Category: General

Totally Should’ve…

Posted September 29, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Well, Cait @ Paper Fury did it, so how can I resist?

1. A book that totally should’ve… gotten a sequel.

Are you kidding? You know the answer, right? The Goblin Emperor, of course. I mean, I know there’s another book in the same world due, but I want more of Maia and Csevet and Cala and…

2. A book that totally should’ve… had a spin-off series.

Impulsively, I’m going to go with The Lord of the Rings, because you know the epic adventures of Eowyn and Faramir would’ve been amazing. Or just Eowyn.

Or, I know! Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons series — spinoff with Tom Wilker’s adventures in polite society, being confronted with Lady Trent’s eccentricities. And losing his temper, because how is he meant to control that woman?

3. An author who should totally… write more books.

Katherine Addison? Is that predictable? Oh dear. Most authors I love have written plenty, but I always want more. And I’d say Tolkien, but I don’t want Christopher Tolkien to get more ideas about dragging out old unfinished manuscripts, and nor do I want some kind of zombie situation.

4. A character who totally should’ve… ended up with someone else.

I have this reaction in a lot of Guy Gavriel Kay’s books, so I can’t help but frustratedly yelp about Kim and Aileron in The Fionavar Tapestry books.

5. A book that totally should’ve… ended differently.

The first one that jumps to mind is The Fionavar Tapestry again, because I don’t understand why Paul stayed in Fionavar with Jaelle, with whom I never felt he had a genuine connection. Also, anything Arthurian where Gawain dies at the end. And though I acknowledge the beauty of the plot and the sense it makes, the end of Ursula Le Guin’s The Furthest Shore (and, uh, consequently large aspects of the following books) can definitely go away. I prefer Ged with his mage powers, sorry.

6. A book that totally should’ve… had a movie franchise.

The Hobbit. Isn’t it a shame that after they did such a great job with The Lord of the Rings, adapting it so faithfully (but adjusting for the demands of the screen), that they never did the same with such a children’s classic? It would be hard to make the tone match the book and the LotR films, but hey, J.R.R. did it, so it must be possible.

Ssh, I can’t hear you. Who is Martin Freeman?

7. A book that totally should’ve… had just one point of view.

More or less anything with multiple first person segments, I’m afraid. I’m not a fan of switching between character perspectives like that, most of the time. It’d be easier for me to think of books that didn’t mess that up. Like Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana — okay, that’s third person limited, but it gives such differing and powerful views on the same conflict. That’s multiple POVs done right.

8. A book that totally should’ve… had a cover change.

Ummm. I’m not a visual person, so for this I actually have to go look at my shelves… Nope, nothing’s jumping out at me. Is there something which should be leaping to mind?

9. A book that totally should’ve… kept the same cover.

Kushiel’s Dart and sequels. I mean, just look. One has gorgeous art that fits the world and looks sensual. The other looks like a vampire novel. And if that is Phèdre on the cover of Kushiel’s Chosen, where is her marque?

vs.

10. A series that totally should’ve… stopped at book one.

Uh. Tongue in cheek, I declare Seanan McGuire’s October Daye books — because then I wouldn’t have so much to catch up on.

Well, I’m not tagging anyone in particular, but what about you guys? Any books that totally should’ve [x] that leap to mind?

Tags: books, reading memes

What are you reading Wednesday

Posted September 28, 2016 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

It’s been a while since I did this feature round here! I’ve been meaning to resurrect it for a while. I think it started on Dreamwidth, but it seems worth having a weekly reflection on what I’m reading right now.

What have you recently finished reading?
I just finished In the Forests of Serre, last night. It’s not exactly a retelling of Russian fairytales like Baba Yaga and Ivan and the Firebird, but those character types are in the story. I think it might be one of my favourites of McKillip’s books so far; while the prose is lyrical as ever, the story is a little less dream-like and follows quite logically. At least, most of it — I wasn’t as sure about Unciel and Gyre’s part of the story.

What are you currently reading?
I just finally started on the next of Tanya Huff’s Blood Books, which is Blood Pact. So far it’s okay; I’m sick to death of Celluci and Henry bickering over Vicky, but I’m intrigued by the zombie plot. I think it’s a little too obvious where it’s all going, but it’s an interesting take on it — almost more Frankenstein than zombies, and with a scientific background.

