Well, it’s been a heck of a week. Hope everyone’s doing okay!

Received to review:

I’m kind of a sucker for things about rediscovering archaeological marvels, so… yeah, couldn’t resist.

Library:

I was a Lib Dem voter, and I was sort of interested to see what Clegg had to say for himself… but I wasn’t going to buy it!

Books bought:

Another book on invented languages? This one is a bit more like a primer for inventing your own; it’s not something I’m actually interested in doing, but reading about the process and considerations is pretty fascinating. As for The Book, I’m not wedded to the book as a physical object — I love ebooks too — but I am looking forward to this celebration of the book and history. And Becky Chambers’ new book, well, you all tell me I’m going to love it!

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:

–Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC radioplay. A good adaptation, though it’s a bit different in style to the rest of the series. 4/5 stars
–Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers. A reliable comfort read for me, though this time I did notice something rather self-pitying about Lord Peter… 5/5 stars
–The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine. A really interesting take on the dancing princesses fairytale, set in Manhattan during prohibition. I was more riveted than I expected, actually; it hooked me in pretty neatly. 4/5 stars
–From Elvish to Klingon, ed. Michael Adams. Interesting collection of essays on conlangs, although some of them are rather more interesting than others. 3/5 stars
–Faro’s Daughter, by Georgette Heyer. Fun, but Ravenscar is not the best of Heyer heroes. Mind you, Deb kinda makes up for that. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: A Coalition of Lions, by Elizabeth E. Wein. Delightfully develops one of the female characters from the first book. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to the TBR. What it says on the tin. Not just book I’ve just bought, though; it includes wishlisted books.
–What are you reading Wednesday. My weekly update, with a bit of a ramble about British politics courtesy of reading Nick Clegg’s book.
–A-Z Book Blogger Tag. A somewhat random collection of bookish questions!

Good morning! It’s been a weird week for me; kind of slow, but busy too, with class to catch up with and my wife not very well. All’s good now, though, and I’ve made a decent start on my reading goals for November. I’ve also made a list of the books I need to read to meet my challenge goals… yipes.

Anyway, here goes, the weekly roundup:

Received to review:

I’ve enjoyed Carrie Vaughn’s work before, so I’m hopeful about this, even just because it has her name on it.

New books:

A bit of an odd mixture, perhaps! But it really is about time I read On the Origin of Species.

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–Anthem, by Ayn Rand. If you’re going to read a book by Rand and you’re pretty sure you’re going to disagree vehemently with her politics, this is a pretty good choice. It’s nice and short. 2/5 stars
–Whispers Under Ground, by Ben Aaronovitch. I still enjoyed this one, but it is a bit of a filler book. Nothing like the impact of the next one. 4/5 stars
–Dinosaurs Without Bones, by Anthony J. Martin. This book is full of information on dinosaurs! And also jokes about all the sorts of traces dinosaurs have left. It doesn’t stop at coprolites — or at least, Martin hopes it doesn’t. 5/5 stars
–In the Land of Invented Languages, by Arika Okrent. This is a fun read and also very informative about conlangs. I actually found myself wanting to give this to everyone. 4/5 stars
–The Borgias, by Christopher Hibbert. Not as entertaining as I’d hoped; it’s not dry, exactly, but it’s very much a litany of facts rather than analysis. 2/5 stars
–The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC radioplay. The casting makes it shine, of course; Ian Carmichael is (at least vocally) the perfect Lord Peter. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Winter Prince, by Elizabeth E. Wein. I found it an interesting and powerful retelling of the Arthurian story, though I wasn’t 100% a fan of the portrayal of the female characters. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books if Your Bookclub Likes SF. More or less what it says on the tin.
–ShelfLove November Update & TBR. My progress on my reading goals for 2016, plus a hopeful to-read list for this month.

Here’s hoping this is a good week for reading, for all of us!

It’s been a busy week for me, and it’s about to be a busy weekend too. Still, I did fit in some reading this week!

Received to review:

Ohhh emmm geeee, The Hanging Tree.

