Features | My 2019 Reading Goals

Wednesday, 9 January 2019

Features | My 2019 Reading Goals

Share 10 Reviews On BB

Looking back at the archives, I think I only shared seven reviews on BB during 2018 and have been in quite a writing slump for the past few months. Whilst ten reviews may not sound like very many for a whole year (especially as I read 83 books last year!), it feels like an achievable goal without pushing myself to write when I don't feel like it.

Continue To Use A Reading Spreadsheet

Back in February 2018 I shared a post all about creating a bookish spreadsheet and I'm pleased to report that this worked out really well for me over the year. I found the spreadsheet useful not only for tracking the books I read and various other stats, but also for keeping a list of those I purchased. This helped me to get a better idea of just how much I spent on books over the year and more importantly, how many of those purchases I actually also found the time to read. The spreadsheet definitely helped to cut down on the number of newly purchased titles left sitting unread on my (non-existent) shelves.

Complete The BB 2019 Book Club List & 'Vow To Read' Challenge

My final reading goal is to complete the BB challenges! This year I plan to tackle all twelve prompts in our new-format 2019 BB Book Club, as well as our usual 'vow to read' list. Last year I took on a few too many challenges and the 'vow to read' list was one that unfortunately I didn't quite manage to complete - fingers crossed for 2019!

What are your reading goals for 2019?

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Features | Revisiting My 2018 Sequels Challenge

Wednesday, 22 August 2018

Features | Revisiting My 2018 Sequels Challenge

On the 20th July I tapped through to the last page of Sidekick Returns on my Kindle and completed my 2018 Sequels Challenge! Whilst I didn't exactly love all of the books - more on this below - overall I'm really glad I decided to take on this extra reading challenge and would definitely consider doing the same thing in future.

Always & Forever Lara Jean, Jenny Han (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #3)

While Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind. - Goodreads

This series is such a popular one within the book blogging community and whilst it's not necessarily my usual kind of read I enjoyed the first two books and was curious to find out how Lara Jean's story would wrap up. For me the last part of the book felt a little rushed however overall I thought it was a good ending to the series and I'm glad I added it into my TBR list and sequels challenge for this year. I also really enjoyed the recent Netflix adaptation of the first book To All The Boys I've Loved Before and hope to see them bring the sequels to life on screen too.
 

The Last Star, Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave #3)

We’re here, then we’re gone, and that was true before they came. That’s always been true. The Others didn’t invent death; they just perfected it. Gave death a face to put back in our face, because they knew that was the only way to crush us. It won’t end on any continent or ocean, no mountain or plain, jungle or desert. It will end where it began, where it had been from the beginning, on the battlefield of the last beating human heart. - Goodreads

The third book in the popular 5th Wave series made it's way onto my list despite my mixed feelings about the previous two books as I was hoping for an ending that would pleasantly surprise me. Sadly I wasn't crazy about the series finale and whilst I do think this was partly to do with the fact it had been so long since I'd read the previous books, I also didn't feel as invested in the story and the characters journey as I'd hoped to.


Waking Gods, Sylvain Neuvel (Themis Files #2)

As a child, Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand, buried deep within the earth. As an adult, she’s dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers—and even more perplexing questions. But the truth is closer than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force. - Goodreads

After really enjoying the concept and format of Sleeping Giants, the first book in the series, I was excited to find out where the story would go next. As my local library didn't have a physical copy of Waking Gods I opted for the CD audiobook version instead but unfortunately this turned out to be a mistake. Much to my disappointment I wasn't a huge fan of this particular story told in this way and I truly believe I would have enjoyed the experience more in a written format. As this is only the second instalment in the series, it's likely I'll revisit it in the future but if I do I'll be sticking to the printed version.


