Category: General

Stacking the Shelves

Posted May 14, 2016 by Nicky in General / 13 Comments

Yay, it’s the weekend! How’s everyone been this week? I have not got enough reading done, because assignment hell. It’s nearly done, but… gaah, a few more days.

Books acquired:

Because I read Rosemary & Rue and haaad to get the next lined up.

Books finished this week:

Reviewed this week:
–Bryony and Roses, by T. Kingfisher. An interesting take on Beauty and the Beast, with an angle I didn’t quite expect. Much more clear about the curse and the hows and whys of it than is often the case. 4/5 stars
–Lady of Mallow, by Dorothy Eden. A potentially good source of new comfort reads for me, Dorothy Eden’s basic plot/writing style reminds me of Mary Stewart’s suspense/romances, except with less of a sense of place. 3/5 stars
–All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders. Not quite sure what to make of this one; it’s an interesting fantasy vs technology scenario, but I didn’t connect much with the characters. 3/5 stars
–The Farthest Shore, by Ursula Le Guin. A reread of a less-liked book in this series. I can see the beauty in it, but I’m just… not a fan in the same way. 3/5 stars
–Silver on the Tree, by Susan Cooper. Maybe I liked this one a little less than I usually do, because this time I so much wanted more. I do love the books, but… 4/5 stars
–Ink and Bone, by Rachel Caine. Interesting alternate universe: what if the Library of Alexandria was not destroyed, and preserving books and the Library became ever more important? 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The City and the City, by China Miéville. I think I like the idea of some of Miéville’s ideas almost more than the execution sometimes. It’s always worth (for me) hanging on and seeing how it all plays out, but the main draw is the idea. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Feels. I went off with my own theme this week, rather at random.

Here’s to a good reading week ahead!

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted May 10, 2016 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

I missed last week’s post because of travelling and busy, and neither last week’s theme or this week’s theme is really speaking to me. So! Instead, just have “Ten Bookish Things I Have Had Feelings About Recently”.

That moment when you realise you want to read a book that you’ve left behind somewhere else. Accio my copy of Heyer’s The Talisman Ring?
Trying to figure out if I liked Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin. So much going on, complex structure. I got to 85% and wasn’t sure what I thought, and then it went and dealt with most of my concerns in the last 15%. What’s with that, book?
When I need all of Seanan McGuire’s books, stat. I just finally read Rosemary and Rue and yep, I need the rest. Everyone who recced me these books totally owes me Amazon vouchers so I can get some… Whaddya mean, no?
When the paperback is really pretty and handier but you have the hardback and the ebook already. Lookin’ at you, Uprooted by Naomi Novik! It’s there and it’s taunting me, in all the shops. But I own it so…
Dinner is ready and you just want to read. I’m getting better at this; I’ve even been stopping mid-page when my partner has dinner ready. But.
Gotta love a comfort read. Contemplating digging into some of my old favourites while I struggle through the hell known as my final math assignment.
But gotta love the new ones too. I’m finally reading Juliet Marillier’s Dreamer’s Pool, for example, and I really want to know what happens and if everything turns out okay in the end for Flidais.
When you can’t find a comfortable position to read. At this rate, I’m thinking upside down in some kind of harness might be what my body is looking for, because all the usual ways of getting comfy are noooot working.
The joy of giving people books. Okay, so my partner already had China Miéville’s latest as an ebook, but the print version is pretty.
The joy of bookshops. I went to my favourite bookshop in Brussels last week (Sterling Books, Wolvengracht 23). It’s moved locations and downsized a bit since I was last year, but I still got a really good haul. And I have five euro off my next purchase…

And now to get on with queueing up some more posts so last week’s standstill doesn’t repeat the next time I’m stressed!

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday

Stacking the Shelves

Posted May 7, 2016 by Nicky in General / 26 Comments

Hello, everyone! It’s been both a busy and a quiet week, in weird ways. But hey, now I’m with my partner in Belgium, I have a document that affirms I’ve never been married, and okay, I should be doing my final assignment for my course, but other than that, I can spend a good amount of time just reading and recharging for the next week!

