Hello, everyone! It’s been both a busy and a quiet week, in weird ways. But hey, now I’m with my partner in Belgium, I have a document that affirms I’ve never been married, and okay, I should be doing my final assignment for my course, but other than that, I can spend a good amount of time just reading and recharging for the next week!

And I have books (new books, and I can bear anything as long as there are books).

New books

 

I’m a wuss, so Hex might be a bad choice, but I’m intrigued with the buzz about it and the translation stuff. A lot of the other stuff was fairly random, just picked up because it interested me in Brussels’ Sterling Books. I came to Belgium with only 22 books… this makes a start at making up for it!

Books finished this week:

   

Reviews this week: 
–Rat Queens: Demons, by Kurtis J. Wiebe et al. I think this is my last volume of Rat Queens; it just didn’t come together for me. 2/5 stars
–Murder on a Midsummer Night, by Kerry Greenwood. Fun, though typical of the Phryne books. 3/5 stars
–Bone and Jewel Creatures, by Elizabeth Bear. An interesting novella, with an aged protagonist and some neat magic. 4/5 stars
–The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter, by Rod Duncan. Fun set-up, and I’m intrigued enough to read the other books. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: A History of the World in 100 Objects, by Neil MacGregor. A lovely book which made me really eager to go back to the British Museum. Which I did, not too long ago. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–ShelfLove Update and May TBR: what it says on the tin, with lots of statistics!

How’s everyone else been? Any exciting news?

As you’re about to see, it’s been a busy week full of reading for me! I’ve been adding books to the “books read this week” section right up to the last minute. It’s always nice when I have plenty of time to read! And despite having an Amazon voucher to spend, so far I haven’t picked a new book — though I did get a couple of books to review.

Received to review: 

I’ve followed Claire North’s work for a long time now, so I’m hopeful about this new one. I’ve heard a lot about Woman on the Edge of Time, so I’m curious about it.

Books read this week:

    

     

    

 

A whole bunch of these were rereads (The Farthest Shore, Silver on the Three, volume one of The Movement, The Door into Fire), but there were a lot of new-to-me books too. And I enjoyed most of them! An excellent week.

Reviews this week:
–Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire. This is probably my favourite story from Tor.com’s novella line. The plot and world are awesome, and so are the characters. 4/5 stars
–Century Rain, by Alastair Reynolds. A reread of a book I loved as a teenager, which I haven’t revisited in a long time; it didn’t disappoint. 4/5 stars
–Death at the Bar, by Ngaio Marsh. Felt a bit too by-the-numbers as a mystery, without the strength of character of Sayers’ Wimsey or even Christie’s Miss Marple. 2/5 stars
–Forensics, by Val McDermid. A good survey of forensic science and how it’s used to catch and indict criminals; well-written, too. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Blackbirds, by Chuck Wendig. I think this is one of the first Angry Robot books I ever read; I’ve kept on reading both the publisher and the author. Wendig’s work is generally a lot of fun, and Blackbirds does well with an interesting idea. 4/5 stars

Other posts: 
–Readathon progress. The start of my excellent reading week, even though I didn’t stay up the full 24 hours!
–Top Ten Tuesday. This week’s theme was bookworm delights, like the smell of books.
–Bout of Books signup. Aka, another readathon!

How’s everyone else been?

This is a very quickly put together post, as I am on a tiny laptop in the middle of moving house! It hasn’t been a terrible week for reading, even though I had an assignment due as well, and I (gasp) haven’t bought any books!

