan,  Adrian Alphona & Craig Yeung.
The teens get a grave visit from the future, fight off against some retired superheros and dodge a supreme bad guy. I wasn’t as into this one as the previous three, but it was still enjoyable and it ended with a cliff-hanger that has me keen for Vol.5.
Published November 29th, 2006 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.
A queer contemporary tale of a young woman drowning in, then dealing with her grief for the grandfather and life she’s lost and for the mother she never knew. A beautiful story that will break your heart, then turn around and heal it.
Published March 5th, 2019 by UQP [View on Goodreads] [My Full Review Here].

Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans.
A sweet and heart-warming 44-page story set in Melbourne. It’s a meet cute and the two MAIN characters giving it Transgender and Nonbinary representation (woop woop). Alison is the bomb when it comes to inclusive queer YA, but I’d have to say this short would be considered an adult because of the sex.
Published January 28th, 2015 by Less Than Three Press, LLC [View on Goodreads].

Heartstopper Volume One by Alice Oseman.
I had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading this. It is just about the sweetest thing I’ve read. Two teen boys meet, grow as friends, one openly gay, the other not so much, and the ending leaves us with the hope they could be more.
Published February 7th, 2019 by Hodder Children’s Books [View on Goodreads].

Darcy Swipes Left (OMG Classics) by Courtney Carbone (Adaptor) & Jane Austen.
Pride and Prejudice told entirely through social media posts and emojis. I’ve previously read the Shakespeare retellings in this series and enjoyed them. This wasn’t bad, but how could you ever capture the beauty of P&P in so few pages.
Published September 27th, 2016 by Random House Books [View on Goodreads].

Conclusion:

March was an off month for me reading wise. I only actually managed to read two full length books, I just had too much going on.
I did however manage to write and publish a short poem, which i’m going to try and do each month and I got to do a fun Q&A with author Michael Earp.

Read I Can’t, a poem HERE

Read Michael Earp Q&A HERE

 Past Monthly Summaries:  Oct 18 ∣ Nov 18 ∣ Dec 18 ∣ Jan 19 ∣ Feb 19 ∣

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat 🙂

Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

February 2019 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in February: 8

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 2  |  #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 3 |  the remainder = 3

I Had Such Friends by Meg Gatland-Veness #LoveOzYa [Full Review Here].
The story follows Hamish during his last year of high school. We journey with him as he discovers his sexuality and self-identity. This story is filled with grief, hate, and heartbreaking sadness.
Published August 1st 2018 by Pantera Press [View on Goodreads].

Songs That Sound Like Blood by Jared Thomas #LoveOzYa [Full Review Here].
A beautiful coming of age tale about a young aboriginal girl coming out and discovering herself. This story is filled with courage, love and music. A heartfelt yarn that I highly recommend you read.
Published August 1st 2016 by Magabala Books [View on Goodreads].

Aurealis #99 by Michael Pryor, Alan Baxter, Michael Earp, Aaron Emmel, Gillian Polack, Chris Large & Russell Kirkpatrick.
I’d never read an issue of Aussie Sci-fi zine Aurealis before and I picked this one up because I wanted to read Michael Earp’s short story. I’m glad I did. Michael’s short story was brilliant, and I enjoyed the other shorts & articles.
Published April 9th, 2017 by Chimaera Publications [View on Goodreads].

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath [Full Review Here].
Should I be worried about how much I saw of myself in Esther Greenwood, a character that Plath based on herself?
This was one of the darkest and most beautiful things I’ve ever read. It was compulsive reading. The story, the writing, the words, the girl, it sucked me in.
Published 2006 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics (first published January 1963) [View on Goodreads].

Defensive Play (Boys on the Brink) by Jamie Deacon [Full Review Here].
A boy meets boy tale. We follow Davey as he gets his first boyfriend and comes out to his family and friends. It was a quick and cute read that I really enjoyed.
Published November 30th, 2018 by Beaten Track Publishing [View on Goodreads].

Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona.
Collects Runaways vol. 1, issues #7-12.
All the things I loved about Pride and Joy (issues #1-6) continue in this engrossing teen tale.
Published July 19th, 2006 by Marvel Comics [View on Goodreads].

Runaways, Vol. 3: The Good Die Young by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona.
Collects Runaways vol. 1, issues #13-18.
And so the first story arc ends, but we are left with an opening for another and set up for the rest of the series – which I’m looking forward to reading 😊
Published June 7th, 2006 by Marvel Comics [View on Goodreads].

Freedom Swimmer by Wai Chim #LoveOzYa.
Based on the real-life events of the authors father and set in 1960’s China, Freedom Swimmer is a story of oppression, survival, friendship, hope and freedom. It is beautiful and powerful, and I implore you to read it.
I was in the water with Ming, willing him to keep moving forward.
Published September 1st, 2016 by Allen & Unwin [View on Goodreads].

Conclusion: How the heck is it march already? Where did February go?!
I had to DNF a book in february, my first for 2019 and my first in years! I’m still bummed about it, but life’s too short and my time’s too valuable (obviously this book does not appear above). While I enjoyed all my completed reads this month, Defensive Play was a highlight for me – it was a super cute and quick queer read.

Past Monthly Summaries: Oct 18 ∣ Nov 18 ∣ Dec 18 ∣ Jan 19

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

December 2018 Bookish Summary

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Ah, tis the season to end up in car park queues because you realise on Christmas eve that you forgot to buy more dog food when you did the grocery shopping the previous week to try and avoid going near the shops that close to Christmas – dumb ass I am.

On the 14th my littlest baby turned two and I am still in shock as to where that last two years have gone. I wrote a poem about it HERE.

On the 21st I got to have dinner with some fantastic people including the lovely Lynette Noni at Pantera press house in Sydney. I felt super blessed to have been invited and was ecstatic when we got to take home a copy of Vardaesia before its release. I am still buzzing from it.

Christmas day was overwhelming and tinged with sadness, as it was the first one since my grandmothers passing. But she raised a strong bunch and we will always come through.

Total books read in December: 9

Comics/ Graphic Novels: 3 | #LoveOzYA: 2 | The remainder: 4

Skin Deep (Paranormal Detectives #6) by Lily Luchesi.
Published June 10th, 2018 by Vamptasy Publishing [View on Goodreads].
Vampires, Skin Changers, Psychics. Fast and furious action. A PDS tale that is Classic Luchesi.

Stuck On Vacation With Ryan Rupert (Ryan Rupert #1) by P.S. Malcolm
Published June 30th, 2016 by P.S. Malcolm [View on Goodreads] #LoveOzYA.
A hate to love YA romance set on an island paradise with a murderous twist [Full Review HERE].

What If? X-Men (2018) #1 by Bryan Hill, Neil Edwards, Giannis Milonogiannis & Rahzzah.
Published October 3rd, 2018 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].
The X-Men reimagined in a dystopian like cyber-scape abusing world.

X-Men: Black – Magneto (2018) #1 by Chris Claremont, Dalibor Talajić & J. Scott Campbell.
Published October 3rd, 2018 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].
A deep and meaningful, dark and entertaining Magneto filled tale.

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang & Matthew Wilson.
Published April 5th 2016 by Image Comics [View on Goodreads].
A compelling read with a sci-fi twist that was giving me apocalyptic vibes.

Day of Execution (Paranormal Detectives #7) by Lily Luchesi.
Published January 1st, 2019 by Vamptasy Publishing [View on Goodreads].
Battle scenes, gore and vampire lore. I thought book 6 was fast and furious, book 7 is even more so. Bring on book 8 and what I’m sure will be a killer conclusion. *Full review to come.

