Category: General

Bout of Books

Posted April 27, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

This is much lower-pressure than the 24-hour readathon, while still offering the social aspects and even some chances of prizes. I’m looking forward to participating again!

Time each day: 30 minutes minimum.
Number of books: 7 books.
What to read: At least four of the books should be books I’ve owned since before 2016, fulfilling the ShelfLove challenge too!

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted April 26, 2016 by Nicky in General / 10 Comments

This week’s theme from The Broke and The Bookish is “top ten bookworm delights”, and guys, I don’t know how I’m going to narrow it down to ten.

  1. The smell of books. When conditions conspire for that perfect new book smell… apparently it involves vanillin? Which makes sense, since that’s vanilla-like and vanilla is my favourite scent.
  2. When your favourite author has a new book coming out. Extra bonus points if you can get hold of the ARC.
  3. Finding the right book for someone else. My sister is tearing her way through David Weber’s Honor Harrington books, for example. I got her the first couple and it is so exciting to watch her gnawing through the whole series.
  4. The taste of words. The sound and mouth-feel of words triggers my synaesthesia, so yep, I get to taste books. And that tends to come together into an overall impression for me. The Hobbit is Werther’s Originals, for example. Robin Hobb’s Royal Assassin is dark chocolate.
  5. Finding a bookshop with unexpected stock. Whether that’s range or just a shelf with a couple of surprises, I love it. That’s part of why I hit most of the bookshops in Calgary in my rather brief visit there.
  6. Wind and rain outside, me and book inside. Especially if I can curl up in bed or under my patchwork blanket.
  7. Finding a new favourite. That moment when you read a book and know it’s going to stay with you. Most recent for me? Every Heart A Doorway, which I just reviewed yesterday.
  8. Readathons. Official or otherwise. Just that awesome feeling of a stack of books and plenty of time to read them, serially, for as long as you can.
  9. Books that make you stay up past bedtime. Just one more page… just one more page…
  10. “Meeting” a character who is just like you. Mori from Among Others is my first choice, but there are so many out there. Kindred spirits, as Anne Shirley would say…

The lists this week should be fun! And I will probably realise I’ve forgotten a super obvious one.

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Readathon!

Posted April 23, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Yep, it’s that time again — the 24-hour readathon! Today, there won’t be a review post, to keep down the volume of posts, and this will be the only readathon post — I’ll update it with all my progress, rambling, etc. I’m being joined by my sister, so between us, I have high hopes of a) lots of reading and b) actually staying up the whole time, for the first time in a few years. Still, no pressure; I’ll read as long as it’s fun and healthy and sleep if I have to!

So what’s on my pile? Hmmm…

In Progress:

  • The Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie. A reread I’ve been meaning to finish for a while.
  • Murder on a Midsummer Night, Kerry Greenwood. I love this series to bits.
  • All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders. I was reading this last weekend, and then moving got in the way!

Monthly TBR:

  • Demon Road, Derek Landy. A review copy, and one I’ve been meaning to read for a while!
  • Knight’s Shadow, Sebastien de Castell. Ditto.
  • Passenger, Alexandra Bracken. Technically this is also in progress, though I haven’t read much yet.

Quick reads:

  • Rat Queens vol. III: Demons, Kurtis J. Wiebe. This just arrived in the past couple of days, and it should be a quick/fun read.
  • Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power, Ryan North & Erica Henderson. Ditto. Comics make a good palate cleanser for the readathon, in my experience!
  • Bryony and Roses, T. Kingfisher. Because I’ve been meaning to read it for a while.

And who knows what else, given my grasshopper-mindedness?