Books read this week:

 

Reviews this week:
–Wolves, by Simon Ings. Not a fan of this one, at all. Sometimes I couldn’t even tell what the individual sentences were supposed to mean. 1/5 stars
–Wolfsbane Winter, by Jane Fletcher. This is fairly typical fantasy, except that it features a lesbian romance… and it’s maybe not exactly fantasy. 3/5 stars
–A Civil Contract, by Georgette Heyer. This isn’t the most typical of Heyer’s romances, but I really liked it — it’s more about the process of negotiation and habituation that comes when two people live together and have to make their lives together. 4/5 stars
–Tropic of Serpents, by Marie Brennan. A favourite series reread, so no surprises that I liked this a lot. 5/5 stars
–Dreadful Skin, by Cherie Priest. Intriguing ideas — a nun hunting a werewolf — but sometimes shaky execution. 3/5 stars
–The Stress of Her Regard, by Tim Powers. I’ve tried to read this a few times now, and finally I did finish it. But I’m still not a great fan. It might help if I were more of a fan of the Romantic poets… 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Hundred and Ninety-nine Steps, by Michel Faber. The most powerful thing about this book — something I remember years after reading it — is the feeling of anxiety. Ughh. 2/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: This week I recommended stories with romance for those who might be reluctant to read romance as a genre.

How’s everyone doing? Anything exciting going on? Any books you just can’t wait to read?

Hello, everyone! How’s your week been? I’ve had quite a good week of reading and finally getting one of my assignments done, so I’m pleased with myself. Just one more assignment to go… for now. Gah.

Books acquired:

  

Super excited about both of these, since I’ve been anticipating them for, ugh, a year? So hurrah! Butterflies in November is a book I got via a book exchange on Facebook; I’ve never heard of it, so I’m quite intrigued.

Books received to review: 

I’ve been curious about this trilogy for a while, so I dug out the first book — and got the second from the library — the minute I received this review copy.

Library books:

  

 

The Iron Ghost is the second book of the series, and I already have The Copper Promise, so let’s have at it! As for the other books, well. I had to make my library trips worth it, right?

Books finished this week:

   

    

Reviews:

–Fathom, by Cherie Priest. Ultimately I wanted more from it, especially knowing how much I love a couple of Priest’s other books, but it was enjoyable enough. 3/5 stars
–The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black. My catchphrase, once more: communicate, damn it! But some clever stuff with fairy tales, and subverting narrative expectations. 3/5 stars
–The Selection, by Kiera Cass. Surprisingly, I quite liked this, and appreciated the main character’s friendships with other girls and determination to figure out what’s best for her. 3/5 stars
–Liars and Thieves, by Karen Maitland. A short story that adds just a little to Company of Liars. 2/5 stars
–Blood and Feathers, by Lou Morgan. Easy and pacey to read, but quite predictable. If you’re a fan of the CW’s Supernatural… 3/5 stars
–The Wicked Day, by Mary Stewart. A whole rant about how Stewart broke her own story in trying to adhere to too many different Arthurian threads. I found this one really frustrating. 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland. Looks like I enjoyed this one a lot, especially because it taught me about an aspect of history I had no idea about. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: People You Should Follow. A non-exhaustive list of blogs I like and regularly read.

Now excuse me, I really must be doing something productive reading more. Happy reading, everyone!

Yes, that’s right! For the first time in a while, I’ve actually avoided acquiring any books this week. I haven’t done much unstacking though, either. I’ve read a couple of books, but I got bogged down in The Stress of Her Regard (Tim Powers), of which I’m not enough of a fan to be getting very far with it. Still, I did some more reading on Friday that I’d done all week…

Books finished this week:

  

Reviews this week:
–Stormy Petrel, by Mary Stewart. Not my favourite of Stewart’s romance/suspense novels, but a comfort reread for me. 3/5 stars
–A Stranger in Olondria, by Sofia Samatar. Richly written and vivid, though I think I wanted more resolution or… something. 4/5 stars
–A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan. I reread I loved even more the second time round. Awesome alt-history with study of dragons, what’s not to love? 5/5 stars
–The Black Moth, by Georgette Heyer. Since this was Heyer’s first novel, it’s understandably not as great as some of the later ones. But it was still a lot of fun! 3/5 stars
–Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson. I actually prefer Lawson’s blog as a context for her writing, I think, but there’s no denying she’s funny as hell. 3/5 stars
–Library of Souls, by Ransom Riggs. Pretty good finish for the series, though my enjoyment was somewhat marred by the fact that it’s less a series and more one continuous story. It took me a while to pick the threads back up. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Earth Hums in B Flat, by Mari Strachan. Not as whimsical as I expected from descriptions, but enjoyable, though not comfortable. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Library closures. The perspective from someone who helped to run a community library on the importance of libraries — and trained librarians.
–Shelf Love Challenge April Update (and TBR list). Also featuring my love letter to my (ex-)local library.