What are you planning to read next?
I’m not sure. I’m still behind on my backlog reading goal, so it’ll be something from the backlog. I’ve been very tempted to reread The Lord of the Rings, but that’s definitely not from my backlog. That said, I’ve got some X-Men comics on the backlog, so I might read those for that and dig into LotR — it’ll save me from taking my boxset of the books back to my wife’s, because goodness knows I have enough I want to pack without those too.

Tags: books, J.R.R. Tolkien, Patricia A. McKillip, reading memes, Tanya Huff

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted September 27, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, and this week the theme is our fall TBRs! I’m about to come up with my list for October, so hopefully this shouldn’t be too hard. On the other hand, I know that I’m a fickle creature, and I might well still be listing these same books when it comes round to January…

Magic Binds, by Ilona Andrews. I had the ARC and I haven’t got round to it?! What is wrong with me?
The Family Plot, by Cherie Priest. I haven’t loved any of Priest’s books as much as Bloodshot and Hellbent, but I’m totally ready to try. And this is kind of thematically appropriate for October, with Halloween coming up…
Certain Dark Things, by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia. Signal to Noise wasn’t 100% my thing, but imyril’s review sold me on this so much, if the vampires and that gorgeous cover hadn’t already.
Kushiel’s Dart, by Jacqueline Carey. This is a reread, but it’s been so long since I read it, I can’t wait to dive back in. Here’s hoping I still love it just as much.
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. For some reason I’ve been craving a reread, and I’m not going to argue. I’m just vacillating between listening to the audiobook (well, the BBC radioplay adaptation) or reading it. Or both.
The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi. Again, a reread, but not the first book of the series, so if I want to read them as a series and keep them all fresh in my mind, I’d better get to it. I read Old Man’s War a while ago already.
The Child Eater, by Rachel Pollack. I both own a copy (in the UK) and have a copy out of the library (in Belgium), so, you know, I should get round to it.
The Impostor Queen, by Sarah Fine. I’ve had it a while and I’m still seeing good things about it, so why not?
Deadline, by Mira Grant. I just got Blackout, so it’s definitely time to get on with this trilogy.
Time and Again, by Jack Finney. I’m partway through it, so I need to pick it back up. It’s a bit slow, though.

What about everyone else? Any big plans?

Tags: books, TBR, Top Ten Tuesday

Classics via daily serial

Posted September 26, 2016 by Nicky in General, Reviews / 0 Comments

Seeing Maximum Pop!‘s review of trying out the app Serial Reader gave me an idea for a discussion post, since it looks like that’s one of the things people are looking for around here! Serial Reader, if you hadn’t heard of it, is an app which breaks up various classic books into chunks of about 10-15 minutes reading time, and delivers them to your phone at a set time each day. I started using it a couple of weeks ago, and have already read Ayn Rand’s Anthem, and got almost halfway through Austen’s Emma.

Do I like the experience? Yes, actually. My problem with some books has been that I don’t really want to sit down with them and spend any appreciable time with them. Like Anthem, for example. Whereas reading just an extract a day — which takes me rather less than 10-15 minutes, usually — is easy. The divisions usually come in reasonably sensible places, like the end of a chapter or poem, and because I get a notification every day, I find myself reading classics very coherently by installments. I don’t think it’d work for me if I just tried to read the book a chapter at a time or something: it’s the little nudge that makes it easier.

My best experience is perhaps with reading Emily Dickinson’s poetry; I’ve never particularly enjoyed it, but with a very short selection every day, there’s no harm in focusing on what you do get. And while I haven’t suddenly been converted, I’ve enjoyed it more than I expected.

There’s quite a good range of books available on the app, too. One of my next up is On the Origin of Species, because it’s really high time I read that. But there’s also Sherlock Holmes stories, Gothic novels, American classics, H.G. Wells…

I’m not so sure about paying the (admittedly small) onetime fee to get access to the ‘read later’ and ‘read ahead’ features — after all, most if not all of these books are public domain, and you can get them free and read ahead as much as you like — but they’re not really essential to the basic idea, which I plan to stick with. I just keep my list of books to try later in my BulletJournal!

