Category: General

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

Unstacking the Shelves

Posted September 3, 2016 by Nicky in General / 19 Comments

Tah-daahhh! The world didn’t think I could do it, but lo and behold, I have actually gone a week without buying, borrowing or requesting any new books. Thus, unStacking the Shelves: displaying the books I managed to finish this week.

Eveeery week, people seem to get confused and tell me to enjoy books which I’ve actually finished reading, and I sense that’s gonna happen a ton this week. So please! I have no new books to enjoy! I sort of wish I did, but nope. I love getting comments, but if you’re not going to bother reading the post — and I do clearly mark the sections in these posts — please don’t bother commenting…

Books read this week:

A busy week, as you see — I’ve been doing a lot of crocheting, so I’ve been listening to a bunch of audiobooks, and I’ve also done a fair bit of other reading. Though a lot of it has been rereading, since I found the Joseph Hansen books available for Kindle, to my glee.

Reviews posted this week:
–Spider-Gwen: Greater Power, by Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez and Chris Visions. With great power comes great responsibility, whether you’re Peter Parker or Gwen Stacy. And sometimes you get blamed for things you couldn’t have helped. Greater Power follows Gwen as she struggles with her reputation for trouble… and also includes a visit from an awesome version of Captain America. 4/5 stars
–Batgirl: A Knight Alone, by Kelley Puckett et al. I love the idea of Cassandra Cain, but unfortunately the execution hasn’t worked for me at all in these comics. 3/5 stars
–The Undivided Past, by David Cannadine. Do you wanna build a strawman? 2/5 stars
–Magic Slays, by Ilona Andrews. Chaos continues in Atlanta, and no one is surprised. 4/5 stars
–Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. It can be a bit too slow in places, but for the most part I loved Uprooted; it grows out of fairytales, but with a very serious slant. 4/5 stars
–Reading in the Brain, by Stanislaw Dehaene. Distractingly, the model of reading posited here doesn’t fit me very well. Nonetheless, I found it an interesting read and well backed up by the evidence. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, by Alison Bartlett. I had serious questions about the ethics of the writer, and I don’t think this book is actually about a love of books — certainly not as I would understand it. Rather, it’s a love of objects, which happen to be books. 2/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Back to School. A bunch of non-fiction recommendations for you all!
–The Princess Who Didn’t Eat Cake, by Lynn O’Connacht. A promo post for a friend’s book.
–ShelfLove Update and TBR. An update on my reading goals, and some goals for the next month.

How’s everyone’s week been? Anything exciting going on?

ETA: May be slow to reply to comments and visit you back today; my baby bunny just died. Sorry.

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

ShelfLove Update September

Posted September 1, 2016 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

ShelfLove Update!

The goals where I’m ahead are in blue; bang on are in green; behind by up to five books are in orange; anything else is in red. I now have a running total to show where I should be for the month too (e.g. by June I should’ve read 182 books overall).

Targets:
- 250 or less books bought;
- 366 books read overall;
- 200 books read which I owned prior to 2016;
- no more than 10% of income on books per month.
Books bought this year so far: 152/160.
August books bought: 21/20.
August budget: Goodness knows.
Owned books read this month: 12/16.
Books read this month: 28/31.
Owned books read overall: 126/134 (8 books behind).
Books read overall: 235/244 (9 books behind).

This month’s theme for the Shelf Love challenge is to write a thank you post to your favourite person or people in the publishing industry.

So! Dear publicists and anyone who works on making books a success, thank you! Without you, I wouldn’t hear about half the amazing books out there. I’m very grateful for the work you do in arranging blog tours and sending out ARCs: I don’t know how you keep it all ticking over, some of you. Thank you for your passion and diligence, and well, thanks for the free books, too…

Aaaand here’s a quick list of books I’m aiming to read this month.

Ilona Andrews, Magic Binds.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, The Tempering of Men.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, An Apprentice to Elves.
Peter S. Beagle, Summerlong.
Aliette de Bodard, The House of Shattered Wings.
Marie Brennan, In Ashes Lie.
Marie Brennan, A Star Shall Fall.
Susan Dennard, Truthwitch.
Chris Holm, Red Right Hand.
Tanya Huff, Blood Pact.
Tanya Huff, Blood Debt.
Mary Robinette Kowal, Ghost Talkers.
Juliet Marillier, Tower of Thorns.
Juliet Marillier, Den of Wolves.
Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, Certain Dark Things.
Emma Newman, After Atlas.
Cherie Priest, The Family Plot.
V.E. Schwab, A Gathering of Shadows.
Jen Williams, The Iron Ghost.
Jen Williams, The Silver Tide.

It’s a good mix of ARCs and series I’m partway through, mostly. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other books here and there, but these I really want to (and in some cases, really should) read soon. Wish me luck, I guess!

Tags: #ShelfLove, books, TBR

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted August 30, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie around the theme “back to school”. I’m sure there’s plenty of YA novels out there people are recommending that involve schools, so I’m gonna take the other way and send y’all back to school — with some non-fiction books I think are awesome.