Hello everyone! It’s been a busy week, particularly as I’m now trying to tackle my library books and get them down to zero, in preparation for a long trip to stay with my partner. I have a month, and 36 books to go… and some of them are the second book in a series where I own the first book but haven’t read it yet. Uh, wish me luck?!

Received to review:

 

So excited about all three of these!

Books finished this week: 

    

   

Reviews this week:
–Clean Sweep, by Ilona Andrews. Lots of fun, and funny too. Ilona Andrews’ books are always fun, I think. 4/5 stars
–Junk DNA, by Nessa Carey. Spoiler: there’s probably no such thing as junk DNA. At least not in the amounts previously thought. Nessa Carey writes clearly and concisely, and I think the book should work for laypeople. 4/5 stars
–The Winner’s Crime, by Marie Rutkoski. I’m not sure if my writing might be too generous — the plot relied heavily on miscommunication/lack of communication, which always drives me bananas. 4/5 stars
–Solstice Wood, by Patricia A. McKillip. More accessible than the other book, Winter Rose, but less enchanting. 3/5 stars
–Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. Love, love, love. Might read it again before long. 5/5 stars
–The Winner’s Kiss, by Marie Rutkoski. Got over most of my quibbles from the second book, and ended things well. 4/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Helen of Troy, by Bettany Hughes. Enjoyable take on the myth of Helen and the way it has developed, though probably dry if this isn’t an area of interest for you. 4/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough/In A While. What it says on the tin!

How’s everyone? Anything exciting going on?

Well, for the first time in a while I haven’t got any new books this week! I did pick up some print copies of books I already owned for my collection, but I don’t really count those as acquisitions unless I’m going to reread. And there was a library trip, but only a small one!

Yes, honestly, that is a small one. I technically own the Heyer books… somewhere.

Books read: 

  

  

Reviews this week:

–The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All The Way Home, by Catherynne M. Valente. A worthy final book, though I was disappointed not to see more of a couple of characters. It ends very neatly. 4/5 stars
–Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days, by Brian K. Vaughn. I wanted to like it more, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the art. Made a decent introduction, though. 3/5 stars
–Winter Rose, by Patricia A. McKillip. I normally love McKillip’s work, but this was my third read and I consistently don’t seem to “get” this one. 3/5 stars
–Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, by Kai Ashante Wilson. I wanted to like it, but the pacing was off and there were so many things skimmed over that I really wanted to know. 2/5 stars
–Alex + Ada: Volume One, by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn. Very very introductory, so it’s hard to say if I’ll like the rest of the series. 3/5 stars
–Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay: The Dodgy Business of Popular Music, by Simon Napier-Bell. Gossipy and light, but uses terms like “Red Indians”. Whaaa? 2/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Postman, by David Brin. An interesting concept for a post-apocalyptic story. I wanted more female characters, though. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Why reread? Examines why I like to reread — and asks whether you do, too.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR. What it says on the tin: some books I hope to read soon.

So how’s your week been? I wish I’d read more, but it hasn’t been a bad week. My only worry is getting together the money for my domain name renewal and such.

You know how I said last week there was a bookalanche? Well, it seems to have… set off another? Plus I got some review copies. And I joined a new library. At least I read quite a lot too?!

Books to review: 

 

Between being a fan of Ada Palmer’s work with Sassafrass and Jo’s praise, I couldn’t resist picking up the latter, and I’ve seen so much enthusiasm about Passenger, so I thought I’d give it a try. And Demon Road, well, the hardback from the library is a beast so glad to have the ebook. Thanks Tor, Hachette and HarperCollins!

Library books:

 

 

Grabbed the Stiefvater books since it’s the first time I’ve seen them both on the shelves, and I don’t know when I’ll next swing by that library. The Alastair Reynolds books are for my epic reread with my sister; we’re starting with Century Rain, which is the book we both started with way back when (and the book which got my sister to read again after years of refusing). A Natural History of Dragons is for a reread and Saturn’s Children because I don’t feel like reading in ebook lately. The other two I was just randomly curious about.

