Sunday Summary mainly functions as my personal record of book-related topics that have captured my interest over the past week. It also acts as a public memory prompt and bookmarking system.
Books Read/Reading This Week.
Finished:
The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo – I have this 3.75 – there was a lot to like, but ultimately it didn’t fulfil its potential.
Currently Reading:
Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good [Loki: A Bad God’s Guide #1] by Louie Stowell – I’ve borrowed this (and the next two) from the library, and I’m really enjoying the mix of silliness and seriousness.
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh – off to a cracking start in terms of pages read – not sure where this magic/modern world school mix is going, but I keen to find out.
Paused:
I am going to read The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed so I can complete half of my challenge but I’m not going to complete the anthologies in time
I am struggling to switch between immersive worlds when I start a new story. I think this is a strength of the collections, but it also means that I don’t want to rush just to meet a deadline. I’m taking a break. I’ll carry on after the award announcement. But I do recommend you read all the finalists.
Newsy Things
FUNDED!!!
They Are Still Here (Maen Nhw Yma O Hyd) has Funded!! There is still time to back the Kickstarter and help it reach some unannounced stretch goals.
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation longlist 2025
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/womenintranslation/longlist2025/
The 14 longlisted titles are:
- Johanna Ekström and Sigrid Rausing, And the Walls Became the World All Around, translated from Swedish (Sweden) by Sigrid Rausing (Granta)
- Evelyne Trouillot, Désirée Congo, translated from French (Haiti) by M.A. Salvodon (University of Virginia Press)
- Fatma Aydemir, Djinns, translated from German (Germany) by Jon Cho-Polizzi (Peirene Press)
- Olga Tokarczuk, The Empusium, translated from Polish (Poland) by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Maylis Besserie, Francis Bacon’s Nanny, translated from French (France) by Clíona Ní Ríordáin (The Lilliput Press)
- María Bastarós, Hungry for What, translated from Spanish (Spain), by Kevin Gerry Dunn (Daunt Books Publishing)
- Elsa Morante, Lies and Sorcery, translated from Italian (Italy) by Jenny McPhee (Penguin Press)
- Krisztina Tóth, My Secret Life, translated from Hungarian (Hungary) by George Szirtes (Bloodaxe Books)
- Kim Hyesoon, Phantom Pain Wings, translated from Korean (South Korea) by Don Mee Choi (And Other Stories)
- Liliana Corobca, Too Great A Sky, translated from Romanian (Romania) by Monica Cure (Seven Stories Press UK)
- Laura Wittner, Translation of the Route, translated from Spanish (Argentina) by Juana Adcock (Bloodaxe Books and Poetry Translation Centre)
- Sara Mesa, Un Amor, translated from Spanish (Spain) by Katie Whittemore (Peirene Press)
- Lucija Stupica, Vanishing Points, translated from Slovenian (Slovenia) by Andrej Peric (Arc Publications)
- Han Kang, We Do Not Part, translated from Korean (South Korea) by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House UK)
I only planned to read The Empusium. Are there any others you’d recommend?
Out This Week in the UK – ish
Too many books are being released, and I can’t keep up or list them all, but these are the ones that stood out.
- Unquiet Guests ed. Dan Coxon
- Queen Demon – The Rising World by Martha Wells
- What Stalks the Deep (The Sworn Soldier Series) by T. Kingfisher
- Absolute Zero
- Absolution: by Jeff VanderMeer (Paperback)
- The Albino’s Secret by Michael Moorcock & Mark Hodder
- The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri comes
What have you seen coming out that I’ve missed?
Books That Others have Tempted Me With:
I do love the thrill of finding interesting books or seeing others discover them. These are some books that have rang a bell along with the person who rang it.
- The Albino’s Secret by Michael Moorcock & Mark Hodder via Reactor’s
- All the New SFF Crossover Books Arriving in October 2025 post
- Homebound by Portia Elan via Vintage’s TikTok (May 26)
- Lost Reliquary by Lyndsay Ely via Realms of My Mind’s TikTok
- Unseen Gods by Justin Holley via Womble
- Provenance by Ann Leckie via Reactor’s Six High Tech Heists That Defy the Odds
- Sunward by Willam Alexander via Reactor’s Six High Tech Heists That Defy the Odds
- The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summer via W&S_BOOKCLUB‘s review
- Between Two Fire via Baker.Reads on TikTok
- Awakened by Laura Elliot via a review by tom.j.atherton on their Instagram account
- The Heist of Hollow London by Eddie Robson via zoë @nycbookhoe’s quest to find a copy
- The Midnight Knock by John Fram via a mention by The Dog Eared Book on TikTok, and then this review on Chapter and Charm
- Psychopomp & Circumstance by Eden Royce
- The Plague by Albert Camus via notavantnard on TikTok (I think there are spoilers for Piranesi, which I long managed to avoid).
- We Dance Upon Demons by Vaishnavi Patel via krystallotuslang and their trip to New York Comic Con (not out until May 2026)
Finally, Womble’s Temptation Post:
https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/10/19/wombling-along
- @niallharrison.bsky.social considers Everything Will Swallow You
science fiction?– a work of fantastika - We’re both tempted by Pyschopomp & Circumstance by Eden Royce –
- to avoid Reactor’s review of The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes –
- Fantast Hive has lots of Halloween Rec
- And many more things!
Gav Reads 
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