Tags: books, classics, discussion, non-book review

Survey: What’re you here for?

Posted September 25, 2016 by Nicky in General, Giveaways / 6 Comments

All of a sudden, I have a sudden rush of morbid curiosity, so here’s a survey about the kind of content you enjoy on my blog and what you might like to see more of. And since I’m at it and I’d really like you to answer, people who do respond to the survey get the chance at winning a giveaway: the prize is your choice of one book I’ve reviewed on this blog, sent via The Book Depository.

Everyone who follows here or promotes the blog will get a couple of chances, but if you complete the survey, you can get a bunch of entries by giving me a keyword in both your survey response and the rafflecopter.

Thanks in advance!

Create your own user feedback surveyTo participate without doing the survey, you can get a free entry or promote my blog on social media. If you do the survey, don’t forget to give me a keyword or phrase (“hotdog pants”, “chocolate bookcase”, I don’t know, use your imagination), so that I can confirm your participation.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway ends on the 1st November, but the survey doesn’t have a closing date.

Tags: giveaway, survey

Stacking the Shelves

Posted September 24, 2016 by Nicky in General / 24 Comments

Another week of modest shelf-stacking — I knew the Unstacking couldn’t last! And I know I’m going to a bookshop this afternoon, with my sister, who hasn’t yet bought me a birthday present…

Books acquired:

A couple of these were waiting for me at my parents’ house, since I’ve been away — my preorder of Empire of Storms, and Nevernight and The Graces from the last Illumicrate. Hurrah!

Books read this week:

Not much reading this week — I blame the fact that I actually had quite a bit of work. And that I kept starting books and not finishing them…

Reviews posted this week:
–The Wolf in the Attic, by Paul Kearney. The underlying mythology felt pretty confused, or at least, not properly explained, and I felt like the appearances of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were just gimmicks. Still, I found it somewhat enjoyable. 3/5 stars
–Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman. I agree with the theories, I think, and find it all very interesting, except when he starts talking about statistics. Then not only my eyes but the rest of my mind too glazes riiight over. 3/5 stars
–Planetfall, by Emma Newman. I was pleasantly surprised with how quick a read I found this, after being warned that it might make me feel a little anxious, since it portrays anxiety-related disorders very prominently. I somewhat expected the resolution of the mystery plot, and even the ending reminded me of something, but overall I really enjoyed it. 4/5 stars
–The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison. Still got hearts in my eyes over this book, always. 5/5 stars
–Seafoam and Silence, by Lynn E. O’Connacht. The verse novel format isn’t quite my thing, but the storyline and retelling aspects are really interesting. 3/5 stars
–A Winter Book, by Tove Jansson. The stories are well written, with a sort of quiet, clear prose, but I’m not a big fan of the collection as such. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner. There are bits of this that I remember enjoying, but the overall impression wasn’t very cohesive. I did read the second book, and my review of that will be on the blog next Friday… I’m even sort of thinking about trying them again now. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday: Audiobooks. Want some recommendations? Come see me geek about the awesomeness of BBC radioplays…

How’s everyone else been doing? Anything exciting going on?

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted September 20, 2016 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about audiobooks! I haven’t actually listened to that many audiobooks, at least not by distinct authors, but I do have a couple of recommendations.

