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book haul

March Book Haul!!!

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This month, I did not go a little crazy with book buying. I went a lot crazy.

But! I am so ridiculously excited about all of the books I found this month, so it works out 🙂

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell – I fell in love with the BBC miniseries version of this novel (I’ve seen it 3 or 4 times) and really wanted to be able to read the original novel. This will also help me with my goal to read more classics this year.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami – After reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle last year, I’ve been anxious to start another Murakami book, and the concept of this one has fascinated me for years.

Embassytown by China Mieville – I’ve read two previous books by this author (Perdido Street Station and The City and the City), and both were wonderfully weird. This one is supposedly focused on language and the interactions between humans and an alien race.

And Again by Jessica Chiarella – I won this awesome and unique-sounding book in a giveaway from Tor.com! It’s a debut novel about disabled people given a second chance at life in perfect new versions of their bodies.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – I loved this book so much that I wasn’t content just to check it out from the library and read it once–I had to buy a copy so that I could repetitively re-read it.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski – I’m so fascinated by this complex and notoriously difficult to read horror novel.

The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead by J. Gordon Melton – because of course I need a reference text for my love of vampires.

 

 

TBR, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish (http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html).

This is my first Top Ten Tuesday post! After reading so many of these fun prompts on other blogs, I’m finally diving in myself. My spring TBR list is ambitious and, frankly, far too long (like all of my TBR lists) but I’m going to try and make this top ten list realistic. So here are the top ten books I actually think I will read this spring, regardless of my TBR decision-making issues and tendency to deviate from all lists I make.

I think that I will be continuing the spirit of the #Weirdathon beyond March, as well–while still mixing it up with other genres, I’d like to continue to focus on my love of reading weirdly.

New releases:

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)Marked in Flesh (The Others, #4)Roses and Rot

  1. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – more Rhysand, please! I’d be good with more Lucien, as well. Tamlin I can take or leave. I’m hoping that this sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses is more fast-paced than its predecessor and explores the Persephone/Hades dynamic that was hinted at with Feyre’s bargain with the Night Court.
  2. Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop – Meg is a cassandra sangue (blood prophet) who can see snippets of the future when her skin is cut. She escaped enslavement and a sheltered life into the world of the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and godlike beings who control territory and natural resources in this alternate version of Earth. I have some issues with this series (mainly with the treatment of its female characters) but I still really enjoy these books. They’re slower-paced and very comforting to read, although the series has been a bit uneven.
  3. Roses and Rot by Kat Howard – I was on board when I saw the blurb from Neil Gaiman. Everything I hear about this book seems to stress that it dissects the darker aspects of fairy tales, which is something I can never resist.

Already on my bookshelf:

The Yellow WallpaperMr. SplitfootThe Book of Lost Things

4. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman – I’m embarrassed I haven’t yet read this creepy feminist classic.

5. Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt – a ghost story perfect for continuing the #Weirdathon.

6. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly – I’ve been meaning to get to this one for awhile and feel like everyone has read this except me.

KindredPossessionWide Sargasso SeaWhite Teeth

7. Kindred by Octavia Butler – I’ve previously mentioned my mission to read all of Butler’s works, and this one is up next. A time travel story about the horrors of slavery, I started this a few years ago and never finished. This is my chance to pick it back up again.

8. Possession by A.S. Byatt – I am completely intrigued by the sound of this book about two young students researching the lives of two Victorian poets. It sounds gorgeously romantic–perfect for spring!

9. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys – this is an exploration of the backstory of the “madwoman in the attic” from Jane Eyre. Do I need to say anything else?

10. White Teeth by Zadie Smith – I keep saying that I’m about to read this book and then never actually read it. I’ve heard so much about the brilliance of Smith’s writing that I need to bite the bullet about reading realistic fiction and just dive in.

 

Any thoughts on my TBR picks? What are you excited to read this spring?

