Here is where I try my darndest to do a coding and log everything I read! Sorted from most to least recent, starting from January 2025. This only counts books I fully finished because otherwise there would be ten million half read books from the library. (So, so many random library books) Do be warned I rate things weridly so a ten can mean anything from 'holy shit this book changed by life' to 'there were no issues with it!' I am making an effort to change it here but bascially every book starts off at 10/10 and then looses point because (much like dogs) all books are good books.
Currently reading:The Once and Future King by T.H White (The Sword in the Stone)
Sunrise on the Reaping
by: Suzanne Collins
Finished: 6th July 2025
Review:I read the original Hunger Games when I was around 10-12 and it's a series I'ver returned to before so needless to say I was excited (and a little nervous, this is after all a new book in a series I love) to read this book. After fianlly getting to the end of the hundereds-of-people long waiting list at the library I opened the book.
It's safe to say, Suzanne Collins is good at moving stories. There was lots of actions, and sad/heartbreaking moments and the ending was like a punch to the gut. I enjoyed the way that the themes that have been around for four books now were still able to be developed further and explored in new ways and the way Haymitch's story is told vs. how it is presented in the second book is very clever. Good job Suzanne, this is going to be spinning in my head for a while.
Logged:
Source:Library
The Magic of an Irish Rainforest: A Visual Journey
by: Eoghan Daltun
Finished:6th of June 2025
Review: Wow I'm really on a roll with this non fiction stuff. 10/10, this book is an inspiring call to action while managing to hold onto the joy and wonder of what it is we should be fighting for. Eoghan's (pronounced like its anglicised version 'Owen') photography is just stunning, capturing the beauty of our natural forests from across the island and the seasons. There is detail and wide landscape shots and everything inbetween, and it all drive home just how stunning and ecologically diverse Ireland should be. I finished the whole book in one sitting (it's just shy of 200 pages, 80 percent photos with small bites of accompanying text and 20 percent larger chunks of writing) and I think it really helped to overwhelm me with just how much we are missing out on in Ireland. Like I said, it's a joyful call to action and will certainly be in the back of my mind for the rest of my life and as I plan to attempt to become more involved with volunteering over the next few months. Go raibh míle maith agat, a Eoghan. Bhí do leabhar iontach ar fad.
(You can read more of my thoughts after finishing this book here)
Logged:
Source:Library
The Illustrated Dust Jacket: 1920-1970
by: Martin Salisbury
Finished:5th of June 2025
Review:9.5/10 A really great collection of book covers spanning a wide range of artists and styles, a real treaure trove of illustration. I'd get it for myself if it wasn't so easy to get from the library. I loved the little insights into all of the example covers shown and the space they were given on each page. It was a very easy book to pick up and put down in whatever time span you wished. It was a little annoying that the author would repeatedly mention how collectable certain books were, but I guess that's some people's cup of tea.
Logged:
Source:Library
Georgia O'Keeffe
by: Taschen
Finished:I'd put it around early to mid May
Review:10/10 This is a really insightful and beautiful book into the life and work of Georgia O'Keffee! She's been a long time 'artist who lives in the back of my head as inspiration' but I really loved spending ages and ages staring at all the paintings included (which are blown up to a good size and often given a page all to themselves). They picked a good variety of work from her life, I wish there had been just a little more from her later life (especially the clay forms they mention) but the amount of paintings from New Mexico included made me very happy. The book doesn't shy away from her life beyond flower close-ups, which I feel like gets forgotten in the conversation around her despite the sheer volume of her work (for good non-flower examples I reccomend 'Summer Days' and 'Sky Above Clouds'). Overall it was a really good book, I read every word which I wouldn't nomrally do with art books but will definetly be doing from now on!
Logged:
Source:Library
The Dispossesed
by: Ursula K. Le Guin
Finished:19th of April 2025
Review:10000/10 Le Guin's writing never fails to amazing me and this book is no exception. It is a beautiufl exploration of utopia, revolution, anarchism, change, and a consumerist society much like the one we have today. I will spend so, so much time ruminating over the characters and worldbuilding, it is a quiet book with a strong message that I would encourage everyone to read and learn something from.
Logged:
Source:Library
Power and Terror
by: Noam Chomsky
Finished:8th of April 2025
Review:10/10. As someone who grew up in a firmly post 9/11 world this book was really interesting. It's a collection of interviews and talks given by Chomsky, and his analysis of the world at the time as well as the causes of violence and unrest is very well thought through. I was able to connect a lot of his analysis to the world today, including to Irish issues and our place in the world but international topics too.
Logged:
Source:Secondhand (sale of work)
A Conspiracy of Truths
by: Alexandra Rowland
Finished:12th of March 2025
Review:8/10 This is a pretty good fantasy book with a lot of engaging moving parts. I got this book in late 2023 and then fianlly came back to it this March, I flew theough it surprisingly quickly. I liked the plot and worldbuilding and most of the small stories trapped within, although some parts of the book felt a bit long or uneccesary.
Logged:
Source:Secondhand (charity shop)
The Left Hand of Darkness
by: Ursula K. Le Guin
Finished:5th of March 2025
Review: 100/10. The Left Hand of Darkness is a beautiful science fiction exploration of gender and sexuality and how society formulates and enforces it. It gives us an insight into a different system of gender and the plot is a beautiful thing. This book is one of my favourites of all time now and I will be writing thoughts on it somewhere.
Logged:
Source:Bought in a bookshop in France
Permaculture
by: Maya Blackwell
Finished:I'm gonna hazard a guess at early Feburary
Review: 9.9/10. This is a great introduction to a lot of the philosophy and practical principles behind permaculture, with some real world examples as well to help set you on your way.
Logged:
Source:Library!
Moving Pictures
by: Terry Pratchett
Finished:idk sometime in January
Review: 10/10! This book was so, so funny. Gaspode the wonder dog will live in my head forever. I did start this book in July but let's just say I was taking my time and not completley forgetting about it.
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