Tag: TBR

An August TBR

Posted August 1, 2019 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

Greetings! It’s August somehow: the month of my birth, and the month of Worldcon! Give me a shout if you’re attending Worldcon and would like to meet up! I’m shy, but if we have books in common it’ll always work out.

Last month was not the greatest, though I did finish 15 of the 20 books (and 20 books overall), which isn’t bad at all considering the mess that was the last week of it. (If you didn’t hear, one of our bunnies is really sick.) The theme for this month is tackling my “on-deck” books; books that are either half-finished, due back at the library, due for review before the publication date, or just stacked on top of my desk for no apparent reason. I’ll also include the next book in a couple of series, to keep me on track with those. Let’s see how many this is… I’ll set a cap of 20!

Facism: A Warning, by Madeleine Albright. I think this was recced by someone on Litsy? Anyway, it’s due back at the library and I’ve renewed it a bunch of times already, so here goes!
Magic Bleeds, by Ilona Andrews. To keep chugging along with my reread/catchup! This will be a delight.
The Warrior Queen, by Joanna Arman. I’m partway through this book about Aethelflaed. It’s not that great, but I’d like to see if it improves now that (halfway through) we’ve actually got onto the part of history where Aethelflaed was doing things instead of just existing.
Her Royal Spyness, by Rhys Bowen. I don’t want to know how long I’ve had this out of the library, but I finally dipped into it last week. Just need to finish up!
Within the Sanctuary of Wings, by Marie Brennan. Finishing the reread!
Turning Darkness into Light, by Marie Brennan. Hopefully before it actually comes out, since I have an ARC! I can’t wait.
The 12:30 from Croyden, by Freeman Wills Crofts. I was supposed to buddy read this, uh, months ago. Oops.

Die Laughing, by Carola Dunn. Should be an easy read, and it keeps me ticking along through the series!
The Blue Salt Road, by Joanne Harris. This one’s short, and due back at the library.
How Long Till Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin. I picked this up in May, and then other stuff happened. Time to read more!
The Fated Sky, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I meant to read this in July. My wife’s started reading The Calculating Stars now, so I’d like to get reading!
Den of Wolves, by Juliet Marillier. Also one I meant to read in July. Looking forward to seeing what happens.
One Salt Sea, by Seanan McGuire. Next in the series!

The Subversive Stitch, by Rozsika Parker. I’ve had this out of the library for way too long, and it’s actually from the stacks, so I really should pick it up soon. Though I’m wondering if it’s worth buying the more recent edition, in case anything changed…
Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea, by Sarah Pinsker. I was in a book club with Sarah Pi; it’s high time I read this. I’ve already read a couple of them, actually.
Gene Machine, by Venki Ramakrishnan. I started this and then got distracted, but it’s due back at the library on the 5th. Whoops.
The Gendered Brain, by Gina Rippon. Started this last month, but ran out of brain due to The Rabbit Situation.
The Aztecs, by Richard Townsend. I may have had this out of the library since… Christmas?
The Piltdown Forgery, by Joseph Weiner. I think the ‘who’ of this case is quite obvious, but it’s still fascinating. And the book is, wait for it, due back at the library.
Heartstone, by Elle Katharine White. I started this ages ago and then stopped for… I don’t know what reason. Time to finish it!

So that’s the lot! Let’s see how I do this month…

What’re you reading this month? Or are you winging it?

Don’t forget to let me know if you’re going to Worldcon!

Tags: books, TBR

A July TBR

Posted July 1, 2019 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

How did I do with my June TBR? 10/10! Hurrah. So it seems like this idea is still working for me — and to be frank, between the Hugo nominees I still need to read and some agreements to catch up with particular series/authors, I’ve got quite a lot on my plate this month…

So here goes:

Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi. I’ve been meaning to read this forever, and it’s on the Hugo ballot.
Magic Strikes, by Ilona Andrews. Always good to have something I know I’ll eat up in minutes on the list!
The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black. Was this really out just last year? (Oh, I see, just barely.) Anyway, it’s on the Hugo list, so I’m fitting it in at last! I seem to remember not always loving Holly Black’s books, but let’s give it a whirl.
Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers. I pounced on this when it was out in paperback, and then got busy. With the Hugos coming up, it’s time to dig back in!
Hild, by Nicola Griffith. I’ve, uh, had this half-read for a while. It’s time to finish up.
Forces of Nature, by Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen. I started this last week, and it sounds like a good way to get some non-fiction mixed in!
Tess of the Road, by Rachel Hartman. For the Lodestar Award voting!

Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland. I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to vote in the YA category of the Hugos, and then the library had this in. So it’s this book’s fault I have such a full menu this month.
The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal. “Gah, finally” — my sister, probably.
The Fated Sky, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I hear that the books are best judged together, so…
Den of Wolves, by Juliet Marillier. Yay! Finally I will get round to this!
Late Eclipses, by Seanan McGuire. It’s the next in the series, and I really don’t want to lose sight of the series I’m reading in between all the other lovely books I want to cram into my brain.
Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer. For whatever reason I’ve forgotten, I promised to read this by August, so okay, here goes! I’ve tried starting it once before, but it didn’t really work for me at the time. I was busy, though.

Superior, by Angela Saini. This is a book on race science I just picked up last week. I enjoyed Inferior, so here’s hoping this is as good.
The Just City, by Jo Walton. Technically I’ve promised to finish this whole trilogy, but I’ll start by rereading the first one!
The Philosopher Kings, by Jo Walton. Well, in for a penny…
Necessity, by Jo Walton. In for a pound. I haven’t actually read this one, but I’ll need to reread the first two before I can get to this one. My brain doesn’t hold the details, these days!
Lifelode, by Jo Walton. I loved this book, so I’m excited to revisit.
The Poison Song, by Jen Williams. I just finished The Bitter Twins and aaaah! Gotta know what happens.
The Stars Now Unclaimed, by Drew Williams. My Habitica book club pick for July, so it kinda has to go on my list.

Should keep me busy, right?

N.B.: The original version of this to-read list had a book by a notorious racist who supported eugenics on it. I had no idea, and I’m sorry. I’ve swapped a different book in.

Tags: books, TBR

ShelfLove November Update

Posted November 1, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 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 needed to read 182 books overall).

Targets:
- 250 or fewer 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: 182/200.
October books bought: 11/20.
October budget: Smashed to smithereens on non-fiction titles.
Owned books read this month: 9/16.
Books read this month: 23/31.
Owned books read overall: 156/167 (11 books behind).
Books read overall: 293/305 (12 books behind).

A TBR for this month looks more or less the same as last month, because I was hopeless, with a few additions.

Ben Aaronovitch, Foxglove Summer.
Ben Aaronovitch, The Hanging Tree.
Ilona Andrews, Magic Binds.
Marie Brennan, In Ashes Lie.
Mike Brooks, Dark Sky.
Becky Chambers, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.
Mira Grant, Deadline.
Mira Grant, Blackout.
Joseph Hansen, Skinflick.
Seanan McGuire, An Artificial Night.
Seanan McGuire, Late Eclipses.
Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, Certain Dark Things.
Emma Newman, After Atlas.
Cherie Priest, The Family Plot.
John Scalzi, The Ghost Brigades.

And this month’s ShelfLove challenge theme is to name one bookish thing you’re thankful for, and I think my answer has to be… bookmarks. I love having bookmarks and using them, not just to mark my place in a book, but to celebrate fandoms I like, mark reading targets, and… honestly, just to collect them. Even really plain boring ones. (I have some from my grandfather’s Rotary Club. They are not pretty, just plain stiff paper, but they have been with me a long time now.)

Tags: #ShelfLove, books, TBR

Readathon!

Posted October 22, 2016 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

It’s that time again, and sadly, I know I can’t participate much today — so I haven’t even officially signed up. Darn those lectures… All the same, I do want to participate for a while, so I’m hoping to drop by and read from 2pm-8pm today, Belgian time, and 10am-4pm tomorrow. That way I’ll hit some readathon hours, and hopefully do some catching up on my backlog!

And what’s on my stack? Well —

Gut, by Giulia Enders. I’m over halfway through it, so I should be able to get finished.
Emma, by Jane Austen. On the last 15%, so this should be a good time to polish it off.
The Man Everyone was Afraid Of, by Joseph Hansen. On the TBR for this month, and in the past it was a very good readathon companion. (It’s a reread, so tried and true.)
The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi. This is a reread too, and also on the TBR. I don’t think I’ve ever read Scalzi’s work for a readathon, but I think it should be pretty well suited.
The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Lenin. Pretty much a classic, and not too long — perfect time to try and polish it off my list.

I think if I stay focused, I should be able to finish all five, which will make it a very good readathon for me despite the interruptions!

14.21: I started early, since class was over, so now I’ve finished reading Gut. And here’s the intro meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Belgium!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Hmm, I’m looking forward to having Emma finished, at any rate?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I have some nice chocolate chip cookies lined up.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I have a bunny whose joy in life is sneakily nibbling my books.
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? Definitely not my first, but this time I have decided in advance I’m not going to stay up. Maybe I’m getting old…

15.12: And now I’ve finished Emma! Not sure what next… I’m feeling kind of sick, annoyingly.

17.02: Still feel sick, but at least in the meantime I’m done with The Boys from Brazil and nearly halfway through The Man Everyone Was Afraid Of.

