Tag: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted February 9, 2016 by Nicky in General / 15 Comments

This week’s theme is a Valentine’s Day related freebie, so I’m going to put together a list of fictional romances I have loved! And probably no one will be surprised by my choices.

Cover of Camelot's Shadow by Sarah Zettel Cover of Chocolat by Joanne Harris Cover of Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey Cover of Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey Cover of Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

  1. Gawain and Dame Ragnell. Sarah Zettel’s Camelot’s Shadow is the only contemporary book I can think of that uses these two in the way I’d like. I love that, in the original(? oldest extant might be a better word) medieval version, it’s all about equality. Gawain gives Ragnell a choice about her own life, her own body. How can that not appeal?
  2. Roux and Vianne, from Joanne Harris’ Chocolat. I used to think of this book as a guilty pleasure, but having given that whole concept up, I have to cop to this one (and why not?). The undemanding connection between these two really works for me — and reminds me of a favourite song, Suzanne Vega’s ‘Gypsy’.
  3. Joscelin and Phèdre, from Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart. I want a Joscelin of my own! Okay, they take some time getting there, but they come to an understanding and they are devoted to each other.
  4. Pilar and Loup, from Jacqueline Carey’s Santa Olivia. They’re just… adorable. Puppy love and all.
  5. Anluan and Catrin, from Juliet Marillier’s Heart’s Blood. A lovely Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I really believed in the way these two damaged people came together.
  6. Marco and Celia, from Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. This book is just… gorgeous. I need to reread it.
  7. Lord Peter and Harriet, from Dorothy L. Sayers’ Strong PoisonWell, the whole series, of course. The patience he has with her, and the way they finally, finally get together… “If I should once give way to Peter, I should go up like straw.”
  8. Kate and Curran, from Ilona Andrews’ Magic Bites. Again, the whole series. They’re just… such good banter and also passion and irritation and… yep.
  9. Phryne and Lin Chung, from Kerry Greenwood’s Away With the Fairies. I might wish for Phryne to flirt with someone else again, but I do enjoy the bond between these two.
  10. Simon and Baz, from Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On. Okay, I haven’t even read it yet, but I’ve peeked, and eeeeh.

Cover of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Cover of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers Cover of Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews Cover of Away With the Fairies by Kerry Greenwood Cover of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

And of course, every Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart and Susanna Kearsley romance feels perfect as I read it — they just don’t tend to stick in my head separately the way these do.

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted February 2, 2016 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

This week’s theme from The Broke and Bookish is about past and future settings, so I decided to pick out ten historical/alternate history settings which I’ve loved. I’m pretty eclectic and a good story can get me interested in just about any period, so this might be a rather mixed list…

Cover of Farthing, by Jo Walton Cover of Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates by Kerry Greenwood Cover of The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro Cover of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke Cover of Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan

  1. Farthing, Jo Walton. This alternate history is set post-WWII, and asks, what if we compromised with Nazi Germany? What happens then? What societal creep, what slow insidious curtailing of freedom? It’s a heartbreaking trilogy, full of characters to love and hate, and I think Jo does a great job evoking that version of Britain.
  2. The Phryne Fisher books by Kerry Greenwood. I never thought of Australia as a setting I’d like to read about, but I am greatly enjoying this whole series, and the era. I have ghostwritten a book with a flapper heroine, so that might help with my fascination with Phryne and her Melbourne.
  3. Arthurian Britain, in all kinds of books. Or post-Arthurian, in the case of The Buried Giant. It’s quite a wide field, really; some people have a Romanised Arthur, some a very Saxon Arthur. There’s some great stuff which contextualises Arthur in various historical periods — Bernard Cornwell being a good example of an anti-Saxon, post-Roman Arthur.
  4. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke. The way the magic is integrated into the early nineteenth century and its history works perfectly for me. It’s a long book, but so rich in detail and care that I don’t mind a second of it.
  5. Voyage of the Basilisk, Marie Brennan. That whole series, really — and some other books featuring the exploits of women in that sort of period, like Mary Robinette Kowal’s Regency fantasies. Finding a bigger place for women in history? A+++.
  6. The Eagle of the Ninth, Rosemary Sutcliff. Whatever inaccuracies there might be in Sutcliff’s work, it feels right. I’ve always loved her Roman/post-Roman Britain books, and pretty much everything she writes has a fantastic sense of time and place. The Eagle of the Ninth I’ve always loved especially, because it takes a historical mystery and examines it, tries to explain it through fiction.
  7. The Bearkeeper’s Daughter, Gillian Bradshaw. Along with Guy Gavriel Kay’s Sailing to Sarantium and the sequel, this book opened my eyes to the possibility of historical fiction set in Constantinople. This wasn’t a period of history I knew well or thought much about, but now I’d happily pick up more books set there.
  8. Dissolution, C.J. Sansom. And other medieval/renaissance detective stories, like the Cadfael books, too. But this one felt especially rooted in the time period, shaped by the politics and issues of the time.
  9. Outlaw, Angus Donald. Okay, that book itself wasn’t one of my favourites, but that whole period dealing with Robin Hood? Like the Arthurian stories, I love it when writers choose to make Robin Hood feel as real as possible.
  10. Greek/Roman settings. That encompasses Rosemary Sutcliff’s work in some ways, and Jo Walton’s Thessaly books too. It’s just a great period of time with all kinds of things going on, where you can introduce mythic elements or figures that have become legendary now, at the same time as peopling the streets of Rome or Pompeii with ancient people.

Cover of The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff Cover of The Bearkeeper's Daughter, by Gillian Bradshaw Cover of Dissolution by C.J. Sansom Cover of Outlaw by Angus Donald Cover of The Just City by Jo Walton

So yeah, quite a mixed bag. Looking forward to seeing what other people have this week!

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted January 26, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

This week’s theme from The Broke and the Bookish is a freebie, so I took a while to think of a theme I liked… But you’ll be relieved (or not) to discover that I did eventually make my mind up: the theme for me this week is “top ten books I picked up at random that were a really good idea”. All of these books I just grabbed in a bookstore or library, without checking reviews or being recommended them. I’ve linked my reviews in cases where I’ve posted them here, though!

Cover of A Taste of Blood Wine by Freda Warrington Cover of The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams Cover of A Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel 11806282 Cover of The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

  1. A Taste of Blood WineFreda Warrington. I thought this might be a silly vampire story, but I was in the mood for that. I didn’t expect it to be as well written and absorbing as it was — nor to have LGBT+ characters, female scientists pre-WWII, and a rich mythic background.
  2. The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams. I actually bought this whole series in one go, plus his Otherland books, and enjoyed them all greatly. Time for a reread, soon!
  3. A Sorcerer’s Treason, Sarah Zettel. It’s been a while since I read this series, so I just remember picking it up in Borders and getting quite absorbed.
  4. Dead HarvestChris F. Holm. And that whole series, in fact. I really loved the pulp pastiche covers, and loving the story was a good bonus.
  5. The Invisible LibraryGenevieve Cogman. Granted, I didn’t read it until rather later, but just the summary was enough to make me grab this one.
  6. The Gate to Women’s CountrySheri S. Tepper. I liked this so much more than I expected. I’d been more or less anti-recommended Tepper’s work, and just picked this one up because it was in the SF Masterworks list.
  7. The Universe Versus Alex WoodsGavin Extence. I picked this up in Belgium — I can’t remember if it was the time my ereader broke and I just had to get my hands on some books, any books, to fill the void. Anyway, I ended up loving it, but I hadn’t read anything about it beforehand and I was quite surprised by the depth of the subject matter.
  8. The Rose GardenSusanna Kearsley. On the face of it, this didn’t even look like my thing. But I ended up giving it four stars, so not bad, right?
  9. On Basilisk Station, David Weber. I loved this — and my sister loved it even more. Yet I remember just being mildly curious when I picked it up at the library…
  10. Century Rain, Alastair Reynolds. Even if I hadn’t loved the book, it’d be worth the price of entry because it was the book that got my sister back into reading, after years of not being interested. And it’s still her favourite.

