Tag: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2024

Posted January 16, 2024 by Nicky in General / 26 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is about goals for 2024. I always think a lot about goals, given I work for two goal-tracking apps (and it used to be three!), so I’ve already given this some thought. Here we go!

  1. I’d like to push myself to read plenty this year. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine — it’s the effort that matters. So provisionally I’m aiming to read 400 books this year, with fallbacks to 365, 300, and “anything you can” if things go wrong.
  2. I’d like to slowly decrease my TBR pile this year. It’s huge, and I like it that way, but it’s perhaps a bit much. I’m just trying to steadily read more than I acquire, and I have a Beeminder goal for the purpose! (Short version: that means I pay a little fine if I overindulge and buy more books than I actually read. It’s not for everyone, I know, but it works for me!)
  3. I’d like to read longer books this year. There are loads of really great short books, but sometimes I find myself turning to them because I know I’ll be done with them sooner. That’s the dark side of goals to read as many books as possible in a year, so I’ve paired my goals with the aim of averaging a few more pages per book. Just 230 pages per book, so it’s not a big increase, but many books I love (like the British Library Crime Classics) fall around that length. I can mix in shorter novellas, longer fantasy doorstoppers, non-fiction, etc… all that matters is stretching myself a little bit and not falling too prey to “I should finish books as quickly as possible, so I should choose short books”.
  4. I’d like to read some of those books that I’ve been waiting to read “someday”. Maybe even [that book you personally want me to read], Mum/Lisa/Adam/etc. Maybe! Things like Gideon the Ninth and Republic of Thieves.
  5. I want to thoughtfully review most of the books I read. I already do, but it can be tempting with short books or manga not to take the time to reflect too much. I want to keep those one-line reviews that I only post to StoryGraph or Litsy to a minimum. Sometimes it’s the right thing to do, of course, so I’m not going to say I’ll never do it.
  6. I want to finish the series I start. Because I tend to wait until later books are out in a series, catching up sometimes feels really daunting. Plus, I worry that people will get bored if my blog just churns out the reviews of each book in a series (see how widely I split up the Shady Hollow reviews, even though I read the books practically all in the same weekend).
  7. I want to spend more time talking about books! I want to participate a bit more on Litsy and especially on other people’s blogs. I had difficulty keeping up with everything in 2022-2023, but it feels like a good time to start fresh, meet new people, and spend more time on it.
  8. I want to keep up with the books I receive to review via Netgalley. Once upon a time I’d reviewed 80% of the books I received, but I’ve slipped down to 67%. It’s time to get back to it!
  9. I want to keep reading plenty of non-fiction. This one probably isn’t hard, since I’ve stocked up on a lot of exciting new non-fiction recently, but I don’t see a lot of reviews out there for non-fiction, so it’s not always easy to know about what’s coming up. Regular trips to the bookshop are what keeps me in the loop for non-fiction.
  10. Follow more blogs. That’s related to the last one! I’d love to follow more people reviewing non-fiction. I know you must be out there, I’ve seen the non-fiction readers challenge etc. So it’s time to explore! I’d also love to find more classic crime aficionados and… well, everybody!

So that’s me and my somewhat disorganised, no-priority-order list. How about everyone else?

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Top Ten Tuesday: New Releases To Look Forward To

Posted January 9, 2024 by Nicky in General / 26 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is about the most anticipated books releasing in the first half of 2024. I’m bad at keeping tabs on this kind of thing, but let’s take a look at the review copies I have (the ones I’ve read and the ones that I’m eager to get to)… I’ll link my review where I’ve already had a chance to read the book, if it’s live already!

Cover of The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Cover of The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older Cover of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes Cover of The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed Cover of Crypt by Alice Roberts

