#finishitfeb Archives - Better Than Dreams

As I said in the above video, I am a seasonal reader. In summer, I crave contemporaries like they’re going out of fashion. Which they might be – it certainly seems that way, especially when you look at the YALC lineup. Discuss.

Anyway, regardless of current publishing trends or fan furore, in my mind, contemporary settings in books and summer belong together. It’s not compulsory for the books be set during a summer, but I do find myself drawn to summery books because summer is my favourite season, as I rambled in another video, last year, and I want to make the most of it!

So most of the books on today’s Top Ten Tuesday are contemporary, or contemporary with supernatural elements.. I might not get to them all, because I’m moving, and have to spend a lot of time going round furniture shops (Zzzzzzz…). Or I might devour all of them, because I don’t have internet for weeks. Who knows!

Yeah, as if I have the space for a dedicated table for my TBR, a pair of sunglasses and a wrist cuff.

Top Ten Books On My TBR For Summer 2015

1. Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian, by Eoin Colfer – I am FINALLY going to finish #FinishItFeb. In June.

2. This Is Not A Love Story, by Keren David – everyone seems really thrilled about this, so I can’t wait to give it a go.

3. The Lost and Found, by Cat Clarke – this is an upcoming Bookish Brits Book Club selection. Lots of people I know absolutely rave about Cat Clarke but I’ve never read any of her books before so I’m excited to give it a go.

4. Subway Love, by Nora Raleigh Baskin – because I’m probably not going to go on holiday abroad this year, I figured I might as well go on a journey in my head to NYC. Also this is quite a short book, so it can be a little self-esteem booster in-between longer reads.

5. How To Be Bad, by E Lockhart, Lauren Myracle, and Sarah Mlynowski – because this is the only E Lockhart book I haven’t read yet, and I just got this copy. I’m hoping to start it as soon as I finish my current read (The Girl on the Train).

6. Second Chance Summer, by Morgan Matson – another book that everyone seems to love, plus, it’s set during a summer.

7. Rules of Summer, by Joanna Philbin – I got sent this unsolicited review copy a year or two ago, and I hadn’t heard anything about it, so it languished on my TBR until Stacey at prettybooks recommended it.

8. Have a Little Faith, by Candy Harper, and

9. Dare You To, by Katie McGarry, because I should really start working on my List of Shame. We’re more than halfway through the year, after all.

10. Under My Skin, by James Dawson, because the hot pink on the cover and the edges of the colour is such a summery colour. I mean, I’m looking forward to the story as well, but maintaining a summer aesthetic is important business…

Just the UKYA, chilling on my bed.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these and if you have any recommendations, and if you’ve done your own version of this list please share the link. Top Ten Tuesday was created and is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

It’s February, which means it’s time to put the TBR Double Dog Dare on hold and #FinishItFeb instead!

I loved being part of #FinishItFeb last year, even though it took me a couple more months to finish the Gemma Doyle trilogy than I’d intended.

This year, I’m aiming reasonably high, and I want to finish three books from my ‘currently reading’ list, and one series.

The Series

I hadn’t ever really considered reading Artemis Fowl until I became a Christmas temp at Waterstone’s Bromley, and a couple of my colleagues (one in particular), enthused about it so much that I couldn’t resist.

I’ve read the first two, and I really, really loved them. But somehow I never got around to reading the rest. I am planning to re-read the first two and then I will be continuing merrily on with this fantastic series.

The Three Books:

I have started reading The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp’s guide to creativity, at least once before but lacked the determination to finish it. You see, it’s one of those books with exercises. I am often halted by exercises. I started it again in January, and I really want to continue it as it’s one of those lifechanging, really useful kind of guide books. I just have to get around to doing this particular exercise, and then I can move on…

I read most of The Bookshop Book last year and then stopped after interviewing the author. I don’t want it to end! But I should finish it, so that I can put the dustjacket back on it, take it off my desk and find it a nice home on a shelf.

I don’t know why I never finished reading Haunted by History: Poetry by Joan Anim-Addo, who taught on my undergrad degree programme. It’s a poetry book. It’s not very long. And I don’t have to review it – I generally don’t review poetry, though I might mention it in a vlog. If I finish it!

I talked about my #FinishItFeb plans in my last vlog, which you can see below:

Are you taking part in #FinishItFeb? Have you read any of these books?

#finishitfeb

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