Tags: books, readathon, TBR

ShelfLove October Update

Posted October 2, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

ShelfLove Update!

Targets:
- 250 or fewer 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: 171/180.
September books bought: 16/20.
September budget: £26/£30.
Owned books read this month: 18/16.
Books read this month: 34/30.
Owned books read overall: 145/150 (5 books behind).
Books read overall: 269/274 (5 books behind).

So as you can see, it’s been a really productive month: for September, I was ahead on all my goals, and I caught up with the deficit from previous months. Let’s hope I can keep that up as I plunge into the second year of my BSc, taking double the amount of credits I was before…

This month’s theme for the challenge is to talk about books and bookish gifts I’m hoping for in my Christmas pile. Well, Genevieve Cogman’s The Burning Page is due on the 15th December, so I’ll probably ask for that, and Dennis Hopeless’ Spider-Women has a pretty big price tag so that’s probably going to be saved for then.

Other than that, I don’t know yet. Probably some comics-related stuff — there’s a Winter Soldier hoodie I want, and a Spider-Gwen one. But my partner is making me a Captain Marvel hoodie, so there’s that. We’ll see, I guess! Normally I wait a little longer to make my wishlists.

As for a TBR for the month, here’s a bunch of books that I either need to review or are part of series I’m trying to finish!

Ilona Andrews, Magic Binds.
Marie Brennan, In Ashes Lie.
Mira Grant, Deadline.
Mira Grant, Blackout.
Joseph Hansen, The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of.
Joseph Hansen, Skinflick.
Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, Certain Dark Things.
Emma Newman, After Atlas.
Cherie Priest, The Family Plot.
John Scalzi, The Ghost Brigades.

I’m gonna keep it to those ten, this month, and see if having a short list encourages me to get round to all of them.

Tags: #ShelfLove, books, challenge, TBR

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted September 27, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, and this week the theme is our fall TBRs! I’m about to come up with my list for October, so hopefully this shouldn’t be too hard. On the other hand, I know that I’m a fickle creature, and I might well still be listing these same books when it comes round to January…

Magic Binds, by Ilona Andrews. I had the ARC and I haven’t got round to it?! What is wrong with me?
The Family Plot, by Cherie Priest. I haven’t loved any of Priest’s books as much as Bloodshot and Hellbent, but I’m totally ready to try. And this is kind of thematically appropriate for October, with Halloween coming up…
Certain Dark Things, by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia. Signal to Noise wasn’t 100% my thing, but imyril’s review sold me on this so much, if the vampires and that gorgeous cover hadn’t already.
Kushiel’s Dart, by Jacqueline Carey. This is a reread, but it’s been so long since I read it, I can’t wait to dive back in. Here’s hoping I still love it just as much.
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. For some reason I’ve been craving a reread, and I’m not going to argue. I’m just vacillating between listening to the audiobook (well, the BBC radioplay adaptation) or reading it. Or both.
The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi. Again, a reread, but not the first book of the series, so if I want to read them as a series and keep them all fresh in my mind, I’d better get to it. I read Old Man’s War a while ago already.
The Child Eater, by Rachel Pollack. I both own a copy (in the UK) and have a copy out of the library (in Belgium), so, you know, I should get round to it.
The Impostor Queen, by Sarah Fine. I’ve had it a while and I’m still seeing good things about it, so why not?
Deadline, by Mira Grant. I just got Blackout, so it’s definitely time to get on with this trilogy.
Time and Again, by Jack Finney. I’m partway through it, so I need to pick it back up. It’s a bit slow, though.

What about everyone else? Any big plans?

Tags: books, TBR, Top Ten Tuesday

ShelfLove Update September

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

ShelfLove Update!

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

ShelfLove August Update

Posted August 1, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

ShelfLove Update!

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: 130/140.
May books bought: 29/20.
May budget: £40/£35.
Owned books read this month: 19/16.
Books read this month: 30/31.
Owned books read overall: 115/117 (2 books behind).
Books read overall: 205/213 (8 books behind).

I actually caught up properly at some point this month, but with wedding plans and an assignment due, I slipped back again.

This month’s theme from ShelfLove is about reading rituals and such, and honestly, I don’t really have any. I read wherever I can, whenever I can. I’ve had some reading nooks over time, when I didn’t really have my own space — I used to hide in the little spare shower room at my grandparents’ house, or sit on their stairs to read. But now I just sit in my chair or in bed or whatever and read wherever I am.

And as for a TBR for August, well, I have no idea what I’m going to have time for and I did really badly with actually sticking to my July TBR, but I would like to read the following in August.

