Tag: Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves

Posted December 6, 2014 by in General / 29 Comments

I’m doing really well and not buying books at the moment! But that doesn’t stop me going to the library (dun dun dunnn) or picking up comics. Though honestly, I picked these issues up a couple of weeks ago and forgot to include them then, so I thought I’d drop them into this post.

Review copies

Cover of The Very Best of Kate Elliott Cover of H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

I haven’t actually read anything by Kate Elliott yet, so this seems like a good place to start! As for H is for Hawk, I keep getting curious about it, but not curious enough to buy it… and then lo and behold, I get it on Netgalley. I’m quite interested to get round to reading it ASAP.

Library fiction

Cover of The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron Cover of The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron Cover of The Spirit Eater by Rachel Aaron

Cover of 7 Wonders by Adam Christopher Cover of The Iron King by Maurice Druon Cover of Starfish by Peter Watts

Cover of Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery Cover of Still Life by Louise Penny

Rachel Aaron and Adam Christopher have actually been on my TBR for ages, but that’s in ebook form, and sometimes I’m not in the mood for that. So I thought maybe getting from the library would kickstart me. As for the others, they come recommended by various people, and Emily of New Moon by my love of Anne of Green Gables, though I gather Emily’s a bit more saccharine than Anne.

Library non-fiction

Cover of Ladies of the Grand Tour by Brian Dolan Cover of The Galapagos by Henry Nicholls

I think a friend read Ladies of the Grand Tour recently, and The Galápagos has an obvious draw for me…

Comics (single issues)

DIG029097_2 DIG031290_3

Jessica Drew is awesome.

That’s it for me, and you may well add that that’s plenty for one person. What’s anyone else been getting their hands on?

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted November 29, 2014 by in General / 24 Comments

This week looks quite busy, but I have excuses, I promise…

Library

Cover of Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon Cover of The Language Wars by Henry Hitchings Cover of Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

Cover of Creation by Adam Rutherford Cover of If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley

I’ve been meaning to pick up Bitter Greens for a while, and my sister loves Elizabeth Moon, so that’s why those two — and the non-fiction, well, they were fairly random picks from the library non-fiction section. I do love having random non-fiction to read.

Bought

Cover of Native Tongue, by Suzette Elgin Haden Cover of The Terrorists of Irustan by Louise Marley Cover of The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley

Cover of A Seed on the Wind by Cat Rambo Cover of Queen & Commander by Janine A. Southard Cover of Hive & Heist by Janine A. Southard

This looks fairly busy, but I spent less than £5 myself — a friend from a book group bought me Native Tongue, after a discussion went pretty nasty in the group, which picked my mood up greatly. The Terrorists of Irustan was a rec that came out of that, too. And then I spotted Damaged Worlds, which contains those four books plus a short story by Cecilia Tan for under £1. So I thought I might as well give them a go.

So, not a bad haul for me, and pretty cheap too! What’s everyone else been grabbing?

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted November 22, 2014 by in General / 10 Comments

This week has been a library week…

Fiction

Cover of The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart Cover of The Savage Knight by Paul Lewis Cover of Dangerous Women ed. G.R.R. Martin

Cover of The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley Cover of Labyrinth by Kate Mosse Cover of The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

Cover of The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross Cover of Osama by Lavie Tidhar Cover of Fever by Mary Beth Keane

Cover of Tooth & Claw by Jo Walton Cover of Ghost King by David Gemmell Cover of Last Sword of Power by David Gemmell

Cover of A Taste of Blood Wine by Freda Warrington

I don’t think I actually ever got round to reading The Hollow Hills, so I’m looking forward to it after enjoying The Crystal Cave more than I used to. I do actually own the whole trilogy, but it’s a massive hardback, so I got the library book for reading convenience. The Savage Knight sounds interesting; I think Abaddon books probably deserve a prize for the fake manuscript-provenance story around the story, which has seemingly caught some other reviewers out. Arthuriana, yay! Tooth and Claw, The Hero and the Crown and Labyrinth are rereads of varying quality; my brain seems to need something familiar right now.

Poetry

Cover of Darwin: A Life in Poems by Ruth Padel Cover of Hand in Hand, ed. Carol Ann Duffy

Padel is a great-great-great granddaughter of Darwin, so this was an interesting read, even if I didn’t love it. And I liked the idea of Carol Ann Duffy’s anthology, too — modern poetry in conversation with older. I’d been meaning to grab these for a while.

Non-fiction

Cover of UKCAT for Dummies

Not exciting in the traditional way, perhaps, but it is nice to be preparing myself…

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted November 15, 2014 by in General / 6 Comments

This week, I have been super restrained. No, I really mean it!

