There’s still no official themes from The Broke and the Bookish, so this week I’m going to cover rereads — the books that, for me, have been tested to destruction. Not all of them are books I love right now; some are books I read to bits as a kid (and which I should maybe look at reading again?).

1. The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff. This used to be a favourite. It’s still a book I love very much, if not a favourite exactly. I just love the way Sutcliff took a real weird event (the discovery of a Roman Eagle) and wove a story around it.
2. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Well, of course. What else did you expect, from me?
3. Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers. If Sayers’ writing ever gets old for me, that’s when I’m done living, I think.
4. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison. The most recent addition to the list, but one I’m confident will stick around. I just… I love pretty much everything about it.
5. The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell. This is probably the only portrayal of Galahad I’ve ever loved, and sadly you don’t see many Galahads like him. Arthur’s pretty great, too, and it all feels… real and possible. A great interpretation of the Arthurian myth, even if sometimes it stretches.
6. The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper. I didn’t actually read this as a child — I was probably 16 when I finally read it. But the BBC audio adaptation was seriously formative.
7. The Positronic Man, by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. I think my copy has vanished again, but when I was about nine or ten, I had a copy out of the library (on my mother’s library card, because they wouldn’t let me borrow adult books). I think the fine I ran up with this book alone had to be the worst I’ve ever incurred — and I got some pretty steep ones as a student.
8. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Oh my goodness, I read at least two copies to death.
9. The Railway Children, by Edith Nesbit. Also this one. It made me briefly consider watching trains as a child, one boring summer. Of course, the lack of train tracks anywhere too nearby put a damper on that.
10. The Summer Tree, by Guy Gavriel Kay. In fact, pretty much everything by Guy Gavriel Kay, since I’m a glutton for punishment, apparently.

So what about you? What do you read and read and reread?

There’s no official Top Ten Tuesday theme this week, but I thought I’d post something anyway. Here’s ten things I need to know about people I like (and their books).

1. Can you name a favourite? It doesn’t matter if you can or can’t, but one hopes you know the answer! I can’t, but if I was pressed I’d name The Goblin Emperor as one of my favourite recent books, and The Lord of the Rings or The Grey King for an older one.
2. Do you dog-ear pages, use a bookmark, or just remember the page number? I’m not a fan of dog-earing, myself. I use bookmarks — more than one, usually. (Where I’ve read up to, and where I’d like to get to before I put the book down next.)
3. Do you bend the spines, or keep your books pristine? Honestly, there’s arguments on both sides. I keep a lot of my books pristine, but there are some old beloved copies that aren’t.
4. Do you buy second-hand books? Possibly you’d think I don’t, given that I do like to keep many of my books pristine. But actually, I don’t care as long as it’s consistent. Don’t bend just half the spine, ugh.
5. What genre do you read? I’m pretty eclectic, myself, so I’ll often know at least some books in common with anybody. This just gives me a direction!
6. Do you use the library? I love libraries, having volunteered in one myself and used them as a lifeline at times.
7. Do you buy books at all? Some people only use libraries, and I don’t get that. I’m too impatient for new books!
8. Do you believe that there are books everyone should read? Not actually sure where I stand on that; we could have a good chat about it. I think there are books that help you understand the world better — the Bible is so influential, for example; Shakespeare, too, in a different way — and it’s a good idea to read them. But then I don’t necessarily think it’s a must.
9. Do you reread? I reread books a lot, and nearly always find something new to enjoy in them (or I find the familiarity comforting), but some people think there isn’t enough time in the world. I can get that, but I love to reread.
10. Comics? I didn’t get into comics myself until a few years ago, really, and I get that they just aren’t for some people. But I do like to know if I can ramble about Marvel’s latest direction with someone or not…

Honestly, if I know all those things about someone, I feel like we’re already pretty close! Books are pretty darn important, yo.

This week’s theme from The Broke and the Bookish is pretty much about taking stock, now we’re almost halfway through 2017. What’re the best books I’ve read so far this year? Hmm…

1. The Tyrannosaur Chronicles, by David Hone. A Christmas present from my sister, and an awesome one. It’s just come out in paperback, I think, so I definitely recommend it if you’re interested in dinosaurs and palaeontology. It’s pretty exhaustive, though; not for those who don’t like non-fiction.
2. Within the Sanctuary of Wings, by Marie Brennan. The final volume of the Lady Trent books, this was really worth it. I wish there were a ton more of Isabella’s adventures, but it’s a great ending.
3. The Worm at the Core, by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski. Very worth reading, all about how humans react to the knowledge we’re going to die, and how that sets us apart. It sounds depressing, but it’s really not.
4. Outer Space, Inner Lands, by Ursula Le Guin. Amazing, of course — a collection of her best short stories, focusing in this volume on her SF.
5. An Artificial Night, by Seanan McGuire. I’ve been reading quite a bit of Seanan McGuire’s work this year, and this volume of the Toby Daye series sticks in my head because of all the awesome references to myth and legend.
6. Miranda and Caliban, by Jacqueline Carey. I didn’t expect to get so involved with the story of Miranda and of Caliban, but Carey got me hooked. I think I read it all in one go.
7. The Burning Page, by Genevieve Cogman. The Invisible Library books continue to be a heck of a lot of fun, and I’m glad there are more to come.
8. Passing Strange, by Ellen Klages. The first time I read anything by Ellen Klages, and it won’t be the last.
9. On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. I know I’m dreadfully late to the party in reading this, but at least it’s stood the test of time. Darwin didn’t know a lot of key information about heredity, but he got so much right — and he was so willing to look exhaustively for evidence.
10. Summer in Orcus, by T. Kingfisher. It’d be easy to get tired of portal fantasy, but this is so charming and full of ideas and characters I’d love to explore more.

What about you? What’re your greatest hits so far this year?