Cover of The Gate to Women's Country by Sherri S. Tepper Cover of The Universe Versus Alex Woods, by Gavin Extence Cover of The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley Cover of On Basilisk Station by David Weber Cover of Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds

I really need to jot down ideas for freebie weeks in advance. Any suggestions, people?!

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted January 19, 2016 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

This week’s theme with Top Ten Tuesday is “Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR”, which is a pretty easy one to do — and possibly a little boring for regulars, if you see my Stacking the Shelves posts, since mostly I only count something as being on the TBR once I’ve acquired it. But it does give me a chance to review the list and see what’s coming up, and I’ll include a couple of wishlisted books.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Recently Added to my TBR

Cover of In The Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan Cover of Kingfisher by Patricia McKillip Cover of Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman Cover of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Cover of Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

  1. In the Labyrinth of Drakes, Marie Brennan. Technically that’s a lie — this one automatically goes on my TBR — but I recently added it to my wishlist, so we’re going to say it fits, okay? I’m so excited for more of Lady Trent’s adventures. And hey, if you know where to get an ARC… let me know.
  2. Kingfisher, Patricia McKillip. Gimme. Gimme. Gimme. I’ve basically come to love everything by McKillip.
  3. Silver on the Road, Laura Anne Gilman. I’ve read some enthusiastic reviews of this book, and the cover looks great. And hey, look, I got it for Christmas.
  4. Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo. I more or less just finished reading the Grisha books, so I’m excited to get round to reading this one.
  5. Scarlet, A.C. Gaughen. My friend Tom bought me this and Six of Crows, and I am generally excited to get to them! I blame Kaja @ Of Dragons and Hearts for my eagerness to read this one, I think?
  6. Darkwalker, E.L. Tettensor. I can’t remember quite who was doing positive reviews of this — looks like it was Pabkins @ Not Yet Read — but I wishlisted it and recently got it for Christmas from my friend Amy.
  7. Star-shot, Mary-Ann Constantine. Bought for me (again, for Christmas) by Robert @ Bastian’s Book Reviews, this is set in Cardiff, which really intrigues me. Must get to it soon!
  8. Vengeance Road, Erin Bowman. I’ve heard some good things, so I’m looking forward to this one. There seems to be a trend of YA Westerns and the Western influence in general. I enjoyed True Grit, so why not?
  9. A whole bunch more Phryne Fisher books. I almost have the whole series (so far) now! And I’m looking forward to it.
  10. The Imposter Queen, Sarah Fine. Looks like My Friends Are Fiction sold me on this one…

Cover of Darkwalker by E.L. Tettensor Cover of Star-Shot by Mary-Ann Constantine Cover of Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman Cover of Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood Cover of The Imposter Queen by Sarah Fine

So what’s everyone else been adding to their TBRs recently? And since I’m thinking about it — what do you count as adding something to Mount TBR? Are you like me and only really count it once you’ve acquired it, or do you count your wishlist? I think I don’t count my wishlist because even without those books, it’s already at 1,200 books. Ish…

So many books, so little time. Why will no one pay me to read?

Looking forward to seeing other people’s posts for this Top Ten Tuesday theme!

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted January 12, 2016 by Nicky in General / 10 Comments

I was a little worried I was going to get to this Top Ten Tuesday post and have some major books on here — like Ancillary Mercy — and have to ‘fess up failing to get to a load of ARCs and… Fortunately, I did keep up better than I feared. But there are still some books I should get round to! This week’s theme is…

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant To Get To But Didn’t

Cover of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Cover of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Cover of An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Cover of The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh Cover of Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

  1. Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo. I only read the Grisha trilogy this year, and in the last two months of the year at that, so I’m not kicking myself too hard. But I would’ve liked to get round to this.
  2. Carry On, Rainbow Rowell. I wanted to read it as soon as it came out. Then I… I don’t know… got distracted?
  3. An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir. Someone even bought this for me. Why, self? Why?
  4. The Wrath and the Dawn, Renee Ahdieh. I got a copy of this within a month of release. And yet.
  5. Queen of Shadows, Sarah J. Maas. To be fair, I didn’t read the book before it, either.
  6. The Darkest Part of the Forest, Holly Black. I even had/have it out of the library!
  7. Illuminae, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. At least I didn’t have a copy of this one?
  8. Tower of Thorns, Juliet Marillier. Not helped by the fact that I didn’t get round to Dreamer’s Pool either.
  9. Armada, Ernest Cline. I’m, uh, partway through it? Maybe I’ll even have finished it by the time this post goes up!
  10. A Crown for Cold Silver, Alex Marshall. Haven’t got my hands on this one, yet! Though maybe now there’s a paperback…

Cover of The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black Cover of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Cover of Tower of Thorns by Juliet Marillier Cover of Armada by Ernest Cline Cover of A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall

Quite a mix, really. Maybe I’ll get to them this year — one can hope, right?

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted January 5, 2016 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

This week’s theme is, of course, about your Top Ten resolutions. I’m trying to keep mine bookish this year — let’s see how I do.

  1. Read 200 books bought pre-2016.
  2. Beat buying average from 2015.
  3. Listen to audiobooks instead of music when out walking.
  4. Write reviews immediately.
  5. Remember to read non-fiction when I’m anxious — curiosity is the antidote to anxiety.
  6. Don’t keep library books more than two months.
  7. Review ARCs before release date.
  8. Finish all series in progress.
  9. Don’t buy duplicate copies (e.g. a paperback when I have the ebook) until I know whether I like and want to keep the book.
  10. Put a book on Bookmooch or the donation pile if I’m not likely to reread it within five years.

That’s not a bad list! What’s everyone else resolving?

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted December 29, 2015 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday post is about books I’m anticipating in the first half of 2016, and guys, I have no idea. I don’t keep good enough track. So instead, here’s a replacement theme: my favourite books to give as gifts.

  1. Among Others, Jo Walton. I think I might have gifted this 5+ times already? Basically, I love it to pieces and it speaks to me and if you read it and you know me, you’ll immediately get why.
  2. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. I just love this one. 3+ times gifted?
  3. The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison. 2+ times gifted, but I love it so much I own two copies, ready to give it to someone deserving.
  4. Sabriel, Garth Nix. It stands alone reasonably well and it’s a fascinating world, so yeah. I think I’ve gifted it twice.
  5. The Summer Tree, Guy Gavriel Kay. This was my introduction to Kay’s work, and I do recommend it — even if at times it’s a bit derivative. 2+ times gifted.
  6. Kushiel’s Dart, Jacqueline Carey. I’m careful about who I gift this to, because there are some themes that aren’t suitable for some people. But I’ve gifted it at least twice.
  7. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin. It’s Le Guin. Enough said. I’ve also gifted Changing Planes a couple of times, as a good gateway drug.
  8. The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper. Usually as the whole series. This is… not a shocking one at all. I love these books without reason. 3+ times gifted.
  9. Assassin’s Apprentice, Robin Hobb. Only gifted it once, I think, but it’s excellent fantasy.
  10. A Face Like Glass, Frances Hardinge. Gifted twice, I think, counting this Christmas.

What book do you inevitably consider giving to everyone?

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted December 22, 2015 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

This week’s theme is books I’d like to find under my Christmas tree. Well, I know what Santa is bringing me via my sister and my dad, so I’ll just pick stuff from my Amazon wishlist I’d like to get sometime soon!

If you’d like to help with that, well hey, my Amazon wishlist is here! (I can dream, right?)