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper (BBC radioplay). I don’t know if there’s any way to actually get your hands on this if you don’t happen to have recorded it for yourself way back when, but I always found the casting perfect and the adaptation solid. It doesn’t keep every single feature of the original book, but it keeps to the spirit of it — unlike the movie version which, as far as I’m concerned, doesn’t exist.
Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers (BBC radioplay). You’ll notice that I’m quite a big fan of the BBC’s radioplays in general, and that’s because they generally have really good production quality, their adaptations are solid if not absolutely faithful, and they’re usually well cast. This is no exception, with a perfect Lord Peter and a great supporting cast too.
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien (BBC radioplay). Yes, another! It’s really well cast, there’s some music, and it’s pretty faithful — and it skips some of the bits people usually find boring, like Tom Bombadil. I wasn’t 100% a fan of Aragorn’s voice at first, but it grew on me.
Among Others, by Jo Walton (Katherine Kellgren). I was a little nervous when I started to listen to this, because the voice had to be just right. Fortunately, it is — and with a lovely Welsh accent as well.
The Collectors, by Philip Pullman (Bill Nighy). A neat little mystery, and very bitesize too. Bill Nighy does a great job at the narration.
Beowulf, by Seamus Heaney (Seamus Heaney). It might not be the most faithful or scholarly translation, but it’s one that feels very much alive.
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman (Neil Gaiman). The same goes for pretty much any book written and read by Neil Gaiman — not all authors are good at reading their own work, but Gaiman has got it down. There’s a warmth to his voice that just works perfectly.
Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman (Martin Jarvis). The book’s a hell of a lot of fun, and this narrator ‘does the voices’ and really brings across characterisation and delivers the jokes perfectly. My only complaint was that it doesn’t have many natural breaks.
The Martian, by Andy Weir (R.C. Bray). I haven’t finished listening to this one yet, but so far the narrator does a pretty good job. He doesn’t always deliver all the lines with feelings, but the deadpan delivery of some bits of it is just perfect. And it’s a book worth reading just for itself.
Busman’s Honeymoon, by Dorothy L. Sayers (BBC radioplay). I’ll sneak this in as number ten — Ian Carmichael remains perfect, and this one made me giggle a lot, dealing as it does with Harriet and Peter’s honeymoon… and all that goes wrong.

Any recommendations? I’m always looking for something to spend my Audible credits on!

Tags: audiobooks, books, Top Ten Tuesday

Stacking the Shelves

Posted September 17, 2016 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments

What’s this? I actually did buy two books this week! I kind of couldn’t help it — I’ve had Revenger on preorder, of course, and I’ve been hearing so much about the upcoming film based on the women in Hidden Figures. But I’ve still got vouchers left to use… I’m trying to save them for something really good, or maybe a series of books I’ll enjoy.

Books bought:

Yep, my sister is so jealous right now. Well, until she gets to Waterstones… probably a little later today. Then she’ll have her own copy of Revenger.

Books finished this week:

Woe is me, I’ve finished the Peter Wimsey audiobooks, again. Highly recommended, though, and Audible is only missing one of the series (Gaudy Night).

Reviews posted this week:
–Magic Breaks, by Ilona Andrews. As usual, a fun outing with Curran and Kate. And I want this series to last forever. 4/5 stars
–Fair Game, by Josh Lanyon. Non-stereotypical gay people being stupid at each other, decent mystery, and one of the leads is even dealing with disability. Hurrah! 3/5 stars
–Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan. I did enjoy this, but I did have some questions about the male-centricness of the story. 3/5 stars
–A Maze of Death, by Philip K. Dick. This is… very Philip K. Dickian. Which means it made very little sense to me. 2/5 stars
–Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World’s Most Famous Human Fossils, by Lydia Pyne. An interesting survey of hominid fossils and what they mean for our understanding of human evolution. 4/5 stars
–Fair Play, by Josh Lanyon. The sequel to Fair Game, which develops the relationship between Eliot and his father interestingly. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. This didn’t ring totally true to me, but it did get to me surprisingly much. 3/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Favourites. My little tour of the fantasy genre!

What have you been reading? Got your hands on any good books?

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted September 13, 2016 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

I skipped last week’s Top Ten Tuesday because TV in general is not my thing (ask my wife how long I’ve been vaguely intending to watch all of NCIS…), and this week’s theme is so hard it makes me tempted to skip it too: “Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Books Of X Genre”.

I mean, what genre do I even pick? (Well, fantasy, obviously.) And then how do I narrow it down? But here’s a bash at it…