 

Book Challenges, reading challenges, TBR

March #Weirdathon TBR

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Am I actually going to be able to finish all of these books in March? No. But I’m going to have a really good time trying…

 

 

I had a really hard time with my March TBR, because I’m trying to balance the #weirdathon with my vacation reading options (I’ll be at the beach for a week this month! Bringing back the “beaches” in Beaches and Books! With the winter the way it’s been I should have considered changing the name of this blog to Snow and Books…) and I’m way too excited about what to read for both. I love to read weirdly, and I realized that I have a ridiculous number of very weird books on my TBR shelves right now. Since there is no possible way I could read them all this month, I picked the ones I’m most anxious to get to. So here’s the breakdown:

 

Mr. SplitfootTrigger Warning: Short Fictions and DisturbancesThe End of Mr. YGrave Visions (Alex Craft, #4)Bad FeministThe Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)KindredThe Gone-Away World

 

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway – I just started this one and it is already SO WEIRD. It’s great. There was a mysterious war called the “Go-Away War,” and in order to keep out something scary (monsters? zombies? It’s not clear yet) a giant, seemingly indestructible structure called the Jorgmund Pipe was built. When the book starts, it’s inexplicably on fire and the fate of the world is now in question.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley – I can’t wait to start this!!!

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt – I can’t wait to start this either!!!

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay – I wouldn’t call this one “weird,” but I like the irony of a feminist book being called Bad Feminist. And I feel like I’ll be in the mood for some engrossing nonfiction on the beach.

Grave Visions by Kalayna Price – necromancy, fae, grim reapers, and deadly magical hallucinogens? Perfect for my urban fantasy fix this month.

The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas – this is the book on my list I know the least about. Well, I know that, according to the blurb on Goodreads, it deals with “A cursed book. A missing professor. Some nefarious men in gray suits. And a dreamworld called the Troposphere?” Sounds just weird enough to work.

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman – I love how Neil Gaiman blends fantasy, science fiction, and horror in his short story collections. I’m getting into a very short story-ish mood right now and this will work perfectly. I was debating reading Kelly Link’s new book this month…but I think I’ll save some weirdness for April 😉

Kindred by Octavia Butler – as I’ve mentioned before, one of my reading goals is to read every book by Octavia Butler. This book deals with time travel and slavery, and like all of her books I’m anticipating it to be a brilliant fusion of science fiction and social commentary.

Not pictured, possible alternate TBR titles depending on the library:

BossypantsThe Book of Lost ThingsMarked in Flesh (The Others, #4)

Bossypants by Tina Fey (this is not a #weirdathon read, it’s the audiobook I’m currently in the middle of and will probably finish this week)

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (I’m thinking of listening to this audiobook after I finish Bossypants)

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

 

What is everybody reading this month? If you want to read weirdly, here’s the link to the signup: http://outlandishlit.blogspot.com/2016/02/month-long-weirdathon-sign-up.html

book haul, TBR

February Book Haul

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I cannot overstate my excitement about the books I bought this month. Usually I tend to be more restrained with my bookish purchases, or else I find most of my books at used bookstores and Friends of the Library book sales, but this month I went crazy with some Barnes & Noble gift cards I’d gotten for the holidays. It’s going to be hard for me not to read all of these immediately. Here’s what I picked up:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – this is cheating, because one of my family members received this as a gift for the holidays and decided he didn’t want it (who turns down a book?!). Being the opportunistic book poacher that I am, I immediately snagged this historical fiction Pulitzer Prize winner so that I could find out what all the hype is about. I feel like I’m always saying that I don’t read historical fiction very often, but I actually do, and I’m looking forward to this.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – one of my bookish goals for the year was to read more classics, and another was to read more long books, since they tend to become my favorites. I also find it embarrassing that I have yet to read any classic Russian literature. I’m so intrigued by this story and plan to tackle it this spring.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley – amnesia! Secret agents! Supernatural goings-on in London! I have my fingers crossed that this will be one of those books that sucks you in completely. And I apparently have good timing, since the sequel comes out in June.

Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood – Margaret Atwood is one of my absolute favorite authors and I’ve never read any of her short fiction. I hope it’s just as prescient and disturbing as her longer works.

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt – this book sounds strange and creative, which is really all I want from a book. The author is compared to Kelly Link on the back blurb (see below!).

