All Good Things..
13 December 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Ten Highly Anticipated books for 2017, The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
Every Tuesday over at the The Broke and Bookish we all get to look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) examples to demonstrate that particular topic.
Top Ten Books I’m Looking Forward To For The First Half Of 2017
Oh My Giddy Aunt – how many great books are due out next year! A. LOT. I had no problem with this post – here are but a few books to tempt your fancy (Whoops, I went over slightly):
-
Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor #1) by Mark Lawrence – due April 2017
-
With Blood Upon the Sand (The Song of the Shattered Sands #2)
-
Winter of the Gods (Olympus Bound #2) by Jordanna Max Brodsky – due February 2017
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden – due January 2017
- Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough – due January 2017
- City of Miracles (The Divine Cities #3) by Robert J Bennett – due April 2017
- Heartstone by Elle Katharine White – due January 2017
- The Ninth Rain (The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #1) by Jen Williams – due February 2017
- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman – due February 2017
- Brimstone by Cherie Priest – due April 2017
- Gilded Cage by Vic James – due February 2017
Okay – I went over – but I really could have gone on, and on!
And, for those of you who like the bright and sparkly things, feast your eyes on these:
Delighted and Enchanted
6 December 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten New to Me Authors, Top Ten Tuesday
Every Tuesday over at the The Broke and Bookish we all get to look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) examples to demonstrate that particular topic.
New-To-Me Authors I Read For The First Time In 2016
This is a nice easy list as my full year’s reading is all in one place! So easy to check out which were new to me authors:
- Jeff Salyards – Scourge of the Betrayer, a dark and violent journey, a band of warriors and a bookish scribe – what could possibly go wrong!
- Jordanna Max Brodsky – The Immortals – Gods and a murder mystery, in the heart of NY. Totally engaging, very entertaining, fantastic sense of place.
- Stephanie Burgis – A double whammy from Ms Burgis. She burst onto my radar with the highly entertaining Masks and Shadows and then totally out did herself again with Congress of Secrets. Both period/fantasty dramas that combine historical events and people into highly readable fiction.
- Madeline Ashby – Company Town. Totally compelling reading. Science fiction, futuristic and murder mystery all rolled into one.
- Laurence MacNaughton – UF with Demons and possessed cars. Great start to a promising series – It Happened One Doomsday.
- Jon Skovron – Hope and Red – how to sum this one up. It’s a bit like Gangs of New York meets Crouching Tiger!
- Drew Magary – The Hike surely had to be one of my most unexpectedly enjoyable and compelling reads this year.
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia – do we really need any more vampire fiction? Hell yes if it’s anything like Certain Dark Things. I loved this.
- Emily St John Mandel – Station Eleven. I wanted to read this for such a long time but sometimes get a bit turned off by sci-fi but there was no need in this case – this was brilliant and unique.
- Beth Lewis – The Wolf Road was such a good read with one of the most readable characters ever in Elka. Such a compelling storytelling voice.
Okay, I spoke too soon. That wasn’t easy at all as I had over 30 new to me authors this year so narrowing it down to 10 was a bit of a task. Anyway, there they all are. I hope you get a chance to pick up a couple or ten of these – if you haven’t already done so. And for all of you out there who like the pretty things:
Dear Santa..
29 November 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Christmas list, The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
Every Tuesday over at the The Broke and Bookish we all get to look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) examples to demonstrate that particular topic.
Ten books to buy as presents for people who like ‘x’:
This week I’m choosing options for people who like a certain type of book – books I would pick for people looking for ‘x’
- The classics retelling – Longbourn by Jo Baker, a different take on Pride and Prejudice. I loved this, told from the ‘downstair’s perspective. I also have Eligibile by Curtis Sittenfeld waiting to be read too which might also make a similar list – hopefully. These are two books I know my dad would love.
- Romance – The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons – I don’t do romance but I’ll make an exception for this – because Alexander. Read it and then come back and tell if I’m wrong.
- Time travel – Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – again, I’m not overly fond of time travel (or romance) and this book mixes both but in a really good way.
- Short stories – Monstrous Little Voices. I don’t tend to like short reads but this book is great. A collection of short stories set in the worlds created by Shakespeare. No need to be an expert – I’m certainly not one. All of the stories interlink and they’re just really well done – which isn’t a surprise given the authors involved. Emma Newman, Jonathan Barnes, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Kate Heartfield and Foz Meadows.
- Urban Fantasy – Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye series. A great series that I’m absolutely loving. If you know somebody, currently looking for a new UF series then add this one to our shopping list.
- Contemporary YA – 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough. This was a great read, Mean Girls sort of meets Gone Girl – for want of a better description.
- YA Fantasy – for those just dipping their toes into the world of fantasy – The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
- Hardened fantasy fans who want something different and unique – The Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.
- Sci fi for people who want more accessible sci fi – Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel. I’ve just read this and loved it.
- And, this one is blank – so you can all suggest a book you’d buy for somebody.
‘These are the voyages of one blogger… to boldly read’ #RRSciFiMonth
8 November 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #RRSciFiMonth, The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
Every Tuesday over at the The Broke and Bookish we all get to look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) examples to demonstrate that particular topic. The topic this week is :
Ten Books I’ve Added To My To-Be-Read List Lately
Given that November is Sci Fi Month (organised by Rinn Reads and Over the Effing Rainbow this is a fun event that celebrates sci fi) I’ve added quite a few sci fi titles to my tbr just recently:
- A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers – which I will be picking up in December as part of a readalong group – details on Goodreads.
- Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel – I’ve already completed and loved this book – I highly recommend it and my review is here.
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, Christopher Gibbs I love the sound of this one – recommended to me by Sarah over at Brainfluff
- Illuminae: The Illuminae Files: Book 1 (Illuminae Files 1) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman – this is a book that has such positive reviews that I just can’t resist – next up for my sci fi reading.
- The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis – apparently this debut novel is described as perfect ‘for fans of Station Eleven – see above!
- Morning Star: Red Rising Trilogy 3 (The Red Rising Trilogy)by Pierce Brown – I loved the first two books in this series so it’s a bit of a mystery why I haven’t picked this one up yet – I think it may be part of my reluctance to finish series that I’m really enjoying!
- Leviathan Wakes: Book 1 of the Expanse by James S A Corey – another book that I’ve heard many many people wax lyrical about – I bought this for last year’s event but didn’t get the time to pick it up so hopefully this year will be the year!
- Defenders by Will McIntosh – another book that I’ve owned for quite some time – it could be bumped up the list for the sci fi event – sounds really scary to be honest!
- Or, if I want something a bit less scary by the same author Love Minus Eighty – which is currently sat on my wishlist (what to do – I suppose I should read the book I already own really!)
-
Authority (The Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 2) by Jeff VanderMeer – another scary sci fi – at least the first one was so I’m just gonna make that assumption
Well, seriously, I can’t expect to read all 10 but I have already completed one and I’m taking part in a readalong during December for the other so realistically I’m hoping to put about another 3 of the others under my belt! We’ll see.
It’s alive! #RRSciFiMonth
1 November 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Sci Fi Month 2016, The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
Every Tuesday over at the The Broke and Bookish we all get to look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) examples to demonstrate that particular topic. The topic this week is :
Top Ten Books To Read If Your Book Club Likes ‘X’
And, given that November marks the start of Sci Fi Month 2016 – I’ve gone for sci fi reads. Here’s my top ten (and, yes, there are a lot of good books not on this list but I had a limit!) A mix of classic novels and recent additions to the genre so hopefully something here for all:
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
- Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- The Time Machine by H G Wells
- The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Books and travelling with Lynn 