Truth is indeed stranger than fiction…
12 July 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten facts about Me, Top Ten Tuesday
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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 Facts About Me (bookish or just general)
This week is ten facts about me – okay, I’ve decided to give this a slightly different slant, as I love the world of SFF I’ve decided to give ten facts that reflect how close I come to living in a world of make believe!
- I have a wonderful place that I retreat into when I read a book, call it a wormhole if you will, but it’s quite magical – sometimes, I almost forget to come back at all.
- My reading takes me to extraordinary places where I meet all sorts of unique and diverse characters and experience totally different cultures.
- ‘Nobody’ lives at my house – you may remember Nobody, or Bod, as a character from Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard book but actually, no, he lives with me and my family, and the reason I know this is because ‘Nobody’ left wet towels on the bathroom floor, ‘Nobody’ left rubbish at the side of the bin instead of in the bin, ‘Nobody’ left dirty cereal bowls next to the sink unrinsed – you get the picture, yes?
- I live with a crazy critter – he’s four legged and has a very happy, waggy tail. He’s been known to have a mad half hour every now and again and his name his Dude – he’s actually named for the character in the Big Lebowski but he’s anything but chilled! Every now and again he appears in the odd one or two of my doodles – which are known as Dude’lls’.
- Occasionally I turn into a dragon. It’s true, my friends and family can attest to the fact. It’s not big, clever or pretty when this happens. I taught Smaug everything he knows! True that.
- Having three children happily coincided with a money tree springing up in my garden, which feeds directly into the Bank of Mum and Dad – I call this damned helpful. I don’t question these things. Never. Ever. Look a gift horse in the mouth – it will probably just bite you if you do.
- I am a mindreader, I know what everybody wants to eat and can miraculously conjure all the ingredients without a second thought. Really, it’s just a gift. I’m lucky like that.
- I have Borrowers living with me – don’t be jealous, this basically means I have 500 pairs of odd socks – which considering I only EVER buy black socks is more than puzzling. Where the hell did all these multi coloured socks/socks with cat faces or faces of elves or Bart/striped socks/socks with bobbles and bells on them come from???? And, more to the point, where did their counterparts go to. Somewhere in the universe someone is looking for all their socks and cursing the appearance of all my black socks in their undie drawer!
- Yes, I live in a parallel universe, see all the above if you don’t believe me!
- I’m a wine whisperer – yes, I can hear wine – calling to me… ‘drink me’ It’s just odd but who am I to deny these voices??
Highly recommended…
5 July 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Favourite books that deserve more love, 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 We Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads (which is a great way to discuss those books that you loved that deserve some more attention).
- The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M H Boroson – this really was unexpectedly great! If you enjoy fantasy, myth, folklore, incredible monsters, spirits, excitement and kung fu then this could be the book for you.
- Age of Iron by Angus Watson – if you enjoy a good romping adventure, a tale of revenge, a tale of comradeship and you can stomach the more grisly side (which has been tempered by a slightly humourous take not to mention some very inventive cursing) then add to this a sprinkling of magic, some good old arena style games and an old fashioned tale involving difficult situations and heroic solutions – then give this book a try.
- The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett – I love this book and I think everybody should read it. Highly recommended. Creepy gothicness (it’s a word!)
- Miserere by Theresa Frohock – I loved it and was torn between racing to the end to find out what was going to happen next and wanting to savour each word. I love a book that just takes my attention from the first chapter and holds it throughout and, more than that, when the last page is complete makes me want to go back and start again from the first page.
- The St Croix Chronicles by Karina Cooper – sexy steampunk set in Victorian England
- The Rebel Angel series by Gillian Philip – Seth is an excellent character – he’s cocky and cheeky, angry, brave – and lets face it – very easy on the brain!
- The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker – Kage Baker has brought to us a fantasy world filled with demons, gods, and different species. A whole world filled with Children of the Sun and other species. But, more than that, she’s brought us a romp of a novel. This book is fantasy and fun combined and I loved it. It’s like everything I love in my fantasy novels brought into a new world and looked at in a different way. Really, I totally recommend this book without hesitation.
- Witch Light by Susan Fletcher – Witch Light is the story of Corrag who has been named ‘witch’ and condemned to die by fire. As she spends her last few days in prison she agrees to tell her story to a visitor who is particularly interested in events that took place at Glencoe. I must say that at the start of the book I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this read but after the first few chapters I was totally taken with Corrag – in fact I was bewitched.
- The Split Worlds series by Emma Newman – a very interesting concept which involves a combination of a fae world, a world of mundanes and a world that is neither one or the other known as the Nether.
- The Copper Cat series by Jen Williams – What an incredibly enjoyable read. Well written, gory in parts but with a very healthy injection of humour. Does it bring anything new to fantasy – not really. But, in spite of that it’s one damned enjoyable read and anyway it has DRAGONS – or, more to the point A DRAGON – or, okay, a God who is in the form of A DRAGON! Just go read it!
Top Ten Books We Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads
Be careful what you wish for (or not)…
28 June 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: 10 books off the wishlist, 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 a freebie so I’ve chosen:
10 books that are on my wishlist
`I think a good few of these are on my wishlist through previous Top Ten Tuesday recommendations (links to descriptions on Goodreads):
- The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
- Den of Wolves by Juliet Marilier
- The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Perry
- The Fairest of them All by Carolyn Turgeon
- Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
- A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
- At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
- Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
- Birdy by Jess Valance
- Your Brother’s Blood by David Towsey
So far so good…
21 June 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: The Broke and the Bookish, Top 10 books for first 6 months of 2016, 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 Favorite 2016 Releases So Far This Year
Not sure if all of these are new releases this year but these are my top 10 books so far this year:
- The Wheel of Osheim by Mark Lawrence
- City of Blades by Robert J Bennett
- The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky
- The Silver Tide by Jen Williams
- US of Japan by Peter Tieryas
- Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
- Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
- Stranger of Tempest by Tom Lloyd
- Monstrous Little Voices by Jonathan Barnes, Emma Newman, Kate Heartfield, Fox Meadows, Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Company Town by Madeline Ashby
Wait till they get a load of me…
14 June 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: 2016 anticipated releases, 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 Most Anticipated Releases For The Second Half Of The Year
- The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch. I love this series and can’t wait to read more of Locke and Jean’s adventures.
- The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan. Loved the first series by this author and very keen to see what he does next.
- Den of Wolves by Juliet Marilier (Blackthorn and Grim #3). I have to catch up with No.2 but even so I want this book – the writing is gorgeous and so are the covers.
- Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows #2)
- The Last Day of New Paris by China Mieville – I haven’t read this author yet but love the sound of this one.
- Ghost Wakers by Mary Robinette Kowal – another author I really want to read and this book looks like a great starting point.
- Gods of Nabban by K V Johansen – I love the sound of this one
- The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu. The first book was epic! I need more
- The Gates of Hell by Michael Livingston
- With Blood Upon the Sand by Bradley Beaulieu (the Song of the Shattered Sands No.2) No cover or firm release date for this one yet but fingers crossed.
What makes made it onto your most wanted list?
Books and travelling with Lynn 