A History of the World in 100 Objects, by Neil MacGregor. The objects are all in the British Museum, so there’s definitely some problems with a very Western viewpoint, but I found it all fascinating and MacGregor does acknowledge the issues. There’s a little bit of history from all over the world here, even if it is only a very little bit in some cases.
Pompeii, by Mary Beard. Going from the general to the hyperfocused, Mary Beard’s book on Pompeii is a fascinating survey of what we know and can guess about Pompeii.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. If you haven’t read this, I definitely recommend it: it’s a fascinating look at the development of cancer research, and the debts incurred along the way. There’s a lot of issues about race and consent that are worth considering.
Shaking Hands With Death, by Terry Pratchett. Or the longer book which contains that essay, A Slip of the Keyboard. I’m wholly supportive of the initiative to pass laws on assisted suicide, and Pratchett’s words are to the point and heartfelt.
The Ancestor’s Tale, by Richard Dawkins. This book is really the best of Dawkins — mostly devoid of sniping at religious people, and concentrating on the science. The Ancestor’s Tale tells the tale of human ancestry, back through countless common ancestors. Provided you believe in evolution, this might be the least controversial Dawkins book, since as I recall it doesn’t propose any new theories either.
Spillover, by David Quammen. Are you scared about the idea of a pandemic? We’re making them more likely all the time, and this book is a very good look at how and why.
Behind the Shock Machine, by Gina Perry. Stanley Milgram’s shock experiments are so famous that the findings have spilled out of psychology and into general knowledge. But Gina Perry examines the evidence from the experiments and raises some serious questions about Milgram’s ethics, and even his results.
Stonehenge, by Mike Parker Pearson. Pearson was part of a huge project at Stonehenge to reinterpret the evidence and expand what we know. His theories are pretty well supported by the archaeology, on which he did a lot of work.
Brain on Fire, by Susannah Cahalan. Our brains are really, really weird. Like, turns out that there are autoimmune disorders of the brain which can mimic various psychological problems, and pass almost under the radar — instead, Cahalan’s condition was dismissed as borderline personality disorder, psychopathy, etc. And yet she was curable, with antibiotics. It just goes to prove we don’t know everything yet.
DNA, by James Watson. Skip Watson’s admittedly historically important The Double Helix unless you want to be enraged. DNA has much the same information and a lot more, while being more accessible and less sexist.

Tahdah! I know it’s a rather eclectic mix; that’s how my brain works, I’m afraid. Any of these catch your eye?

Tags: books, non-fiction, Top Ten Tuesday

Stacking the Shelves

Posted August 27, 2016 by Nicky in General / 23 Comments

Good morning! How’s everyone doing this week? I’ve read more than I thought I was going to, and even cleared some books that have been on my backlog for a long time. Of course, I’ve also been fretting wildly over our baby bunny, but she seems to be doing okay despite my panics.

New books

Necrotech is a review copy from Angry Robot (thanks again, guys!), and The Crown’s Game was a gift from my wife, A++ wife that she is.

Finished reading this week:

Mortal Engines, Predator’s Gold and Heresy are books I’ve had since 2011; Saga volume four and We Were Liars are from 2014. Take that, backlog! …Wait, now I’m caught up on Saga… oh no! Now another agonising wait for more volumes.

Reviews posted this week:
–The Jewel and Her Lapidary, by Fran Wilde. Intriguing world, but I felt like I needed more background to really understand what the characters were doing. 3/5 stars
–One Ostara Sunrise, by Elora Bishop. Cute, but I could wish for more plot. 3/5 stars
–The Devil You Know, by K.J. Parker. Not as great as Parker’s other Tor.com novella, but an intriguing story nonetheless. Might help if you read the other book including the main character… 3/5 stars
–Batgirl: Silent Running, by Kelley Puckett et al. Sadly not my thing, despite me being a fan of the idea of Cassandra Cain. 2/5 stars
–The Drowning Eyes, by Emily Foster. I felt like this really trailed off, but there is some really amazing imagery in this story. Stones for eyes… 3/5 stars
–The Celts: Search for a Civilisation, by Alice Roberts. A really interesting overview of Celtic history and identity — and yes, it does engage with that troubled question of whether Celtic identity is really a thing you can point to, as well. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Surgeon, by Tess Gerritsen. This is a perfectly good crime novel, but it’s too explicit and nasty to be the sort I enjoy.

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Still Haven’t Read. This is a list of books I’ve been meaning to get to for, quite literally, years — since before I started this blog.

What’ve you been reading this week? Anything you’re dying to get your hands on? Let me know!

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted August 23, 2016 by Nicky in General / 5 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is for books that have been on your TBR since before you started blogging… and you still haven’t read them. Well, I haven’t got anything (surprisingly) from before I started using Goodreads, but I sure as heck have a whole bunch from before I started this blog.

Emma, by Jane Austen. It doesn’t help that my mother haaaates Jane Austen. I kind of gained some appreciation while doing my degree, but I’m still not filled with enthusiasm.
Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve. Everything about the idea of predatory cities chasing each other across the land appeals. I just fail at getting round to my backlist.
The Island of Apples, by Glyn Jones. This was even a set book during my BA module on Welsh Fiction in English and I still haven’t read it.
Daughter of the Forest, by Juliet Marillier. I really enjoy Marillier’s work, in general, and yet. And yet.
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, by James Tiptree Jr. I am a bad feminist SF fan, I know.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. Everyone and their mother has read this. Except me. (Well, and my mother.)
Babel-17, by Samuel R. Delany. I know, I can’t believe it either, this is a classic.
Scott of the Antarctic, by David Crane. I know this is a bit of an odd one out here, but I actually find myself reluctant to go ahead and read it, because it’s the last book my grandad ever bought me before he died. While it’s still waiting on the shelf, it feels like prolonging something. The other book bought at the same time is one on railways, which is even more connected with my grandad.
A Shadow in Summer, by Daniel Abraham. I think this was recommended by Jo Walton? Was that where I got this one from? Anyway, it’s been on my list since at least 2013.
Point of Hopes, by Melissa Scott. Queer fantasy! Yesplz.

What about you? Anything been kicking around your lists for years? And do you feel guilty, or just go with the flow?

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday