Thursday 1 January 2015

Planned Reads for January 2015

Well this time last year I was starting a blog which I didn't publish publicly for a few months but here we are, 12 months and nearly 80 books later, still babbling about books so I'd like to thank all of you for dropping by and reading my words, I really appreciate your interest and support.

As for 2015, I plan to continue reading a mix of Austenesque, contemporary and historical books. I joined a new group on Goodreads, an Austenesque TBR group and I'm aiming for Catherine Morland level which is 21-50 books but really I'm hoping to make the Mr Bennet 50+ level! Each month I'll be updating my progress to this group, and I thought I'd post it here in case any of you would like to join too.

This year I want to make sure I fit in some things I didn't make time for last year. Though I read lots of Austen-inspired books, I didn't actually read any Austen, which is something I definitely need to rectify this year!

Last year I had a little Mansfield reading challenge, and I tried to work in some Mansfield Park inspired reads to celebrate the bicentenary of the first publication of the book. Although Pride & Prejudice is my favourite book by Austen, the other books are all worthy of love and I really enjoyed my MP reads. So much so that I decided that I'm going to try and make sure that each month I read some Austenesque that is not primarily based on Pride & Prejudice. If you'd like to try this too but don't know what non-P&P books are out there, I recommend that you consult the comprehensive lists that Meredith has made available over at Austenesque Reviews as a starting point for suggestions.

The other little challenge I have decided to set myself is to reduce the amount of paid for unread books I have on my kindle. I can't let a bargain go, so even if I don't have time to read a book I'll often still buy it and I have a list tallying up my unread books total (OK, I'll admit it, it's not just a list but a geeky spreadsheet, with sums in and everything!). It is a pretty shocking total, even though most of them were purchased at bargain prices! I want to try and reduce the value of it by a good amount by the end of the year. I also have a lot of books that I've been lucky enough to win but I haven't read yet. I want to make a good dent in those too!

Book cover - The Beresfords by Christina Dudley
So what do I have lined up for this month? Well, my non-Pride & Prejudice Austenesque read is one based on Mansfield Park, to wean myself off my MP reads. This is one that I planned for last year but I didn't get round to reading, The Beresfords by Christina Dudley, which is a modern version of MP, which was recommended to me by my good reading buddy Meredith from Austenesque Reviews.

Book cover - The Muse by Jessica Evans
My modern Austenesque planned read is The Muse by Jessica Evans, which came here as part of its blog tour last month. It's a modern Pride & Prejudice-inspired book, set in the world of ballet, with Darcy as a choreographer, and Lizzy as a dancer, who becomes his muse. It's had really good reviews so I'm looking forward to this read.

Book cover - Alone with Mr Darcy by Abigail Reynolds
My favourite Austenesque author, Abigail Reynolds, has a new book due out later this month, which is called Alone with Mr Darcy. I plan to get my hands on it as soon as possible after its release! It features a compromise situation, one of my favourite scenarios, so I'm looking forward to see what Ms Reynolds makes of that. You can read a large excerpt of this book over at Austen Variations.

Book Cover - The Vagabond Vicar by Charlotte Brentwood
I also plan to read a historical romance, The Vagabond Vicar by Charlotte Brentwood. The vicar in question was hoping to be sent off overseas to become a missionary but instead he finds himself in a small village, which he assumes will be very unchallenging.

Hopefully I'll fit some other reads in too! I hope you have some good reads lined up for 2015. If you have any suggestions for reads you think I'd enjoy, please let me know in the comments!

15 comments:

  1. Happy New Year!!
    I cannot wait to Read the next book of Abigail Reynolds, Too. She is one of the first authors I have read about Jane Austen Fan Fiction and I love her novels!!

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    1. Hi Chiara, Happy New Year! Abigail Reynolds was one of the first Austenesque authors I read whose work blew me away! The book in question was Mr Darcy's Obsession and I thought it was so clever and inventive, it really sealed my love of this genre. I'm really looking forward to this book coming out :)

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  2. Great plan for the month, Ceri! I know what you mean about the non-P&P reads. I want to try and read more too! For 2014 I only read 7 completely non-P&P Austenesque. I'd like to balance that out more to one a month, at least. :) Wishing you a very happy start to 2015!!