Ilona Andrews, Magic Shifts.
Ilona Andrews, Magic Binds.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, The Tempering of Men.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, An Apprentice to Elves.
Marie Brennan, In Ashes Lie.
Marie Brennan, A Star Shall Fall.
Susan Dennard, Truthwitch.
~~Diane Duane, The Door into Sunset.~~
Chris Holm, Red Right Hand.
Tanya Huff, Blood Pact.
Tanya Huff, Blood Debt.
Emma Newman, Planetfall.
V.E. Schwab, A Gathering of Shadows.
Jen Williams, The Iron Ghost.
Jen Williams, The Silver Tide.

Which sounds very optimistic, and honestly, we’ll just have to see…

Tags: #ShelfLove, books, TBR

ShelfLove July Update

Posted July 1, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

ShelfLove Update!

Hello, everyone! June’s been an eventful month, with my wedding date now set (5th August) and a honeymoon booked (we didn’t choose Dublin because there’s a bookshop I want to visit there, nope)… and the UK deciding in a referendum, incomprehensibly from my point of view, to leave the European Union. Honestly, I kind of hope the last part is a bad dream.

Still, I’ve got a fair amount of reading done, woohoo!

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: 101/120.
May books bought: 8/20.
May budget: £0/£30 (purchases were with vouchers).
Owned books read this month: 23/16.
Books read this month: 34/30.
Owned books read overall: 95/100 (5 books behind).
Books read overall: 175/182 (7 books behind).

The discussion question for this month’s post is:

Why do you read the books you read? Explore why you gravitate towards certain genres and/or authors. How do you pick the next book you will read?

And the answer is, mostly whim. SF/F has always been the main genre I read; probably because my mother does. And I pick the next book I’ll read by whim, or by asking everyone what I should read next and then doing something opposite, because I’m contrary. Or sometimes I’ll just pick something off a shelf and accidentally consume it.

And a to-read list for July, since I do find having the guidance useful, even if — cough — I don’t stick to it all that well. I’m carrying over the books left from last month, as they’re part of series I’d like to get finished. The others are ARCs or books from the backlist I’ve been meaning to get to.

Peter S. Beagle, Summerlong.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, The Tempering of Men.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, An Apprentice to Elves.
Diane Duane, The Door into Sunset.
Marie Brennan, In Ashes Lie.
Tanya Huff, Blood Pact.
Tanya Huff, Blood Debt.
Sarah Kuhn, Heroine Complex.
Laura Lam, False Hearts.
Yoon Ha Lee, Ninefox Gambit.
Juliet Marillier, Tower of Thorns.
Naomi Novik, Uprooted.
V.E. Schwab, A Gathering of Shadows.
Jen Williams, The Iron Ghost.
Jen Williams, The Silver Tide.

Here’s hoping it’s a productive month for all of us.

Tags: #ShelfLove, TBR

ShelfLove June Update

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

ShelfLove Update!

And now it’s June… it’s been a busy month for me, with a big assignment to complete and wedding stuff to organise. Still, towards the end of the month I did start to catch up again, so I haven’t lost progress, and I’m hopeful for the month ahead. I’ve also read some books which have been on my TBR since 2010, and gone through my TBR piles to get rid of some books I’m no longer interested in. I still have 1,071 books on my owned-unread list, but it’s a start!

Last month I brought in more stats and colour coding, so here’s the rundown. 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: 92/100.
May books bought: 25/20.
May budget: N/a; not calculated this month because it’s been in both euros and pounds. Pretty sure it’s in the red though.
Owned books read this month: 18/16.
Books read this month: 29/31.
Owned books read overall: 72/84 (12 books behind).
Books read overall: 139/152 (13 books behind).

As in past months, I’m going to include a TBR pile for the month here — especially since this update post more or less covers this month’s theme of a check-in. If you want to actually check out my progress, check out the Mount TBR menu on my blog; everything red and struck through has been removed from my list, either by reading it or by deciding it’s no longer interesting!

Aaaand the TBR for this month focuses on reading books I’ve owned since before the end of 2015, and finishing some of the series I’m reading.

Diane Duane, The Door into Shadow.
Diane Duane, The Door into Sunset.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, The Tempering of Men.
Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, An Apprentice to Elves.
M.C. Beaton, Sick of Shadows.
M.C. Beaton, Our Lady of Pain.
Marie Brennan, In Ashes Lie.
Kristin Cashore, Bitterblue.
John Crowley, Little, Big.
Kerry Greenwood, Murder & Mendelssohn.
Tanya Huff, Blood Lines.
Tanya Huff, Blood Pact.
Tanya Huff, Blood Debt.
Robin LaFevers, Mortal Heart.
Juliet Marillier, Tower of Thorns.

No doubt I’ll read lots more, but I really hope to finish this bunch! Not to mention my personal challenge of rereading The Hobbit, this time in a French translation.

Tags: #ShelfLove, books, TBR