Claire 🌿📖🧡 Bookstagram

~2 6~i n~2 0 2 6~ And here it is in all its glory… my 26 in 2026 stack. A few of these books have been on my shelf/tbr for many years… for example I added The Secret History to my tbr TEN years ago! Looking at this selection & what I have heard about some of them, I am confident I’m going to have a really great reading year & hopefully some new favourites. Let me know if you can spot any personal favourites or any on your tbr? Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what this song reminds me/you of?

~m e~ I’m not one to share a picture of myself on the ald grid anymore but I didn’t hate this picture my husband @paul_williams76 took of me at our recent visit to Portmeirion while him & Rowan were off playing 🧡📖

~p a t t i~ It’s been a while since we’ve had a little @thisispattismith flat lay 🖤 I thought it would be fun to show you all the sub categories within my collection 🖤 I was also going to do a little guide to the memoirs, as I do get asked about them a lot but I’ll save that for a part two post. I don’t own everything that’s ever been published as some of Patti’s earlier work is out of print & limited numbers. They also cost a lot 😭. Any duplicates, I’ve managed to find used. I’ve also managed to pick up some out of print/limited editions which thankfully I found for a steal 🙏🏻 We have: ~ the collection ~ the memoirs/essays ~ the poetry ~ the lyrics ~ the photography ~ photos of Do you have a collection you love? What books/author/genre do you like to collect? 🖤

~f i v e~ At the start of the month i read the new debut title Five by @ilona.bannister . Five passengers, five minutes until the next train… Five minutes until someone dies 🚊 This literary thriller was completely different to what I was expecting, in the thriller sense that is…think more literary suspense than thriller. It’s character heavy & it really makes you think, you have no idea about a strangers back story. I think the less you know going into this book the better. It was dark, gripping, tense & heartbreaking at times. I really enjoyed this one, thank you to @readingjuniper for the arc & finished copy 🖤 Five is out now to buy. Do you like thriller/suspense books? Please also note there are trigger warnings - abuse, neglect, grief & gambling to name a few.

~h o l i d a y~r e a d s~ My current reality 🫣 trying to narrow down what books I’m taking with me on a 10 day holiday! Last year, I purposefully bought/put books aside for that holiday & it was super easy to pick. As I’ve mentioned before the mood reader always takes too many so I know I have choice. But even I know this is currently too many… some are chunky af 🙈 So welcome to the chaos 🌞 Do you always pack too many? Or is your holiday tbr planned to the nearest page 🤣 How many physical books would you take on a 10 day holiday? (no number is too big or too small… I’m just curious).

~t h e~l o n g~g a m e~ Oh boy, where do we start? The Long Game by Rachel Reid is book 6 & currently the last book in the Game Changers/Heated Rivalry series. Roll on June 2027 for book 7 😭 As many of you will know, I have been buddy reading the series with my dear friend Kara @conversationswithkara 💛 We have had the BEST time reading this series & I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather read these books with. We have pretty much had similar opinions on all the books…the good & the bad (yeah, I can take you down too, Thelma). But The Long Game was the perfect way to end/pause this series. This book will be predominantly what Season 2 will be based off (from what we’ve been told) & I’m sure all you Heated Rivalry fans are counting down the days. As always, I have included some of our buddy reading notes as I know some people enjoy reading them. There are spoilers so be warned. I will say what I noticed with this book is, we went through a rollercoaster of emotions… there was still the fun banter between us but also parts of the story were heartbreaking, anger inducing, happiness, tears & some drama. As I’ve mentioned on previous posts, although these kinda books are mainly fun, they do include some heavy subjects. For The Long Game: homophobia, talk of suicide, depression, Orthorexia nervosa (eating disorder) & SA. My Game Changers ranking 🏆: 1. The Long Game (book 6) 2. Heated Rivalry (book 2) 3. Role Model (book 5) (Kara & I both agree there is a difference with our top 3 to our bottom 3) 4. Game Changers (book 1) 5. Common Goal (book 4)Probably would come in at no/4 but the ageism pissed me off 6. Tough Guy (book 3) **This is just my opinion so please don’t get offended if you loved any of the bottom ones** We did enjoy all 6, as you can see some more than others & I’m so glad we decided to read the full series because you hear all the back stories to the side characters. Obviously Ilya & Shane are our kings when it comes to characters 🏒 Have you read this series or watched the series? 🏒 What ranking would you give them.

