Gav Reads

A Web Log of Reading

Tag: reading

  • Sunday Summary: 25th Jan 26

    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:

    • ???

    Nothing this week.

    Currently Reading: 

    • A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare (trans John Hodgson) [2023]
    • The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch (narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) [2024]
    • The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman [2022]

    I’ve not read a whole lot this week because I’ve been distracted by other hobbies, but also, I’ve reached a point in The Masquerades of Spring that I’m a bit nervous about. Aaronovitch has put the stakes up with threats against the gay couple, and I’ve read a few reviews to see if there is any hint at an HEA (Happy Ever After) for them. It seems there is but also I don’t think I could handle a ‘bury your gays’ trope popping up.

    The Two Doctors Górski is giving me The Incandescent by Emily Tesh vibes, I wonder how dark it’s going to go? It’s been highly recommended, so no pressure on their taste.

    DNF’d

    • ???

    Nothing this week.

    Book-ish Things

    The preorders are flowing in. This week I’ve recieved:

    • The Apple and the Pearl by Rym Kechacha
    • The Old Fire by Elisa Shua Dusapin [Translated from French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins]
    • Dominion by Addie E. Citchens
    • Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher

    A good mix of potential reading joy I think you’d agree.

    Non-Book-ish Things

    One of my other major hobbies is video games, and last year I made a more concerted effort to put time into them, which partly helped me cope with the reading slump that dominated the first few months of 2025. At the moment, I’m playing Persona 5 Royal, a JRPG with over 100 hours of gameplay. The problem is, at 50 hours in, I’ve discovered I’ve been playing it wrong. This means I’ve started again, and this time I am paying attention to what the game is telling me and using tips that other players have shared to us.

    So if you’re wondering why I’m not reading. That does have a lot to do with it.

    I’ve also watched the first episode of Star Trek Academy, and I’m sold. Really keen to see what this young crew can do. If you liked Discovery or Voyager, I think you’ll like this.

    Cover(s) of the Week

    We Interrupt This Program by Randee Dawn

    Outro

    Hopefully, I’ll be able to report that I’ve finished reading something next weekend. Have a good reading week, all.

  • Sunday Summary: 18th Jan 26

    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:

    • ???

    Nothing this week.

    Currently Reading: 

    • A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare (trans John Hodgson) [2023]
    • The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch (narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) [2024]

    I’m going to be honest and say that I’m struggling with A Dectator Calls. I am going to keep going, but I feel I’m not well-versed enough in Starlin’s Russia to get the gravitas that is part of this novel.

    I am having a great time with The Masquerades of Spring, where a younger Nightingale heads to New York to solve a mystery surrounding a saxophone with the help of an old friend. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is going an excellnt job as usual.

    DNF’d

    • The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling [2025]

    I knew I was taking a chance on this, but the early buzz was positive, and the idea of nuns trapped in a castle going mad sounds horrific, but also an idea with a lot of potential.

    I am not a fan of grimdark works in general, and this proves again that I don’t think they are for me. I asked for thoughts on Bluesky, and no one came back saying that I needed to push through. So, as predicted last week, DNF it is.

    Book-ish Thoughts

    Continuing with the topic of DNFs, it’s one of the reasons that I wanted a page count this year; the main reason is that I’m aiming to read 50 pages a day. I don’t count DNFs as read, so before, when I was only tracking books I’d completed, DNF’ing felt like a waste. Now, they are helping with my page count.

    Books That Others Have Tempted Me With:

    Cover(s) of the Week

    Cover to Unearthed: New Horrow of Ancient Ruins

    Outro

    I have no idea what I fancy picking up next – I’ll get both A Dictator Calls and The Masquerades of Spring read and then decide, I think.

    What have you been reading?

  • Sunday Summary: 11 th Jan 26

    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:

    • A Conventional Boy (A Laundry Files Novella) by Charles Stross [2025]
    • Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy [2024]

    Two in one week? All thanks to a couple of long-ish plane rides. Both had me hooked. But both had different impacts.

    A Conventional Boy is a side quest for two of the minor characters in the Laundry Files by Charles Stross. Derek and his dice leave Camp Sunshine and end up in a game of D&D that turns into a game of life and death.

    1st 26 read: @cstross.bsky.social’s novella A Conventional Boy. The lore is loring, and I think I need to reread some other works from The Laundry in order to do a review justice. Even if you’re not acquainted with the series, it’s a brilliant tale of what happens when TTRPGs get a little too real.

    — @gavreads (@gavreads.co.uk) 2026-01-06T19:49:20.218Z

    What worked well for me was how quickly you care about the fate of Derek and his players. It’s also tempted me to go hunting down the links to the main series.

    Sorcery and Small Magics centres around a frenemy trope, with the hint of lovers and I was 50/50 at one point if the main character was too annoying, I pushed through, and it turned into something that had me so invested, as I stated on Bluesky.

    Thank you to everyone who recommended Sorcery and Small Magics. It was my read on a plane ride. The flight flew by, but I also cried. I mean, tears streaming down my face, crying. That f—ing ending!! I was agog. Highly recommend @orbitbooksuk.bsky.social @maigadoocy.bsky.social

    — @gavreads (@gavreads.co.uk) 2026-01-09T20:27:56.977Z

    SPOILER: It’s set up for a sequel that hasn’t got a release date yet.

    Currently Reading: 

    • A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare (trans John Hodgson) [2023]
    • The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling [2025]

    FYI: The Starving Saints is on Kindle Unlimited

    DNF’d

    • Love At First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi [2025]

    It wasn’t that the antagonisms were forced exactly, but they are relentless, and as I’m not a fan of interpersonal conflicts in general, it didn’t make for comfortable reading. It might be a trope of enemies-to-lovers romances that is probably going to put me off reading too many like A Fate Inked in Blood. It’s there in Sorcery and Small Magics, and I accepted it was going to be a thing. The situation makes it more believable, but only due to the stoicism of one character, and not knowing what they actually believe, only what’s reported.

    Book-ish Thoughts

    The pre-orders are starting to land. And I’m not sure of past-me’s decision-making in taking a chance on a bunch of books just because Waterstones had either a discount or a points offer. Don’t get me wrong, I am interested in reading them, and the reissued paperback releases are more considered, but new books arriving aren’t really in the spirit of tackling my backlog.

    I am loath to cancel them as I might feel differently in a couple of weeks, and they are interesting in their own ways.

    Anyway, what’s arrived:

    • A Curse Carved in Bone by Danielle L. Jensen
    • The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle
    • Pagans by James Alistair Henry

    As you’ll see further up, I am not having the best time reading Romantasy of the enemies-to-lovers variety, and I’ve not read A Fate Inked in Blood yet.

    Books That Others Have Tempted Me With:

    I am trying to avoid temptation, and so far I’m doing well… though I’m curious about The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery

    Cover(s) of the Week

    Piper at the Gates of Dusk by Patrick Ness

    Outro

    I am reading more, and I’m more willing to DNF (even at 50% in). I think that’s helped by having both a page count and a books-read goal. I might still DNF The Starving Saints, not because it’s bad, but because I was expecting something different, and it might be too ‘real’ and too bleak for me.

    What have you been reading?

  • Sunday Summary: 4th Jan 26

    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:

    • ???

    Nothing this week.

    Currently Reading: 

    • Love At First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi

    I didn’t expect that this cosy romantasy to have quite as high a spice rating as it did.

    To save me from this predicament in future, Caitlin of Realms of My Mind has shared romance.io, which includes a Steam Rating Guide for every listing in its database. El-Fassi’s latest is rated 4/5

    Don’t get me wrong. I’m going to keep reading as it’s not a reason to DNF or not pick it up in the first place. I am just glad it’s not my commute read or my audiobook choice 😬🤣🤣🤣

    — @gavreads (@gavreads.co.uk) 2026-01-02T23:17:16.258Z

    And I am keeping on reading it – it’s just heavy on the spice, and reading location now matters…

    DNF’d:

    • ???

    Nothing this week.

    Book-ish Thoughts

    I have committed on The StoryGraph to read 15,000 pages and at least 33 books, which I’ve badly mathed as reading 50 pages a day.

    I’m hoping that both are achievable, and I’m going to my best to avoid burnout and a reading slump.

    Though I don’t think the amount pre-orders I’ve made is actually healthy, there is a partial list here if you’re curious:

    SFF I have pre-ordered:City of Others (The DEUS Files)by Jared PoonApparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer StothersThe Apple and the Pearl by Rym KechachaThe Astral Library by Kate QuinnThe Rainseekers by Matthew KresselThe Soul-Catchers by Naoko Higashi (translated by Lucy North)

    — @gavreads (@gavreads.co.uk) 2026-01-03T20:16:19.888Z

    I am, however, not planning to add more pre-orders or pick up books that aren’t on the shelves for a while as I desperately need to read what I have.

    I am also not reading to deadline, nor accepting ARCs (I currently have two with no deadlines – Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume Three, which was successfully funded via Kickstarter and all entries in The Gulpepper Mythos by Alan Baxter, which sounds like something I’d enjoy as I do love a shared world)

    Books That Others Have Tempted Me With:

    Given what I’ve said above, I should retire this section for a bit… but I do like to see what everyone has been reading, and when I get some brain space, I want to go over everyone’s 2025 reading lists and take notes. It doesn’t mean I have to give in to the impulse to get a copy too. And if I’m lucky, I might already have a copy on standby.

    Cover(s) of the Week

    The Comfort of Distant Stars by I. O. ECHERUO

    Return of the Womble:

    They have furry of end of year/new year posts but this one has actions:

    The 2026 BookTempter’s TBR Challenge

    If I were to take this month’s challenge:

    1 – It’s a classic task for a reason

    Read the very last book to enter your TBR pile. TBRs come from the habit we have of not reading books because we put them off. You have my permission to indulge yourself.

    Stretch goal – Read a book that you’ve had in your TBR pile for more than 5 years

    Then I’d need to go for:

    The Broke into Shining Crystals by Richard Scott with the stretch goal of The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino

    They have also done a lot of the hard work, collecting everyone’s ‘best of’ lists in their weekly Wombling Along post, and I’m humbled to see mine included.

    Outro

    What books have you started the year with?

  • Thoughts: Best Books of 2025 & Reading in 2026

    In yesterday’s post, I confirmed that “I’ll be back” in 2026 and promised a look at what I plan to read this year. Before that, though, I want to share some standout books from 2025. These aren’t definitive “best of” lists—just the ones that really stuck with me.

    What stood out in 2025?

    I’m going to caveat this selection by giving some stats:

    • I read 34 books in total (you can see the full list here).
    • 5 of those were Rivers of London related.
    • 7 were published in 2025
    • 4 were books in translation

    I really like using The StoryGraph app (I’m @gavreads)to capture my reading. They also provide nice graphics:

    This is my way of saying that 34 is a respectable number, but it’s not the biggest pool of work to make proclamations like this is the best book published in 2025, etc.

    I also DNF’d 9 books. I want to retry three of them (Under the Eye of the Big Bird, Extremophile, & The Ministry of Time) to see if I can figure out what others liked in them that I missed.

    If you’re looking for the best released in 2025, this not the blog post you are looking for.

    Anyway, here are some idiosyncratic ‘best ofs’:

    Best of Found Families:

    • August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White
    • The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

    Best Slow-Burn Reveal:

    • The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

    Best Ensemble of ‘Monsters’:

    • The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

    Best Parent Fighting for Their Child:

    • The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso
    • The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis

    Best use of humour to present a horrific things:

    • The Trees by Percival Everett

    Best use of a family holiday:

    • Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne

    Best Tales of Taxi Riders

    Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida

    Best Questioning of ‘If AI is alive’?

    • The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1 by Martha Wells
    • Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
    • The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton
    • Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon
    • The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

    Best Long Running Series that I’ve read in 2025:

    • Rivers of London (#6 to #9.5)

    Best Time Spent in a Freezer

    • When the Museum Is Closed by Emi Yagi [tr.. Yuki Tejima]

    Best Stories in an Anthology are contained in:

    Best Example of How We’ve Not Really Moved On as a Society:

    • The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle [1957]

    Best Example of How We Have Gone Backwards:

    • Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto [tr. Megan Backus] [1988/1993]

    Do you want to give out any more awards?

    I’m sure I could think of more, but let’s stop here.

    What are you planning on reading in 2026?

    All the books I bought in 2025? Maybe not, as that’s physically impossible at this point. Perhaps the topic of why I keep buying books should be explored in a future post. For now, though, I want to get some ‘quick reading wins’ under my belt and read some of the shorter, standalone fiction.

    The thene of 2026 is:

    • The year of the backlog (recent and extended).

    This might not be the most up-to-date content for future blog posts, but I’m planning to make it the best reading experience I can. With that in mind, here are two lists of 10 books I want to read in 2026 (and if I remember, I’ll report back)

    Selected from 2025 Releases:

    1. The Book of Jonah by Luke Kennard
    2. The Imagined Life by Andrew Porter
    3. Dot Slash Magic by Liz Shipton
    4. Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire
    5. Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
    6. Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
    7. The Haunting of William Thorn by Ben Alderson
    8. Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey
    9. The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch
    10. A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde

    There are so many more… The Isle in the Silver Sea, The Everlasting,The Last Soul Among Wolves, It’s Not a Cult, Spread Me, Dead & Breakfast, Angel Down… I’d better stop.

    Selected from The Backlog:

    1. Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland
    2. Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins
    3. House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
    4. Nude Against a Rock by Robert Hamberger
    5. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
    6. Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
    7. Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
    8. Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood
    9. There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job. by Kikuko Tsumura [Tr. Polly Barton]
    10. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

    This is just the tip of an iceberg, but hopefully shows a selection of my backlog and the delights that I have to look forward to.

    That’s my plan. What are yours? Any highlights from 2025, and what’s on your list for 2026?