#SPFBO5 : Friday Cover Love
SPFBO5 will commence at the start of July. The books have been assigned and as with previous years the first stage of the competition is all about the cover art. Each of the 10 judges will choose their three favourite covers from the 30 books they’ve been allocated. Once the entries are all chosen the voting begins (I’ll post more details about the competition soon). Anyway, this isn’t my opening post – I’ll be sorting something out shortly to let everyone know how I intend to proceed this year. In the meantime feast your eyes on my assigned books. This is a good opportunity for me to ruminate on my covers and also gives authors the chance to shout out if I’m not displaying the most uptodate cover (just leave me a comment if I need to make changes).
Friday Face Off : Longest Day – a cover with your own interpretation
21 June 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, Summer Solstice
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – the list has been updated to help out those of you who like to plan ahead – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout. This week’s theme:
Pagan rituals/standing stones/blazing suns – a cover with your own interpretation
Today is the longest day of the year, Summer Solstice, and with that in mind I’ve left the theme open to interpretation. I’ve gone for a cover that always makes me think of long hazy summer days which is : Among Others by Jo Walton and here are the covers:
My favourites:
Difficult to choose between them but I think I’m inclined to choose:
I like the sepia tone and the sense of summer freedom that comes across with the little girl running barefoot through the field.
Which one is your favourite?
Like last week I’ve added a Mr Linky here so that you can leave a link if you wish or please leave me a link in the comments so we can all visit and check out each others covers. Thanks
I’ve updated the list and included themes through to the end of 2019 – I’ve also included events that I’m aware of so that you can perhaps link your themes up where possible (if you know of an event you’d like to share that let me know in the comments). I also have a list prepared for 2020 and so will set up a separate page soon for forthcoming themes. As always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment.
Next week – A cover that is striped
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ or one of your favourite covers)
2019
28th June – “And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas” – A cover that is striped
5th July – “The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe… has been answered” – a cover featuring something/somebody historic
12th July – A wrap around cover
19th July – “You can’t choose between life and death when we’re dealing with what is in between.” – A cover that is grainy or looks like ‘white noise’
26th July – “Ludo ….. down” – A cover that is Upside Down
2nd August – “There are children here somewhere. I can smell them.” A cover featuring children
9th August – “I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” – A cover featuring Pirates
16th August – “The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagles own plumes” – a cover featuring feathers
23rd August – A cover that is a movie tie in
30th August – “I wandered lonely as a cloud” – a cover that is predominantly yellow
6th September “Warm September brings the fruit” – a cover that is seasonal for Autumn/Fall
13th September – Friday the 13th – unlucky for some! A cover with ‘curse’ in the title
20th September – “Your hair is winter fire,January embers.” – A cover featuring hair
27th September – Freebie
4th October – “Feed me Seymour” – A cover that is 60s horror
11th October – ““And, though there should be a world of difference between the smile of a man and the bared fangs of a wolf, with Joss Merlyn they were one and the same.” – a cover featuring an Inn
18th October – “It’s your favorite scary movie, remember? He had on the white mask, he stalked the babysitters.” – A cover featuring a scream
25th October – for Halloween – pick any scary cover you like
(I’m hoping that November will once again bring to us SciFiMonth – Twitter @SciFiMonth)
1st November – A cover that is predominantly grey
8th November – “big badda boom” – a cover that features an explosion
15th November – “No thinking thing should be another thing’s property, to be turned on and off when it is convenient.” – a cover featuring a robot
22nd November – A cover that is Futuristic
29th November – “When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.” – a cover that is 60s sci fi
6th December – Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this sun of York” – a cover that puts you in mind of winter
13th December – A cover that features a temple/or religious icon
20th December – Longest Night – a dark and foreboding cover
27th December – the festive season – a cover that is glittery or sparkling
(2020 – January is Vintage SciFi month so I’ll be including possible themes to take that on board.)
Can’t Wait Wednesday : The Truants by Kate Weinberg:
19 June 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't wait Wednesday, Kate Weinberg, The Truants, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is : The Truants by Kate Weinberg. check out the description below – this sounds like something I would love:
‘Where do I find Crime?’
‘Crime doesn’t have its own section,’ said the librarian without looking up, ‘it’s all under fiction.’
In this seductive coming-of-age debut, Jess Walker, a young and uninitiated first year student, falls in love with two great story-tellers. One, Alec, a journalist in exile, the other, Lorna, a charismatic literature professor. Starting out under the flat grey skies of an east Anglian university campus and ending up on an idyllic Mediterranean island, The Truants is about a group of clever and eccentric misfits who yearn to break the rules. As Jess’ experience of infatuation and betrayal, disappearance and loss gives way to a breathless search for the truth, she finds herself detective in a twisted crime of the heart. Unsettling, challenging, surprisingly funny and beautifully written, The Truants is a compulsively readable literary debut with a twist – and a dead body to boot.