Sidekick Returns, Auralee Wallace (Sidekick In The City #2)

Fresh off thwarting the crime of the century, Bremy St. James is back and more determined than ever to fight by the side of the city's top superhero, Dark Ryder. There's just one problem: Dark Ryder's disappeared.To make matters worse, Bremy's evil billionaire father, Atticus, is taking her lack of family loyalty very personally, and Bremy's last tie to her old life, her reason behind her choices–her sister–is distancing herself as well. - Goodreads

Following my five-star review of Sidekick back in 2014 I wasn't surprised to find that I had a lot of fun revisiting the world of Bremy St James. Similarly to the first book I enjoyed the unique cast of supporting characters and the second instalment definitely took some unexpected twists and turns that made for an interesting read. I'm only sorry that it took me so long to get around to read it!

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Features | Sequels On My 2018 TBR

Wednesday, 24 January 2018

Features | Sequels On My 2018 TBR

With the new year brings new reading goals! In the past I've set myself various goals from making time for re-reads and specific genres to joining in with a readathon and of course the Popsugar challenges, but today’s list was inspired by something a little different.

Whilst I never really imagined there would be a follow up to Wade and co’s adventure, it was recently announced that a Ready Player One sequel is in the works. Although there's no release date yet, this got me thinking about the other sequels currently sitting unread on my TBR and I concluded it was about time I finally made an effort to cross a few off the list! Looking through my Goodreads shelves there were four particular titles that stood out to me so I've decided to tackle them as part of my reading goals for the year ahead.

Waking Gods, Sylvain Neuvel (Themis Files #2) 

First up I have chosen science fiction title Waking Gods, the second book in the Themis Files series. I read the first book, Sleeping Giants, last year and really enjoyed both the concept and the unique way the story was told through interviews, journal entries, news articles, reports and logs. The third book titled Only Human is due for release in May too, so I’m hoping to catch up on both before the year is out!

The Last Star, Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave #3)

This one makes it onto the list despite the fact that so far this hasn't been one of my favourite YA series. Whilst I did enjoy both The 5th Wave and The Infinite Sea overall, I seem to have unpopular opinions about the trilogy; preferring the second book to the first and quite enjoying the cinematic adaptation of the first book (which has a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes). Still curious to see how the series would end I added the third book to my TBR back in 2016 so I think it's about time for me to hit the library and find out!

Always & Forever Lara Jean, Jenny Han (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #3) 

Another trilogy I'm hoping to finish this year is Jenny Han's YA Contemporary To All The Boys I've Loved Before which follows teenager Lara Jean. This book was actually on my 'vow to read' list for 2017 and I had reserved a copy from the library, but unfortunately I was quite a long way down the list so I'm still waiting! Whilst this series isn't exactly the genre I've been reaching for lately, I enjoyed the first two books back in 2016 and am keen to find out how the story will end.

Sidekick Returns, Auralee Wallace (Sidekick In The City #2)

Back in 2014 I read the Netgalley description for a debut novel about a female superhero and decided to take a chance on it. I ended up loving the book (catch my review here) but unfortunately when the sequel was due for release I wasn’t able to commit to reviewing any ARCs and somehow never quite managed to catch up. Last year I picked up a Kindle copy of Sidekick Returns and I’m looking forward to finally revisiting the world and characters introduced in Sidekick - although it’s been such a long time I may need to reread the first book beforehand!

Photo by Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash

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2017 Reading Challenge | Final Update

Sunday, 31 December 2017

2017 Reading Challenge | Final Update

Over the past couple of years it's become tradition here at BB for our final post of the year to be a reading goals update. So how did we do with our 2017 goals? Keep scrolling to find out!

Don't forget to let us know how you got on with your 2017 goals, and which books you're planning to read in 2018!



Anjali... 49/40 books read | 4/5 books vowed to read 
In all the years we've done Vow To Read lists on BB, I don't think I've managed to actually read all five. However, neither have I reached four before now, so I'm pretty pleased with that. I have read some great books this year, but a few favourites have been the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo, A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab, and Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

Erin... 3/5 books vowed to read

Just like last year I only managed to cross three books off my 'vow to read' list. I'm still currently in the library queue for Always & Forever, Lara Jean so hopefully I'll get to finish the series soon. My library has also finally ordered copies of Scythe so I'll be adding that to my 2018 TBR too!