12.49: Almost time to start, and here is the opening meme!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Britain, and I’m not sure it’s fine.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Uhhhhh. Bryony and Roses? I’ve heard good things lately.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Lightly salty popcorn from Graze. If I can find it. I can only see the “slightly sweet” variety…
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I just found my lightly salted popcorn!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I’ve participated a bunch of times. This time, I’m actually doing it with my sister, so we might be able to keep each other awake properly. Normally, I end up needing to sleep because I’m cold and ick. But with my sister to compete with… I mean, support…

13.40: Started with Murder on a Midsummer Night, by Kerry Greenwood. Love Phryne. <3

14.47: Finished my first book! Onto Rat Queens now, I think…

15.31: And now I’ve finished Rat Queens. Bit of a mess of a volume, though. Not sure what next — maybe something not from my list…

17.02: Read Bryony and Roses. I loved it! People do such a good job with the Beast’s character.

18.02: Now reading a book not on my original list, Lady of Mallow, by Dorothy Eden. I’m enjoying it! Very Heyer/Stewart-ish.

19.43: Just finished Lady of Mallow. Not sure what next — maybe a little break?

20.53: And now I’ve finished All the Birds in the Sky! This readathon is going better than I expected, really.

22.07: Yikes, it’s been ages since I finished my last book, and I haven’t even picked my next one yet. I think I’m going to go and lie in bed and read for a bit, and then sleep when I’m tired. I always talk about maybe staying up for the whole thing, but apparently I’m just not 22 any more! (I’m 26, so clearly past it.)

12.05: While I was offline, I read Forensics by Val McDermid and The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin. Seven books total now! Almost my record.

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted April 23, 2016 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

Despite the busy week, I did find time to get to a bookshop — aided and abetted somewhat by Robert @ Bastian’s Book Reviews, of course. I haven’t had time for much reading — you wouldn’t believe how many random clothes I seem to have acquired to sort through — but I have squeezed in a few minutes here and there. Soon, of course, I shall be off to stay with my partner for a few months, and I intend to start out by luxuriously flopping on the floor with our bunny and a book.

Anyway!

Books bought this week:

Cover of The Fold by Peter Clines Cover of Planetfall by Emma Newman Cover of Children of Time by Adrian Tchiakovsky Cover of All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Cover of The Bread We Eat in Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente Cover of Rat Queens vol 3 Cover of The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua

These have all been on my wishlist for a while, so I was happy enough to finally pick them up! I was very good and resisted other books which haven’t been on my wishlist.

Books read this week:

Cover of Bone and Jewel Creatures by Elizabeth Bear Cover of Darwin's Ghosts by Rebecca Stott Cover of The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter by Rod Duncan

Reviews posted this week:

–Voyage of the Basilisk, by Marie Brennan. Predictably, loved this reread. Yay for plots and intrigue and deranged practicality! 5/5 stars
–Forest of Memory, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I got more into this than I expected, and wanted to know more. 4/5 stars
–Fated, by Benedict Jacka. Solid urban fantasy, which handles a complex power surprisingly easily (the protagonist can see potential futures). I want to read more. 3/5 stars
–The Skeleton Cupboard, by Tanya Byron. Avoid. Horrible disrespect/dismissal of trans people in the very first chapter. 1/5 stars
–In the Labyrinth of Drakes, by Marie Brennan. Last book for now in this series. I loved it to bits, and it’s really important in the development of Isabella and answers so many questions. 5/5 stars
–SPQR, by Mary Beard. A good survey of Roman history, focusing on the rise of the Empire rather than its decline. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Liar, by Justine Larbalestier. This is a book I devoured and still find myself pondering at times. 5/5 stars

Other posts: 
–Top Ten Tuesday: This week was meant to be funny books, but I’m bad at humour, so instead I did ‘books that made me make delighted noises’.

How’s everyone doing? Lots more reading than me, I hope!

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted April 19, 2016 by Nicky in General / 18 Comments

This week’s theme is books that make you laugh, and I am… notoriously humour-challenged. I have a sense of humour, but sometimes it goes AWOL or hides up a tree or something, and I’m very particular about my humour. All in all, books generally do not make me laugh.

So instead, here are books which elicited a “khee!” sound from me, which is known to be my noise of utter delight.

