I DNFed Fellowship of the Ring

A second attempt of reading a classic this year and second classic I have quit. But maybe the only one I will consider coming back to at a later day. 

As you all know, dearest reader, fantasy is one of my go-to genres, but I have never read Lord of the Rings. I have seen the movies (I rewatched the original trilogy a Christmas or two back - though I have no interest in watching the Hobbit trilogy), but never read the books. To some of you guys, how can I call myself a fantasy reader without attempting to read the Godfather of modern fantasy?

#ReadItForward

 Bookshop.org kicks-off February charitable drive ‘Read It Forward’ to support young readers in the National Year of Reading

 

●        Authors Ben Miller, Gill Sims & Joseph Coelho are the 2026 ambassadors

●        10% of all children’s books sales this month to go towards supporting early access to reading

●        New books by Alice Oseman, Rob Biddulph, Holly Bourne, Alexander Armstrong, Rashmi Sirdeshpande out in 2026 all eligible for the initiative

●        Initiative in partnership with BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust

 

 

London, Monday 2 February 2026. Bookshop.org is bringing back its charitable initiative Read It Forward for a third year in a row, in partnership with BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust. Once again in February 2026, 10% of every children’s book sale (including pre-orders) will be donated to the charities, while also supporting independent bookshops.

 

Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize Longlist 2026 Annoucement

 LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR SWANSEA UNIVERSITY DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2026

HARRIET ARMSTRONG | ISABELLE BAAFI | COLWILL BROWN

SASHA DEBEVEC-MCKENNEY | SUZANNAH V. EVANS | SEÁN HEWITT

KANZA JAVED | ESTHER IFESINACHI OKONKWO | DEREK OWUSU

ISSA QUINCY | SABA SAMS | VANESSA SANTOS

 

www.swansea.ac.uk/dylan-thomas-prize | #SUDTP26 | @dylanthomprize
 

Swansea, 9:00am, Thursday 22 January 2026: The longlist for the world’s largest and most prestigious literary prize for young writers – the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize – is announced today, with authors hailing from across the world including UK, US, Ireland, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

 

Worth £20,000, this global accolade recognises exceptional literary talent aged 39 or under, celebrating the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama. The prize is named after the Swansea-born writer Dylan Thomas and celebrates his 39 years of creativity and productivity. The prize invokes his memory to support the writers of today, nurture the talents of tomorrow, and celebrate international literary excellence.

 

With an average age of 32, and comprising seven novels, three poetry collections, and two short story collections, the longlist is:

 

-          Harriet Armstrong, To Rest Our Minds and Bodies (Les Fugitives) – novel

-          Isabelle Baafi, Chaotic Good (Faber) – poetry

-          Colwill Brown, We Pretty Pieces of Flesh (Chatto & Windus, Vintage) – novel

-          Sasha Debevec-McKenney, Joy Is My Middle Name (Fitzcarraldo Editions) – poetry

-          Suzannah V. Evans, Under the Blue (Bloomsbury Poetry) – poetry

-          Seán Hewitt, Open, Heaven (Jonathan Cape, Vintage) – novel

-          Kanza Javed, What Remains After a Fire (W.W. Norton & Company) – short stories

-          Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, The Tiny Things Are Heavier (Manilla Press, Bonnier Books) – novel

-          Derek Owusu, Borderline Fiction (Canongate) – novel 

-          Issa Quincy, Absence (Granta) – novel

-          Saba Sams, Gunk (Bloomsbury Circus) – novel

-          Vanessa Santos, Make a Home of Me (Dead Ink Books) – short stories

I DNFed Wuthering Heights

I had such plans. Such plans. 

Ok, let me rewind and get you up to speed. Last month, on impulse, I decided that I should be less scared to read classics and make an effort to push myself out of my comfort zone. You see, like most people, classics felt out of reach for some unknown reasons. I wouldn’t be smart enough to understand the delicate butter of why these cough have survived and remained so well-loved. 

So, I went “Just try one. Any one will do”, and I decided to requested several from my library and whichever came first, I would listen to. I requested Dracula, Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights came to me first and so, I went in. 

Kindle Unlimited Free Trial Wrap Up

Remember back in October of last year, I activated a three month free trial for Kindle Unlimited because I wanted to see if it would be worth spending £9.49 a month to have access a sea of titles (mainly from indie authors). No? Here is the link to that article for your reading pleasure. Come back once you’ve read it.

You’re back? Right. Now those three free months are up, decision time. What titles did I read? Are there any that I put on my list that I haven’t read and am going to buy/continue my Kindle Unlimited for a month or so to read and, is it worth it? 

As you remember, these were some of the titles I had on my Kindle Unlimited radar:

Reindeer Readathon 2025 Wrap-Up

 It was that time of year! Yes, this is my wrap-up of 2025’s Reindeer Readathon!

For those who don’t know about the Reindeer Readathon, this is competitive Readathon with the theme of Christmas at its heart. It was created by Erik from Breakeven Books (here is the links to their YouTube, Instagram and Goodreads). 