~~g i v e a w a y~ To celebrate the launch of @canwen.xu debut novel Boring Asian Female, I’ve teamed up with @bedfordsq.publishers & they are giving away a copy to one lucky winner! 🖤 Think… dark academia, toxic rivalry, obsession & unhinged female rage 🖤 How to Enter (UK ONLY): • Like this post • Tag someone below in the comments who you think would enjoy it • Follow myself & @bedfordsq.publishers Bonus 🖤: • For an extra entry share to story (tag me @spookula to make sure I see it 🖤) T&C’s: • UK Only entries • Closes next Thursday 21st at 5pm GOOD LUCK 🖤

~f i v e~s t a r~r e a d s~ So far this year I’ve had 11 x five star reads! Which considering we are only halfway through May, is pretty good! I’m also quite stingy with the ald five stars & I certainly don’t give them out willy nilly. We’ve got: Non-Fiction all by Patti Smith (obvs): •Devotion •Bread of Angels •M-Train •Year of the Monkey Fiction: •The Colour Purple by Alice Walker •Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin •The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante •Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin •Wild Dark Shore McConaghy •Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke •The Long Game by Rachel Reid What’s been your favourite read(s) so far this year? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

~~t h e~p i l g r i m a g e~ Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts as of late, I’ve been struggling health wise & basically stuck in bed. Secondly, big thank you to @pushkin_press for sending me an early copy/republication of The Pilgrimage by John Broderick. A banned classic, Irish queer lit… 🔥 hell yeah! The Pilgrimage is set in a small town an hour or so from Dublin. Described as a curtain twitching kinda place. The story is about The Glynn’s: Husband Michael, a devout catholic who was once a pillar in the community but has been bed bound for the last couple of years. His wife, Julia, playing the part of a caring wife but behind closed doors is actually having an affair with Michael’s nephew. This is the run up to the local churches pilgrimage to Lourdes where Michael hopes he will be cured. This book was like a 1950’s soap opera. There was humour, many scandals & hidden identities. There was a couple of scenes that took me by surprise & felt out of place, to the point where I thought I’d read it wrong. But other than that, this was a great book that I did enjoy. Father Victor was my favourite character… in my head he was like something from an 80’s comedy. The Pilgrimage is out 21st May 💛 Tell me some of your favourite Irish literature 🇮🇪

~h u n g e r~&~t h i r s t~ In the past week we saw the release of Hunger & Thirst by @writerclairefuller 🪰 I was lucky enough to be sent an early copy (thank you Claire & @penguinfigtree ). This was my first book by Claire, so I didn’t quite know what to expect. H&T is your literary fiction meets psychological mystery thriller meets horror. The book is mostly set in 1987, its character led & is told from Ursula’s POV. I really felt for Ursula, she grew up passed from one children’s home to the next after the tragic loss of her mum, until she is housed in a half way house at the age of 16 by her social worker Joy. Even though she has grew up with people around her while in care, Ursula has lived a very lonely life after her mother’s death. After Joy gets her job working in the post room at an arts school, Ursula finds her first friend Sue. The reader is then taken on a journey of their friendship where Sue finds Ursula a squat with a work colleague Vince; an abandoned bungalow called The Underwood. Finally after years of abandonment Ursula feels like she’s part of a family. As the story goes on you find out more about the previous owners of The Underwood & it’s past. The book is dark, eerie, atmospheric & honestly quite unsettling. There was one night where I did the classic ‘one more chapter & then sleep’ 😳 & of course that was a chapter where the story really turned creepy af 🤣 Overall this was a great book & it’s been a good while I was creeped out from a book. Definitely worth a read 🪰

~m a y~ I’m calling this May madness! Is it my May tbr? Kinda! Will I read them all? Absolutely not!! As a hardcore mood reader, I’ve felt a little boxed in as of late because I keep committing myself to different things. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been LOVING all my buddy reads & I’m always very appreciative of the arcs I receive 🫶🏻 However, I found myself saying ‘yes’ to too many things & I got pretty overwhelmed. Also, demand avoidance hits hard when I feel I HAVE to read something & that’s when slumps happen. As I’m going on holiday in just over a week, it’s decision time. I always take too many books on holiday because… as I’ve said, I’m a mood reader, also, I have a fear of running out of books 🤣 it’s a comfort thing, ok! I’ve been thinking about what to take away with me… do I take mainly ‘easy reads’? do I take some ‘chunky reads’? So I thought I would share with you the potentials. I’ve already read two, nearly three which are: •Year of the Monkey •Five •Hunger & Thirst Books I’m definitely planning on reading: •A couple more arcs (before holiday) •Our Sister Killjoy (for #ReadAfricaMonth ) •Sky Daddy (buddy read with @glareusy ) •Those who leave, those who stay (book 3 in the Neapolitan Quartet) •Ryder (it’s been a while since I’ve read a cowboy romance; perfect holiday read) Which book(s) do you think are good holiday reads? Or just books you love? 🌞

~y e a r~o f~t h e~m o n k e y~ My first book of May read, Year of the Monkey by @thisispattismith 🤍 This memoir is a year of Patti’s life, the year of her 70th birthday. It’s part travelogue & part dream journal. This is where the reality of the world & dreams are interwoven; experiencing Patti’s vivid imagination while she embarks on a solitary journey. Year of the monkey is a wild ride, I kept having to remind myself that this was from 10 years ago & not from Patti’s youth. Honestly, once again you get to see, no matter how much fame comes Patti’s way, she is such a humble & kind human. I buddy read this with @rosaareads & @conversationswithkara 🖤 it’s fun being a part of their Patti Journey. I’ve now read/reread all of Patti’s memoirs: -Just Kids -M Train -Year of the Monkey -Bread of Angels -Woolgathering -Devotion What books are you excited to read this month? 👀