Cover of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Cover of In The Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan Cover of Clean Sweep, by Ilona Andrews Cover of The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home by Catherynne Valente Cover of City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

  1. Carry On, Rainbow Rowell. Probably not a surprise, considering how much I’ve been talking about this lately. And the narration is often clever and funny.
  2. In the Labyrinth of Drakes, Marie Brennan. Fans of Isabella have plenty to love about this book… and, you know, we get to find out about certain things that have been hinted at for ages.
  3. Clean Sweep, Ilona Andrews. I don’t know why Ilona Andrews’ writing so reliably pushes my buttons, but yep.
  4. The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home, Catherynne M. Valente. Blunderbuss. <3
  5. City of Blades, Robert Jackson Bennett. These books are just so stunningly awesomely crammed with worldbuilding, of course I make fannish noises.
  6. The Midnight Queen, Sylvia Izzo Hunter. Must get round to the second book soon!
  7. This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab. Lots of awesome. No romance.
  8. The Masked City, Genevieve Cogman. A great follow-up to The Invisible Library.
  9. Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie. I have not the words. But cuddles!
  10. The Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher. HEDGEHOG! Fairytale retelling, also.

Cover of The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter Cover of This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab Cover of The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman Cover of Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie Cover of The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

I just got back from moving, so I can’t be more coherent, but hey, luckily these are all recent reads and I’ve linked to my reviews! Except for In the Labyrinth of Drakes, which is so recent I haven’t reviewed it yet. Oops.

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Unstacking the Shelves

Posted April 16, 2016 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

This is a very quickly put together post, as I am on a tiny laptop in the middle of moving house! It hasn’t been a terrible week for reading, even though I had an assignment due as well, and I (gasp) haven’t bought any books!

Books read this week:

Cover of Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds Cover of SPQR by Mary Beard Cover of Death at the Bar, by Ngaio Marsh Cover of The Skeleton Cupboard by Tanya Byron

Reviews this week:
–Wolves, by Simon Ings. Not a fan of this one, at all. Sometimes I couldn’t even tell what the individual sentences were supposed to mean. 1/5 stars
–Wolfsbane Winter, by Jane Fletcher. This is fairly typical fantasy, except that it features a lesbian romance… and it’s maybe not exactly fantasy. 3/5 stars
–A Civil Contract, by Georgette Heyer. This isn’t the most typical of Heyer’s romances, but I really liked it — it’s more about the process of negotiation and habituation that comes when two people live together and have to make their lives together. 4/5 stars
–Tropic of Serpents, by Marie Brennan. A favourite series reread, so no surprises that I liked this a lot. 5/5 stars
–Dreadful Skin, by Cherie Priest. Intriguing ideas — a nun hunting a werewolf — but sometimes shaky execution. 3/5 stars
–The Stress of Her Regard, by Tim Powers. I’ve tried to read this a few times now, and finally I did finish it. But I’m still not a great fan. It might help if I were more of a fan of the Romantic poets… 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Hundred and Ninety-nine Steps, by Michel Faber. The most powerful thing about this book — something I remember years after reading it — is the feeling of anxiety. Ughh. 2/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: This week I recommended stories with romance for those who might be reluctant to read romance as a genre.

How’s everyone doing? Anything exciting going on? Any books you just can’t wait to read?

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted April 12, 2016 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

This week’s theme is “Ten Books Every X Should Read”… and I’m having a hard time picking what “X” is. I’m going to go a little off-script for me and talk about romances, I think! Unfortunately, I have just a few authors I tend to come back to, rather than reading a lot of romance, so you might want to take it with a pinch of salt… Oh, and I am using the modern version of romance, not the fantasy-romance of medieval times! So I guess “X” is “people reluctant to read pure romance”, since some of these books nudged me into trying it.