Cat... 1/5 books vowed to read

I only managed to read The Graces out of the five I had planned, hopefully I’ll read the others next year.


Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers and everyone who has contributed to Blogger's Bookshelf throughout 2017. We hope to see you for lots more bookish talk in the new year, along with our brand new book club and newsletter!

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Features | Revisiting My 2016 Reading Goals

Wednesday, 28 December 2016

Features | Revisiting My 2016 Reading Goals

Back in January I shared a post all titled 'My 2016 Reading Goals', which included four small challenges I aimed to accomplish over the year. With only a few days left in the year it's time to take a look back at these additional goals and see how I did...

#1 Re-Read More!
Looking back over all of the titles I've read this year I didn't do so well with this particular challenge. Although I kicked off the year with three re-reads, I haven't found the time for anymore since then so perhaps this will be a goal to revisit for 2017.

#2 Take Part In A Set Challenge... 
For my 'set challenge' challenge I chose the Popsugar 2016 Reading Challenge which included 40 mini goals such as 'a book you can finish in a day' and 'a book based on a fairytale'. As I expected I didn't manage to cross off every goal, however my final total was 19 which I'm fairly pleased with.

#3 & A Readathon! 
This is one goal I can definitely cross off the list! Back at the end of February I joined in with the #5books7days readathon and whilst I didn't quite manage to complete five reads I achieved my goal of joining in with a readathon and would definitely do this again in future.

#4 Make Time For Non-Fiction
My final goal for the year was to include more non-fiction titles and I even chose five of them for my BB challenge. Unfortunately whilst I didn't read all five specifically chosen titles, around twenty percent of the fifty-ish books I read in full over the year were non-fiction, and as always I added a bunch more recipe and DIY books to my collection.

Did you manage to complete all of your 2016 reading goals?

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Features | My 2016 Reading Goals

Monday, 4 January 2016

Features | My 2016 Reading Goals

For my first Blogger's Bookshelf post of 2016 thought I would share my new reading goals for the year ahead. Last year I decided against setting any overall target numbers, instead opting for small goals such as aiming for five re-reads and setting my 'books I vow to read' list here at BB. This year I've settled on a similar mix of smaller goals, here's a little more about each of them...

Re-Read More! 
Having successfully completed my 2015 re-reads challenge I found that I really enjoyed revisiting some old reads and am even kicking off the new year with no less than three more! Whilst there are lots of new titles I'm looking forward to picking up, I'm also hoping to find time for a few more re-reads in 2016 too.

Take Part In A Set Challenge...
In addition to making re-reading a permanent fixture in my schedule I'm also planning to have a go at Popsugar's 2016 Reading Challenge which includes 40 different mini goals, ranging from a book with a blue cover to a New York Times bestseller - and everything in between! I've chosen this particular list as I'm hoping it may encourage me to read a few things I might not normally pick out for myself. There's also a handy printable to keep track of your list if you want to join in!

& A Readathon!
This one makes the list as it's something I've never done before. I'm not too sure how I'll get on with this particular type of challenge but I'd really like to give it a try this year. I haven't yet settled on which readathon I want to go for but if you have any ideas, or are hosting one, please leave a comment and let me know!

Make Time For Non-Fiction
As always I'll also be picking out five titles as part of the 'books we vow to read' challenge we host here at Blogger's Bookshelf each year. We haven't shared our lists yet (look out for the post in a couple of weeks time) but I'm planning to stick to a theme this year; non-fiction. Up until a few years ago I was much more likely to pick out a non-fiction book than a novel (mostly film-related at the time!) and so for the 2016 challenge I have a selection of five non-fiction titles lined up.