  1. The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett. I just got an eARC for this, and I’m super excited: I’ve loved Bennett’s work in the past (even if I’m not all caught up), and the summary of this one sounds like it’s designed to dig into all my interests. A fantasy detective story? Sign me right up.
  2. The Imposition of Impossible Obstacles, by Malka Older. I really loved the first novella, so I was excited to get to read this sequel, and I think others will enjoy it too. I think it’d technically stand alone, but I wouldn’t read it that way — now’s the perfect time to grab The Mimicking of Known Successes, before the new book is out. The main characters, Pleiti and Mossa, have a really sweet relationship: it’s a little bit Holmes and Watson, if one of the things Holmes is trying to figure out is exactly how to be romantic and intimate with Watson. (And the gender difference, of course.)
  3. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, by Bettany Hughes. Time for some non-fiction! This is the kind of topic that I really enjoy — digging (heh) through archaeological discoveries and contextualising them. Trivia: Hughes became an honorary fellow of Cardiff University in the same year and ceremony that I graduated for the first time.
  4. The Butcher of the Forest, by Premee Mohamed. I’ve yet to read any of Mohamed’s novels, but I’ve really enjoyed the novellas. The story has a haunting sense of unease, and features a fascinatining middle-aged female protagonist.
  5. Crypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond, by Alice Roberts. I really loved Ancestors and especially Buried, so I’m definitely looking forward to this. Roberts usually chooses really fascinating digs to illustrate her points.
  6. Cascade Failure, by L.M. Sargas. I loved Firefly, so comparing a book to that show is a great way to get my attention. I’ve been contemplating asking for the ARC, but I’m not sure I’d get to it before it releases anyway, so I’ve been holding back.
  7. A Letter to the Luminous Deep, by Sylvie Cathrall. Anything based around letters and mails in any sense catches my eye, since I write reviews about books related to post over on Postcrossing. Letters can be surprisingly intimate, and a beautiful way to build up characters, and it looks like this fantasy novel is strongly based around the exchange of letters. I’m excited for it!
  8. The Brides of High Hill, by Nghi Vo. I’m always excited when new Singing Hills books are available. I haven’t posted my review yet, since I just read it this weekend, but I can say that it definitely matched up for me. It felt like a genuinely dangerous situation for Chih — moral and physical peril, swirling around them, with such an atmosphere.
  9. The Fireborne Blade, by Charlotte Bond. A look at the cover was enough to convince me I should give this a shot, and I really enjoyed the book itself as well. The ending was fascinatingly ambiguous, leaving me unsure in a good way about how I felt about the characters. I’ll be posting my review soon, I’m sure. Shame the book won’t be out in time for my sister’s birthday!
  10. Moonstorm, by Yoon Ha Lee. Honestly, this had me at the “mecha robots” bit of the blurb: I was a huge fan of Gundam Wing when I was a teenager, and that was formative. Plus, this is by Yoon Ha Lee. I can’t wait to get round to reading my review copy!

 Cover of A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall Cover of The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo Cover of The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond Cover of Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

Alright, that was easier than I feared, though it did take me a while to get organised. Any of these pique your interest? Anything you’re looking forward to that you think I’d pounce on, based on these?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Stood Out in 2023

Posted January 2, 2024 by Nicky in General / 44 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about picking your favourite books of 2023. I don’t often think about books in terms of favourites, especially since my reading is highly capricious and mood-based… so I’ll just be picking ten books that stand out when I think back on the year, without trying to say they’re the best or my favourites. I’ll omit any rereads, just to make things easier.

And these are the books I read in 2023, which probably didn’t come out in 2023, because I’m rarely that up to date on recently released books.

Cover of Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher Cover of The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan Cover of An Immense World by Ed Yong Cover of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree Cover of Death of an Author by E.C.R. Lorac

  1. Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher. It’s rare lately that I find it difficult to put a book down, with lots of other things grabbing my attention. Nettle & Bone is one that I found myself eagerly picking up again right away, ready for more.
  2. The Governess Affair, by Courtney Milan. I haven’t posted my review for this one yet, but I really liked it: Milan handles a traumatic issue sensitively, creating a bond between two characters that felt solid and real.
  3. An Immense World, by Ed Yong. I love non-fiction when it makes me want to tell everyone the facts I’m learning, and Ed Yong’s book fit the bill. I was actually texting my mum about stuff I’d learned from it while waiting to be discharged from the post-op ward after a minor surgery!
  4. Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree. I actually read this twice in 2023, because it really hit the spot for me — cosy and full of people being good to one another, and forging bonds.
  5. Death of an Author, by E.C.R. Lorac. I often really enjoy Lorac’s work, and this was no exception, though it wasn’t much like her other work. It felt less cosy somehow, but it was a heck of a brainteaser.
  6. The Waking of Angantyr, by Marie Brennan. Marie Brennan’s an auto-buy author for me, and I ended up reading this side-by-side with my wife while we were on a weekend away. We raced through it!
  7. Untethered Sky, by Fonda Lee. I found this story lingering with me after I was done. I loved how the obsession was built up, the special relation between the handler and the roc illustrated.
  8. The Good Virus, by Tom Ireland. Totally fascinating stuff about bacteriophages, and I learned a fair amount I didn’t know about existing bacteriophage therapy.
  9. Murder: The Biography, by Kate Morgan. A history of murder and trials for murder, showing how precedent has shaped law. Interesting for its own sake, but especially in light of my interest in crime fiction!
  10. He Who Whispers, by John Dickson Carr. Finally, this is the only one on the list not rated 5/5 by me this year, but it deserves a mention because it’s the book that actually piqued my interest in John Dickson Carr. Previously I’d tried several books by him and just couldn’t get on with them… but here we are in a world where I enjoy his books now, at least some of them!

