Musings over Magician’s Guild & Eye of the World

I told you guys in my 2025 Reading Resolution post that I was going to try and read books/audiobooks that I find fulfilling by not rushing or forcing myself to read them to a timetable (funny that as I’ve started a book that I need to read and review by the beginning of April for a blog tour. Oh yes, I am a walking contradiction). 

Well, I have done that with my first two reads of 2025 and I decided to slam my thoughts and feelings over these two together in one post as they are quite similar and yet, very different. They are, as you know if you have read my previous posts on here (or on any of my socials - since deleting the hellscape known as Twitter/X, I am far more active on the others!), The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan* & The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan*. 

FYI, the reason both the titles above have a * is because they are affiliate links to my Bookshop.org* page so you have been warned.

All The Young Queers

My first blog tour of 2025! And it’s an extract!

Following on from his novella following the lives of queer elders in One Last Song, Nathan Evans’s debut collection of short stories goes to the opposite end of the age spectrum with All The Young Queers: 16-24 Years. In the nine stories that span from the end of the 20th century to the end of the world and in different universes, the stories follow young people exploring their sexual identities and looking at issues such as class, climate change and chemsex to name a few.

I am thrilled to be sharing this extract with you, and I just want to say a huge thank you to Justin at Inkandescent to ask if I wanted to be involved in this tour. And if you are curious after reading the extract and want to learn more, you can check out the Inkandescent’s website or Bookshop.org website (affiliate link alert). 

Now, ONTO THE EXTRACT!

January 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

As I am blogging less (burnout? Laziness? The slow death of the blog?), I thought I would chat to you guys about my reading last month (maybe touch on my December 2024 reads as I am taking my time on reading lately, but seeing as I mentioned my reads that month in an earlier post, maybe not as there was a LOT of quitting reads that didn’t bring me joy!).

But as you can see the pic, I included the December reads of How to Catch A Boss by Ana Ashley and the Audible Drama of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (mainly because I only touched on them previous so wanted to show them one more time before I speak January reads).  

Now, I did finish this in January (and both Goodreads and StoryGraph class this as January Reads), but seeing as I audio the majority of this in December, I do class this as a December read, and that was Rescuing the Writer by Nora Phoenix. This is a short story in the Forestville Silver Foxes MM romance series and, yes, I know this is a short story so things have to move much quicker, but I felt so underwhelmed and, the more I think about it, the more icky I feel. Maybe if this was a novella or a full length novel, this could have been explored and lessen, but I just felt very underwhelmed and it’s put my off trying out this series. 

Now, the big mamas: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan & The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan. These are still my Currently Reading. I knew these would be my “Take Your Time” reads as these are longer than my normal reads, but I didn’t realise these would take me this long. At the time of writing, I am currently 59% into Eye of the World audiobook, read by Rosamund Pike (19 hours 18 minutes into a 32 hours 56 minutes, for those of you curious!) and 68% into my ebook of The Magician’s Guild. Now, both are longer fantasy than I normally go towards, and both are so much slower paced than my normal reads in general (you guys know me, I love my books to move at a nippy speed), but I am weirdly enjoying myself. 

Now, I can’t tell if I am enjoying self with these because I am allowing myself to sink into these worlds, or for another reason but I know I will need to talk to you guys about these when I am finished to keep eyes peeled on the blog as these will be long posts (and, hopefully, I will figure out if I will read the next book in both these series…)

Now, the book I am classing my January read is Designing Terry Prachett’s Discworld by Paul Kidby. Now, he took over as cover artist for Pratchett’s books when the original artist, Josh Kirby, died in 2001 and most of his artwork is cemented as fan folklore for Discworld. I loved reading Kidby ideas on how he designed the characters and Terry’s world and the poking fun over his parodies (there’s one I knew vaguely which was his parody of the Mona Lisa, The Mona Ogg because of that smile/teeth. It’s only when I read his write-up, I found myself cackling and going “I get it now”), as well as loving the little details (as Granny Weatherwax is in the background, disapprovingly glaring, in several Nanny Ogg’s parody, the loving nod towards Josh Kirby in the original cover design for Night Watch and the chess pieces in Check Mort where Pratchett was playing chess with Death [and winning] as this was released while Pratchett was battling Alzheimer’s.)

I’m going to put some of my favourite art below, but I am going to try and read more arty books and going to more museums (I am going to try and be a cultured b***h, even though I will be pretending most of the time!). Or maybe I am just going to read more things and not feel guilty about it! Either way, let’s continue the weird reading into February, shall we?

Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2025 Longlist

Sorry for being MIA over the past month. Like I said in one of my earlier post (my last of 2024?), I’m not going to use my blog as much as I kinda fell out of love with it due to possible burnout. Plus, I am reading/audiobooking LONG stories (as it stands, I am about 46% into Eye of the World by Robert Jordan audiobook [which is under 33 hours long!], 60% into The Magician’s Guild ebook by Trudi Canavan and dipping in and out of my hardback copy of Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld by Paul Kidby). So, no updating on the blog (though if you keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram, Goodreads or StoryGraph, you will be more up-to-date). 

But I’m here not to talk about me. I’m here to share a press release of the longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize!

First Post of 2025

First blog post of 2025! Can you believe we’re in 2025!? I can’t and it’s boggles my brain a little. 

So, while I am binge-watching the newest series of the Traitors (my guilty pleasure as I am not a huge fan of reality TV), I thought I would share a few titles I am holding space for this year (something I rambled about in my last 2024 post). And yes, most of these are LONG (pray for me!)

Now, there are several titles I have my eye on, which I’m not going to share with you guys. Let me build the mystery on those (maybe I will make a shelf on my Goodreads & StoryGraph…). On some others that I have my beady little eyes on, shall we? (Oh, before I go further, I am going to put affiliate links for Bookshop.org but I will put a * next to it so you know where it is).  

2025 Resolutions

So, my reading plans for Reindeer Readathon 2024 went flying out of the window, and I have no idea why. I started this Readathon with such promise (I told you guys that I audiobooked two prompts in my last post as well as the three titles I had my eye on). And yet, my brain just wasn’t having any of it. I quit my library audiobook of Virigina Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway around 50% in (nothing is worth this torture) and I put on hold two reads as not in the right headspace. 

Then, after that, nothing really grab my attention. Nothing made me excited. I wasn’t in a reading slump, but I did think I was nearly there so I planned not to read over the Christmas period. Start 2025 fresh. 

And somewhere over the past few days, I realised something: the books and audiobooks I found quite fulfilling in the past year or so are books I took time with and didn’t force myself to rush. They were, also, in genres or sub-genres I don’t naturally go towards, which I found quite surprising. 

So, I decided that 2025 Reading should be books/ebooks/audiobooks that I found fulfilling to read, and not worry about rushing to blog my thoughts on here or my socials. 

But I think this should be my goal for this coming year as a whole. While I did things this year I thoroughly enjoyed, I want to do more of it. More museum visits, more libraries, more book events that I want to go to, more things that I will enjoy physically/mentally/etc. 

So, no plan expect to try and find balance and enjoy. But, with all the best laid plans, it will go off the rails quickly, me thinks. So, if you fancy following me on here or on any of my socials, you are more than welcome (I shall pop them below and I will try and keep them as updated as possible!)

INSTAGRAM - instagram.com/pewterwolf/

GOODREADS - goodreads.com/PewterWolf

STORYGRAPH - thestorygraph.com/profile/pewterwolf

FACEBOOK - facebook.com/ThePewterWolf

BOOKSHOP.ORG (Affiliate) - uk.bookshop.org/shop/PewterWolf

Now, with that all out of the way, all I have to say is thank you. Thank you to everyone this year for either reading my blog/socials (even though I am changing how I blog as I have been doing this for near 15 years!!!) and the all the authors/publishers/PR people and everyone in the bookish community who has either made me smile/recommend new (to me) books and for helping me keep going with this when there were days I just wanted to call it. 

A special thank you goes out to my family, friends and the Other Half. I love you all. 

Until we next meet, see you all in the New Year and happy reading. 

Reindeer Readathon 2024 Mid-Month Update

*nervously laughing at how close to Christmas and 2025 we are*

How is everyone's reading going in this, the last month of December? Mine is going... it can go either way, I'm not gonna lie. I had one novella done (hooray), one DNF (boo) and having two reads on the go (one physical, one ebook - not my smartest move) and hoping to get a few audiobooks/podcasts under my belt before the end of the year. Plus, am doing Reindeer Readathon and, as it stands, I have completed one prompt (Prancer: Read a book that mentions a specific date or event in the synopsis) and, before you say it, I am not including DNFs in my prompts.

NetGalley November & Reindeer Readathon 2024 Update

I thought I would touch base and let you know how my NetGalley November is going as it’s been a little hit and miss.

On the one hand (the audiobook hand), I am had a good time with Deja Brew (a cute cosy-fantasy romance audiobook) by Celestine Martin and I am currently devouring the audiobook of Hilary Mantel’s A Memoir of My Former Self, a collection of essays and articles (a genre I am not used to!).

And on the other, I quit two reads (One by One by Freida McFadden and Sleep by CL Taylor), and I nearly quit my current read as I felt the first chapter was so confusing. I think I found my footing with A Palace Near The Wind by Ai Jiang, but I am hoping that, because it’s a novella, I can power through a try another NetGalley proof (After my last DNF, I didn’t want to go near any titles and I didn’t for a good 24 hours before I started A Palace Near The Wind. Now, I have a least 3 or 4 I want to try. On the audiobook front, I have about 2 that am leaning towards and these are odd picks as they are outside my comfort zone (but seeing as next Sunday is the 1st of December, I sense am not going to have enough time to power through them! Oh well…

So, yeah, my NetGalley November is not going as smoothly as I would like, but at least I am doing it and not rushing/forcing self.

On a different note, I have quit Twitter/X. Yes, I have fled the site and deleted my account. It’s sad (as I enjoyed my time on there and using it to make bookish friends in the blogging sphere, but just became so toxic and not a pleasured place to be) but, at the same time, weirdly liberating. (I am looking at using my Instagram more, so heads up on that front. And I am looking into BlueSky – not sure I will join but we shall see…)

Also, heads up for December, but I am going to casually do the Reindeer Readathon. Casually as I am a slow reader and there are books I want to attempted to read over the Christmas period that I don’t think will fit the prompts…

(I filled in the form. I am in Team Candy Cane and I have no idea what am doing for the prompts. Maybe the Book Gods and Goddess have mercy upon my poor bookshelves…)