Demonglass (Hex Hall #2) by Rachel Hawkins.
Published March 22nd, 2011 by Disney- Hyperion [View on Goodreads].
Two dreamy warlocks, a sassy part demon protagonist and a whole bunch of action and drama.

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins.
Published March 13th, 2012 by Disney- Hyperion [View on Goodreads].
Wicked witches, out of control demons, sexy self-sacrificing warlocks, and the trilogies conclusion.

 

Vardaesia (The Medoran Chronicles #5) by Lynette Noni.
Published: February 18th, 2019 by Pantera Press [View on Goodreads]
#LoveOzYA. Alex’s friendships, loves, loyalties, physical abilities and sheer force of will are all tested in the action packed and epic conclusion to one of my all-time favourite series. *Full review to come.

 

Conclusion: December was hectic, stressful and sad at times, but it was still awesome. I met some wonderful people and read some fantastic books.

Past Summaries: Oct 18 ∣ Nov 18

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

November 2018 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in November = 11
Comics/Graphic Novels = 4
#LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 2
the remainder = 5

The Rift by Rachael Craw.
Published November 1st, 2018 by Walker Books Australia [View on Goodreads].
A gripping tale of an isolated island with paranormal secrets [Full Review HERE].

The Dog Who Lost His Bark by Eoin Colfer.
Published November 1st, 2018 by Walker Books [View on Goodreads].
A beautiful story of love, friendship and recovery [Full REVIEW HERE].

All Aces (Circus Hearts, #3) by Ellie Marney.
Published November 1st, 2018 by Bearded Lady Press [View on Goodreads].
An action-packed finale to the #LoveOzYA dark romance trilogy, Circus Hearts [Full Review HERE].

The Coven Heir (The Coven Series Book Two) by Lily Luchesi.
Published October 5th, 2018 by Vamptasy Publishing [View on Goodreads].
A paranormal tale of romance, revenge and necromancy [Full REVIEW HERE].

Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins.
Published March 2nd, 2010 by Hyperion Book CH [View on Goodreads].
Witches, Demons and boarding school, oh my! A tale of fitting in, friendship and family secrets.

The Portal (Tales of Mentara, #1) by Ashley Uzzell.
Published April 13th, 2018 by Ashley Uzzell [View on Goodreads].
A fantastical tale of friendship, nature magic and mysterious new worlds [Full Review HERE].

The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses by A. B. Banjo Paterson.
Published April 8th 2016 by Spoken Realms [View on Goodreads].
A collection of 19th century Australian bush poetry that serves as a time capsule for the way we were.

What If? Spider-Man (2018) by Gerry Conway, Diego Olortegui & Patrick Zircher.
Published October 3rd, 2018 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].
The tale of a world where it wasn’t Peter Parker who was bitten by the radioactive spider.

Fence #12 by (Author) C.S. Pacat (Illustrators) Johanna the Mad, Joana Lafuente, Hamlet Machine.
Published November 28th, 2018 by BOOM! [View on Goodreads].
A loveable underdog, competitive fencing, the drama of an all-boys school
= a compelling series.

Batman Damned: Book One by Brian Azzarello & Lee Bermejo.
Published September 19th, 2018 by DC Comics [View on Goodreads].
Batman together with Constantine is my jam! My dark Jam!

Kat: The Legend of Gnawbonia by Nick White.
Published 2017 by Nick White [View on Goodreads].
A whirlwind adventure involving a little cat fighting for her freedom [Full REVIEW HERE].

Conclusion: I feel like I smashed it out of the park this month. I’ve had a few rather low reading months prior. But I felt like I was back in fine form. I had plenty of awesome reads and I managed to get out quite a few reviews, woop woop.

Last month’s summary [HERE].

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

October 2018 Bookish Summary

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The start of last month was an emotional one for my entire family. We held our heads high and celebrated our matriarch, my grandmother’s life. She illuminated this earth with her light for 91 years. I will mourn her for the rest of my life. But, I will take the lessons she taught me and try to be the best version of myself I can be.