Cover of The Waking of Angantyr by Marie Brennan Cover of Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee Cover of The Good Virus by Tom Ireland Cover of Murder: The Biography by Kate Morgan Cover of He Who Whispers, by John Dickson Carr

And before we go, I have to give an honorable mention to Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow books, which I discovered in the last couple months of the year and had me totally absorbed.

How about you? Can you pick a top ten? Fascinated to see what has stood out for people this year!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Wishing For Books

Posted December 19, 2023 by Nicky in General / 33 Comments

This week’s theme from Reading Reality’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about the books we’re hoping Santa brings!

I’m not really allowed to go look at my wishlist at this time of year, since it automatically removes things that have been purchased for me… so we’ll just have to go with the ones that jump to mind, stuff I’d like to read in the year ahead, or things that I’ve only recently added and probably won’t be receiving for Christmas. Here goes…

  1. Final Fantasy XIV: Eorzea Academy, by Esora Amaichi. This silly manga about certain characters from Final Fantasy XIV at a high school has been out officially in English for a little bit, but I virtuously put it back without purchasing it because I thought it might be something people could get me for Christmas. I love FFXIV, and am a total nerd about it, so this is right up my street.
  2. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol. 2, by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù. I thought this series might be too silly for me… and it is pretty silly. But I’m also really curious about it and kind of charmed by it, so I’m eager to read more.
  3. More Object Lessons. Object Lessons is a series of short books covering a small topic in depth — like personal stereos, or blue jeans, or trench coats. I love learning about random things, and each book is bitesize enough that if it turns out an object isn’t that interesting… well, it’s fine.
  4. More of the Edible series. Similar to Object Lessons, each book covers a very specific topic in detail, but in this case it’s always food. I’ve read books about cookies and candy and doughnuts, and these are all beautifully illustrated with photos, too. And I never knew before how much argument there is over the definition of a pancake.
  5. Miraculous Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards. This one’s a rarity: a British Library Crime Classic that I don’t already have my hands on. It seems to be out of print, too.
  6. A Sinister Revenge, by Deanna Raybourn. Owing to the particular plot in the previous book, An Impossible Impostor, I’m struggling to finish it. But I’m told that the next book is a lot more fun, even if you disliked the plot of An Impossible Impostor, so I’d like to get hold of this and give it a shot before the ninth book in the series comes out in March.
  7. The second Griffin & Sabine trilogy, by Nick Bantock. Sometimes the prices for these have been silly, and second-hand is a bit of a gamble given the nature of the books (they contain letters in pouches, for example), but I really do want to read these someday. The first trilogy was very charming, and there remains a childlike glee in an interactive book like this, even one intended for adults.
  8. Some Desperate Glory, by Emily Tesh. I’ve been tempted by this one since I saw it available for review, but I didn’t request it because I knew I wouldn’t get round to it in time. I’ve been promised a found family story and vengeance for the destruction of Earth, and I am definitely intrigued — especially as I loved Tesh’s Green Man novellas.
  9. The Warden, by Daniel M. Ford. I saw this mentioned on K.A. Doore’s list of 2023 Queer Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy, and it had me at “necromancy” and “investigate mysteries in a small town”. It sounds like combining two very specific interests of mine…
  10. The Undetectables, by Courtney Smyth. “Be gay, solve crime, take naps.” Do I need to say anything else? I spotted this on the above list as well and I’m definitely intrigued…

If you fancy granting any of these wishes, uhhh… talk to my wife first. Or, actually, you can use my wishlist (they keep it up to date, ensuring stuff that’s bought gets taken off). These books might already be waiting under the tree. I don’t know, and I’m not going to ask!