Books read this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–Truthwitch, by Susan Dennard. I found this kind of disappointing, given the hype about the female characters and how central their friendship was. I felt like that was more ‘tell’ than ‘show’. 2/5 stars
–How to Traverse Terra Incognita, by Dean Francis Alfar. I wasn’t totally drawn in by this, but it’s a pretty interesting collection. 3/5 stars
–Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch. A fun reread, and Peter endeared himself more to me in this book. 4/5 stars
–The House of Shattered Wings, by Aliette de Bodard. I wasn’t drawn into this one at first, and then all of a sudden, I was. Loved the Vietnamese folklore included. 4/5 stars
–Murder Must Advertise, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Radioplay. As usual, great adaptation and performance, especially on Ian Carmichael’s part. Buuut Inspector Parker’s voice actor is wrong, wrong, wrong. 3/5 stars
–Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World, by Nick Lane. Interesting stuff, but it’s rather too  speculative and sometimes on shaky ground. 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: A Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England, by Ian Mortimer. Provided you are a male time traveller, that is. 2/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Things that Really Scare Me. Typically for me, I gave this a twist — this covers books on topics which scare me, rather than horror fiction, for the Halloween freebie.
–What are you reading Wednesday. My weekly update!
–The TBR Tag. What it says on the tin.

Busy week for me! But more reading than last week, whew. How’s everyone doing?

Books acquired this week:

Yep, a nice big haul of assorted non-fiction. I went into Brussels on Monday, since I got paid, and had a little spree in Sterling Books and Waterstones. <3

I got The City of Dreaming Books from my friend Dingsi, thank you. <3 I’ve been meaning to read War for the Oaks since… forever, I think. Emma Bull has been heavily recommended to me, and I liked the look of this (new?) Penguin edition.

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–Saga Volume Six, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Gorgeous as ever, and a hugely satisfying volume for me. Eeeh. 4/5 stars
–Have His Carcase, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC radioplay. As usual, this is really well done and you gotta love the interaction between Harriet and Peter. Or I do, anyway. 4/5 stars
–Epigenetics: The Ultimate Mystery of Inheritance, by Richard C. Francis, read by Kurt Elftmann. I was mostly indifferent to this one — a bit too simplistic for me. 2/5 stars
–Troublemaker, by Joseph Hansen. This isn’t my favourite of the bunch, with a bit too many gay stereotypes floating around. It’s still interesting, though. 3/5 stars
–The Technological Singularity, by Murray Shanahan. If you already know something about AI, probably don’t bother with this one. 2/5 stars
–Rivers of London, by Ben Aaronovitch. This was a reread, and it actually impressed me more this time round. Love the sense of place and the recognisability of it. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham. A beautifully created and fascinating post-apocalyptic world I remember enjoying a lot. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d Name Things After. Just a quick rundown of the fannish things I’ve called some of my belongings…
–What are you reading Wednesday. An update on this week’s reading!

Saturday again already? Ugh. For some reason, it’s been a slow week for me, reading-wise. I’ve got behind on all my goals again, alas. But I did have work, and that means money, and that means being able to pay for books! And, you know, contribute to my wife’s rent, etc, etc. But still, I do hope I can read more next week.

Still, it was not a bad week in terms of my haul!

Books to review:

All of these are exciting — I need to read Lady of Magick so I can jump right into A Season of Spells. And I never finished James A. Moore’s previous trilogy, because I got distracted, but I remember the worldbuilding as being a lot of fun. So I’m looking forward to that. And Dreadnought just sounds awesome.

Books read this week:

Like I said, pretty disappointing week for reading! But here’s hoping next week will be better — and at least these books were all good.

Reviews posted this week:
–Owain Glyndŵr: The Story of the Last Prince of Wales, by Terry Breverton. Unfortunately rather dry, just a recitation of facts. Which is kind of sad. 2/5 stars
–Saga Volume Five, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. For me, this volume isn’t quite as awesome as the others, because Alana and Marko aren’t kicking ass together. But it’s still pretty darn awesome. 4/5 stars
–The Ides of March, by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. Totally disappointing, which sucks. So much exposition, so much telling. 1/5 stars
–Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC audio version. Because this is a murder mystery written to a train timetable, it’s less fun on the second, third and fourth reading. But with the excellent voice cast, it’s still a good accompaniment to some crochet. 3/5 stars
–The Surgeon of Crowthorne, by Simon Winchester. Sometimes this isn’t sure whether it’s a biography of a man or a dictionary, but all the same, it’s pretty sympathetic to the people it discusses. 3/5 stars
–Death Claims, by Joseph Hansen. The series continues to be a great reread, and once again I’m caught up in the subplot of the relationship between Doug and Dave. Not to be missed if you’re a fan of classic crime fiction. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Decameron, by Giovanni Bocaccio. An old review of a classic which, in my opinion, you shouldn’t miss if you’re interested in other writers like Chaucer and Shakespeare — and it’s entertaining on its own account too. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–The Women Women Don’t See. A commentary on Kristine Katherine Rusch’s comments in the introduction to an anthology of work by “forgotten” female writers of sci-fi’s past. (With the unfortunate fact that most of them are not forgotten at all, like Le Guin and Cherryh.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Recommendations. Books I’ve been recommended that were definitely hits.
–What are you reading… Thursday? A slightly belated update on what I’ve been reading this week.

