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?

Not many books read this week (understatement…), but I got a nice little haul of new books, so that was nice!

Books acquired:

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–Creepy Crawly Crochet, by Megan Kreiner. A book of fun crochet patterns, with some clever tutorials on how to shape things without getting too complicated. 4/5 stars
–Lone Survivors: How We Came To Be The Only Humans On Earth, by Chris Stringer. An interesting book which provides a good survey and doesn’t pretend we know more than we really do. 4/5 stars
–X-Men: Return to Weapon X, by Mark Millar and Adam Kubert. A bit lacking in tension, and the art kind of raised an eyebrow. 2/5 stars.
–A Local Habitation, by Seanan McGuire. This book made me wish I’d continued with the series sooner — and I didn’t wait that long. Very entertaining, and lots of interesting faerie lore. 4/5 stars
–The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Do I have anything new to say about this? Apparently, I can ramble about how playing LOTRO changes the reading experience. 5/5 stars
–Hammers on Bone, by Cassandra Khaw. I think I might’ve need more familiarity with the Cthulhu mythos to fully appreciate this, but it was fun. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Lion Hunter, by Elizabeth E. Wein. Doesn’t stand alone as well as the rest of the series, but it’s a good read — albeit quite dark and saddening. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Thankfulness. With the US celebrating Thanksgiving, no surprise this was this week’s theme.

Busy, busy week! But I have books. <3

Fiction acquired:

I’ve already read The Philosopher Kings, of course, but with the UK edition out (and on offer, actually), I had to grab it. I grabbed Ayiti to help finish off a reading challenge; The Dark Forest because The Three Body Problem left me just curious enough; and Feedback, After Atlas, Memory of Water and An Accident of Stars because I’ve been meaning to read ’em.

Non-fiction acquired:

A bit of an odd combination, I’ll admit. Celebrity memoirs… biology!

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–In the Forests of Serre, by Patricia McKillip. Possibly my favourite of McKillip’s books so far, this is magical and rich, based on Russian fairytales and taking them somewhere unique. 5/5 stars
–Poems: Three Series, by Emily Dickinson. Not a fan, sorry. 2/5 stars
–Busman’s Honeymoon, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC radioplay. Fun as ever, featuring Sarah Badel as Harriet Vane and doing a brilliant job of it. 4/5 stars
–The Celts, by Nora Chadwick. Admittedly out of date, but still absorbing and informative. 4/5 stars
–Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People, by Mark Millar. This… didn’t really work for me, which is sad since I do enjoy Ultimate Spider-man. Alas. 2/5 stars
–The Wind Off the Small Isles, by Mary Stewart. A Mary Stewart I hadn’t read? Yep! This is a novella, so it’s lacking a bit of the detail and length I’d like, but it still evokes that lovely sense of atmosphere that Stewart was so good at. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Sunbird, by Elizabeth E. Wein. I loved this one, possibly more than the rest of the series so far, even though it was the furthest from the Arthurian canon. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Movies. A few of my favourites…
–What are you reading Wednesday. My weekly update on what I’ve just finished, what I’m reading now, and what I might read next…
–This is my genre, show me yours! A fun tag about my favourite genre, including rambles about how much I love it.

I could wish I’d managed more reading, but it hasn’t been a bad week! How’re you?

Well, it’s been a heck of a week. Hope everyone’s doing okay!

Received to review:

I’m kind of a sucker for things about rediscovering archaeological marvels, so… yeah, couldn’t resist.

Library:

I was a Lib Dem voter, and I was sort of interested to see what Clegg had to say for himself… but I wasn’t going to buy it!

Books bought:

Another book on invented languages? This one is a bit more like a primer for inventing your own; it’s not something I’m actually interested in doing, but reading about the process and considerations is pretty fascinating. As for The Book, I’m not wedded to the book as a physical object — I love ebooks too — but I am looking forward to this celebration of the book and history. And Becky Chambers’ new book, well, you all tell me I’m going to love it!

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:

–Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC radioplay. A good adaptation, though it’s a bit different in style to the rest of the series. 4/5 stars
–Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers. A reliable comfort read for me, though this time I did notice something rather self-pitying about Lord Peter… 5/5 stars
–The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine. A really interesting take on the dancing princesses fairytale, set in Manhattan during prohibition. I was more riveted than I expected, actually; it hooked me in pretty neatly. 4/5 stars
–From Elvish to Klingon, ed. Michael Adams. Interesting collection of essays on conlangs, although some of them are rather more interesting than others. 3/5 stars
–Faro’s Daughter, by Georgette Heyer. Fun, but Ravenscar is not the best of Heyer heroes. Mind you, Deb kinda makes up for that. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: A Coalition of Lions, by Elizabeth E. Wein. Delightfully develops one of the female characters from the first book. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to the TBR. What it says on the tin. Not just book I’ve just bought, though; it includes wishlisted books.
–What are you reading Wednesday. My weekly update, with a bit of a ramble about British politics courtesy of reading Nick Clegg’s book.
–A-Z Book Blogger Tag. A somewhat random collection of bookish questions!

Good morning! It’s been a weird week for me; kind of slow, but busy too, with class to catch up with and my wife not very well. All’s good now, though, and I’ve made a decent start on my reading goals for November. I’ve also made a list of the books I need to read to meet my challenge goals… yipes.

Anyway, here goes, the weekly roundup:

Received to review:

I’ve enjoyed Carrie Vaughn’s work before, so I’m hopeful about this, even just because it has her name on it.

New books:

A bit of an odd mixture, perhaps! But it really is about time I read On the Origin of Species.

Books finished this week:

Reviews posted this week:
–Anthem, by Ayn Rand. If you’re going to read a book by Rand and you’re pretty sure you’re going to disagree vehemently with her politics, this is a pretty good choice. It’s nice and short. 2/5 stars
–Whispers Under Ground, by Ben Aaronovitch. I still enjoyed this one, but it is a bit of a filler book. Nothing like the impact of the next one. 4/5 stars
–Dinosaurs Without Bones, by Anthony J. Martin. This book is full of information on dinosaurs! And also jokes about all the sorts of traces dinosaurs have left. It doesn’t stop at coprolites — or at least, Martin hopes it doesn’t. 5/5 stars
–In the Land of Invented Languages, by Arika Okrent. This is a fun read and also very informative about conlangs. I actually found myself wanting to give this to everyone. 4/5 stars
–The Borgias, by Christopher Hibbert. Not as entertaining as I’d hoped; it’s not dry, exactly, but it’s very much a litany of facts rather than analysis. 2/5 stars
–The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC radioplay. The casting makes it shine, of course; Ian Carmichael is (at least vocally) the perfect Lord Peter. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Winter Prince, by Elizabeth E. Wein. I found it an interesting and powerful retelling of the Arthurian story, though I wasn’t 100% a fan of the portrayal of the female characters. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books if Your Bookclub Likes SF. More or less what it says on the tin.
–ShelfLove November Update & TBR. My progress on my reading goals for 2016, plus a hopeful to-read list for this month.

Here’s hoping this is a good week for reading, for all of us!