For everyone else — what about you? Are you hoping Santa will bring you an epic haul? What are you most looking forward to? Some people are including links to their wishlists, so I’ll be a wish-granting fairy for a bit this afternoon; I love getting people books!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Winter TBR

Posted December 12, 2023 by Nicky in General / 28 Comments

This week’s theme from That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday linkup is the books that are on your winter TBR. I don’t usually read stuff with a deliberate eye to seasonal appropriateness, but this year I did end up acquiring a bunch of seasonal mysteries all at once… so they play a big part in my upcoming choices.

Cover of Silent Nights, edited by Martin Edwards Cover of Christmas: A History by Judith Flanders Cover of The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson Cover of Who Killed the Curate by Joan Coggin Cover of A Portrait in Shadow by Nicole Jarvis

  1. Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards. This is in the British Library Crime Classics series, and is one of the older anthologies — I’ve already read this year’s, Who Killed Father Christmas?, and another from a previous year, The Christmas Card Crime. Some of them don’t feel very seasonal and obviously murder isn’t entirely cheery, but it’s fun all the same.
  2. Christmas: A History, by Judith Flanders. I’ve enjoyed Flanders’ work before, so this seemed both something likely to interest me and something a bit seasonal, since I appear to be getting into the mood this year. I’ve read a bit of it already, but I’m not far in.
  3. The White Priory Murders, by Carter Dickson (aka John Dickson Carr). I only recently found my way to enjoying John Dickson Carr’s work, so I’ve been working my way through a backlog of the British Library’s reprints. Not all of it is a hit even now, but I’m looking forward to giving this a shot. Very classic crime setup with only one set of footprints in the snow, etc (John Dickson Carr was famous for impossible mysteries, so there’s probably something especially ingenious here).
  4. Who Killed the Curate? by Joan Coggin. This one’s also a Christmas-themed one, so I’d better get round to this before the end of December. Otherwise it feels like singing carols in September — only appropriate if you’re in a choir and practising for performances!
  5. A Portrait in Shadow, by Nicole Jarvis. This is a historical fantasy novel featuring Artemisia Gentileschi, which is a choice that absolutely has my attention. I can’t remember who originally mentioned it such that I grabbed a copy — I thought it was imyril, but her review only went up recently… In any case, I’m intrigued.
  6. Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close, by Hannah Carlson. This is a bit of change of pace from the others! In the last few years, perhaps due to the influence of the Great British Sewing Bee, I’ve developed a bit of an interest in the history of clothes. I’ve read a book about pockets before, so I’m not sure how much this one will add, but someone at Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights said he’s listening to the audiobook and finding it fascinating, so… that seems like a solid recommendation.
  7. Unnatural Magic, by C.M. Waggoner. Over the course of the last six months or so, I’ve been meeting up with a friend to go to bookshops every so often. On our very first trip he got this book, and on our most recent one he recommended it to me very highly. He’s said some interesting things about it, so I’m definitely ready to give it a shot!
  8. The Bone Chests, by Cat Jarman. This is another non-fiction book from a recent haul, but I’ve had my eye on it for a while. I think I enjoyed Jarman’s previous book, and I was just intrigued by the idea of understanding the context around the chests of royal bones in Winchester Cathedral. Here’s hoping it’s as interesting as it looks!
  9. A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, by KJ Charles. I know, I know, I’m late to read this — but I was late about the first book too, so I’m just running to my own clock here. I always read everything KJ Charles writes, so I’ll get there soon. In part, I needed to shake off the characters of the previous book to be ready to embrace a different pair of leads.
  10. A River Enchanted, by Rebecca Ross. I started this a while ago and then sort of got distracted, but not for lack of interest. It was actually a random pick at the bookshop that I hadn’t heard anything about, where reading the first couple of pages intrigued me enough that I decided to give it a go. I think I’m still finding my footing with the book, but I do want to finish it. I’m a little annoyed, though; the cover copy did not make it obvious that it’s a duology and not complete in itself. Oh well!

Cover of Pockets by Hannah Carlson Cover of Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner Cover of The Bone Chests by Cat Jarman Cover of A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles Cover of A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

So that’s a rather random grab bag of potential wintery reads for me. How about everyone else? Do you expect to read all of yours? I expect I’ll get to some of mine… eventually, maybe not this winter.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Non-Fiction I’ve Loved

Posted December 5, 2023 by Nicky in General / 36 Comments

It’s Top Ten Tuesday again, and this week’s theme is a freebie. I get comments now and then on how much non-fiction I read and how random some of my choices are, so this list is about the non-fiction books I’ve loved! It’s a topic I know I’ve covered before, so I’ll try to keep it to recent-ish reads. I’ll link the review, where I have one written.

I know that thumbnails of book covers are missing from some of my older posts. It’s probably been an error since I migrated to my new blog host, and we’re working on it. Sorry about that! Where a thumbnail is missing and you just see the fallback text, you can click on that to see the actual image if you want to check out the cover.

As a side-note, I’m behind on replying to comments and visiting people back, but I’m working through it steadily, I promise!

Cover of Overkill by Paul Offit Cover of The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin Cover of Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonathan Drori Cover of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Emma Southon Cover of The Good Virus by Tom Ireland

  1. Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far, by Paul Offit. I’ll start with the book I just absolutely inhaled last night. I was worried at first that this was going to be some kind of anti-medicine, unevidenced rant, but Offit is very careful to refer to specific studies and to specific numbers and stats from those studies. His introduction indicates that he wants to be fact-checked, and a quick skim through the topics reassured me a bit as well. Having read it now, I might not 100% agree (I need to read some of the original sources first), but the evidence he presents is definitely food for thought. I think doctors should read this, for sure, but patients should as well in order to be informed. In the end, I worry that it may erode a little too much trust in doctors (if a doctor tells you that you must keep taking a medication even though you feel better, it’s probably true), but it’s an important wake-up call.
  2. The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes, by Kate Strasdin. I haven’t actually finished this yet, but I’m enjoying it very much. Mrs Anne Sykes was a newly married Victorian woman who kept a record of her clothes and the clothes of people special to her through pasting in scraps of cloth. Kate Strasdin is an expert on the history of fashion, and has also dug deeply to find out who Mrs Anne Sykes was, so the book is a mixture of general social history, fashion history, and zooming in to look at the life of one person.
  3. Around the World in 80 Trees, by Jonathan Drori and illustrated by Lucille Clerc. This book (and the companion, Around the World in 80 Plants) is just beautiful, thanks to Clerc’s illustrations, and each mini-biography of a tree has interesting titbits about the trees, where they come from, how they’re used, and/or where they live now and why. If you’re interested in plants and trees particularly, or just curious enough to read anything, I recommend this. The illustrations are beautiful, and it’d make a good gift, too.
  4. A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, by Emma Southon. Ever been curious about murder in Ancient Rome? Before I read this book, me neither, but Southon’s humour and fascination with the topic carries the book. It’s a fascinating angle for a history of ancient Rome which reveals a lot about the lives and attitudes of the Romans, and I recommend it highly.
  5. The Good Virus, by Tom Ireland. We are approaching a crisis of anti-microbial resistance. For some infections, it’s already here. The Good Virus has some suggestions about where we go from here, with the help of viruses — to be more accurate, very small viruses that kill bacteria, called bacteriophages. They’ve been used for decades in some parts of the world, but they’re hard to regulate, hard to test in the kind of gold standard settings designed for non-living pharmaceuticals, and as such, rolling them out to people has been a big ask. Still, as someone who’s studying for my MSc in infectious diseases, we need them, and Ireland sets out to convince people of that.
  6. Blurb Your Enthusiasm: An A-Z of Literary Persuasion, by Louise Willder. Willder is one of the people who writes blurbs for the books we read, the short and informative summaries of plot or the kind of information you can find in books. It’s been her job for years to tantalise and entice, and this is her book about that. I didn’t find any of that part surprising, but I really enjoyed her writing style.
  7. Personal Stereo, by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow. This is a book from the Object Lessons series, and I could happily choose half-a-dozen of those titles to include here, but I’ll stick to just this one, where I really got hooked. I love the idea of focusing in on a single object and figuring out its history, and sometimes relatively modern items — like a personal stereo or a fancy toaster — can have a surprising history. I found this particular book from the series a particularly easy read, despite having no actual interest in consumer electronics and the history thereof per se.
  8. Murder: the Biography, by Kate Morgan. This is a history of murder (mostly in the United Kingdom), illuminating how our laws about murder ended up the way they are through the historic cases that led us here. Each chapter is illustrated by at least one real-life case, usually more than one, which helps to explain both the law and the cultural reaction at the time which shaped it. It’s not just old brutal murders or something, but also modern issues like Grenfell. I have no particular interest in the law for its own sake, but of course this sheds light on my beloved mystery fiction too, and I’ve also handed my copy on to my sister (who studied law) because I think she’ll find her own interest in it.
  9. Immune: A Journey Into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive, by Philipp Dettmer. This book is beautifully illustrated, and goes through the way the immune system works from the basics to stuff I hadn’t been taught yet (bearing in mind that I’m doing an MSc in infectious diseases, that came as a surprise!). It’s very easy to read, everything is very well explained, and I have a terrible habit of trying to convince everyone that they want it because I was myself so fascinated with it. Did you know that some of our white blood cells, called neutrophils, can create a sticky net that captures invading pathogens? They do it by extruding their own DNA in big loops. We only discovered this in 2004, and learning about it in this book made me want to dance with fascination at how our bodies work.
  10. Index, a History of the, by Dennis Duncan. I know, I know, a history of indexes doesn’t sound too fascinating: aren’t they just a way of finding the information you need in a non-fiction book, often a textbook? Can there really be much to say about them? The answer is yes, and Duncan makes it a fun read. Also, you’d be surprised — someone has, in fact, managed to use an index to further their feud with someone else, which honestly gave me a giggle.

Cover of Blurb Your Enthusiasm by Louise Willder Cover of Personal Stereo, by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow Cover of Murder: The Biography by Kate Morgan Cover of Immune by Philipp Dettmer Cover of Index, A History of the by Dennis Duncan

There! I tried to bring to this list some of the weird randomness of my own reading, jumping from topic to topic in a way that may not make much sense, but works surprisingly well to ensure that I have interesting background to a lot of things. I know some people prefer to read only about their pet topics, but I mostly just let the random searchlight of my interest pick out things that I don’t know, and then learn about them. I hope there’s something of interest here for others!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in… the Golden Age of Crime

Posted November 28, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 28 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is “Top Ten Books Set in X”. I was having trouble thinking of a place or a type of location or anything that I was confident of thinking up ten items for — but I do know a lot about the Golden Age of crime. The Golden Age for crime fiction was basically in the 1920s and 1930s, and it featured a lot of books written in the same kind of framework, often set in the interwar period. Usually an unlikeable character is set up and then murdered, and a detective (amateur, private or police) comes along and solves the mystery, closing things out with a comfortable solution that sees order restored. Often the solution is very clever — locked room mysteries and such, very contrived, setting a puzzle for the reader.

These books tend to have a certain sort of feel to them, and I love them dearly. So without further ado, here’s a top ten of books with that kind of feel. I’m not just going to include classic books or books that are strictly from the Golden Age, but also a couple of books that I think try to tap into the feel of that era.

Cover of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers Cover of Fire in the Thatch by E.C.R. Lorac Cover of Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton Cover of The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude

  1. Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Sayers was a giant of this genre, along with others like Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh, and Strong Poison features not only her series detective (Lord Peter Wimsey), but his love interest and eventual wife, Harriet Vane. In writing the two of them together, Sayers was often at her wittiest, and they have a slow-burn, will-they-won’t-they for the ages.
  2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie. I couldn’t leave out the queen here, so I’ll give you the book I read first and which got me hooked on books of the period. She breaks the “rules” in a couple of ways, but most readers won’t mind, because it’s a fun puzzle. (It’s also worth noting that Christie often wrote about poisons with intimate knowledge, though not in this book — if you’re curious, I recommend Kathryn Harkup’s A is for Arsenic, which discusses that at some length.)
  3. Fire in the Thatch, by E.C.R. Lorac. I think E.C.R. Lorac was genuinely among the greats of the era, even though she was mostly forgotten (at least until the British Library Crime Classics series started republishing her work). This one is characteristic of the care she takes to evoke people and a landscape and a way of living. It’s a little later than the peak Golden Age of crime, but nonetheless, it has that feel to it.
  4. Death in the Tunnel, by Miles Burton. This mystery is one I absolutely loved — and one which would’ve fit into my other potential category, which was “books set on trains”. It’s less focused on people and place than Lorac, and more about the puzzle — and it was a fun one!
  5. The Sussex Downs Murder, by John Bude. As an example of this genre/setting, this is a good one; it’s a solid puzzle, with the sort of methodical detecting characteristic of the period. This sounds like I’m damning it with faint praise, but I’d rather say I’m setting expectations. I enjoyed it a lot, but you have to enjoy it as what it is, and not as a modern psychological crime novel.
  6. Death on the Down Beat, by Sebastian Farr. This one came as a bit of a surprise to me when I read it: it’s an epistolary novel, and also includes a piece of music as a vital clue. It also managed to fool me, which isn’t always easy.
  7. Twice Around the Clock, by Billie Houston. This is a book that was celebrated a bit more when it came out, owing to the author’s minor celebrity. It’s a country house novel with a closed circle of suspects, which is such a classic situation that (combined with the fact that I found it a lot of fun) I had to include it.
  8. Cocaine Blues, by Kerry Greenwood. This one is, of course, a modern novel — and it’s preoccupied with a few things that the classics usually aren’t (sex, fashion, etc). But it has a little of the same feel, to me — and you can believe that the Honorable Phryne Fisher has met Lord Peter Wimsey.
  9. Death at Wentwater Court, by Carola Dunn. Again, this is a modern novel, but it feels very Golden Age. Daisy Dalrymple is an enjoyable protagonist, and certain aspects of the situation in this book are deeply classic for mysteries of the Golden Age.
  10. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black. Bear with me here, because this isn’t only a modern novel, but also all the protagonists are animals, living peacefully together (herbivores beside carnivores) in a little village. It also feels much less British than all the others I’ve listed. But this is my list, and I get to include something a little aside from the track if I want to: it’s the little village setting and the old-timey feel that makes this one fit into my list.

Cover of Death on the Down Beat by Sebastian Farr Cover of Twice Round the Clock by Billie Houston Cover of Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates by Kerry Greenwood Cover Death at Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn Cover of Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

Alright, that was a bit of work! Did anything there interest you? I’d be curious to hear!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Gratitude

Posted November 21, 2023 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a US-centric one, in honour of Thanksgiving, but it’s never a bad idea to think about the stuff we’re grateful for. So the theme is “reasons why I’m thankful for books”.

  1. They help me learn new things. I always like to be learning stuff. And sure, I’m studying for my MSc at the moment, and that’s a lot of stuff to learn… but even in my downtime, I like to learn, and informal learning from books is a lot of fun. I’ve been reading a lot of the Object Lessons and Edible books for bite-size non-fiction, for example.
  2. They’ve often given me stuff to talk about. Sometimes that’s in an awkward moment, but I also mean the in-depth rambling conversations with like-minded people where books allow us to just… ramble around in each other’s minds for a while. Many, many conversations about books with my mother, for example.
  3. They help my mental health. The more I’m reading, usually, the better I feel. It’s all about making time for myself, and also about taking my mind away from whatever I’m lingering on. Also, it’s just fun.
  4. They’re exciting… in a way that doesn’t involve me having to do adrenaline-inducing things. Okay, sometimes even reading about it is a little much. But really, it’s fun to have adventures without much skin in the game, beyond my own emotional involvement.
  5. Books are literally always there as an option. They’re never too busy, they don’t get tired or get headaches or have crises in their own lives. So if I need a break from reality, or to read something comforting and familiar, books always have the time.
  6. They make any room look nice and lived in. First thing I move into a new place is at least some of my books…
  7. Some of them smell really nice. Some glue smells are bad, and old books can get really musty. But books that are just right smell delicious somehow.
  8. Books are an experience you can revisit. Sometimes it’s a whole new experience the second time (there are several books I didn’t like at first and tried again and loved them!), but still, books are there for you to come back to, to re-experience, or experience anew.
  9. Books make a lovely gift that you can personalise to a high degree. I can choose books for most of my family that make meaningful, exciting gifts! (Spoiler: if it has dragons, my sister is thrilled.)
  10. You can put a book aside and pick it up easily, at any moment. Reading can be as flexible an experience as you need it to be, whether you’re reading a page a day, a chapter, a whole book… you can pause, restart, etc.

And after I finished all ten, here’s a bonus thought: books make a lovely excuse to be an introvert. You’re not just going off on your own, you’re reading. People find that much more acceptable!

Okay, I struggled a bit with this and what to share, but I think that made a good start. Fascinated to see what other people have come up with!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Mainstream Authors

Posted November 14, 2023 by Nicky in General / 42 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is one I’m not totally sure how to answer, because I don’t really know what counts as “mainstream” for these purposes, and I have pretty eclectic taste. Let’s have a shot: the theme is “Mainstream Popular Authors that I Still Have Not Read”.

  1. George R.R. Martin. Okay, he’s a fantasy writer, but pretty much a household name by now, right? Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by him — and I definitely haven’t read the Game of Thrones series.
  2. James Patterson. I do have one of his books on my to-read list because it involves postcards (and I review books about postcards for Postcrossing’s blog), but I haven’t read any yet.
  3. Zadie Smith. I think I audited a course that had one of her books on the list, back in university, but I wasn’t actually sitting the course so I didn’t do all the reading.
  4. Elena Ferrante. I try most stuff, but her books don’t really appeal to me, so I doubt I’ll give them a shot any time soon.
  5. Hilary Mantel. I’ve got a couple of her books to read, but I’ve not touched them yet. Oops?
  6. Jonathan Franzen. Something about his work just super does not appeal.
  7. Michael Chabon. I own a couple of his books, I’ve even intended to read them very strongly at times… but I’ve never actually got round to it.
  8. Sally Rooney. I don’t actually know much about her books? They’re not squarely in my wheelhouse, or I’d know more about them from others at the very least, but it’s not like I’ve made a firm decision not to try them. Rather, what I’ve seen/heard is fairly limited, and I’ve made no decision, but nothing’s drawn me in either.
  9. Amy Tan. I have a copy of The Joy Luck Club somewhere, or I used to, but I never touched it. Oops.
  10. Steig Larsson. His books never really called to me from all I heard about them, though they were such a thing for a while that I had my eye on them.

Do I have surprising gaps here? Is there something you’re curious about whether I’ve read it or not?

Just… don’t try to argue with me whether these are mainstream or not. I just found a list or two of mainstream authors and cherry-picked from that!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Headlines

Posted November 7, 2023 by Nicky in General / 24 Comments

It’s been a while since I participated in Top Ten Tuesday, but I’ve been kind of a hermit for a bit and I’d love to get back in touch with the wider blog-o-sphere, so let’s give this a go! This week’s list theme is “titles that could be headlines”. Hmmm…

Well, first up, a lot of mystery novels are perfect for this task. I’ll stick to only a few of those, and see if I can find some other neat ones as well, but to get us started…

  1. Requiem for a Mezzo, by Carola Dunn. One of the early Daisy Dalrymple novels. I could actually use the titles of this series for quite a few answers — Murder on the Flying Scotsman, Fall of a PhilandererDeath at Wentwater Court, anyone?
  2. Murder in the Dark, by Kerry Greenwood. I do love the Phryne Fisher series, but I think I’ve only ever read this one once. I should carry on with my reread of this series!
  3. Post After Post-Mortem, by E.C.R. Lorac. You can just picture a headline with that kind of snappy alliteration and mystery-causing, right? Also, this is a really good book, though personally I found it a bit harrowing due to the themes.
  4. A Very English Murder, by Verity Bright. I haven’t read this one, but I can still picture it on the front page of some newspaper or other.
  5. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, by Dorothy L. Sayers. I can see a particular sort of “respectable” newspaper choosing something kind of… restrained to refer to a murder.

Cover of Requiem for a Mezzo by Carola Dunn Cover of Murder in the Dark by Kerry Greenwood Cover of Post after Post-Mortem by E.C.R. Lorac Cover of A Very English Murder by Verity Bright Cover of The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers

Now let’s see if we can get a bit more adventurous and grub up some other headlines…

  1. Black Ops and Beaver Bombing, by Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall. It sounds kinda weird, definitely like one of those headlines they use to pique your interest. As it happens, it’s about British wildlife. I haven’t read it, so I can’t honestly answer you about what the beaver bombing is about.
  2. Unmasked by the Marquess, by Cat Sebastian. Okay, this probably isn’t a modern headline… but nobody specified that, right? And the book is fun, too.
  3. How Long Till Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin. A pertinent question, after all.
  4. Europe at Midnight, by Dave Hutchinson. I haven’t read this one yet, but I can envision this being the big blocky headline of the Daily Mail or whatever.
  5. The Dos and Donuts of Love, by Adiba Jaigirdar. What headline can resist a pun? Cute book, too.

Cover of Black Ops & Beaver Bombing by Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall Cover of Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian Cover of How Long Till Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin Cover of Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson Cover of The Dos and Donuts of Love by Abida Jaigirdar

There, whew, I did it.

Have any of the titles piqued your interest? I’ve reviewed a bunch of these, so let me know if you’re interested in my take and I’ll grub up the links!

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