So as you can imagine October was a pretty crappy month for me and I didn’t have much motivation to do anything. But somehow I did still manage to read some wonderful books.

I decided while reading Stephanie’s September 2018 Recap post [shout out to Stephanie] that I should start doing a summary post each month.
A lot of bloggers do a monthly roundup /recap type posts. I’ve sporadically done it over the years in one form or another. I always read more books than I write up reviews for, and I want to try and shout out more of them. I won’t go into to detail on comics, as some months I smash quite a few single issues and that would make this post too long and a pain in the butt to write. So here we go.

Books read in October: total books read = 9

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 4

#LoveOzYA / #LoveOzMG = 5

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Published August 1st, 2005 by Pan Australia [View on Goodreads].
A contemporary tale of an Aussie Muslim teenage girl battling, then embracing her identity. This is not the first Abdel-Fattah book I’ve read and it won’t be the last.

All the Little Bones (Circus Hearts #1) by Ellie Marney.
Published September 1st, 2018 by Bearded Lady Press [View on Goodreads].
A dark romance that is fast, exciting and so delicious you’ll want more. Oh Ellie Marney I love you. All hail Ellie the queen of young-adult crime-romance mash-ups.

Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff.
Published March 14th, 2018 by Allen & Unwin [View on Goodreads].
A sci-fi symphony. The Pow-pow-ping-ping-BOOM-hacktastic and thrilling conclusion The Illuminae Files trilogy. Amie & Jay = pure sci-fi awesomeness.

All Fall Down (Circus Hearts #2) by Ellie Marney.
Published October 1st, 2018 by Bearded Lady Press [View on Goodreads].
Ellie Marney at it again with book two in the circus hearts series steaming up my reading space. Bring on book three!!! [Full REVIEW HERE].

The Bogan Mondrian by Steven Herrick.
Published September 3rd, 2018 by University of Qld Press [View on Goodreads].
A contemporary tale of friendship, grief and domestic violence. Steven Herrick is a brilliant storyteller and his books are always deep and meaningful, while being easy to read and entertaining. [Full REVIEW HERE].

Conclusion: Sometimes life is hard. Losing loved ones is always hard. We must make sure each moment counts. Steven Herrick is a gem and Ellie Marney is awesome.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

July 2017 Round Up

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Books Read: 7

Where the Wild Mums Are by Katie Blackburn & Sholto Walker [Goodreads]

Sometimes I really want to go where the wild mums are for a month or 12. My mum bought me this book, intuitive woman she is, must have been able to tell the water has been right at my eyes lately. Or maybe it was just that I was so feral she always wanted to run away from me. ANYWAYS, Wild Mums is an amusing re-write of the classic kids’ tale “Where the Wild Things Are”. It made me smile and I’m sure I’ll read it again.

Saga #44 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples [Goodreads] Fantastic as always. “Whether we like it or not, most of our deepest-held beliefs come straight from the people who made us. Even when we turn against them, our parents still help define exactly what kind of ‘rebels’ we’ll be.” I’ve repeatedly read this quote over while mulling on my own teenage rebelling – no definite conclusions yet, but I think Vaughan maybe onto something.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas [Goodreads] Beautiful, powerful and brilliant! Full review to come 🙂 ❤

Pookie Aleera is not my boyfriend by Steven Herrick [Goodreads] A super cute story with a beautiful message behind it. It was an absolute joy to read.

The Lost Hero: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan (Author/Creator), Robert Venditti (Comic Adaptor) & Nate Powell (Illustrator) [Goodreads] Having read the actual book before, this was a quick and fun way to revisit the story 🙂

The Bad Book by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton (Illustrator) [Goodreads] While I did find this book amusing, it is designed for a much younger audience. I think kiddlets from 6-10 would find it hilarious.

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil [Goodreads] More #LoveOzYA gold! Cinnamon Girl is a humorous, feel good story of growing up, friendship and the almost end of the world.

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Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