SixforSunday – Wicked Witch's Blog

Best Debut Reads of 2022 #sixforsunday

I haven’t done a Six for Sunday post for ages and ages but it was the first meme that I joined in with when I first started my book blogging journey so I was really pleased that Steph at Alittlebutalot is carrying on with the prompts again. You can read all about Six for Sunday and see the prompts for the first few months of the year here

I love this week’s topic as last year, I read so many brilliant debut novels. The only problem is that I didn’t actually take note of which were debuts and so it’s taken a bit of tracking down but here are six of my favourite debut novels from last year.

There is a real mix here covering all the genres that I love to read but each of them was a fantastic debut.

What were your favourite debut authors of 2022?

Six for Sunday – Fictional Schools

It’s Sunday and if it’s Sunday, then it must be time for #SixforSunday. This meme is the brainchild of Steph and details can be found on her blog here Every week there is a new theme and this is also a new month. As September sees the start of a new school year, this month’s themes are all about school. This week it is the Fictional schools that you would like to go to. Some of my choices this week are definitely historical.

As a child who grew up in the sixties I was brought up reading Enid Blyton and I loved both of her school series.

Then I discovered The Chalet School books by Elinor Brent Dyer. This was a whole new world of school books set in gorgeous locations. And the best thing was there were so many of them, over 50. Armada used to rerelease them periodically and it was always exciting to go into W H Smiths and discover one that I didn’t have.

The two fantasy schools that I would love to have attended are Harper Hall on Pern. Imagine having all the music tuition you could possibly want as well as dragons! If I couldn’t go to Pern, then I would go to Valdemar and hopefully have a strong enough gift to be able to go to Bardic College in the Collegeium,

My sixth book is cheating slightly as it is definitely somewhere that I would not want to go. I don’t think that I would last very long at all in Naomi Novik’s Scholomance.

So that’s my 6 books for this week’s Six for Sunday. What schools do you wish you could go to?

Six for Sunday – Books I read because of the covers

I can’t believe that it’s Sunday already. This week has been so busy as I have finally been able to perform on stage after a gap of 2 years. It’s been a hectic week of rehearsals but we finally made back onto the stage of Buxton Opera House and it felt amazing.

However, performing is now done for a couple of months so back to book blogging and if it’s Sunday, then it must be time for #SixforSunday. This meme is the brainchild of Steph and details can be found on her blog https://alittlebutalot.com/sixforsunday/ Every week there is a new theme and this week’s theme is books that you have bought because of the covers. I thought about doing this for Children’s books but decided that I wouldn’t be able to as there are so many brilliant book cover designs around at the moment so I stuck with my own adult choices.

Book cover design is so important. When I wander around the shelves in the library or bookshops, it’s the covers that grab my attention. Here are 6 books that I picked up because of their gorgeous covers.

All of these covers really inspired me to pick up the book and read it.

Have you read any of these? What book covers made you buy or borrow the book?

Six for Sunday – Books I’m excited for

It’s Sunday and If it’s Sunday, then it must be time for #SixforSunday. This meme is the brainchild of Steph and details can be found on her blog https://alittlebutalot.com/2021/08/01/s4s-2021-faves-so-far/ . This week’s theme is 6 books that you are excited for.

September and October are always a great time for new book releases as publishers get ready for Christmas but this year there are some fantastic books coming out that I am really excited for. Most of these are fantasy books and some will end series that I have enjoyed so I am especially looking forward to those

I really cannot wait to see how Malorie Blackman ends her cycle of books in this series. One of the books that I am super excited about.

I loved the previous two this trilogy and am eagerly waiting for the conclusion. A brilliant fantasy series.

Another book in a series that I love. Skyward and its sequel were both brilliant so definitely looking forward to reading this although anything by Brandon Sanderson is always an exciting event.

I was introduced to The Midnight Lie through Six for Sunday as it was featured in a post because it had a snake on the cover. I read it and loved and am really excited for this next book by Marie Rutkoski

A Deadly Education was brilliant. Hopefully this will be just as good.

And a totally different book to finish off my six. I love Ann Cleeves and have been waiting to read this second book in her series set in Devon for ages.

That’s six of the books that I am excited about reading at the moment. I’m sure that there will be loads of others though as release dates get announced.

What are you excited about reading next?

All covers taken from Goodreads this week as I don’t actually own any of these yet.

Six for Sunday – My TBR pile

I do actually have a TBR at the moment which isn’t always the case. There are more than 6 books in it but the next 6 books that I will probably read are below. It’s always subject to change though depending on what might be in the library or on the shelf in Waterstones.

I am really excited about getting to read all of these. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What’s on your TBR pile at the moment?

My Favourite reads of 2021 ……….so far

It’s Sunday and it’s the first of August. Can you believe it? If it’s Sunday, then it must be time for #SixforSunday. This meme is the brainchild of Steph and details can be found on her blog https://alittlebutalot.com/2021/08/01/s4s-2021-faves-so-far/ . This week’s theme is the best reads of 2021 so far. This is really hard but I’ve decided to put my books into two groups: the best three children’s books (or Middle Grade books) and the best adult books (or YA).

My favourite books that I have read so far this year just for me are:

But these are my favourites today. I could have a different three tomorrow!

My favourite children’s books that I have read so far this year are:

But this was so hard too. There have been so many great books written for this age group this year.

So that’s my Six for this Sunday. Let me know what you think. What are your favourite reads of 2021 so far?

‘Sun’ books – Six for Sunday

It’s Sunday again and time for another SixforSunday post. This is the brainchild of Steph and details of the current weekly prompts can be found on her blog post here https://alittlebutalot.com/2021/06/18/sixforsunday-does-july-august-and-september-2/

This week is the middle of Summer and we are looking at books with Sun in the title or on the cover. My selection of books covers my entire adult reading career, from Agatha Christie in my teens, right through to this year’s Klara and the Sun.

So that’s my Six for Sunday. What would your choices be for books with Sun in the title?

Characters I would love to go on holiday with

This week we are thinking about holidays and which fictional characters we would love to go away with. Mine are a mixture of people who would have so much to talk about, characters I really love and one who owns a string of hotels so why would you not want to go on holiday with him?

Damien Montgomery from The Starships Mage series

I would happily spend time with all of these characters, just relaxing and chatting. What about you? Who would you choose to go on holiday with?

Books set in warm places

t’s quite late on Sunday and the cup final is about to start shortly so it seems like a good time to finally post this week’s Six for Sunday. This is the brainchild of Steph on her blog at https://alittlebutalot.com/. Every week there is a different theme to choose six books for and as it’s July, we’re in holiday mood so this week, the choices are books that are set in warm places.

I couldn’t make up my mind which books to include for this but in the end, I went with children’s books as there seem to be so many around set in warm or hot places.

Six books all set in set in warm countries.

All of these are brilliant books and well worth a read if you haven’t already. What would your 6 books be set in somewhere warm?

Six Summery Books

It’s Sunday and so time for another Six for Sunday. This meme is the inspiration of Steph on her blog https://alittlebutalot.com/. Details of the challenge and the latest prompts can be found here https://alittlebutalot.com/2021/06/18/sixforsunday-does-july-august-and-september-2/

This week’s challenge is Summery covers so I’ve gone for 6 books which I have picked to read over the holidays and have summery covers (or titles). I’m looking forward to a relaxing Summer reading this lot.