What are your reading goals for 2016?

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2015 Reading Goals | Update #1

Sunday, 7 June 2015

2015 Reading Goals | Update #1

Back in January we shared some of our reading goals for the year and today's post is the first in our update series sharing how we're all getting on so far. Read on to find out who's on target, what books we've been loving and what we'll be reading (and reviewing) next!


Lulu... 25 books read, 3/5 books vowed to read
I have read about 25 books so far this year and - believe it or not - actually managed to knock off some from the five I mentioned in my goals for this year: Ready Player One (absolutely freaking loved it!), Memoirs of a Geisha (what a chunk of a book, but so worthwhile) and I have been stuck on book four or five in the Narnia series, so yeah...getting there! I plan on reading Code Name Verity in June, but we'll see :) And Anna Karenina...well, there's always December haha! Just finished Just One Day and I have a serious case of wanderlust now!

Cat... 1/5 books vowed to read

I have only read one of my vowed to read books so far this year, and that was Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, which was an absolutely amazing read. Such an interesting concept and well executed. I plan to get back to the list as soon as possible!

Ali... 18/20 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read
Thanks to a lengthy commute, I am smashing my challenge. I've read all but one of my vowed reads, and as I've just picked up the last one I'm sure I'll do them all. Favourites so far? It's a three-way tie between Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill, H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald and Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix.

Erin... 4/5 books vowed to read

As I'm not taking part in the Goodreads challenge this year I have no idea how many books I've read so far in total, however my 'vowed to read' challenge is going well. After failing to read all five of my choices last year I was more realistic this time around, opting mostly for books I already own or had reserved at the library. For now I've come to a standstill on this particular reading challenge though as my fifth and final choice, Marissa Meyer's fourth Lunar Chronicles novel Winter, isn't due for release until November! My favourite of the four I have managed to read would have to be UnDivided (Neal Shusterman).

Anjali... 23/48 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read
So far this year, I think I'm doing pretty well! According to Good Reads, I'm 4 books ahead of schedule. My 'vow to read' list, however, is only doing so-so. I've read The Wicked Will Rise, by Danielle Paige, and also Let's Let Lost, by Adi Alsaid, both of which are on my 'vow to read' list. I enjoyed both of them, but I think my favourite book so far this year has been Carnival of Souls, by Melissa Marr. I've also been continuing reading the Moral Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare, and just have the final book to read.

Ria... 12/30 books read, 0 (almost 1) /5 books vowed to read
Uh oh. I'm definitely not doing well so far with this year's challenge. After a promising start I seem to have stagnated with just 12 books under my belt 6 months into the year.
I have started on my books I've vowed to read with The Night Circus - which I'm crawling through at the moment - and am hoping to pick up either Hollow Pike or Geek Girl over the next few weeks. I think the main problem with getting back into reading is finding the time at the moment and reading books I need to review! Now that Summer's here I'm determined to get back on track though! 
 

Sophia... 2/5 books vowed to read

I have to say I am doing rather well in that I now own copies of four of these books and I have read two of them! I read (and adored) The Luminaries earlier this year and nothing has quite matched up to it yet! It was entirely engrossing and everything I hoped it would be. I've also read The Rosie Effect which was good too but it didn't have the same wow factor for me as The Rosie Project. After my current read I intend to start The Valley of Amazement and my sister has cheekily nicked my copy of The Miniaturist so I will have to wait for her to finish that before I can finally see what all the fuss is about! As for 100 Years of Solitude I've put that down as one of my summer reads so I feel confident that I will have achieved my goal of reading these five books in 2015!

Now it's your turn to share! We'd love to know how you're getting on with your own goals and what books you've been loving in 2015. Don't forget to leave us a comment below!

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2014 Reading Challenge | Final Update

Tuesday, 30 December 2014

2014 Reading Challenge | Final Update

We can't believe it's that time of year again already but today it's time to share our final challenge update of the year! Here's how some of the team got on with their personal reading goals in 2014...

