The Smell of Ink/Lukten av Trykksverte

I've been going back and forth for over a year whether or not to keep blogging or to quit/taking a break, and at last I've reached the point where I feel I need a much needed break from it all. I'm doing it in part due to the fact that a lot of readers in general go to either Goodreads or Amazon for book reviews and/or social media such as Instagram or TikTok for bookish inspiration in general, and I've to a certain extent lost readers because of it. Another major aspect for the break is the fact that reading and book blogging has turned into such a chore that I despise reading at this point and I'm almost tempted to burn my gigantic book collection (don't worry, I haven't lost all my marbles quite yet, so fear not). Hopefully in time, I'll get my joy of reading back and in the meantime I'll lay this blog to rest. I may come back to book blogging or I'll quit entirely, but time will tell. No matter what, it's no small feat managing a blog fo...

Last year, I read the most recent book in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series, Murder in a Mill Town by Helen Cox and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads When a violent murder shatters the otherwise peaceful idyll of Andaby near Hebden Bridge, DS Charlotte Banks can't help but suspect that her brother Ewan - recently released from prison and now living in Calderdale - is behind it. Ewan claims he's innocent, and even has an alibi to prove it, but DS Banks isn't convinced. So much so that she turns to the only people who can help her in an investigation this personal: Kitt Hartley and Grace Edwards, of Hartley and Edwards Investigations. On the hunt for the killer, Kitt and Grace discover the victim was choked to death on her old school sash. From this lead, Kitt, Grace and DS Banks are drawn down a dark trail littered with decade-old grudges, schoolyard secrets, broken hearts and bullies, and struggle to get closer to the truth. When a second vi...

Last year, I read the non-fiction book Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive by Kristen J. Sollee and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Witch, Slut, Feminist: these contested identities are informing millennial women as they counter a tortuous history of misogyny with empowerment. This innovative primer highlights sexual liberation as it traces the lineage of “witch feminism.” Juxtaposing scholarly research on the demonization of women and female sexuality that has continued since the witch hunts of the early modern era with pop occulture analyses and interviews with activists, artists, scholars, and practitioners of witchcraft, this book enriches our contemporary conversations about reproductive rights, sexual pleasure, queer identity, pornography, sex work, and more. Kristen J. Sollee is instructor at The New School and founding editrix of Slutist, an award-winning sex positive feminist website." My Thoughts on the Book While I really enjo...

It's Friday and perhaps it's time for another Let's Talk Bookish post courtesy of  Book Nook Bits and the topic of the week was 2023 reading and blogging goals. Here's the further prompts for this week's topic. What are your reading goals for 2023? Do you have a specific number of books, or particular genres you want to read? What are your blogging goals for 2023? What do you want to do differently with blogging than you did last year? I'm planning to read at least 50 books this year, and I'll also participate in various reading challenges, which focuses on horror, historical fiction, crime/mystery, diverse reads, and various other topics. I'm also hosting the  2023 Diversity Reading Challenge  on this blog (if anyone wants to participate, feel free). Here's also the reading challenges (plus one blogging challenge) I plan to participate in this year. I tried not going overboard, as there was even more challenges I wanted to participate in, but to ke...

I came across the What's On My Bookshelf Tag over at  Book Coffee Happy and I decided to play along as it looked like a fun tag to do. A Library Book At the moment, there's no library books on my shelves. A Book I Got As A Gift Most people don't dare gifting me books as I've got a vast collection, but a friend of mine gave me Braised Pork by An Yu for Christmas a few years back A Childhood Book I grew up with a lot of Roald Dahl books, Fantastic Mr. Fox included. A Magical Book Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend is magical in more ways than one. A Romantic Book The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan A Steamy Book Come, My Pet by Keira Michelle Telford An Old Book Dracula by Bram Stoker A Book That Makes Me Happy/Laugh The Little Bookshop of Love Stories by Jaimie Admans A Book That Made Me Emotional The Story So Far by Jane Eklund A Book With An Ending I Dislike Honestly not sure what to answer on this one. A Book I Wish Had Illustrations Ma...

It's Wednesday and perhaps time for another Top Five Wednesday post courtesy of the  Top Five Wednesday Goodreads group and the theme of the week was books/series to read in 2023. Here's my five picks of (horror) books I want to read this year. The Cursed Among Us by John Durgin Description from Goodreads It has been twenty years since the serial killer known as The Black Heart Killer terrorized the town of Newport in 1979. Life mostly returned to normal after the killer was captured. All the townspeople have to do is stay out of the woods where the bodies were abandoned—their chests ripped open, and their hearts torn out... Howie Burke and his friends decide rules are meant to be broken. That’s what fifteen-year-old kids do. On a beautiful fall day, they decide to go out in the woods to film a horror movie when they stumble across a mysterious grave. What they don’t know is that they are about to release an evil on the town unlike anything in their home-made movies. They will...

It's the first Tuesday of the new year and time for the first Top Ten Tuesday post courtesy of  That Artsy Reader Girl and fittingly enough, the theme of the week was favourite books of 2022. Here's ten of my favourite reads of 2022. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Playing with Matches by Michael Faudet The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates Remainders of the Day by Shaun Bythell The Lost Village by Camilla Sten Murder in a Mill Town by Helen Cox The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon The Girl with Salem in Her Eyes by Ann Marie Eleazer The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan Striking Range by Margaret Mizushima

A couple of months ago, I read the feminist non-fiction book Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World without Rape edited by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads In this groundbreaking look at rape edited by writer and activist Jaclyn Freidman and Full Frontal Feminism and He's A Stud, She's A Slut author Jessica Valenti, the way we view rape in our culture is finally dismantled and replaced with a genuine understanding and respect for female sexual pleasure. Feminist, political, and activist writers alike will present their ideas for a paradigm shift from the "No Means No" model-an approach that while necessary for where we were in 1974, needs an overhaul today. Yes Means Yes brings to the table a dazzling variety of perspectives and experiences focused on the theory that educating all people to value female sexuality and pleasure leads to viewing women differently, and ending rape. Yes M...

Last year, I read the poetry collection Playing with Matches by Michael Faudet and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Playing with Matches is the ultimate collector’s edition by internationally best-selling poet, Michael Faudet. A beautiful hardcover gift book that has been personally curated by the author featuring a compilation of the best work from his five published books and thirty-five new pieces of poetry and prose for readers to discover. A wonderful addition to any bookshelf. To complement the exquisite and evocative poetry, prose, and short stories, this gorgeous book also gives readers a private glimpse into the author’s life. Comprising of black and white photographs taken by Michael Faudet that capture the inspiration behind the writing. Playing with Matches is a must-have for fans of Dirty Pretty Things, Bitter Sweet Love, Smoke & Mirrors, Winter of Summers, and Cult of Two. A poetry lover’s delight with an additional 35 new pieces ...