Back in January, I set myself a challenge of reading 12 books in 2024. That may not seem like a lot to many readers, but it’s a realistic figure for me. I do struggle to fit in daily reading time around my copywriting business, working on my novels, doing family stuff, and sleeping. So reading one book every month seems do-able.
To date, I’ve finished:
- The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett
- Perfect Day Pocus by Bella Colby
- Back From The Dead by André Spiteri
- Sandcastles by Lily Lawson
- Blackbirch The Beginning by K M Allan
- Master and Apprentice by Susan Mansbridge
You can find all of the related book reviews over on my Instagram account.
That’s six down, six to go.
My current read is All The White Spaces by Ally Wilkes. Here’s the blurb:
In the wake of the First World War, Jonathan Morgan stows away on an Antarctic expedition, determined to find his rightful place in the world of men. Aboard the expeditionary ship of his hero, the world-famous explorer James “Australis” Randall, Jonathan may live as his true self―and true gender―and have the adventures he has always been denied. But not all is smooth sailing: the war casts its long shadow over them all, and grief, guilt, and mistrust skulk among the explorers.
When disaster strikes in Antarctica’s frozen Weddell Sea, the men must take to the land and overwinter somewhere which immediately seems both eerie and wrong; a place not marked on any of their part-drawn maps of the vast white continent. Now completely isolated, Randall’s expedition has no ability to contact the outside world. And no one is coming to rescue them.
In the freezing darkness of the Polar night, where the aurora creeps across the sky, something terrible has been waiting to lure them out into its deadly landscape…
As the harsh Antarctic winter descends, this supernatural force will prey on their deepest desires and deepest fears to pick them off one by one. It is up to Jonathan to overcome his own ghosts before he and the expedition are utterly destroyed.
After I’ve finished reading this brilliant novel, the remaining five (of 12) will be:
- The Great Big Demon of Flint Hall by Peter Oxley (hands up, I’ve already started reading this on my phone when I’m out and about)
- The Supper Club Murders by Victoria Dowd
- Shockwaves by Suzanna Williams
- The Gaia Effect by Claire Buss
- The Year Before The End by Vidar Hokstad
That’ll be my 12. I’m a little ahead so who knows, I might even exceed my challenge. Fingers crossed.