Looks like Top Ten Tuesday isn’t back yet, so here’s another theme of my own. Cribbing from someone else’s choice last week, here are some series I want to finish (or at least continue, in the case of series which haven’t finished yet)!

1. Lady Isabella Trent, by Marie Brennan. The last book is out soon. Okay, this is sad and depressing and I don’t want it, also, but I can’t wait to have the last book.
2. October Daye, by Seanan McGuire. I don’t know if this actually has a projected end, at this point? But nonetheless, I’d like to get there someday.
3. Newsflesh, by Mira Grant. I keep stalling on reading the other books, having read the first, but I definitely want to.
4. Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas. I see plenty of people who don’t like the way the series has gone, and I haven’t read the latest three books (I think) yet, so I might change my mind. But for now, I’m definitely interested.
5. Clockwork Century, by Cherie Priest. I didn’t love the first book, Boneshaker, but I do remember enjoying it and there’s a lot that intrigues me about the later books.
6. Phryne Fisher, by Kerry Greenwood. …Again.
7. Temeraire, by Naomi Novik. Someday! I’ve read the first book again recently, and I would like to read them all this time.
8. The Invisible Library, by Genevieve Cogman. There should be more books in the future, from what I hear, so gimme, gimme, gimme!
9. Blackthorn and Grim, by Juliet Marillier. Even though I’m being terrible about getting round to it, even with a copy right here…
10. Peter Grant, by Ben Aaronovitch. Someday! Not soon, I hope…

There isn’t an official theme this week, but I thought I’d treat it as a freebie and give you ten characters I have a squish on. What’s a squish? It’s a term used in the asexual community for a crush which doesn’t involve any desire for a sexual or perhaps even romantic relationship. And honestly, it really works for the way I feel about some characters — it’s not about them being pretty or handsome or whatever, but I’d still get all squeaky and flappy about meeting them in real life.

It’s not quite my favourite characters, but characters who’ve left some kind of deep impression on me — even if they’re not the main character, or if they’re not actually a favourite. Maybe another term would be “heroes”…

1. Faramir, from The Lord of the Rings. The original squish, as far as I’m concerned. He doesn’t appear for long, but he’s such a noble person.
2. Joscelin Verreuil, from Kushiel’s Dart. This is a fairly easy guess with me, too. I love the paladin types.
3. Josua Lackhand, from The Dragonbone Chair. He was pretty much what I read these books for, the first time. And again, it’s that nobility and the way he cares for his people.
4. Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, from Marvel Comics. She’s just so awesome. Not always the best equipped to tackle a situation, but if she’s the only one, she’ll take that responsibility and just act and do whatever she has to.
5. Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, from Marvel Comics. Depends on the writer somewhat, but there’s such a core of integrity and honesty to the character. They did really well translating this to the MCU without making him a sanctimonious prick, too — which is one of the ways which writers can fail with Steve.
6. Phryne Fisher, from Cocaine Blues. She’s a rather atypical character for this list, and I think she’d be totally baffled by the whole idea of a squish. But she’s completely badass and she cares and she owns her faults as much as her successes.
7. Harriet Vane, from Strong Poison. She can make clever, witty jokes while she’s in prison and on trial for murder. Her cleverness won me over instantly.
8. Honor Harrington, from On Basilisk Station. How not? She’s smart and dedicated and determined, and she has a telepathic cat.
9. Maia, from The Goblin Emperor. He’s mindful, earnest, and he tries so hard. I just want to hug him.
10. Jo March, from Little Women. An early and formative one, though this one was probably because I wanted to be her.

How about you? Ever had a fictional crush/squish?

This week’s theme is books you loved less or more than you thought you would. I’ll do five of each!