Review copies

Cover of Brood by Chase Novak Cover of The Wicked + The Divine by Jamie McKelvie and Kieron Gillen

I didn’t even request Brood — I’m not sure why Bookbridr sent me it, because it sounds like it might be a bit too gory for me. Maybe I clicked something by accident? But I’m glad to have an ARC of The Wicked + The Divine; I actually have a pre-order for the TPB anyway, but now I get to read it sooner.

Bought

 Cover of Do No Harm by Henry Marsh Cover of Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

I’m guessing I’m going to see a lot of Foxglove Summer around in the next couple weeks; it just came out on Thursday. I’m excited! And Do No Harm was something I spotted in the bookshop and ended up getting with what I had left of a book token: it’s all about brain surgery, which both icks me out and fascinates me. I can’t see myself as a brain surgeon, but neurology is fascinating…

Comics

Captain Marvel #9

Captain Marvel #9! I’m not caught up at the moment, but hey, it’s nice to support the Carol Corps.

What’s everyone else been getting?

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted November 8, 2014 by in General / 28 Comments

It’s been a very acquisitive week for me, even though I keep telling myself I mustn’t go over 365 books bought this year. Not that my book-buying urge has ever listening to such logical things, so there y’go. There’s been a fair amount of yarn buying, too, so I am predictably pretty broke already, even though it’s just the first week of November. Anyway! Some awesome stuff, this week.

Review copies

Cover of The Just City by Jo Walton Cover of Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers Cover of Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Cover of Myth and Magic, ed. Radclyffe and Stacia Seamen Cover of World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters Cover of The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston

I was actually kindly lent a print copy of The Just City, which is in my Top Ten Books I Don’t Own and Want To Read post, by Robert. Then naturally Tor approved me for the ARC on Netgalley as well, even though they’ve never approved my requests before… Ah well, I’ll probably read the print copy anyway. I’ve heard mixed things about Robin LaFevers, but I thought I’d try. And queer fairy tales are right up my street.

Print books

Cover of What Matters In Jane Austen? by John Mullen Cover of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North Cover of Dark Entries by Robert Aickman

Cover of Fearsome Magics, ed. Jonathan Strahan Cover of The Sleeper and the Spindle, by Neil Gaiman Cover of Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir

Cover of Drunk Tank Pink by Adam Alter

I couldn’t resist getting The Sleeper and the Spindle, especially because of some of the art I’ve seen inside it. Claire North is apparently another pseudonym of Catherine Webb/Kate Griffin, whose work I’ve been following since she published her first novel. Excited! The other stuff is a mixture of random choice and stuff I’ve been meaning to pick up. I had an ARC of Elizabeth of York, and my guilt induced me to finally just buy it…

Anyway, as this goes live I’ll be heading out to the local Comic-Con. Looking forward to seeing what the dealers have! What’s everyone else been getting?

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted November 1, 2014 by in General / 12 Comments

Aaand it’s Saturday again, already! Where does the time go? Here’s my Stacking the Shelves post for this week…

Comics TPBs

Cover of Hawkeye: LA Woman by Matt Fraction Cover of Captain Marvel Higher Faster Further More by Kelley Sue DeConnick Cover of Ms Marvel: No Normal by Adrian Alphona

Cover of Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread Cover of She-Hulk: Law and Disorder Cover of Red She-Hulk: Hell Hath No Fury

Sooo happy to have these TPBs. It’s awesome that Fraction has focused on Kate Bishop as well as Clint Barton; and of course I’m excited about Captain Marvel. Ms Marvel I’ve been intending to read for ages — I’ve actually been putting the comics covers in my STS posts as each individual issue released on Comixology, but now I own them in proper collected edition! Easier to read. The She-Hulk and Black Widow comics were impulse buys, but I love that I’ve had six superhero comics focusing on women hit my doormat this week. And hey, Captain Marvel film with Carol Danvers announced!

Just please don’t talk to me about the (probable? rumoured? I don’t even know anymore) casting of Dr Strange, because I’m not over the disappointment yet.

Dead tree books

Cover of If On a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively The Lottery & Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

17349743 Cover of The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett Cover of Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges

Cover of The Mistletoe Bride by Kate Mosse Review of The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

I came home from visiting my partner last Saturday, and there was a “small” spree. Oops? But I’d never bought anything from the new bookshop in St Pancras before (Hatchard’s), so I had to have a look. And I’ve been meaning to try more Borges and Calvino, and I like Shirley Jackson already, and…

Contributor copies

Cover of Lightspeed: Women Destroy SF ed. Christie Yant Cover of Fantasy: Women Destroy Fantasy ed. Cat Rambo

Nah, I don’t have a story in here (though if you know my name, you can find it somewhere in Lightspeed) — I’m a slush reader for Lightspeed, and Wendy Wagner was kind enough to make sure I got my contributor copies despite not getting my original email response about it. I don’t actually think anything in either volume came through me first, but I did read/rate ~30 submissions for the two collections, so I have done my bit. (I’m on ~50 submissions read/rated for regular Lightspeed!)

