This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is based around recommending books to get people out of a reading slump. That’s tough, because there are so many reasons why someone might be in a slump — but I’ll give it a shot and try to come up with a selection, anyway!

1. The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo.
   This is the first of a series of loosely linked stories, introducing Chih and their work in gathering stories and records for the Singing Hills monastery. You could choose any book of the series, but this one introduces the world and style well. Also, it’s a novella, so it’s pretty short.
2. The Invisible Library, by Genevieve Cogman.
   All the books in this series are total romps: what if there was an interdimensional library, whose librarians can visit multiple worlds to collect books? Everything exists on a sliding scale between fantasy and sci-fi, with dragons and fae slipping between worlds and sometimes allying with, sometimes opposing the library. The main character gets assigned to a steampunky world, and meets up with an archetypical Great Detective… but also there’s fae and werewolves and all kinds of other shenanigans. It’s a series, as well, so this is the gateway into a lot of fun (the second book is partly set in an alternate Venice!).
3. Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates (AKA Cocaine Blues), by Kerry Greenwood.
   Mysteries are often quick reads, and almost all the Phryne books are pretty slim volumes, while Phryne herself is a fashionable, whip-smart delight. The books do tackle some horrible topics at times (such as child abduction in Flying Too High), but generally everything comes out OK in the end… and Phryne tackles danger very stylishly.
4. Band Sinister, by KJ Charles.
   How about a touch of romance? Band Sinister is my favourite, though Charles has a lot of really good options available — if you’re more into fantasy, for example, you might be interested by The Magpie Lord or maybe Spectred Isle. This one feels like a pastiche of Georgette Heyer, and features a really lovely exploration of someone embracing their sexuality, along with a heavy focus on informed consent and clear communication. I adore it: the first time I read it, I was struggling with insomnia, and spent the whole book trying not to giggle too loudly and risk waking up my wife.
5. Clockwork Boys, by T. Kingfisher.
   I found this book (and the sequel) absolutely flew by. This one’s a book I read so recently that I haven’t even had chance to revisit it yet, but I’m pretty sure I will. It’s a fascinating world, though seen narrowly through the small band of characters who have been tasked with a seemingly impossible job to save their city. It’s linked with a wider universe of other books, like the Saint of Steel series, but Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine stand alone together pretty well, so there’s both the option of a series to get lost in, and a fairly self-contained story to begin with.
6. A Case of Of Mice and Murder, by Sally Smith.
   This was another recent read for me, but I know I’ll be returning to it. It’s a pretty cosy mystery, set within the grounds of the Inner Temple in London. The main character is a lawyer who has spent most of his time in the Inner Temple, avoiding the world outside — but he’s gentle and kind, and there’s a lot of heart in this and the sequel (A Case of Life and Limb). I look forward to reading more in this series!
7. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett.
   This series combines fantasy and romance with a touch of mystery: Emily Wilde is an academic studying faeries, and in each of the books she ends up using her knowledge to solve any issues that arise. It’s a fairly recent read for me, but I look forward to rereading the series at some point. I actually read the second and third books quite close to their release dates, which is practically unknown for me — but I love the mix of whimsy (thanks to the fairytales) and Emily Wilde’s stubborn practicality, and it reminds me of another favourite series in some ways (Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons).
8. Everything is Tuberculosis, by John Green.
   Tuberculosis is kind of my special topic. A few years back, when I was really struggling with anxiety, I read the advice somewhere that curiosity is the opposite of anxiety: one opens you up the world, the other wants you to close doors, and breeds on uncertainty. Given that infectious diseases really scared me at the time, I decided to face ’em head on, and read books like David Quammen’s Spillover and Kathryn Lougheed’s Catching Breath to that end. That led to me writing my BSc dissertation on tuberculosis. Long story short, those books are getting a bit out of date now, but John Green’s just became available, and it’s a really good introduction to a deeply fascinating disease (which deserves far more attention — and aid money allocation — than it receives). Sometimes the best way to break a reading slump is by reading something totally different, and though the topic is heavy at times, Green’s style is super readable.
9. The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff. Sutcliff’s books are often considered children’s books, but her attention to historical detail (based on available sources at the time) left her books feeling very fresh and vivid to me, both as a kid and now. The Eagle of the Ninth is my personal favourite, though I have to put in a word for Warrior Scarlet on my mother’s behalf (I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t). I love the characters, and Marcus’ journey from being an arrogant young centurion freshly posted to Britain to loving the British life (and a British woman, though the romance subplot is minimal).
10. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu.
    How about trying something a little different? This is a work in translation, part of a genre called “light novels”, and in particular it’s a “danmei” — a romance between two men. This particular one features a guy from our world being sucked into a story that he read and got passionately cross about, with his instructions being to “fix” the story (with certain constraints) from within. In the process, he completely changes the story he slipped into, changing the character of Shen Qingqiu from being a rather slimy villain to being a conscientious teacher, friend and (eventually) husband. It’s different in style and outlook to the other stories I’ve been recommending, and I found it a surprisingly speedy read… and it’s one I’ve returned to a couple of times.
    To be fair, it probably isn’t the best starting point, because it’s an affectionate parody of “cultivation” stories, and plays around with the genre quite a bit. You might be better off starting with something like Heaven Official’s Blessing (which I’ve read and adore, but is quite a commitment for the full payoff) or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (which I haven’t read yet), both also by MXTX. But I started with SVSSS, and I can’t say I regret it, even if I appreciate some aspects of it a lot more now on reread than I originally did.

