Category: General

Weekly Roundup

Posted May 11, 2019 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

How’s it been another week already?! Yet, here we are… It’s felt like a busy week, I’m not sure how much reading I even got done. I guess we’ll find out as I write this post!

Books acquired:

Cover of Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse

Books read this week:

Cover of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker Cover of Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse Cover of Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis

Reviews posted:

–Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K.J. Parker. I ended up entirely on the fence about this on just about every point. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it. 3/5 stars
–Inheritors of the Earth, by Chris D. Thomas. I found myself in agreement with so much of this. Smart, hopeful, and unexpected. 4/5 stars
–In An Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire. On one level this really stuck with me — am I giving fair value? But at the same time I felt like there was a distance that got in my way. 3/5 stars
–Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. Sat down and just steamed through rereading this, though I still have some reservations! 4/5 stars
–Snowspelled, by Stephanie Burgis. A short bit of fun with an interesting world we barely get to glimpse! 3/5 stars
–The Incredible Crime, by Lois Austen-Leigh. Meehhhh. Horrible romance plot and not that fascinating a mystery. 2/5 stars
–Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews. A very fun reread. I do enjoy the worldbuilding a lot. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Trail of Lightning Readalong. My thoughts on the first week of questions!
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update!

By the way, if anyone wants to hang out on a site that’s a bit like Twitter for books, a bit more like Instagram solely for books, Litsy’s now on the web as well as on mobile! Find me here!

How’s everyone doing? Busy week? Dead tired? Good book? Let me know!

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WWW Wednesday

Posted May 8, 2019 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Dreamer's Pool by Juliet MarillierWell, it’s mid-Wyrd and Wonder and I’ve been reading up a small storm, so right at this second I’m partway through Dreamer’s Pool (Juliet Marillier), for that. I forgot I kind of found Oran’s story a bit embarrassment squicky, so I kinda stalled for a day or two, so I should get back to it.

Other than that, I am reading at least two other books currently. One is A Short History of Europe, by Simon Jenkins. It really is short; it’s an absolute whistle-stop tour of history, pausing at the most obvious moments before tearing on again. It’s not bad, but I might not finish it if it weren’t for a reading challenge. The other is J.S. Weiner’s The Piltdown Forgery, which is about how Weiner, Le Gros Clark and Oakley figured out the Piltdown Man forgery. It’s pretty fascinating, because the forgery seems so obvious now, but it was those three who figured it out when most others were credulous.

Cover of Trail of Lightning by Rebecca RoanhorseWhat have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was Snowspelled, and before that Trail of Lightning. I want to read the second book for both! Which is lucky, since Storm of Locusts just arrived in the post for me today, and I can’t see any reason not to get Thornbound as well. Trail of Lightning… I had some doubts, but I’m still interested in the world. Snowspelled is sweet, and I want to know what happens, though I’m a little mad about… well, I shan’t spoiler. (I’m not mad at the author, I should clarify. I’m mad at the book for not turning out the way I wanted.)

Cover of Spinning Silver by Naomi NovikWhat will you be reading next?

Pretty sure it’ll be Spinning Silver; it’s the most contrary thing to read on the bingo card I’ve got, so naturally I’ll be drawn to it. Also contrary because I was waiting for the paperback, I even have a preorder of the paperback, so it’d be totally natural and normal for me to go ahead and read the eARC I got way back when now, because… why not?

What are you reading? What’s next on your stack?

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Weekly Roundup

Posted May 4, 2019 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

Good morning, folks! It feels like it’s been a quiet week, but I really haven’t done nearly enough reading to suit me. Still, Wyrd and Wonder has kicked off, and there’s plenty of books ahead…

New books:

Cover of Once And Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy Cover of Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

A queer retelling of King Arthur and a book I’ve been wanting for months?! Yep, my Litsy swap partner for the Mythology and Legends swap spoiled me good. <3

Books read this week:

Cover of Uprooted by Naomi Novik Cover of Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews Cover of In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Reviews posted this week:

–The Undefeated, by Una McCormack. I found this a little slow and prone to reminiscing about rather than telling the story, if that makes sense. 3/5 stars
–City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schwab. Rather too simplistic and middle-gradey for me, though I’m sure it’s a great read for the right audience. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Wyrd and Wonder Reading List. And I’ve been dared to/bet that I can’t read all of these by the end of May, so watch out!
–WWW Wednesday. The usual update post!