Books I Liked Less Than I Hoped:

1. The Children’s Hospital, by Chris Adrian. A notorious failure in one of my online book clubs. Like, I don’t think any of us liked it, and I’m not sure how many of us actually finished it. For a while it was a byword for terribleness.
2. Hard to Be A God, by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky. I enjoyed Roadside Picnic a whole lot, and then found Hard to Be a God… completely impenetrable. I’m told it’s a hard one to translate.
3. Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps, by Kelly Sue DeConnick. It just felt so monumentally pointless. I normally enjoyed DeConnick’s run on Captain Marvel, but nope. Not this one.
4. Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein. I know, what’s wrong with me, right?
5. The Book of Atrix Wolfe, by Patricia McKillip. It wasn’t bad, but I just didn’t enjoy it the way I expected to, since I’ve come to appreciate McKillip’s work a lot.

Books I Liked More Than I Expected:

1. Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates, by Kerry Greenwood. Once upon a time, I read this and hated it. Then I read it again and fell in love, and since devoured the whole series. Right time, I guess.
2. The Wolf Hunt, by Gillian Bradshaw. I expected to be mad at how heteronormative this was set up to be, given I knew the original lai as something rather “homosocial” (as my tutor would’ve said, and did, often). But somehow it charmed me all the same.
3. Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell. This is the first of Rowell’s books I read, and didn’t expect to be so drawn in by her warm style and her characters.
4. The Talisman Ring, by Georgette Heyer. I hadn’t yet admitted that I enjoyed some romance stories when I first read this. But Heyer won me over — not a bad person to convert one, I think.
5. DNA: The Secret of Life, by James Watson. Having read his book on the discovery of DNA, I couldn’t picture getting on with another book of his. But he apparently aged well, and this book was interesting and decidedly less rage inducing.

What about you?

Today we have a guest post from my favourite person…

Hulk, the bunny

Over to her! Her spelling mistakes and typos have been corrected in the interests of readability.

Hi! I am a bunny. I like to nibble books, and here are the books I want to nibble.

1. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. In French. Because Mummy forgot to read me the end and I want to know how it ends.
2. The dictionary. Lots of quality nibbles in there.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. It was used to keep me from rattling my cage before I lived in a pen. Vengeance will be mine.
4. Among Others, by Jo Walton. Mummy and Mommy both like it.
5. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison. Because Mummy and Mommy read it a lot and I am jealous of it.
6. The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro. I have nibbled this a tiny bit in the past and I got a taste for it.
7. There’s A Hippopotamus on my Roof Eating Cake, by Hazel Edwards. Because I want cake!
8. Mary Berry’s Baking Bible. The things Mommy makes from it SMELL nice, but I’m never allowed any.
9. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. Because Mommy says Locke is her “tiny thieving boyfriend” and she is not allowed anyone except Mummy so BYEBYE TINY THIEF.
10. Anything else I can reach! Wait, Mummy says that’s cheating. It’s not. It’s not! I am not a cheating bunny.

Now comment and tell Mummy to give me ALL THE KERRIT [ed. she means carrot].

This week the theme is based on hidden gems read in the last year or so. I’m going to twist it slightly because I’m writing this on a train and my brain doesn’t want to work. Here we have books I’ve read and wish more other people would read (so we can talk about them).

1. Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton. Victorian-esque dragons! Who wear hats! And eat each other. It’s amazing, I promise.
2. The Carpet Makers, by Andreas Eschbach. Honestly, I need to reread this, but I was blown away by the structure and the quality of it.
3. Seaward, by Susan Cooper. I know I’m enthusiastic about her Dark is Rising sequence, but Seaward is more mature, and at least as beautiful.
4. Island of Ghosts, by Gillian Bradshaw. Or maybe Bradshaw’s work in general. Amazing historical fiction, and too much out of print.
5. The Positronic Man, by Isaac Asimov. I loved this as a kid, and read it over and over. I haven’t seen the novel around very often, though. It’s worth reading.
6. Always Coming Home, by Ursula Le Guin. I was reluctant to read this, once upon a time, because it’s not a novel as such. But it’s very, very good, and I do recommend it.
7. Lifelode, by Jo Walton. Is this cheating? Still, this book is far too rare and really should get to a wider audience.
8. Chime, by Franny Billingsley. I remember a few people reading this back when I read it, but I don’t think I’ve seen people talking about it lately. But it’s so good!
9. The Falling Woman, by Pat Murphy. I only read this in 2016, and I really wish I’d read it sooner. It’s very good, with great atmospherics.
10. Postcolonialism Revisited, by Kirsti Bohata. This mostly just because I would love to be able to talk to more people about Welsh literature as post-colonial literature.