Anjali... 49/45 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read 

I feel like this year I didn't read as many amazing books as last year. I think I only gave a couple of 5 stars. Having said that, I did read way more books than I planned to...but only 2 books that I vowed to read! Eek! I read The Elite by Kiera Cass, and also The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, which were on my 'vow to read' list. I enjoyed both of them, but they weren't my favourites this year. I really loved Dorothy Must Die, by Danielle Paige, and also Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas, though, and I read quite a few books provided by NetGalley, some of which were good, some of which I wouldn't suggest. But one of the great books was Sidekick, by Auralee Wallace. Very cool.

Ria... 24/50 books read, 3/5 books vowed to read 

Oh dear, well I didn't do very well on the 50 book target, though I put part of this down to now working full time without commute time to read. This did mean I was more selective of the books I read, which was a good thing as most of them I actually really enjoyed. Out of the 5 books I've vowed to read Attachments and Say Her Name have been my favourites unsurprising as I love both Rainbow Rowell and James Dawson as authors. My sentiments on On The Road are well documented on the blog and and I've been really struggling with Norwegian Wood. If anything, this year of reading has brought to light what I really enjoy reading and what can be left on my TBR pile!

Erin... 83/52 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read 

Thanks to the addition of over 20 craft titles and other short reads I managed to read extra books again this year however just like last year I failed to find time for any re-reads so I'll be making more of an effort to fit some of these in during 2015. I also only managed to read four out of the five books I vowed to read this year but have The Night Circus sitting on my bedside table so perhaps I will pick it up soon! I actually quite enjoyed all of the four that I did read but my favourites were Ten & Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock.

Alison... 21/20 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read 

Woo! I did it! I didn’t expect to have made my target but I’m really happy that I did. I’m really pleased I’ve finally read Catcher in the Rye (even if I didn’t love it) so that I can tick it off the ‘must-read’ list. The one book I didn’t read on my vowed list, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, will definitely be getting read next year – it’ll be my January read. I went through stages of reading loads – i.e. during holidays, to months where I didn’t read at all. Still, I’m proud of having read 21 as it’s more than last year. I’m feeling motivated and I hope that I’ll be able to increase my reading even more next year.

Cat... 30/25 books read, 3/5 books vowed to read 

I have read three of my five vowed to read books from the start of the year (Chaos Walking trilogy, Cruel Summer and Ketchup Clouds), for the past few months I have been stuck on Any Human Heart by William Boyd, it took me quite a long time to get into it (surprised I didn't give up really) but I am now really enjoying it. My favourite reads of this year would definately have to be Cruel Summer, Say Her Name (both James Dawson), and Ten (Gretchen McNeil), these were all ones I couldn't put down!

Don't forget to check back next month when we'll be sharing our 2015 goals!

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2014 Reading Goals Update #2

Thursday, 10 July 2014

2014 Reading Goals Update #2

We last updated you on our 2014 challenges back in April, so today we're taking a look at what progress has been made since then...



Cat... 9/25 books read, 3/5 books vowed to read
After reading Yes Man I decided to go for another comedy and have just finished reading I, Partridge: We need to talk about Alan, which was brilliantly funny. I would definitely recommend if you are a fan of Mr Partridge! Since I finished this I have begun A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks, which has been really engaging so far and only a few pages in! There are a number of characters who have been introduced and somehow their stories are interwoven. After I have finished this I will be heading back to my vowed book list!

Anjali... 24/45 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read
Out of the 5 I need to read: I've still only read 1! I read The Elite, by Kiera Cass and enjoyed that. I have nearly all the others on my shelf, but have yet to get around to reading them. Actually, you know what? I've just finished a book, so I'm going to pick up The Perks of Being a Wallflower right now. There. Make that 1 and a bit books I've read from my 'must read' list. Other books I've read this year that I've enjoyed have been Sidekick, by Auralee Wallace (so cool!); Into the Still Blue, by Veronica Rossi (the last instalment of the Under the Never Sky Trilogy); and I also re-read The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I read this book when I was about 13/14 I think, but it was great re-reading it.