And that’s it! At different times, these have all helped me through reading slumps, either as new reads at the time or as familiar rereads.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has picked!

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is beach reads, and I… don’t really have specific books I’d read at the beach. So instead I’m going to tell you what I’d take with me to go on a beach holiday right now, if I was going to do such a thing — and you’ll have to just enjoy the weird choices!

(Technically it’s Wednesday here now, but I haven’t gone to bed yet, so nyah. It’s Tuesday.)

1. The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. I should’ve started reading this earlier in July, because it’s a book club choice for a danmei book club Discord. Also, I’ve really enjoyed MXTX’s other series, and I’m very curious about this one, especially since people rave about it a lot.
2. The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker, by Roger Hutchinson. This is about the census in Britain, both the story of how the census came to be and how it’s been managed, and also the story of what it says about Britain. I’m partway through it, so if I was heading off on a beach holiday, I’d definitely take it with me. Also, it’s fascinating!
3. Dreadful Company, by Vivian Shaw. I’ve been rereading this series before reading the latest book, and I’ve let myself get distracted from the second book for far too long. So this one would have to slip into my bag. It’s a fun story, set mostly in Paris, and is pretty breezy, too — definitely a good companion for a lazy afternoon.
4. The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, by Caitlin Rozakis. This one sounds fun and pretty light, so I think it’d be ideally suited to a nice holiday spent lying around somewhere warm and comfy. (For me that needn’t be a beach: curled up on my new recliner works!)
5. The Judas Window, by John Dickson Carr. This is the most recent British Library Crime Classic reissue, and I’m eager to get to it. I’ve had mixed results with reading John Dickson Carr’s work at times, so I’m kind of curious where I’ll fall with this one.
6. Paladin’s Strength, by T. Kingfisher. Having just read Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine, I’m eager to get back to this series as well. It’s a liiiittle bit chunky-looking on the shelf, so maybe a holiday would be an ideal prompt to get stuck in.
7. Between Two Rivers, by Moudy Al-Rashid. This is a history of ancient Mesopotamia that I’ve been meaning to read for a while, and I’m choosing it for no other reason than that the cover keeps catching my eye.
8. The Love Hypothesis, by Ali Hazelwood. I’ve been meaning to read more of Hazelwood’s romances; maybe this is the moment? Might be a good quick read while I’m so busy with moving stuff…
9. Idylls of the Queen, by Phyllis Ann Karr. This would be a reread. I mentioned this in a recent Top Ten Tuesday post about books I want to reread, and this seems like a good moment! I just saw my copy in the great unboxing of books; surely I’ll find it soon as I properly sort through and alphabetise?
10. Elusive, by Genevieve Cogman. I might have to reread the first book first, but I remember tearing through it — if the second book is the same, that could be a very fun holiday read!

I know, I know, as ever it’s a bit of a weird mix. I can think of others, like the next volume of the Solo Leveling manhua… but it’s time for me to think about sleep, so let’s stop there…