I should put all the prompts down below so you can see the challenges. However, I am me and I’m a slow reader at the best of times so I’m going to do is list the prompts I achieved throughout the month of December, then chat briefly about the book/audiobook that completed each task. 

Shall we begin?

2025 Reading Reviews

My reviewing last year on the blog was non-existence. I just struggled with blogging last year for some unknown reason. I do think this year will be my final year as I picked reads and read for enjoyment rather than reviewing purposes. Because of that, most of my reviews were put on Goodreads and Storygraph, I’m going to link them in this purse and, maybe, create a tab with them in order of when I read them for ease. 

So, shall we begin?

Rescuing the Writer by Nora Phoenix (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld by Paul Kirby (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II & Henry IV by Helen Castor (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Where There’s Smoke by Jodi Picoult (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Alanna (Song of the Lioness Graphic Novel Adatation Series) by Tamora Pierce, Vita Ayala & Sam Beck (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame by Neon Yang (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Pocket Pride (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

My Instructor Won’t Yield by Deme Kingyobachi (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Winning the Dad by Nora Phoenix (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Diviners by Libba Bray (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Hotel by Kit Duffield (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Black Coffee by Agatha Christie & Adapted by Charles Osborne (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Among The Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Beach Hut 512 by Dorothy Koomson (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Handy by K. M. Neuhold (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Mirror Crack’d From Side To Side by Agatha Christie (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Predator’s Gold by Philip Reeve (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

A Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Give Him To Me by Dorothy Koomson (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Last Death Of The Year by Sophie Hannah (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

The Secret Life of Owls by John Lewis-Stempel (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Good Pucking Luck by Riley Hart (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Death In Ambush by Susan Gilruth (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena (Goodreads & StoryGraph)

Boyfriend Without Benefits by Riley Hart (Goodreads & Storygraph)

Some of these titles are eBook exclusives, so can only be found either direct from the author’s website or via online retailers (yep, Amazon). But you can buy most either via your bookshop of choice (local/indepdant/Waterstones/etc). I did create a shelf on my affiliate Bookshop.org for some ease for some ease (but if any titles grab your eye, borrow from your local library and buy where you feel happy spending your money!)

So, while I might not be blogging as much here, I will still be reading and audiobooking, so please keep your eye on my socials (Hi Instagram/Goodreads/Storygraph) and I will try and be more uptodate on tthe Facebook and the Bookshop (affiliate). 

Happy 2026 Reading!

2026 Reading Resolutions

Happy 2026! 

How is everyone enjoying their 2026 so far? 

Sorry for being away for the past few months for an improv blog break. It seemed to happen without me knowing, but it was nice to read without worrying about finding time to blog and just pop a sentence or a gif on my Goodreads/StoryGraph/Instragram (hence I do think this will be my last year book blogging and ease into different ways of reviewing as, come on, it's been over 15/16 years and as much as I like reading proofs from publishers, I miss reading books/audiobooks where I spend my actual money on and purchase!)

So yes, that's on the horizon. But you've not got rid of me just yet. 

I have some reading resolutions/plans for myself. The main thing is keeping my reading casual.

"But, Andrew," I hear you cry, "isn't that your normal when it comes to reading?"

Well, yeah, but the last few years, I seem to enjoy going towards books (I use this term loosely to include ebooks and audiobooks) that don't exactly fit my Go-To genres (fantasy, crime/thriller/mystery, teen), so I want to do some exploring of these, as well as not rushing.

I think most of us who blog (again, loose term that covers BookTok, Booktube, Booksagram, Bookcasts and other forms) worry that we're not reading enough so we power through the story. So, I want to not worry so much about deadlines (I have this as I have several VERY long titles that I want to read this year that I keep putting off... yes, Priory of the Orange Tree. I am talking about you.)

And now that I'm reading back my own writing, I've realised that my resolution is basically "remember why you read: enjoyment". So yes, this year's reading resolution is to enjoy myself with it comes to my reading/audiobooking. 

***

EDIT: Ok, I have just read the above a week or two after I wrote that and yikes. That reads a tad portentous, doesn't it? "Keep reading fun". Isn't that why we read? For enjoyment and pleasure?  

So, let me be clear and actually say "Here's my reading resolutions" so you can see what I'm planning on the reading front to keep it fun and casual (and this might help me chatting more on the blog while I wind this down over the next 12 months while upping my Goodreads/StoryGraph/Instagram - to keep that side light and fun). 

Like I said earlier, I want to branch out in my reading and read stories that aren't exactly in my Go-To genres and maybe try new genres (does that mean I might go near the dread Classics shelves in Waterstones and Foyles? We shall see... I have ideas and plans…)

And I want to tackle my magpie-mess of a To Be Read stacks of my physical, ebook and audio. They are all, individually, long lists so I would like to get my groove on and get a few of them read or DNFed. 

Basically, am going to try and... hang on, Jennifer Coolidge might be able to say it better...