Erin... 50/50 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read

Looking at the numbers you can see that I have 'officially' completed my 2014 challenge however it doesn't feel like I should have as so many of the books have been short craft titles or graphic novels.  Although I've finished my Goodreads challenge I'm not doing so well on the other goal I set myself over on my own blog, which was based around trying to read a whole list of books that I already owned - I've only read 9 of the 24. Favourite reads since our last update have been Sidekick by Auralee Wallace & Say Her Name by James Dawson.

Alison... 8/20 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read
 Since the last update I've only read another three books so I am falling behind slightly but I've got a holiday coming up so fairly confident that I'll catch up! I've just finished A Game of Thrones, one of the books I vowed to read this year, which I loved but I need something a little shorter before going on to the next in the series. I'm also looking forward to the Edinburgh International Book Festival next month. I've booked a few tickets, but mostly I'm excited about their amazing on-site book store which always inspires me to get reading and discover new books and authors.

Ria... 13/50 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read
I'm slowly crawling through my challenges, as reading for pleasure took a nose dive as I finished University! I am getting back on track and have read some fantastic novels since I finished school. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and The Virgin Suicides by Jefferey Eugenides have been my personal favourites. From my challenge list I recently finished Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. It was a much more pleasant experience to read than On The Road, but I knew Rowell wouldn't let me down when it came to a really great story with fantastic characters. As for the others on my list, I'm itching to get started on Say Her Name now that it's out. I've seen some really great reviews about it, though nearly all of them have to said to make sure to read it with the lights on to stave off the nightmares!

Kath... 41/75 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read

I wasn't completely sure that I'd get much reading done this year - but with 41 total books read so far I'm happy with my progress. All of my owned books are still in storage until next month, and I've been relying on my local library service to get my reading material. Luckily, they seem to have a fairly good selection. This does mean that I've only been able to get my hands on one of my books I vowed to read since the last update post, which was The Book Thief (it was amazing!).  My recent favourite books are without a doubt We Were Liars and Anna and the French Kiss. As I mentioned in April's update post, I'm trying to celebrate UK authors as much as possible, and that's definitely reflected in my reading and recommending habits.

Laura... 17/30 books, 1/5 books vowed to read

I have however still only read 1 out of my 5 books to read (Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous) oops. Better get on that.  My reading has slowed down quiet a lot of the past few months since moving house, all this decorating and unpacking has kept me away from my books (Especially as I had to find which box they were in!) It is however only 2 weeks until the summer holidays and I am off on holiday and shall be packing a whole pile of books to keep me company! I have recently read one of my favourite books of the year however I shall not say more than that as they'll be a review up soon :)

Click here to take a closer look at our original reading goals!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this update post - see you in a few months for the next one! 
Images via Goodreads

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Now it's your turn to share! We'd love to know how you're getting on with your own goals and what books you've been loving in 2014 - don't forget to leave us a comment below :)

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Group Collaboration | 2014 Reading Goals

Saturday, 18 January 2014

Group Collaboration | 2014 Reading Goals

Welcome to our first group collaboration of 2014!

Following last January's theme we're once again talking reading goals for the year including the 5 titles we 'vow to read' in 2014. Here's what the team have chosen...



















Have you read any of these books? What are your 2014 goals?
Don't forget to let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

Contributors - Ali, Lucy, Kath, Laura, Ria, Anjali, Cat, Niina, Erin
All book cover images via Goodreads | Font for graphics Brain Flower via dafont.com

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Next month's topic is called Fictional Dinner Date - if you'd like to be involved drop us an email to bloggersbookshelf@gmail.com for more details.

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