Cover of Camelot's Shadow by Sarah Zettel Cover of A Dangerous Thing by Josh Lanyon Cover of Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan Cover of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Cover of Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

  1. Camelot’s Shadow, Sarah Zettel. This is an interesting take on the Arthurian world, and features Gawain being decidedly-not-perfect but not being the murderous asshole from Malory or even Mary Stewart’s The Wicked Day. This is proooobably one of the books that really got me interested in Gawain, and especially his relationship with Dame Ragnelle.
  2. A Dangerous Thing, Josh Lanyon. Technically, this is the second book of the series, and I think you should read the first book in order. I just think the second book is objectively better. This will not be your thing if you don’t like gay relationships, though, and I’m told that’s a thing that one is supposed to make clear about romance? So yes, gay romance!
  3. Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan. Super cute and 90% positive. More YA-ish, and also gay.
  4. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. Also fantasy. If it doesn’t stir your heart, it’s probably made of stone. Your heart, not the book.
  5. Attachments, Rainbow Rowell. This completely won me over so I was willing to try everything of Rowell’s. Sweetly nostalgic, and not too bad about the “communicate, damn it!” issue.
  6. The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer. Lots and lots of fun, and features two couples to root for.
  7. Gaudy Night, Dorothy L. Sayers. Okay, the romance between Peter and Harriet is more of a slow burn thing and probably needs the build-up, but any book with the line “if I should once give way to [him], I would go up like straw” has to count.
  8. The Second Mango, Shira Glassman. Want sweet and silly in a lesbian fantasy love story? Tahdah!
  9. The Ivy Tree, Mary Stewart. I was torn over which of Stewart’s novels to include here, but this is the one that’s probably stuck with me the most. Heavy on the mystery, too!
  10. Season of Storms, Susanna Kearsley. The side characters in this are actually pretty much the amazing thing that gets it onto this list. They feel real too, and feature a gay couple basically having raised a daughter (but It’s Complicated). The main romance is straight, though.

Cover of The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer Cover of Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers Cover of The Second Mango by Shira Glassman Cover of The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart Cover of Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

I am a little irritated by the fact that I could only find one lesbian romance I wanted to include, but Sarah Diemer/Elora Bishop has some good ones, too!

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted April 9, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

Hello, everyone! How’s your week been? I’ve had quite a good week of reading and finally getting one of my assignments done, so I’m pleased with myself. Just one more assignment to go… for now. Gah.

Books acquired:

Cover of In The Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan Cover of Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire Cover of Butterflies in November by Audur Ava Olafsdottir

Super excited about both of these, since I’ve been anticipating them for, ugh, a year? So hurrah! Butterflies in November is a book I got via a book exchange on Facebook; I’ve never heard of it, so I’m quite intrigued.

Books received to review: 

Cover of The Silver Tide by Jen Williams

I’ve been curious about this trilogy for a while, so I dug out the first book — and got the second from the library — the minute I received this review copy.

Library books:

Cover of The Iron Ghost by Jen Williams Cover of SPQR by Mary Beard Cover of Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen

Cover of The Elite by Kiera Cass Cover of The One by Kiera Cass Cover of The Heir by Kiera Cass

The Iron Ghost is the second book of the series, and I already have The Copper Promise, so let’s have at it! As for the other books, well. I had to make my library trips worth it, right?

Books finished this week:

Cover of A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer Cover of Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal Cover of Dreadful Skin by Cherie Priest Cover of Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan

Cover of The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers Cover of Fated by Benedict Jacka Cover of Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan Cover of In The Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan Cover of Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Reviews:

–Fathom, by Cherie Priest. Ultimately I wanted more from it, especially knowing how much I love a couple of Priest’s other books, but it was enjoyable enough. 3/5 stars
–The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black. My catchphrase, once more: communicate, damn it! But some clever stuff with fairy tales, and subverting narrative expectations. 3/5 stars
–The Selection, by Kiera Cass. Surprisingly, I quite liked this, and appreciated the main character’s friendships with other girls and determination to figure out what’s best for her. 3/5 stars
–Liars and Thieves, by Karen Maitland. A short story that adds just a little to Company of Liars. 2/5 stars
–Blood and Feathers, by Lou Morgan. Easy and pacey to read, but quite predictable. If you’re a fan of the CW’s Supernatural… 3/5 stars
–The Wicked Day, by Mary Stewart. A whole rant about how Stewart broke her own story in trying to adhere to too many different Arthurian threads. I found this one really frustrating. 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland. Looks like I enjoyed this one a lot, especially because it taught me about an aspect of history I had no idea about. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: People You Should Follow. A non-exhaustive list of blogs I like and regularly read.