And I have books (new books, and I can bear anything as long as there are books).

New books

I’m a wuss, so Hex might be a bad choice, but I’m intrigued with the buzz about it and the translation stuff. A lot of the other stuff was fairly random, just picked up because it interested me in Brussels’ Sterling Books. I came to Belgium with only 22 books… this makes a start at making up for it!

Books finished this week:

Reviews this week:
–Rat Queens: Demons, by Kurtis J. Wiebe et al. I think this is my last volume of Rat Queens; it just didn’t come together for me. 2/5 stars
–Murder on a Midsummer Night, by Kerry Greenwood. Fun, though typical of the Phryne books. 3/5 stars
–Bone and Jewel Creatures, by Elizabeth Bear. An interesting novella, with an aged protagonist and some neat magic. 4/5 stars
–The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter, by Rod Duncan. Fun set-up, and I’m intrigued enough to read the other books. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: A History of the World in 100 Objects, by Neil MacGregor. A lovely book which made me really eager to go back to the British Museum. Which I did, not too long ago. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–ShelfLove Update and May TBR: what it says on the tin, with lots of statistics!

How’s everyone else been? Any exciting news?

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

ShelfLove May Update

Posted May 1, 2016 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

ShelfLove Update!

It’s May already?! Like last month, I’m going to consolidate my TBR list with my ShelfLove update, since they go together well and it is in fact the first of the month today.

And this month I also bring more stats, plus colour coding. 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 (so for example, in books read overall, I should’ve read 121 by now, and I’m on 109).

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: 69/80.
March books bought: 8/20.
March budget: £38/£50.
Owned books read this month: 17/16.
Books read this month: 33/30.
Owned books read overall: 54/67 (13 books behind).
Books read overall: 109/121 (12 books behind).

As you can see, I’ve not doing too badly in the past month, and I’m beginning to catch up with the deficit from previous months. And I’ve been very good about sticking to my budget, too!

Still, time for a TBR for May. I’ll undoubtedly read more than this — hopefully a lot more — but these are ones I need to get to for reviews, buddy reads, or just because they’ve been languishing that long.

The Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie. Darn it, Nikki, you’re halfway through it. Pick it back up.
Passenger, Alexandra Bracken. Started this last month, but got distracted.
Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore. Uh, ditto from The Last Argument of Kings. Except more so, because at least the former is a reread. This isn’t and I really should finish it and find out the ending.
Knight’s Shadow, Sebastien de Castell. I have read the first couple of pages and now I muuuust get round to it.
Tam Lin, Pamela Dean. Before people explode or something.
The Door into Shadow, Diane Duane. I’ve had these books kicking around since 2011, and I just reread the first one, so it’s time. I’ll probably try to read the third one too.
The Wolf in the Attic, Paul Kearney. Received to review and I think the review is about due. Oh dear, too much of that rhymed.
False Hearts, Laura Lam. Due out in June, I think, so it’s about time to get to it.
A Court of Thorns & Roses, Sarah J. Maas. I don’t remember the book well enough to read the sequel right away. That’s a good excuse, right?
A Court of Mist & Fury, Sarah J. Maas. Zomg!
Rosemary & Rue, Seanan McGuire. Reading Every Heart A Doorway convinced me I really need to get on and read this one.
Hero, Perry Moore. What better way to celebrate Captain America: Civil War’s release than with cute gay superheroes?
The Sudden Appearance of Hope, Claire North. Just received this to review, and North’s books are always solidly entertaining, so let’s go!
Too Like the Lightning, Ada Palmer. Had it to review, should have already done it. Whoops.
House of Suns, Alastair Reynolds. Or my sister will kick me. If she could be bothered to come to Belgium to do so, anyway.