The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison. And absolutely no one is surprised. I just love the hopefulness in it, the mindfulness of the main character, the clever linguistic stuff, all the characters and their flaws… I saw someone describe a five star read as being the sort of book where you love it even for its flaws, and I think that’s a very apt description of how I feel about The Goblin Emperor.
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. I like The Hobbit, but I don’t love it in the intellectual way I love unravelling LotR. I studied Tolkien’s work during my degree, I’ve read the source texts and inspirations, I’ve gone a full circle from loving to hating to accepting and appreciating Tolkien’s style… Again, a book I love with its flaws and all.
The Grey King, by Susan Cooper. It’s difficult to choose a single book of this sequence, but I think The Grey King is my favourite, for Bran. I love the atmosphere, the background lore and mystery, and I appreciate that we see a few more shades of grey in this book than in the others.
The Summer Tree, by Guy Gavriel Kay. The first book by GGK that I read, and one that has stuck with me more than the others, even when it isn’t stylistically, objectively the best. It’s a homage to previous fantasy, including Tolkien, and it includes characters whose loves and hates tear me apart. It’s another one I definitely love despite its flaws, and maybe even because of them.
The Tombs of Atuan, by Ursula Le Guin. A Wizard of Earthsea probably means more to me, in that I connect with Ged’s self-discovery more than Tenar’s, but I’ve always loved the style of this one, the world it describes, the slow rituals of the Nameless ones, and the quiet moments of clarity Le Guin is so good at writing. I’m not sure I admit of any flaws possible in this book…
Chalice, by Robin McKinley. This one snuck up on me, and I never expected to love it as much as I do. But something about the world McKinley created, the domestic aspects, the homeishness of the way it feels… This is one I wouldn’t necessarily recommend to someone else, but it found a corner of my heart to live in.
Among Others, by Jo Walton. Needless to say, really. I connect so strongly with Mori, her love of reading and imagining, and with some of her difficulties of identity too.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin. The first time I read this, I settled down to read a chapter — and promptly read the whole book. I love the world Jemisin created.
In the Labyrinth of Drakes, by Marie Brennan. Or this whole series, really — I just found the latest installment so satisfying that it went immediately on my favourites shelf. The books have grown on me since the first time I read the first one, and now I think I’d happily devour them over and over.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. I hesitated about this one, because it’s not the same sort of love I have for the other books. Instead it’s a kind of appreciation of how it was put together, the cleverness and care of it — not a passionate caring about the characters or even the world. It was the experience of reading it that I loved, more than the book itself.

That was easier than I thought — whew. What would be on your list?

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday

Unstacking the Shelves

Posted September 10, 2016 by Nicky in General / 11 Comments

Wow, it’s been another Unstacking week! Can you believe it? I really can’t, especially since I know I have a ton of Amazon vouchers. I’m just finding it so hard to make decisions! As soon as I think “yeah, I’ll get this”, I think about saving my vouchers for the next thing I desperately want… Which is good for my TBR pile, I guess, but not so fun for instant gratification.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been reading this week. Once again: please don’t tell me to enjoy them! I’ve read them already! Instead, let’s celebrate me clearing the stacks a bit.

Books read this week:

I thought I’d read more this week, but I guess I’ve been really busy. Oh well!

Reviews posted this week:

–Gillespie and I, by Jane Harris. Slow but intriguing, sort of a mystery, with a very unreliable narrator. 4/5 stars
–Home: A Time Traveller’s Tales from Britain’s Prehistory, by Francis Pryor. I found this less coherent than other work I’ve read by Pryor, but it’s an interesting survey of what homes were like — even if it doesn’t stick that closely to home life. 3/5 stars
–Saga Volume Four, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Married life is not a perfect dream for Alana and Marko, even without the whole intergalactic fugitives thing… Entertaining, as always. 4/5 stars
–Magic Rises, by Ilona Andrews. It has a bit too much of Kate and Curran being total idiots at each other, but it also goes further into the plotline about Kate’s father, which is very welcome — and this volume definitely brings the feels. 4/5 stars
–Feed, by Mira Grant. This was a reread for me and I appreciated it a lot more this time. Although it is weird reading about such a reasonable Republican candidate when you think of the current political climate! And of course, there’s zombies… 4/5 stars
–The Heart of Aces, by various. This is a collection of romance stories about asexual people having relationships and compromising and all those lovely things. The quality is very uneven, but it’s nice that such a collection exists. 2/5 stars
–The Incorruptibles, by John Hornor Jacobs. Some cool concepts, but it doesn’t come together well for me. 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Like the other Ishiguro books I’ve read since, this has an easy pace — deceptively calm. I found it very skillfully written, and very worth the time. 4/5 stars

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup