Happy Saturday! Not that it’s the end of the work week for me. Big project to be doing, which means a surprising amount of money and hopefully a correspondingly large number of books. Also, class.

But still, I managed quite a bit of reading this week!

Received to review

Hee! I need to reread The Dragonbone Chair, stat — I’ve been meaning to for a while anyway, but now this is extra motivation. I’m not sure if The Heart of What Was Lost stands alone, but it sounds like it comes after the series?

Bought

It’s fine, Mum, it cost £1.49, and besides, it’s always a good thing for me to read about things that scare me. Knowledge is power, etc.

Finished reading this week:

Not a bad week, as you see! And five of them were ARCs. Hurrah me. And the ratings sneak peek:

4 stars… p53: The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code, Final Girls and Passing Strange.
3 stars… Proust and the Squid and Birthright.
2 stars… Martians Abroad, Binti: Home and Maisie Dobbs.

Reviews posted this week:

–Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas. A reread, which I once again found solidly enjoyable. I don’t expect great literary merit from Maas, just a fun time, which maybe helps. 3/5 stars
–The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers. A lovely space opera adventure, full of characters you get to know and love. Just one criticism: the vaguely episodic feel to each of the events. Everything feels like it gets wrapped up very quickly, with only the bare bones of a larger plot. 4/5 stars
–Weird Dinosaurs: The Strange New Fossils Challenging Everything We Thought We Knew, by John Pickrell. Very enjoyable, and not always just for the dinosaurs but also for the people — almost characters — caught up in their story. 4/5 stars
–The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien. I still love this, but my review this time poked at some of the flaws. 5/5 stars
–The Sense of Style, by Steven Pinker. If you’ve encountered academic technobabble, and particularly if you’re allergic to it, this makes a good antidote. 4/5 stars
–Gutenberg’s Fingerprint, by Merilyn Simonds. More of a memoir than I’d thought going in. Some interesting stuff, but… meh. 2/5 stars
–Strangers in Company, by Jane Aiken Hodge. Mystery, politics and romance, in the vein of a Mary Stewart novel. Fun, though not mindblowing. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday: Graphic Novels. A rundown of my favourites!
–What are you reading Wednesday. Another update from my neverending assault on Mount TBR.

Happy Saturday! I’d be glad it’s the weekend, but it doesn’t make too much difference to me. I still have work I should be doing, alas.

Books to review

I might not be a lit student anymore, but King Arthur is still a major interest of mine. Fascinated to see what this is like! And hurrah for all the others, too, though now I have to hurry up and read Luna: New Moon. Oops…

Books bought this week

I know, Mum, I know, but it was £2.39 on Kindle and I’m going to read it at some point anyway, it’s the latest in a series.

Books read this week

Not much reading, I know… I’ll get back to it. Preview of my ratings:

1 star – Mesopotamia.
4 stars – Temeraire (His Majesty’s Dragon) and The Burning Page.

Reviews posted this week:

–The Book, by Keith Houston. This is a beautiful physical object, just on its own, and the story it tells of how books came to be is also fascinating. It’d definitely make a good gift, and I’m keeping my copy for sure. 5/5 stars
–The Litany of Earth, by Ruthanna Emrys. This short story introduces the world of Winter Tide, and I actually preferred it — the shortness gave it something. 4/5 stars
–The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis. This one has not really aged well in terms of the stereotypes and such. But I still kind of enjoyed it, despite that. 3/5 stars
–Slade House, by David Mitchell. This was a little bit repetitive, but it mostly works. I just wish it wasn’t connected to his other books; I hate feeling like I don’t have the full story. 3/5 stars
–A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Ugh, so preachy. Nope. Without nostalgia or something, I don’t see why this appeals. 2/5 stars
–The Toll-Gate, by Georgette Heyer. A likeable hero and heroine, a fun mystery, and Heyer showing off her research and knowledge. Yes! 4/5 stars
–Armada, by Ernest Cline. Mmm. This didn’t really work for me, because it felt like the same formula as Ready Player One, without the warmth. 2/5 stars
–Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis. One of my favourites of the Narnia books — I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Caspian. 4/5 stars

Other posts: 

–Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books to Nibble. A guest post by my bunny, complete with silly picture.
–What are you reading Wednesday. An update on what I’ve been reading.

G’morning, people! It’s been a quiet week for me, as I got down to work on my second and third assignments. After this third one, though, I get a break again! Not too much of one… but still enough. Also, I’ve started playing Final Fantasy XV, and that’s just eating my free time.

Received to review:

My wish was granted on Netgalley, to my surprise! Looking forward to reading this; I wasn’t totally blown away by Rebel of the Sands, but it was definitely enjoyable.

Read this week:

4 stars to… Miranda and Caliban and Dreadnought.
3 stars to… Natural Histories and The Family Plot.

A light reading week, for me. Alas.

Reviews posted this week:

–The Invisible Library, by Genevieve Cogman. So much fun, and perhaps a little easier to follow having read it once before. I do love the sheer fun of these books. 4/5 stars
–Fair Chance, by Josh Lanyon. The characters continue to be fun and totally non-stereotypical, though the mystery relied a bit too much on coincidence. 4/5 stars
–Camelot’s Shadow, by Sarah Zettel. A reread just for fun, and one I enjoyed very much. Probably my favourite of the four books, this one features Sir Gawain, so, you know. 4/5 stars
–Grey Mask, by Patricia Wentworth. Not a bad read, but a bit too obvious. And oh wow, one of the main characters is just… silly. 3/5 stars
–Invisible Planets, ed. Ken Liu. I wanted to enjoy this more than I did, because it’s a great range of stories. But for me the translation doesn’t quite work. 3/5 stars
–The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. I still don’t get the appeal of Turkish Delight, but everything else about this book is a delight to me, despite the allegory. 4/5 stars
–A Taste of Honey, by Kai Ashante Wilson. With this one, I think I have to rule Wilson’s work just not to my taste. There is some great worldbuilding and sensual, lyrical language… but it just isn’t for me. 2/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday: Hidden Gems. Books I wish more other people would read, so we can talk about ’em.

Hey everyone! It’s been a pretty good week, and now I’m back in Belgium with my wife, which is nice. Also a 13.5kg box of books I sent via courier is already here, so hurrah!

Received to review

I still need to catch up on the Copper Cat books, but looks like this stands alone? And I love the cover.

Books bought

Note to Mum: before you lecture me, I got these with the Amazon card I got from Laura, okay?

By which you see, yep, yet more Seanan McGuire, since I finished An Artificial Night this week and loved it.

Books finished:

And a little preview of my opinions…

4 stars to… Hidden Figures, I Contain Multitudes, The Green Mill Murder, Blood and Circuses, An Artificial Night and Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day.
3 stars to… The Prince of the Moon
1 star to… Dead Until Dark

Reviews posted this week:

–The Steerswoman, by Rosemary Kirstein. Slow, but satisfying, with some very good female characters and a fascinating central concept. 4/5 stars
–How to Clone a Mammoth, by Beth Shapiro. Okay, the answer is mostly ‘you can’t’, but the book is still informative about cloning and rewilding. 4/5 stars
–Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. A reread for the comfort factor, so no surprises I loved it again. 5/5 stars
–Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson. Entertaining, and also poignant about the road Wilson has taken to get where she is. 4/5 stars
–The Assassin’s Blade, by Sarah J. Maas. Probably not so entertaining/relevant if you’re not a fan already. 3/5 stars
–Ayiti, by Roxane Gay. A collection of stories set in and about Haiti. Fascinating and vivid. 4/5 stars
–The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis. A little too preachy, and definitely not my favourite Narnia book. Nor my least favourite, though. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Releases I Didn’t Get Round To. Aka, The Guilt Trip.

How’s everyone’s week been? Reading plenty? Let me know in the comments!

Good morning, folks! Or not, if you’re not in the UK/Europe. So, 2017 so far… not bad, from where I’m sitting?

Received to review:

Cherie Priest! I’m looking forward to it even without knowing much about it. I’ve been a lucky pup this week, really.

Non-fiction:

I’ve already read two of these… guess I was in the non-fiction mood.

Fiction:

Because I don’t have enough Seanan McGuire in my backlog…

Finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:

–City of Wolves, by Willow Palacek. A little disappointing — it’s pacy enough, but really light on substance. 2/5 stars
–The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis. I meant to post these reviews in the order I read them, but WordPress had other plans, apparently. Dawn Treader is one of my favourites of the series. 4/5 stars
–The Art of Language Invention, by David J. Peterson. A really in-depth book about creating languages. A bit much if you’re not planning to create one, but very informative! 4/5 stars
–Politics: Between the Extremes, by Nick Clegg. Somewhat self-pitying, but nonetheless an interesting analysis of the ConDem coalition and the need for a more robust liberalism in the future. 3/5 stars
–The Lost City of the Monkey God, by Douglas Preston. An entertaining and, as far as I can tell, not too sensationalised book about an expedition to find an abandoned city in Mosquitia. 4/5 stars
–Spectacles, by Sue Perkins. Entertaining, but sometimes a bit scatterbrained. 3/5 stars
–Dark Tales, by Shirley Jackson. A little collection of some of Jackson’s less well known uncanny stories. I enjoyed them. 4/5 stars
–Winter Tide, by Ruthanna Emrys. Takes the sexism and racism out of Lovecraft, with a whole bunch of strong female characters. Buuut, I did find it slow. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–2016 Wrapup, and Onward 2017! Final stats on my reading, and some upcoming challenges.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Resolutions. I didn’t stick to the given theme this week, and instead did my bookish resolutions for 2017.

Hey everyone! It’s nearly a brand new year, but here’s my last haul for this one first. It’s a pretty epic haul — everyone spoilt me, book-wise. I’m oddly pleased by the fact that I got equal numbers of fiction and non-fiction books!

New Fiction

I had ARCs of a couple of these, but it’s good to have a finished copy. I blame Mogsy @ Bibliosanctum for a whole bunch of these — it was her reviews that made me put them on my wishlist.

New Non-fiction

Tyrannosaurs! The Loch Ness monster! Microbes! It’s a great haul, and I can’t wait to get stuck in.

Finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:

–Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely. Rather, well, predictable, if you already know your psychology. Still interesting, and very readable. 3/5 stars
–Death of a Unicorn, by Peter Dickinson. Does not actually contain any unicorns. I knew that, but still found it disappointing. 2/5 stars
–A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness. A little predictable, but nonetheless, really hard-hitting about grief and dealing with it. 4/5 stars
–The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu, trans. Ken Liu. This intrigued me, but I wasn’t totally sucked in. Part of that might be the translation. 3/5 stars
–Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, by Matt Ridley. A little dry and a little out of date, but still fun of interesting stuff for the genetics aficionado. 3/5 stars
–The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo. Some of this goes a little too far into, well, ‘woo’. But the central idea was valuable to me. 4/5 stars
–Miniatures, by John Scalzi. More or less what you’d expect if you know Scalzi’s work. Probably great as a collectible, less so for enjoying a solid piece of fiction which goes places. These are fun enough, but they’re all very short (of course) and have the same sort of humour behind them. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten Tuesday: Favourites of 2016. Pretty much what it says on the tin.
–A Game of Books. So next year, I’m going to treat reaching my reading goals like a game. I get points based on book length and how long it’s been on my TBR, for example. There’s a spreadsheet and anyone’s welcome to join in and play!

It’s nearly Christmas! I can’t wait to give my family their presents — and this is my wife’s first Christmas spent with us, too. It’s gonna be awesome. In the meantime, I’ve been reading a ton. Yay!

For those new to the Bibliophibian, Unstacking the Shelves is when I feature the books I’ve read in the past week, because I don’t have any new ones to show off! I know it’s not what people usually do, but I super appreciate it when people leave a relevant comment instead of just copy/pasting a message telling me to enjoy my haul. Thank you!

Finished this week:

The first row of these are rereads, but the others were all new and four were ARCs, so definitely good progress.

Reviews posted this week:
–Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, by Joyce Tyldesley. Informative about a figure who is honestly mostly myth in general knowledge, and also about the time in which she ruled. 4/5 stars
–Terra, by Mitch Benn. It’s cuuute. And fun. 4/5 stars
–This is Your Brain on Music, by David Levitin. I feel like I don’t really understand music enough for this book, though the neurological stuff is interesting. 3/5 stars
–The Sealed Letter, by Emma Donoghue. Eh. Good on historical details, meh on the characters. 2/5 stars
–The Talisman Ring, by Georgette Heyer. Still a very fun adventure/romance. 5/5 stars
–Natural Causes, by James Oswald. This was a weird genre-crossing one, entertaining enough but not something I’m interested in continuing to read. 2/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: A Very Bookish Christmas. Because of course.

Hope you all have a very good Christmas, if you celebrate, and a warm and safe weekend if you don’t!

Happy Saturday! It was going to be an Unstacking, and then people on Netgalley decided to be generous… Also, I have read a lot this week, and it makes me happy. I might actually end up hitting my yearly goals by accident.

Received to review:

New Scalzi! Kameron Hurley! Excited!

Finished this week:

Quite a few of these (Narnia, Throne of Glass) were rereads, but all the same, what a week! Whew.

Reviews posted this week:
–She-Hulk: The Complete Collection vol 1, by Dan Slott et al. Fun, though I think it lost momentum somewhat. 3/5 stars
–Gut, by Giulia Enders. Irreverent and definitely aimed at the layman, and therefore quite a lot of fun. 3/5 stars
–Emma, by Jane Austen. I hate Emma, as a character. ’nuff said. 2/5 stars
–The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin. Not a fan, let’s say. 2/5 stars
–The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of, by Joseph Hansen. There’s a lot of red herrings and such here, but it’s still a solid story. 3/5 stars
–Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively. This is also a book I wasn’t a fan of. Very consciously literary, and unlikeable characters to boot. 1/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Cold Night Lullaby, by Colin MacKay. Do you want to make yourself cry in the most undignified way you can imagine? This might help. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Books in First Half of 2017. Whoa, there’s a lot to look forward to.
–What are you reading Wednesday. The weekly update.

Got something to look forward to in the next week? Share!

Wow, it’s been a heck of a week for me, acquisitions-wise! And fortunately, I’ve got back into reading a bit more. I have a new project with my reading, which I should post about properly later, which is all about getting back to enjoying it instead of feeling like I have to meet targets or something. It’s helping a lot!

Books to review:

What a haul, right? I’m especially excited about The House of Binding Thorns, The Burning Page and Miranda and Caliban. Technically, I know I’m getting a copy of The Burning Page for Christmas, but if I get the time to read the ebook first, I’ll be very happy. And it looks like I will!

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:

–Dark Run, by Mike Brooks. If you’re looking for something a bit Firefly-ish, then this is a good bit. Sometimes I couldn’t decide whether the references were on purpose or weirdly coincidental. It’s a fun set-up, though, with an interesting set of characters who are a bit more diverse than aboard the good ship Serenity. The Maori character, for example, was really fun. 4/5 stars
–Ultimate X-Men: Hellfire and Brimstone, by Mark Millar et al. The tension between Wolverine and Cyclops is just… ugh. This series is so juvenile. 2/5 stars
–In the Woods, by Tana French. Wow. I really expected to love this, because so many of my friends did, but it was totally unsatisfying as a crime novel and I didn’t find the literary pretensions satisfying either. It might have managed on character, but I ended up disliking most of them. So… Tana French is not for me! 2/5 stars
–Captain Marvel: Rise of Alpha Flight, by Tara Butters et al. I wanted this to be a strong continuation of the series for a character I love. It was okay, but not more than that. If you’re more familiar with the other characters, it might be more satisfying, though. 3/5 stars.
–Broken Homes, by Ben Aaronovitch. This is… still ow. I think that’s all I need to say. 4/5 stars
–Augustus, by John Williams. This is a book I appreciate more for the thought behind it than for the book itself, I think. I liked the way it tried to get a look at Augustus Caesar and some of his contradictions, but I wasn’t always a fan of the way it was put together. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. This is one of the books my mother gave me (quite rightly) before I went to university, instructing me that this was something I really should read. I didn’t read it before university, but it definitely left an impression. 5/5 stars

Other posts:

–Top Ten New To Me Authors in 2016. What it says on the tin… with a little bit of cheating here and there.
–What are you reading Wednesday. A very comprehensive update on my current reading!

It’s been a better week for me, though I still have one more assignment to eke out. But I did manage some reading! Hurrah.

Books to review:

I’m going to assume Fair Chance is related to Fair Game and Fair Play, so, awesome. And Weird Dinosaurs, well, who wouldn’t want this one?

Books received:

Because my wife is awesome.

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–Ultimate X-Men: World Tour, by Mark Millar et al. More enjoyable than the first two volumes, but still not doing much for me. 3/5 stars
–The Lost Child of Lychford, by Paul Cornell. If you enjoyed the first Lychford novella, you’ll probably enjoy this too. Judith continues to be completely badass. 3/5 stars
–Everything Belongs to the Future, by Laurie Penny. Enjoyable, but rather predictable, to me. 3/5 stars
–Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, by Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee. A good survey of, well, pretty much what it says on the tin. 4/5 stars
–The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Do I have anything new to say about this one? Possibly not. 5/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Empty Kingdom, by Elizabeth E. Wein. The close of the series, which I’ve been re-posting my reviews of for the last few weeks. Greatly enjoyable. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–On giving up, but positively. Why I’ve given up on my reading goals for 2016, and why that’s a good thing.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Best Places to Read. A departure from the given theme, forgive me.

How’s everyone else doing?