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    1. It would be wonderful if you did the non-P&P reading challenge too, Meredith, there are some gems to be found out there, I'm sure!

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  3. Yay! Thanks for the shout-out about our Austenesque Reading Challenge group.

    Oh, good choices! I have The Beresfords, The Muse, and the Vagabond Vicar too. Nice early planning. You make a good point about watching the budget books even if they are on sale since I don't have time to read them right now.

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    1. You are welcome, it's a great idea for a group and the more the merrier!

      I would certainly recommend keeping track of your bought books total, both number and what they cost you, I was shocked how much it all added up to when I first did it! I am not going to say that I won't buy any books this year - that isn't going to happen unfortunately, but I can certainly put a dent in my TBR virtual pile. I even have some kindle books that I bought over 2 years ago! The worst of it is, I would genuinely like to read all the books that I've got but if I'm ever going to do that I need to stop getting distracted by buying more books!

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  4. Happy New Year my lovely, your blog has been great keep up the good work, blogging isn't easy. I have struggled with the added commitments I now have. I have no plan as of yet, however reading JAFF and more Austen is definitely on the list! I am reading a new Odom at the moment that I cannot put down & I'm over excited about the new Abigail & Lory books coming out 😃 I look forward to another year of Babblings of a Book Worm!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Tamara! I enjoy reviewing and blogging about what I read but it is sometimes time-consuming. I need to get a new job within the next few months so I'll have extra demands on my time but I plan to keep reading and blogging.

      The new book by C P Odom looks really good, it's due to come here as part of the blog tour next week. I'm not reading the new one yet but I have his first book, A Most Civil Proposal, that I hope to read soon. Happy reading for 2015, my friend :)

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  5. What great books, Ceri! I'm so looking forward to reading The Muse, too! I have yet to plan my January reads, but I think I will read Jane Austen and The Archangel after I finish Holidays with Jane (which I'm loving!). I can't wait to read your thoughts on the new book by Abigail Reynolds and I'm very curious to see how The Vagabond Vicar is! Happy New Year, my friend!

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    1. Happy New Year to you too Maria! I so enjoyed Holidays with Jane, I haven't written up my review just yet though. You'll have to let me know which one is your favourite. I have Jane and The Archangel on my kindle, so please let me know if I should bump it up my to be read list.

      I've heard that the Abigail Reynolds book might be February now, but rest assured that I'm keeping an eye out for it and I'll snap it up as soon as I can!

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    2. I am looking forward to your review! I find it's a delightful book :) They had a splendid idea!

      Oh, I will! :) The blurb is really exciting and it does seem a good book! Let's hope it's not too strange to meet an Archangel! :P

      February? It's very close, then! I'm sure it will be great... as always, I should add! I'll be on the lookout for it as well! ;)

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    3. I will let you know when I find it for sale, and if you see it first perhaps you could do the same. I need to keep room in my reading so I can immediately fit it in :)

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  6. Thanks! And yes, I'll do the same if I find it for sale :)

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  7. Hi Ceri! Ooh! I like your planned reading for this month! I want to read Abigail's new book too! I always love her books! As you know, I'm reading Vagabond Vicar too. I'm enjoying it!

    Oh! Haha! I can't believe you made a spread sheet that includes the cost of the books! Brilliant! I've never made a spread-sheet but I would love to know how much I actually spend on books. I'm sure those deals add up! ;)

    I really need to read the books on my kindle too! What I don't like about the kindle is that I forget what's on there! Out of sight, out of mind! ;)

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    1. I know just what you mean, once I buy it I forget about it if I can't see it and on a kindle it's easy to overlook, which is why I made the spreadsheet. It totals up how much money I've got lying about unread and guilts me into reading books I already own rather than a shiny new one!

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