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted October 18, 2014 by in General / 2 Comments

Despite the fact that I have a £10 Kobo voucher to spend, I actually haven’t bought anything this week! Shocking, I know. I have received two books to review, though — the first via LibraryThing Early Reviewers, the second via the author.

Cover of Wishes and Sorrows by Cindy Lynn Speer Cover of Ravensdale by Lucinda Elliot

I know, I know, it’s a miracle as far as my usual stacks are concerned. What’s everyone reading? Anybody doing the readathon? My stack is here, and my post will be up later in the day in time for the start. Also, if you drop by around hour four, I’m running a challenge!

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted October 11, 2014 by in General / 36 Comments

Hello everyone! I’m late with Stacking the Shelves this morning because my partner’s internet doesn’t want to access WordPress. I seem to have it sorted now — fingers crossed… So anyway, it’s not been a bad week, though I’ve so far resisted buying any books in the local shops (though I do know the location of just about all the publicly accessible English-language books in Leuven).

From the library

Cover of The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon Cover of The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane Cover of The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

Cover of Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear Cover of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton Cover of Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Cover of The Bone People by Keri Hulme

I feel like I should like Mary Stewart’s Arthurian work more than I did the first time I tried it, so I’m going to try again, and the library provided that excuse. I’m pretty sure The Bone People was recommended to me by Jo Walton, so I was excited to find that. And there’s some other sci-fi stuff I should read, and The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane because the title makes me think of The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper.

And a gift from the author…

Cover of Tales of the Little Engine by Lynn O' Connacht

x ecd6mm2aqwe““““““““““““““““ asz,.jupy[;ol <— That was my partner’s bunny’s commentary on the matter. Here’s a picture of her in her tunnel.

2014-10-10 07.29.47

And if y’all beat my record for number of comments on an StS post, my partner says I can give her a treat, and maybe we’ll take a video of that.

Anyway, I did also pick up some books on the Kobo store, as you might’ve expected.

Cover of Tribute by Ellen Renner Cover of The Martian by Andy Weir Cover of Bone and Jewel Creatures by Elizabeth Bear

Cover of Moon Called by Patricia Briggs Cover of The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner Cover of Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Cover of King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Cover of A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner Cover of Clariel by Garth Nix

Clariel is obviously one I’ve been waiting for a loooong time, and Kobo messed me around a lot in getting it. Hot Key Books, the publisher, were really great, though. They recced me Tribute, so I picked that up too. Megan Whalen Turner is a reread for me. The others have been recommended by various people and so on.

Okay, that’s it. Remember, every comment increases Hulk’s chances of getting a treat. She ecd6mm2aqwes you!

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted October 4, 2014 by in General / 10 Comments

Good morning, folks! Shortly after this goes live, I’ll be on the way to Belgium again, whoo. So I’ll be around to check out your posts later than usual. This one is a short one by my usual standards, anyway — just three books to review!

Cover of As Chimney Sweepers by Alan Bradley Cover of One-Eyed Jack by Elizabeth Bear Cover of Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall

Yep, that really is it. I’ll be buying a few more books for my Kobo before I set off, but I haven’t picked ’em yet, and I don’t have time to add them later. So they’ll be in next week’s post!

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted September 27, 2014 by in General / 12 Comments

I haven’t gone on such wonderful buying sprees this week, but I did go to two different libraries (go on, guess how many library cards I have). So it is not particularly a small haul, all the same. And I did get some books — my partner spoils me.

Ebooks

Cover of Graceling by Kristin Cashore Cover of Fire by Kristin Cashore Cover of Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Cover of The Language of Spells by Sarah Painter Cover of Fair Game by Josh Lanyon

I read Graceling a few years ago, and liked it well enough, but I wasn’t bowled over. I’m going to give Kristin Cashore another chance, evidently; my ex-housemate Ru will be pleased with me. The Language of Spells was a somewhat random choice, while Fair Game is necessary for me to read last week’s review copy of Fair Play.

Review copies

Cover of Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch Cover of Riding the Unicorn by Paul Kearney

I tried to have restraint this week, see?

Library books

Cover of False Colours by Georgette Heyer Cover of The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen Cover of Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

Cover of Surrender None by Elizabeth Moon Cover of Liar's Oath by Elizabeth Moon Cover of Tempting the Gods by Tanith Lee

Cover of Bad Things by Michael Marshall Cover of The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction Cover of Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss

Cover of Seahenge by Francis Pryor Cover of Discovering Dorothea by Karolyn Shindler

More Heyer, which surprises no one; I keep meaning to read Sarah Addison Allen and since I’ve misplaced Garden Spells, I may as well start there; archaeology! paleontology! and… Matt Fraction. My usual hectic mix.

What’s everyone else been up to?

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