  1. Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky. I’ve been curious about this one since I saw Tchaikovsky at a con.
  2. Scarlet, A.C. Gaughen. I figure it’s about time I tried it.
  3. Illuminae, Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman. I’ve been hearing so much about it.
  4. Planetfall, Emma Newman. The anxiety stuff might be a bit much for me, but I am interested in it.
  5. Gunmetal Magic, Ilona Andrews. A spinoff series with Andrea? OKAY.
  6. A Crown for Cold Silver, Alex Marshall. I kept meaning to pick this up, but haven’t yet.
  7. Darkwalker, E.L. Tettensor. I’ve had this on my wishlist for aaaages.
  8. Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps, Kelly Sue DeConnick. Carooool.
  9. Silk: The Life and Times of Cindy Moon, Robbie Thompson and Stacey Lee. About time I read this…
  10. Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo. I was curious about this before I started reading the Grisha books, and now I’m sure I want it.

I’m pretty sure I won’t find these under my tree, but hey, I can dream, right?

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted December 15, 2015 by Nicky in General / 10 Comments

This week’s theme is the Top Ten books I read this year. Off we go! The titles will link to my reviews, so you can read more about them.

  1. The Tropic of Serpents and Voyage of the BasiliskMarie Brennan. Can’t choose, don’t make me. Both of these really kicked my love for the series into a higher gear, after I wasn’t that enchanted by A Natural History of Dragons.
  2. The Tale of Duelling NeurosurgeonsSam Kean. Very good non-fiction; engaging, interesting, wide-ranging.
  3. Karen MemoryElizabeth Bear. So. goshdarn. cute. Also cool alternative history.
  4. The Traitor Baru CormorantSeth J. Dickinson. Criticisms by other people be damned, I loved it.
  5. The Wicked + The Divine: FandemoniumJamie McKelvie & Kieron Gillen. It’s bloody gorgeous.
  6. Cocaine BluesKerry Greenwood. This was a reread, which mostly I’ve avoided in this list, but it was like reading a new book, because I liked it so much more this time.
  7. A Taste of Blood WineFreda Warrington. This series has me mega-conflicted morally, but enraptured in terms of the writing quality.
  8. Lock InJohn Scalzi. Scalzi’s books are always solidly fun, and this was a little more than that, I think.
  9. Remnant PopulationElizabeth Moon. Awesome elderly female protagonist!
  10. SapiensYuval Noah Harari. Very good overview of human prehistory and history.

I totally recommend all ten of those — they weren’t all 5* reads, but they were very enjoyable.

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted December 8, 2015 by Nicky in General / 18 Comments

This week’s theme is the top ten new to me authors I’ve read this year. So, with the help of Goodreads, here goes!

  1. Kerry Greenwood. Actually technically not new to me, because I’d read Cocaine Blues before. But I hated it, for some reason, and didn’t read the whole thing the first time. This time, I devoured it and went on to eat up the rest of the series too (something I’m still in progress with). So I’m going to pretend the first time didn’t happen. I was clearly cranky at the time.
  2. Leigh Bardugo. I know I’m late to the party, but I finally read Shadow and Bone, and found myself unexpectedly riveted.
  3. Ann Leckie. Again, rather late to the party, but at least it meant that I got to read the whole trilogy more or less at once, with just a couple of months waiting for the last one!
  4. K.J. Parker. I’m not just late to the party, I crashed in after several hours. But I read the Tor.com novella and now I know I need to get round to more of Parker’s work.
  5. Freda Warrington. Her vampire novels are just ridiculously addictive. Hurrah for Titan rereleasing them so they came to my attention.
  6. Patricia Briggs. I have some problems with her books, but they’re also dead fun.
  7. Elizabeth Bear. Rather late to the party again, but Karen Memory made me want to read more of her work.
  8. Seth Dickinson. The Traitor Baru Cormorant was awesome.
  9. Zen Cho. I enjoyed Sorcerer to the Crown.
  10. Greg van Eekhout. I really need to get round to the third book in his trilogy, Dragon Coast.

I’ll be interested to see what other people have discovered this year! A couple of mine were actually debut authors, but as you can see from where I’ve been late to the party, a lot of them were discoveries of authors who’ve been going a while.

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