I’d say I’m looking forward to other people’s lists, but “dreading” might be the better term — I don’t need more books on my wishlist!

This week’s theme is “2016 releases I meant to read and didn’t get round to”. I didn’t think I’d manage this, but then I had a look at my list, and… ah. Right.

1. Revenger, by Alastair Reynolds. I need to apologise to my sister. All the excitement, and I never got round to this one…
2. Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I’d been anticipating this since it was announced, and yet. Still love that cover so much, too.
3. Necessity, by Jo Walton. I’m just hiding my face in shame here, guys.
4. Children of Earth and Sky, by Guy Gavriel Kay. I even had an ARC. But nope.
5. Double Down, by Gwenda Bond. I loved the first book. Why haven’t I picked this up yet? Whyyy?
6. A Gathering of Shadows, by V.E. Schwab. I think I need to reread the first book, first. Oh no, etc.
7. Magic Binds, by Ilona Andrews. Again, I even had the ARC. Whyyy, self.
8. Red Right Hand, by Chris Holm. I feel bad about this, because I promised a review, but it got caught up in being busy with my wedding.
9. Ninefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee. The author is my mother’s penpal and even sent a signed review copy. I’m a bad person.
10. Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer. I’m sorry, okay?

Gah. Now I feel bad.

On the other hand, that means I still have some awesome books in my future.

I’d feel weird if I didn’t do these posts at all, but I’m not primarily, or at least solely, a reader of new books. So themes like the one for this week aren’t really geared at me… that theme being “Top Ten 2017 Debuts I’m Excited For”.

So, going off on an entirely unexpected tangent (/sarcasm font), here’s…

My ten bookish resolutions:

1. Read for joy. If I’m dreading reading a book, I’m not going to read it. If I’m dying to reread an old favourite, I’ll reread it. If I get halfway through and I can’t bear a minute more, I’ll DNF.
2. I’ll honestly review books I don’t finish. I think it can still be useful to know why someone didn’t get along with a book, even if they didn’t finish it. So I’ll be reviewing and rating books, even if I don’t finish ’em.
3. I will strive to remember that my ratings are wholly personal. I think The Goblin Emperor is the most five-star book of all the five-star books. Buuut, that’s just me, and I know it. I rate based on enjoyment, which is why I feel that I can give an honest rating to a book I don’t finish. I need to keep making it totally clear that’s how I rate and review, though. And, especially, not act like a book is bad just because I disliked it.
4. Read more than I buy. I have a whole spreadsheet for this, which tracks interesting-to-me reading stats. Like the amount I paid for the books I’ve read, and how much I’ve spent on new books, for example. I plan for the former number to be higher than the latter, at all times. We’ll, uh, see.
5. Spare time? Read! Why do I end up wasting time so often? My plan is to get good at just picking a book up and reading.
6. I’ll boost books I love. In whatever way I can — reviews, giveaways, etc.
7. I’ll boost older books too. You never know what might be someone’s gateway drug, or whatever. There are some older books that you don’t see around the blogosphere. A lot of them are amazing!
8. I’ll read more audiobooks or cancel my Audible subscription. Really, self. More crochet, more walking, more audiobooks.
9. I’ll comment on at least one other blog every single day. I did this in 2016, and I enjoyed getting out there and interacting.
10. I’ll comment on at least one new blog every week. Who knows what gems I’ll find, right?

And of course, my usual ones like replying to and returning all comments still stand.

What’re your bookish resolutions?