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link – I am a huge fan of Kelly Link’s short stories. I was lucky enough to be able to meet her at a reading in Boston where she read part of one of the stories from this book about an actor who played a demon lover in a hit movie–and was tortured when she stopped in the middle of the story! Since then I’ve looked forward to reading this latest collection. Hopefully it will be as surprising, intricate, and wonderfully weird as her other collections.

Grave Visions by Kalayna Price – I started this series a few years ago when I first discovered urban fantasy. I had just gotten fully caught up with Kate Daniels after binge-reading the first five books in about a week (apparently I didn’t study at all that week? Not sure how I did that) and was having a serious book hangover. I started a few other UF series and nothing was working for me (I always do this after I find a new genre or subgenre that I like–try to find something similar to assuage my craving–and it rarely works) when I discovered Alex Craft, a witch with necromancy powers involved in a love triangle between a hot fae guy and a hot grim reaper guy (I’m 100% Team Death, for any other Alex Craft fans reading this!) However, due to some personal struggles the author has been going through, there hasn’t been a new book in several years. Until now! It’s here!

 

TBR

Most Anticipated Books of 2016

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I’m still going strong with Bout of Books (despite the fact that this week has been absolutely insane!), but I’m taking a brief pause with the updates for a very important post that I need to make before we get too far into the new year: my most anticipated books of 2016! I feel like there are fewer books that I genuinely can’t wait for this year compared to last year, but there are still a decent number of books that I am ridiculously excited for. Here they are!

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (out on Jan 26th)- I discovered io9.com a few years ago, and it’s become a major source of science fiction and fantasy book recommendations for me, thanks to editor-in-chief Charlie Jane Anders. I haven’t read any of her fiction yet, but this book sounds like an intriguing and relevant hybrid of genres centered on best friends whose paths have been divided into magic and technology and who have to reunite to help alter their world.

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin (out on Aug 16) – N.K. Jemisin is one of my absolute favorite fantasy authors. She’s unique, and her books have immense emotional power as well as unfathomably impressive worldbuilding. Her book The Fifth Season was one of my favorites of 2015, and since its first sentence announced the end of the world, I’m anxious to see how its sequel will explain and expand on the apocalypse. It’s hard to discuss this one without revealing spoilers, but I’m especially excited to see how she handles what will hopefully be an expanded role for the rock/human beings we met in the first volume of the trilogy.

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt (published January 5th) – Samantha Hunt is being compared to Kelly Link, one of my favorite writers, for her new novel, which sounds like a combination of ghost story and family saga with dual narratives. I’m a huge sucker for genre-benders, and can’t wait to see if this is as unique as I hope it will be.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (out on May 3rd) – this is the sequel to last year’s A Court of Thorns and Roses, a mishmash of fairy-tale retelling and fae lore that I had no idea I would enjoy so much. To summarize (SPOILER ALERT) Feyre, a huntress who detests the fae for what they’ve done to the human lands, falls for Tamlin, a fae lord, without meaning to, and then ends up rescuing him from an evil queen. In doing so, she strikes a bargain with the mysterious fae lord Rhysand, who was probably the most entertaining part of the first book–and who, it seems, is going to feature heavily in book 2. I’m thinking love triangle? I love a good YA love triangle…I know a lot of people are tired of them, but when they’re done well, it’s a huge guilty pleasure for me.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (out on September 22nd, no cover yet) – why isn’t this book out sooner??? Six of Crows was one of the most ridiculously fun YA books I’ve read in years, and it ended on a huge cliffhanger. While I love each of the six central characters, I really can’t wait to hear more from emotionally damaged, brilliant Kaz, leader of their criminal team.

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews (out on September 27th, no cover  yet) – apparently September is going to be an awesome reading month! Kate Daniels is one of my favorite series, and this ninth volume is going to be the crescendo leading up to what I can only anticipate will be a monumental showdown in book 10 between Kate and her godlike father, Roland. Andrews’ characters are realistic and likable in the face of a hostile world torn between magic and technology, and Kate and Curran have become one of my all-time favorite book couples for their unwavering support of each other.

I’m sure there are more amazing books coming out this  year, but these are the ones I’m currently obsessing over. What are you most excited to read in 2016?