Books bought: 

 

 

  

Um. My only excuse is that some of these were secondhand and thus very cheap or free, and then the novellas were from my partner via our Valentine’s Day agreement (for me: £10 ish for books, no questions asked, each month; for her: at least one nap, no pouting allowed, each month). You can see four distinctive sections — romance novels, fantasy novellas, Alastair Reynolds, and kickass ladies in comics. And then an Ilona Andrews one tacked on that I almost forgot to list.

Books read: 

   

   

Reviews this week: 

–Tolkien: An Illustrated Atlas, by David Day. Mostly worth it for the art included. 3/5 stars
–An Earthly Knight, by Janet McNoughton. A reread I appreciated more than I did the first time, based on the ballad of Tam Lin. Lots of historical detail. 4/5 stars
–The Last Enchantment, by Mary Stewart. It felt like Stewart tried to see the best in all the traditional characters, which didn’t always work. 3/5 stars
–The Paper Menagerie, by Ken Liu. Interesting collection of stories, and my only real problem was something about the tone. Probably very idiosyncratic! 3/5 stars
–Murder in the Dark, by Kerry Greenwood. One of the weaker entries in the series, I think, with a weird cult thing going on. 3/5 stars
–Vicious, by V.E. Schwab. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Morally dubious superpeople and a fun story structure. 5/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Before I Go To Sleep, by S.J. Watson. Fairly typical amnesiac thriller, and rather predictable too. 2/5 stars

Other posts:
–Spoilers! A post on why I like spoilers and why I might not be alone in that.
–Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Characters Everyone Likes But I Just Don’t Get. Apparently it’s unpopular opinions time again?

This week there has been a, uh, bookalanche. Between preorders and filling my stamp card for vouchers at Waterstones (and finding a pre-filled one in my purse too!) and Bookmooch, I’m set for life, I think.

Library books:

I’ve been warned that The Selection is probably not my thing, but I promised to try it all the same, in a bit of boundary-pushing. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, well, the summary I’ve read doesn’t interest me? But I know people have loved it, so I’m giving it a try. And I’ve heard good things about Alex + Ada, and I’ve loved android stories since The Positronic Man, so bring it on.

Books bought:

  

 

 

All of these have been on my wishlist for a while, or are new copies of books I’ve lost or only had as ebooks. It’s quite the haul, I know. There’s actually a few more, thanks to my sister finding some of Alastair Reynolds’ books for me in a second hand bookshop, but I’ll feature those next week!

Books read:

   

Reviews this week:
–Courage is the Price, by Lynn O’Connacht. Great depiction of anxiety, and also being brave and growing up and facing things. 4/5 stars
–The Winner’s Curse, by Marie Rutkoski. Liked this so much more than I expected. Interesting world, and an awesome female lead. 4/5 stars
–Sunset Mantle, by Alter S. Reiss. Epic fantasy, itty bitty living space. 4/5 stars
–The Story of Kullervo, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Disappointing, even for a fan as academically minded as I am. 2/5 stars
–The Wicked + The Divine: Commercial Suicide, by Kieron Gillen. Lacking Jamie McKelvie’s art, I found this kind of unappealing, and the story didn’t progress. 2/5 stars
–The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope. A book I appreciated much more on a second read, with a perfect love story. 5/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: Railsea, by China Miéville. Apparently, I found this one unputdownable! 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Meeting Will Stanton. A post about my first experiences with one of my favourite series of books!
–Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books To Read If You’re In the Mood For Complex Fantasy Worlds. Wow, now that’s a long post title… At least it’s descriptive!
–ShelfLove March Update. My progress on the Shelf Love 2016 challenge, plus a bit about this month’s discussion topic — tropes you hate.
–March TBR. Ten books I have to read this month.
–The lesbian dies (again). After waking up to find my sister upset over developments in a TV show, I had a rant about the tragic queer narrative.