And I’ll stop there, lest I end up sulking about having to stick too rigidly to a list (yes, despite my evident and oft-indulged love of making lists).

And now for the Shelf Love challenge’s prompt for the month: summer’s coming, so we’re all planning literary trips. It requires some serious thought, because the areas of fiction and history that fascinate me to read about wouldn’t necessary be fun to visit. I could take a leaf out of my mother’s book and follow in Lord Peter Wimsey’s footsteps through Scotland on the trail of Five Red Herrings. Or perhaps, since I don’t live in Wales anymore, I’d be better served by visiting Cader Idris in Wales, the site of Susan Cooper’s The Grey King and Silver on the Tree. Or a trip round Britain to the various sites of Arthurian legend — but not while the battles are going on, please. Hey, if I could pinpoint a site for Camelot…

But really, I’m a homebody, so my favourite literary trips are best taken from an armchair.

Tags: #ShelfLove, books, TBR

Stacking the Shelves

Posted April 30, 2016 by Nicky in General / 34 Comments

As you’re about to see, it’s been a busy week full of reading for me! I’ve been adding books to the “books read this week” section right up to the last minute. It’s always nice when I have plenty of time to read! And despite having an Amazon voucher to spend, so far I haven’t picked a new book — though I did get a couple of books to review.

Received to review:

I’ve followed Claire North’s work for a long time now, so I’m hopeful about this new one. I’ve heard a lot about Woman on the Edge of Time, so I’m curious about it.

Books read this week:

A whole bunch of these were rereads (The Farthest Shore, Silver on the Three, volume one of The Movement, The Door into Fire), but there were a lot of new-to-me books too. And I enjoyed most of them! An excellent week.

Reviews this week:
–Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire. This is probably my favourite story from Tor.com’s novella line. The plot and world are awesome, and so are the characters. 4/5 stars
–Century Rain, by Alastair Reynolds. A reread of a book I loved as a teenager, which I haven’t revisited in a long time; it didn’t disappoint. 4/5 stars
–Death at the Bar, by Ngaio Marsh. Felt a bit too by-the-numbers as a mystery, without the strength of character of Sayers’ Wimsey or even Christie’s Miss Marple. 2/5 stars
–Forensics, by Val McDermid. A good survey of forensic science and how it’s used to catch and indict criminals; well-written, too. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Blackbirds, by Chuck Wendig. I think this is one of the first Angry Robot books I ever read; I’ve kept on reading both the publisher and the author. Wendig’s work is generally a lot of fun, and Blackbirds does well with an interesting idea. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Readathon progress. The start of my excellent reading week, even though I didn’t stay up the full 24 hours!
–Top Ten Tuesday. This week’s theme was bookworm delights, like the smell of books.
–Bout of Books signup. Aka, another readathon!

How’s everyone else been?

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

Bout of Books

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

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!

Tags: books, readathon

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.

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.
When your favourite author has a new book coming out. Extra bonus points if you can get hold of the ARC.
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.
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.
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.
Wind and rain outside, me and book inside. Especially if I can curl up in bed or under my patchwork blanket.
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.
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.
Books that make you stay up past bedtime. Just one more page… just one more page…
“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.

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday

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.

Tags: books, readathon

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:

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:

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!

Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup

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.

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.
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.
Clean Sweep, Ilona Andrews. I don’t know why Ilona Andrews’ writing so reliably pushes my buttons, but yep.
The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home, Catherynne M. Valente. Blunderbuss. <3
City of Blades, Robert Jackson Bennett. These books are just so stunningly awesomely crammed with worldbuilding, of course I make fannish noises.
The Midnight Queen, Sylvia Izzo Hunter. Must get round to the second book soon!
This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab. Lots of awesome. No romance.
The Masked City, Genevieve Cogman. A great follow-up to The Invisible Library.
Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie. I have not the words. But cuddles!
The Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher. HEDGEHOG! Fairytale retelling, also.

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.

Tags: books, Top Ten Tuesday