In an attempt to get back into writing I‘ve done a few blog posts of some of our favourite board books over the past year and thought I‘d share here too. First is from when the baby was 0-3 months https://www.gillyreads.com/favourite-board-books-0-3-months/

Been a while. Here are some books I got recently

March haul. I bought three of these, the rest are my mum getting a bit carried away

March reads

Current read

February haul

February reads

January book haul

January reads

December reads

December book haul

November book haul

November reads

A review 😱 https://www.gillyreads.com/review-the-house-at-the-edge-of-magic-by-amy-sparkes/

Books I got in October

October reads

September book haul

Managed some September reading

Still buying books

August reads. Still struggling to read much but I did get through some

Forgot to say I actually managed some reading in July

Haven‘t read anything in 2 months but I did get a lot of books in June

Just finished. Highly recommend

Started a new audiobook

Morning poetry

Read some books

Oops

Weekend poetry

😔

Currently reading: Fathoms by Rebecca Giggs.
🐳
Part of my extremely unlikely attempt to read the Stella longlist before the shortlist announcement next week.

One of the best contemporary romances I‘ve ever read. Incredibly detailed and complex character growth, emotional and relational development and just so so many feels.

I read White Tears Brown Scars a few years ago and it was one of those reading experiences where everything is just clicking into place and you‘re madly underlining everything and kind of feel like your brain is exploding but in a good way. It really helped me with a lot of things I was trying to figure out about how white supremacy and the patriarchy sit together but just didn‘t have the experience or knowledge to understand properly.

Had some wild vivid dreams after reading this collection. Also woke up in the middle of the night and thought of the perfect way to describe how reading made me feel, which obviously I now cannot the remember. The best I‘ve got is: unsettled, a little confused and in awe.

I read this book for both Reading Women and The Story Graph Translation Challenge for book by a South American Author in Translation.

this is my books that have previously been long listed for the Stella Prize and I own but haven‘t read corner of shame.
If anyone is on StoryGraph and into reading Stella books I have a public list of all previously longlisted titles
Also let me know your user name and I‘ll follow you 😊

https://app.thestorygraph.com/tags/570fba18-65fa-4feb-be89-0268d59f59d7

Sure the book buying ban is going well....

February wrap up. Had really great reads this month, highly rate all of these (except the Bridgerton ones - they‘re very average)

I am so blown away by the skill of Terese Marie Mailhot, to craft such a short book out of so very much. The writing is remarkable. I genuinely don‘t think I have the words to explain how this book ripped me open. Roxanne Gay said " these essays are too intimate, too absorbing, too beautifully written, but never ever too much. What Mailhot has accomplished in this exquisite book is brilliance both raw and refined, testament."

I really enjoy anthologies such as this one, that show you the diverse range of experiences people have within a common group. This book explores the experiences of young muslims growing in Australia over past decades and the ways various moments impacted the kind of racism they faced.

Currently reading all these short stories and anthologies

Got tagged in Instagram to do #SixBooksSixCountries from my #TBRPile so thought I‘d share here too

Finland ~ The Summer Book by Tove Jasson
Sri Lanka ~ Ruins by Rajith Savanadasa
England ~ NW by Zadie Smith
Turkey ~ Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak (also part set in Oxford but still counts?)
Manus Island(PNG)/ but really stateless ~ No Friend But The Mountains by Behrouz Boochani
Australia ~ Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson

In this lovely verse novel Sharnie starts high school as America draws close to the moon landing and the Vietnam war drags on. The story intersects these global events in history with Sharnie navigating changing relationships, both family and her school friendships and the poetry is a gentle vehicle to touch on important issues such as bullying and grief.
Full review: https://www.gillyreads.com/review-footprints-on-the-moon-by-lorraine-marwood/

A line of poetry can really just rip you open

It‘s my tbr bookshelf 😬

In total only managed an hour but I read 5 incredible short stories and 16 amazing poems as little breaks in between moving stuff so I‘m pretty happy #24in48

My goal for #24in48 is now to make it to an hour of reading 😅

Switching to short stories for a bit #24in48

Snuck in a few minutes over breakfast, but now it‘s back to moving. I usually do #24in48 in my own timezone but I‘ve decided to do the offical one this year. Mostly because I‘ve only managed 24 minutes so far 😅

Managed a few minutes of poetry before bed #24in48

Have not managed any reading but I have managed to move a bunch of books to our new place #24in48