Due for publication: August 2019
Anticipated releases for the second half of 2019
18 June 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Anticipated books for the second half of 2019, That Artsy Reader Girl, Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic. Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here. This week’s topic is:
Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2019
Nice and easy one this week – just look at a long list of books that I’m awaiting (not so patiently) and choose the first ten!
The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2 by R.F. Kuang
Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle #3) by Jay Kristoff
A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness #1 by Joe Abercrombie
The Harp of Kings (Warrior Bards #1) by Juliet Marillier
The Hanged Man (The Tarot Sequence #2) by K.D. Edwards
The Bone Ships (The Tide Child #1) by R.J. Barker
The Night Country (The Hazel Wood #2) by Melissa Albert
The Name of All Things (A Chorus of Dragons #2) by Jenn Lyons
The Girl with No Face (The Daoshi Chronicles #2) by M.H. Boroson
Mistletoe by Alison Littlewood
The Fall (Thieves of Fate #2) by Tracy Townsend
17 June 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: The Fall, Thieves of Fate #2, Tracy Townsend
The Fall is the second Instalment in Tracy Townsend’s Thieves of Fate series in which we once again return to a fascinating world.
Please be aware that this review may contain spoilers for The Nine so please don’t read this if you haven’t read the first book yet – and also, I would suggest you read the first in series rather than diving straight into The Fall otherwise you’ll be missing out on a lot of world and character building.
In The Nine we literally discover a self writing book that documents the experiences of nine selected individuals as they go about their everyday existence. They’re guinea pigs in a way, chosen seemingly randomly to allow God the chance to scrutinise their actions and behaviour. This series focuses on three primary species – humans – (needs no explanation I think), Lanyani – trees of a sort, they can move about, communicate and more importantly think quite strategically and Aigamuxa – creatures that are large, strong and fast. They also communicate and are able to think, their eyes are set in their heels – definitely an unusual development and they tend to resort to violence in the first resort.
The second book takes us about 8 or 9 months after the conclusion of No.1. Rowena is working in the Alchemist’s apothecary, the alchemist is still recovering and Anslem is conspiring with the Alchemist to keep Rowena in the dark about things. Everything is going swimmingly until they’re invited to a party, a party that sees them being hired for an unusual job that involves the trio travelling a long way to explore a library – ( I’ll repeat it for those who missed it first time – explore a library). Meanwhile other things, plenty of other things, are afoot, conspiring is rife and everyone seems to be scheming – the self writing book has fallen into different hands that could endanger everyone and certain species are becoming allies most unexpectedly.
This is proving to be a series that has plenty going on and no shortage of thought provoking material. It’s very clever, incredibly creative and well plotted with a great combination of science and theology. There are plenty of characters and in fact there’s a much deeper exploration of motivations. However, and I’m just going to get this out of the way early on, this does slow the pace somewhat, particularly in the first half of the book. There’s a lot to take on board, plenty of POVs and plots just waiting to break out. Basically, you need to pay close attention, everything is relevant here and so you need to carefully digest each chapter. I realise that probably sounds a bit dramatic or perhaps even puzzling – like, ‘don’t you pay attention to every book you read?’ Obviously, yes, but some books just take more brain power than others is what I’m driving at. So, yes, a slow start that you need to be patient with – but well worth the effort.
The author really builds on the world in this instalment taking us exploring much further afield and spending time with different cultures and, given the way the story ends, I think that’s a trend that is set to continue. I really liked this aspect of the story, we visit a Japanese inspired country with a love of clockwork invention and spend time getting to know the politics and set up which result in some interesting developments.
In terms of criticisms. Well, as I mentioned, there is a slight slowing of pace initially which makes it feel like the plot is pending somehow, just waiting to really get started. For me, there was something more holding me back and it took me a while to figure out what that was. I think, to be honest, it boils down to the fact that Rowena, Anselm and the Bear have less page time. Obviously, that was necessary in order to explore what was going on with the others in the story and to give readers a deeper insight but I felt the lack of their presence a little – even whilst I understand the necessity for it.
All that being said, the second half of the book really does come into its own with a burst of action and revelations and the ending has left me desperate to pick up the next book. So, in spite of a few issues here and there this was still a very good read. You do need to exercise patience but overall it’s a clever plot that’s well executed.
I received a copy courtesy of the publisher, through Edelweiss, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