How’s your week been? Picked up anything interesting?

How is it Saturday again already? It’s been a busy week for me, with work and travelling and my classes starting. How is everyone?

Books acquired:

Wow. Thanks, Tor.com, for all the review copies! The only thing I bought this week is Crooked Kingdom. I haven’t read Six of Crows yet, but I did enjoy the Grisha series…

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–Heresy, by S.J. Parris. The setting works well, though I didn’t really enjoy the portrayal of Giordano Bruno — it was hard to sympathise with him, considering he was pretty much betraying people who showed him trust. I’m not continuing with the series. 3/5 stars
–Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps, by Kelly Sue DeConnick. Oh, dear. I love DeConnick’s Captain Marvel, but this volume is just so pointless that it takes away from that. 1/5 stars
–Predator’s Gold, by Philip Reeve. This continues the theme of the first book of being surprisingly complex in terms of character motivations. I enjoyed it as well, but I wish the female characters had been a bit less reprehensible in their behaviour. 3/5 stars
–Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC Radioplay Version. I love it, of course. Ian Carmichael is just the perfect Peter. 5/5 stars
–We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart. I’m not quite down with the hype, but I did enjoy reading it — “and if anyone asks you how it ends, lie.” 3/5 stars
–Fadeout, by Joseph Hansen. Embarking upon a reread of these books, I fell in love with the characters and the prose all over again. If you’re lacking a gay detective in your hardboiled detective fiction, Dave Brandstetter might fix you up. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, by John Steinbeck. One of the few Arthurian stories that have ever made me feel Lancelot and Guinevere’s love in my gut. The retelling gets off to a shaky start but there’s so much beauty in it. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Author opinions. Aka, do they get to have them? Answer: obviously yes, now stop telling them to stfu about politics, especially if you’re following them on Twitter.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Villains. I went for a list about the things I need in a good villain. Uh. If that’s not an oxymoron.
–What are you reading Wednesday? An update on what I’m reading this week!

Another week gone! And this one brought me plenty of books. I’d say oops, but we all know I love it.

Books acquired:

All pretty impulsive purchases; my sister bought me the one on HIV for my birthday. (I promise, I find it an interesting topic.) Behind the Throne sounds like a lot of fun.

Books to review:

Thank you, Open Road Media and Dover Publications!

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–A History of Ancient Egypt, by John Romer. When I think back to the stuff I knew about Egyptology as a kid, it was mostly about the later Pharaohs, despite the compellingness of the Great Pyramid. This book covers the early part of Egypt’s history, up to the end of the period where the pyramids were built. Very worth it, even though it might not be what people expect from a history of Egypt. 4/5 stars
–Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. I’ve found myself wanting to suggest this collection to several friends since I finished it, and I’m very interested to see what the movie version of the title story does with a very linguistically based plot. The writing impressed me, even when I wasn’t a huge fan of the stories themselves (and mostly I did enjoy them). 4/5 stars
–Off the Map, by Alastair Bonnett. I enjoyed that he referenced fiction, including China Miéville’s work, but in the end this was just too light and not what I wanted from the subject. 2/5 stars
–The Door into Sunset, by Diane Duane. It probably doesn’t say anything positive that I was glad to get to the end of the series, but really, it just kind of… wore out its welcome with me. I still love the casual queerness, and in this book, the shades of grey that were introduced. 3/5 stars
–Chalice, by Robin McKinley. I realised, rereading this again, that this is one of those warm and mostly positive fantasies which I feel so badly in need of sometimes. And if you end it without craving honey, I don’t know what you are. 5/5 stars
–Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve. If you can read the first line and not be hooked, this might not be your thing. “It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.” 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Moon of Gomrath, by Alan Garner. I apparently enjoyed this more than the first book; I’m kind of curious to reread it now for the mythology. 3/5 stars

Other posts:
–Survey: What’re you here for? For regular readers, a survey on the content you’re interested in around here.
–Classics via daily serial. I’ve started using the app Serial Reader to explore some classics I hadn’t got round to. How am I finding it? [Cheesy promotions voice] You’ll have to click to find out.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR. What’s coming up for me? WELL.
–What are you reading Wednesday. Resurrecting a feature I used to do every week, which covers what I’ve just finished reading, what I’m reading now, and what I might read next.
–Totally Should’ve… A meme I picked up all about things some books/series should (or should not have done). Unfortunately, I am mostly predictable and occasionally obscure.

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?

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?

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