Now excuse me, I really must be doing something productive reading more. Happy reading, everyone!

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted April 5, 2016 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

I’m in a bit of a hurry to get this one done as, naughtily, I no longer have any scheduled posts ready to go! So not much commentary, just a list for this week’s theme: “Ten Bookish People You Should Follow On Twitter/Instagram/Youtube/Snapchat/Facebook”. And I’ll go with “people I enjoy following”, since I have no real idea what people like in blogs!

  1. Cait @ Paper Fury. Hilarious, and calls people pineapples.
  2. Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookworm. I think I’ve been following Charnell since I started blogging!
  3. Kaja @ Of Dragons and Hearts. Some awesome conversations, and also an interesting perspective as she works as a translator.
  4. Ryan @ SpecFic Junkie. Can’t miss out my book bestie.
  5. Robert @ Bastian’s Book Reviews. Shares my regard for Jo Walton’s work, not to mention running a good bookclub.
  6. Kristen @ My Friends Are Fiction. Check out the Lego book covers!
  7. Mogsy (and the others!) @ Bibliosanctum. I have been steered to some awesome books by this blog.
  8. Chuckles @ Chuckles Book Cave. We actually don’t share much of a taste in books, but her reviews are still interesting. (And I often pass on recs to people who do like the same genres.)
  9. Lynn @ Little Lion Lynnet’s. Okay, more a writer than a reader at times, but we have had so many good conversations about books.
  10. You! Well, maybe? I always like discovering new blogs! Comment and I always comment back.

And now I’d better run away and do half a dozen other things!

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Unstacking the Shelves

Posted April 2, 2016 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

Yes, that’s right! For the first time in a while, I’ve actually avoided acquiring any books this week. I haven’t done much unstacking though, either. I’ve read a couple of books, but I got bogged down in The Stress of Her Regard (Tim Powers), of which I’m not enough of a fan to be getting very far with it. Still, I did some more reading on Friday that I’d done all week…

Books finished this week:

Cover of The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart Cover of Wolves by Simon Ings Cover of Wolfsbane Winter by Jane Fletcher

Reviews this week:
–Stormy Petrel, by Mary Stewart. Not my favourite of Stewart’s romance/suspense novels, but a comfort reread for me. 3/5 stars
–A Stranger in Olondria, by Sofia Samatar. Richly written and vivid, though I think I wanted more resolution or… something. 4/5 stars
–A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan. I reread I loved even more the second time round. Awesome alt-history with study of dragons, what’s not to love? 5/5 stars
–The Black Moth, by Georgette Heyer. Since this was Heyer’s first novel, it’s understandably not as great as some of the later ones. But it was still a lot of fun! 3/5 stars
–Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson. I actually prefer Lawson’s blog as a context for her writing, I think, but there’s no denying she’s funny as hell. 3/5 stars
–Library of Souls, by Ransom Riggs. Pretty good finish for the series, though my enjoyment was somewhat marred by the fact that it’s less a series and more one continuous story. It took me a while to pick the threads back up. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Earth Hums in B Flat, by Mari Strachan. Not as whimsical as I expected from descriptions, but enjoyable, though not comfortable. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Library closures. The perspective from someone who helped to run a community library on the importance of libraries — and trained librarians.
–Shelf Love Challenge April Update (and TBR list). Also featuring my love letter to my (ex-)local library.

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