Out and about:

–NEAT science: ‘Vaccination safety.‘ Don’t worry, I’m not advocating against vaccines — the opposite! — but I was asked whether getting an extra MMR booster could harm you. (Answer: almost definitely not, but consult with your doctor who knows your individual health status.)
–NEAT science: ‘Pandas are not a stupid idea.‘ Really! They’re really well adapted to a bamboo diet, despite common misconceptions.
–Once Upon A Blue Moon: ‘Fire & Flame.’ Another short story written to go with a bookmark I stitched!

So what’ve you been up to this week?

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WWW Wednesday

Posted May 1, 2019 by Nicky in General / 1 Comment

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

Cover of Magic Bites by Ilona AndrewsWhat are you currently reading?

I started a reread of Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews, to kick off Wyrd & Wonder! I’ve been meaning to reread/finish this series for ages (as with so many series, I know), and it seemed like a good time. I’m ripping through it — and wildly entertained by the start of Curran and Kate’s relationship! “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…”

Cover of Uprooted by Naomi NovikWhat have you recently finished reading? 

Two rereads! First, I finished rereading Uprooted by Naomi Novik, which I just sort of tore through in a matter of two days. Then last night I also finished rereading Raven Stratagem, leaving me ready to go on and finally finish Revenant Gun. At this rate, I might even finish Revenant Gun before my wife gets there (if she likes the series and reads all three, I mean — if she does, she often beats me to the last book of a trilogy).

And Uprooted, I just sort of inhaled. I have Feelings about how Novik managed to make the Dragon go from incomprehensibly awful to “that’s… kinda cute actually”.

Cover of Magic for Liars by Sarah GaileyWhat will you read next?

I really don’t know. Something fantastical, probably, since it’s Wyrd and Wonder. But then maybe not — who knows, when I’m in charge? Whims, whims, whims. Whims all the way down. I’m most tempted to finish up with Magic for Liars (Sarah Gailey), and then maybe diving into something new-to-me. Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, maybe!

What are you currently reading?

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Wyrd & Wonder Reading List

Posted May 1, 2019 by Nicky in General / 22 Comments

Text banner: Wyrd and Wonder: Celebrate the Fantastic (1-31 May) - plus a gorgeous stylised dragon glyph

So here we are. It’s May, and Wyrd & Wonder has begun! I promised I’d come up with some kind of reading list, and here it is. Will I be able to read all of these? Almost certainly not (but it is theoretically possible, I promise). Will I even try? Unlikely. But I always get along better with goals to strive for, and you never know…

This is not, of course, an exhaustive list, either. I could read something else. I probably will.

Rereads:

  • Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews. I’ve been meaning to reread/finish this series for a while, and it’s a bit different to… almost everything else on this list!
  • A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan. Because the new book is coming out on my birthday this summer, and it’s always a good time to spend time with Lady Trent.
  • Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho. I actually got The True Queen as an ARC… and I’d like to reread this first. (Sensing any patterns?)
  • The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson. I enjoyed this a lot the first time, but it’s been so long. Gotta reread this before I can read the sequel.
  • Valour & Vanity, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I’ve been rereading this series, and I’m up to this one, the last one I’ve read before!
  • Dreamer’s Pool, by Juliet Marillier. I want to read the whole trilogy, but I only read this one, and quite a while ago now, so… you’ve got the idea by now.
  • Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. I just got hit by the urge to reread this, so what the hey — it’s on the list!
  • Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. I feel like the amount I can remember about this is actually shockingly bad, so before I read Spinning Silver, I’d like to revisit!

Cover of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan Cover of Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho Cover of The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson Valour and Vanity, by Mary Robinette Kowal

ARCs:

  • The True Queen, by Zen Cho. See above! I’m late to get this read… oops.
  • The Monster Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson. It’s time for me to read this! It really really is!
  • Magic for Liars, by Sarah Gailey. This is due out… 4th June. I should read it before then!
  • In An Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire. You may be sensing a theme here… I really need to stop procrastinating on ARCs.
  • Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire. It’s not out yet! I’m doing well here!
  • Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik. It’s my book club choice on Habitica! It’s also an ARC I’ve had for far, far too long.

Cover of Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey Cover of In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire Cover of Middle-Game by Seanan McGuire Cover of Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

From the backlog:

  • Snowspelled, by Stephanie Burgis. This is not very backlogged; I just got it, and I would like to get to it soon.
  • The Dark Days Club, by Allison Goodman. I might have started reading this at the start of the year and… put it down… and not picked it back up yet?
  • The Afterward, by E.K. Johnston. I’ve had this on my wishlist for a while, I forget exactly what I read about it, and picked up a copy recently.
  • Of Noble Family, by Mary Robinette Kowal. Time to finally finish reading this series!
  • Fire Logic, Laurie J. Marks. I have been meaning to read this for so very long, and recently picked up a physical copy. It’s time and past time!
  • Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K.J. Parker. I picked it up on a whim during my trip to Amsterdam, and I’d like to stay on top of this year’s book purchases. So, voila.
  • Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse. Apropos of the Wyrd & Wonder readalong!
  • The Ninth Rain, by Jen Williams. Ditto.

Cover of The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman Cover of The Afterward by E. K. Johnson Cover of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker Cover of The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams

Now I kinda want to do some kind of challenge about how well I can stick to the list… But I know myself. The number one rule has always gotta be “have fun, and stop reading it if you aren’t”!

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Weekly Roundup

Posted April 27, 2019 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

Good morning, world! I need to queue up these posts further in advance, because I’m writing this at Late On Friday Night and wife would like to be asleep. Whoops.

Received to review:

Cover of The Toll by Cherie Priest

Bought:

Cover of Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis

Read this week:

Cover of Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie David Cover of Spineless by Juli Berwald Cover of An Incredible Crime by Lois Austen-Leigh

Reviews posted this week:

–Ragged Alice, by Gareth L. Powell. Enjoyed the setting a lot. The plot is a bit shakier, but I’d read more in the same world. 3/5 stars
–Ninefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee. It’s still brilliant, ’nuff said. And better for a reread, even. 5/5 stars
–Catullus’ Bedspread: The Life of Rome’s Most Erotic Poet, by Daisy Dunn. Not sure if author knows whether they’re writing fiction or not. 2/5 stars
–The Bull of Minos, by Leonard Cottrell. Way out of date and focusing on fairly discredited archaeologists, but interested in its own dated way. Not really about the Minoan civilisation at all. 2/5 stars
–Hacking the Code of Life, by Nessa Carey. Really accessible and easy to read; could’ve wished for a bit more meat on it. 4/5 stars
–Searching For The Lost Tombs Of Egypt, by Chris Naunton. Fascinating stuff and it all seemed plausible and not pie-in-the-sky; Naunton isn’t actually saying all these tombs will be found or that there’ll be miraculous treasure if we do find them. He’s just weighing up the evidence. 4/5 stars
–King Arthur: The Making of the Legend, by Nicholas J. Higham. Absolutely great. This looks like it could be another book going in search of a dubious historical source for King Arthur, but actually it dismantles every one of them with meticulously explained evidence. 5/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday. Kinda less a Top Ten and more just my First Ten, but that was the prompt!
–WWW Wednesday. The usual update!

How’re you doing, fair reader? Big reading plans this weekend?

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WWW Wednesday

Posted April 24, 2019 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

Cover of An Incredible Crime by Lois Austen-LeighWhat are you currently reading?

Too much, as ever. The first two my eyes fall on are Spineless, by Juli Berwald, and The Incredible Crime, by Lois Austen-Leigh. The former is fascinating, though I’m gonna have to have a squint at the notes at the end — there’s at least one claim where I can’t find a source by googling. The latter is… well, it’s a Golden Age crime novel, so relaxing in the way I find almost all of those books relaxing: it’s not yet all about the most gruesome murder or the most twisted serial killer. It’s usually more of a puzzle. I’m not far into it, really, though.

Cover of Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie DavidWhat have you recently finished reading?

Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt, by Rosalie David. There were some odd decisions at points — like a chapter where David seemed to be taking the Bible fairly literally as a historical document, which I’ve previously understood is not a very good idea — but it goes through the beliefs of Egyptians both common and aristocratic, as far as we can understand them, explaining the evidence and implications..

Cover of Hild by Nicola GriffithWhat will you be reading next?

Why do I still try to answer this part? I’m fairly sure I’m never accurate. At a guess… well, I need to finish Hild sometime in the next week in order to get the Game of Books points for reading it on time for the book club. So that, maybe?

What are you currently reading?

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted April 23, 2019 by Nicky in General / 9 Comments

This week’s theme is: your first ten reviews! I’m not going to delve into the Goodreads rabbit hole to figure out what my first ten were there, so here’s a blast from the past of this blog…

Cover of Captain Marvel #1

  1. Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Dexter Soy and Emma Rios. My first experience with Captain Marvel! DeConnick’s run was pretty badass.
  2. Dead Harvest, The Wrong Goodbye and The Big Reap, by Chris F. Holm. I re-posted these reviews from Goodreads due to a great experience with Chris Holm. <3
  3. The Mad Scientist’s Daughter, by Cassandra Rose Clarke. I really loved this one! I’m kind of curious to reread it now.
  4. Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh. Still great. Clean all the things!
  5. The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin. Didn’t get on with his writing then, still don’t now. Plus ça change…
  6. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey. A reread at the time, and one I surprisingly still enjoyed.
  7. A Gift Upon the Shore, by M.K. Wren. I can’t remember this at all, but apparently I wasn’t a fan!
  8. Swords of the Six, by Scott Appleton. Nope, completely blank on this as well!
  9. Between Two Thorns, by Emma Newman. I’ve been meaning to reread this and try the rest of the series!
  10. Zealot, by Reza Aslan. Hmm, I don’t seem to have been much of a fan.

Interesting how little I remember about some of these! I think my more recent reviews might be a bit more helpful in prompting the memory…

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Weekly Roundup

Posted April 20, 2019 by Nicky in General / 9 Comments

Good morning, folks! It’s ridiculously late as I’m queuing this up and I’m rather tired, and I really haven’t got to read enough this week. How’re you guys?!

Received to review:

Cover of Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky Cover of The Undefeated by Una McCormack Cover of Dragonslayer by Duncan M. Hamilton Cover of The Border Keeper by Kerstin Hall

Cover of Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vlyar Kaftan Cover of Perihelion Summer by Greg Egan Cover of Longer by Michael Blumlein

I’m excited to read more in that universe from Tchaikovsky, and I couldn’t resist the description of The Undefeated…

Bought:

Cover of Hacking the Code of Life by Nessa Carey

New pop science from Nessa Carey? Yes, please!

Received from a swap:

Cover of Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte Cover of An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Cover of The Prey of Gods, by Nicky Drayden

This should be fascinating! Thank you to Tatiana for my Litsy SFF swap box! I need to tuck into the fudge I got, too. Nom nom nommm…

Read this week:

Cover of Hacking the Code of Life by Nessa Carey Cover of Inheritors of the Earth by Chris D Thomas Cover of The Undefeated by Una McCormack

Reviewed this week:

–Clouds of Witness, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Whose Body is a fun book, but it doesn’t have quite the same emotional hook as Clouds of Witness, and that connection to the case for the defence makes this rather more engaging. 4/5 stars
–Without a Summer, by Mary Robinette Kowal. A lovely blend of history and fantasy that’s really well thought out, and far from what I expected from reading the first book! 4/5 stars
–Enchanted Glass, by Diana Wynne Jones. Another reread! In style it’s rather typical of Diana Wynne Jones’ work, and that means it was a lot of fun. 4/5 stars
–Life in a Medieval Castle, by Frances Gies and Joseph Gies. Not bad, and probably good writing resource, but Marc Morris’ book on castles would be my preference! 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday: Rainy Day Reads. Five books I go back to for comfort reading, and five that I’ve been saving for a rainy day.
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update on what I’m reading.
–Wyrd & Wonder 2019. A giveaway!

Out and About:

–NEAT science: ‘IN MICE.‘ Highlighting an excellent Twitter account, and the reasons to applaud it.
–Once Upon A Blue Moon: ‘A Hard Day’s Work for a Very Small Librarian‘. The short story written to go with this bookmark I stitched for my SF/F bookswap partner.

So that was my week! How was yours?

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Wyrd and Wonder 2019

Posted April 18, 2019 by Nicky in General, Giveaways / 16 Comments

Text banner: Wyrd and Wonder: Celebrate the Fantastic (1-31 May) - plus a gorgeous stylised dragon glyph

It’s nearly time for Wyrd & Wonder! I suppose I better do the introduction if you haven’t met W&W before, Dear Reader. Wyrd & Wonder, meet the Dear Reader! Dear Reader, this is Wyrd and Wonder! It’s a month-long celebration of all things fantastical, with various readalongs, discussions, giveaways and shenanigans throughout the month.

I’m notoriously bad at keeping up with this kind of thing, but I thought I’d do a start-up post at the very least! And while I’m at it, why not take the opportunity for a giveaway?

Rules and Ways to Enter:

  • The prize: One (1) book of your choice from the fantasy books I read during the period 1st May – 31st May, to be mailed to you directly from BookDepository.com or gifted via Kindle if you’re in an eligible country (this is flexible — if you have another preference, let me know if you win!)
  • How to enter: Use the Rafflecopter below! There are three ways to enter:
    1. Click once for a free entry
    2. Leave a comment on this post. The prompt in the Rafflecopter is: “Are you doing anything for Wyrd & Wonder? (You don’t have to be for a chance to win, I promise!)”
    3. Posted about Wyrd & Wonder! Post something Wyrd & Wonder themed and give me the link to the post! Tweets don’t count, sorry, but anything longer-form does! You can do this multiple times, once per day!
  • Terms and conditions: 
    • By entering, you consent for your details to be collected by Rafflecopter for the sole purpose of verifying your entry and contacting you if you win.
    • The winner will be contacted via email and will have three days to respond before I contact a runner-up to offer them the prize.
  • Duration: Until 31st May!
  • The books you can choose from: 
    • Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews
    • A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan
    • Snowspelled, by Stephanie Burgis
    • Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho
    • The True Queen, by Zen Cho
    • The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson
    • Magic for Liars, by Sarah Gailey
    • The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman
    • The Afterward, by E.K. Johnston
    • Valour & Vanity, by Mary Robinette Kowal
    • Of Noble Family, by Mary Robinette Kowal
    • Dreamer’s Pool, by Juliet Marillier
    • Fire Logic, by Laurie J. Marks
    • In An Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire
    • Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire
    • Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
    • Uprooted, by Naomi Novik
    • Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik
    • Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K.J. Parker
    • Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse
    • The Ninth Rain, by Jen Williams

Welp, that should do it! Are you ready for this, folks?!

IMAGE CREDIT: Dragon – by  kasana86

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