Tag Archives: TBR

Currently Reading, WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday: July 13th

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IMG_1970Random stack of some of my favorite books.

WWW Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Taking On a World of Words (https://samannelizabeth.wordpress.com/). You answer the 3 W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

Things have been crazy and I was out of town for a bit, so I haven’t been posting much lately, but I’m back! I’ve been really enjoying reading outside with the gorgeous summer weather, and I’m definitely looking forward to the #24in48 readathon, which starts in a little over 2 weeks. Is anyone else participating?

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What are you currently reading?

Men We ReapedThe QuickBlue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3)

My current audiobook is still Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward; I actually own this audiobook (I almost never buy audiobooks) so I had it on pause for a bit while I finished some library checkouts. It’s devastating and powerful, and so beautifully written. I’ve also had Blue Lily, Lily Blue on pause; I just really haven’t been in a Raven Cycle kind of mood lately. I really do want to finish the series, but I need a break from it right now. And I just started The Quick by Lauren Owen; all I really know about it is that the premise involves vampires in Victorian London, which is right up my alley. I’ve heard really mixed things about this book, and it has a low rating on Goodreads, but I really like the writing style and atmosphere so far. One of my absolute favorite books (The Magicians by Lev Grossman) has equally bad reviews and a low Goodreads rating, so I try not to put too much stock in that.

What did you recently finish reading?

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neapolitan Novels, #3)The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksGods Behaving BadlyShrill: Notes from a Loud Woman

So many things!!! So I finally finished Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, the third book of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels; the quality of the writing remains fantastic and I am so anxious to see where Lila’s and Lenu’s stories go next. I finished 2 (!) audiobooks recently, which is a LOT for me (I’ve posted before about my audiobook struggles) and I really enjoyed both of them. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was really informative, and I feel like it’s important for everyone to know Henrietta’s story; I do agree with other reviews I’ve seen that I could have done with less of the author inserting herself into the story. I thought that Shrill by Lindy West was funny but extremely raw and true; I knew nothing about this audiobook and picked it up solely due to bookstagrammers’/book bloggers’ recommendations, so thanks, guys! I also finished Gods Behaving Badly a few days ago; it wasn’t amazing but was a fun and funny satire of Greek mythology.

What do you think you’ll read next?

The ArgonautsThe Story of the Lost Child (The Neapolitan Novels, #4)Lagoon

I’ve been hearing amazing things about The Argonauts on book blogs and Bookstagram, so I went ahead and bought the audiobook to listen to next. I definitely will be picking up the final Ferrante book, The Story of the Lost Child, soon, but first I need to prepare myself for the emotional onslaught I know it will be. The amazing-sounding Lagoon is absolutely coming up next when I finish one of the physical books I’m currently reading. I’ve also been thinking a lot about what I’ll read for the 24 in 48 Readathon (July 23-24!) but that’s still 2 weeks away so I don’t want to post my readathon TBR picks yet.

 

What has everybody been reading lately???

 

 

book haul

June Book Haul

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As usual, I didn’t think I was going to buy a lot of books this month.

As usual, I was wrong.

This month, I discovered bookoutlet.com, which has somehow been hiding from me all this time. I blame Bookstagram entirely for my bookish purchases this month, as almost all of them (all except the Ferrante books and Among Others) were from Book Outlet and the only reason I heard of the site was from looking at book haul posts. The prices on this site are ridiculously good, so I don’t feel too guilty about my binge-buying; I’m so excited about the books I was able to find, several of which are difficult to find in bookstores. I pretty much want to read them all immediately, but since I’m in the middle of 5 different books right now, that’s probably not a good idea.

So here’s what I picked up!

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante – I started reading this at the beginning of the month and am on pause until I get back in the Ferrante mindset. The perils of being a mood reader!

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante – I caved and bought the last Ferrante book so that I’ll have it to start when I finish book 3 and also work up the courage to see how this emotionally gripping quartet ends.

Among Others by Jo Walton – I read my first Jo Walton book (The Just City) earlier this year and loved the originality of its concept. She’s a really prolific writer and pretty much all of her books sound amazing; Among Others got a lot of hype a few years ago when it won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novel. From the Goodreads review, it’s “at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.” Sounds perfect.

The Weird edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer – this is an anthology of weird fiction that I’ve been coveting ever since I saw it on a shelf in the Strand a few years ago. It is absolutely gigantic and the cover features red octopus arms holding a book in some sort of stone cathedral.  The $30 price tag scared me away, but then I saw it on Book Outlet for under $7 and I had to go for it. Also, it’s edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer; Jeff Vandermeer is the author of the Southern Reach trilogy, which I loved, and they are both highly respected SF&F editors.

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente – Valente is on my list of “authors I think I will love but haven’t actually read anything by yet,” and this book, which is a retelling of a Russian folk tale, sounds so intriguing. From Goodreads: “Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.”

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link – I’ve read two books of short stories by Link so far and loved both of them. Her style of writing is odd, creepy, and endlessly creative; this is technically a compilation of YA stories, but some of these overlap with the stories in her adult books.

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor – this is a first-contact-with-aliens story that takes place in Lagos, Nigeria, and I’ve been hearing nothing but awesome things about it. The premise from Goodreads says: “When a massive object crashes into the ocean off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous and legendary city, three people wandering along Bar Beach (Adaora, the marine biologist- Anthony, the rapper famous throughout Africa- Agu, the troubled soldier) find themselves running a race against time to save the country they love and the world itself… from itself. ”

Afterparty by Daryl Gregory – I may use this book for the “read a book about religion” task for the Read Harder challenge. It’s set in the near future after the “smart drug revolution” where people can now design and create their own drugs. Someone eventually creates a drug called Numinous that simulates religion and kicks off what looks like a crazy story.

Out by Natsuo Kirino – From Goodreads, “Natsuo Kirino’s novel tells a story of random violence in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works a night shift making boxed lunches brutally strangles her deadbeat husband and then seeks the help of her co-workers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime.” Sounds intense and absorbing.

Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill – I think I heard about this book on Flavorwire and have meaning to get to it for awhile; I’ve been really into short story collections lately. Goodreads says, “Powerful stories of dislocation, longing and desire which depict a disenchanted and rebellious urban fringe generation that is groping for human connection. (Or, more simply put, the angst of people-who-wear-black.)”

The Quick by Lauren Owen – I mean, I’m really down for anything involving vampires, but I really hope this one’s good. It’s set in the 1890s and centers on a woman’s search for her brother through the mysterious underworld of London; I’ve heard mixed reviews but I want this to work for me.

 

Has anyone read any of these? How did you like them? And what book did you buy in June? Let me know!

Currently Reading

WWW Wednesday

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words (https://samannelizabeth.wordpress.com/).

Right now, I’m in the middle of two quartets of books and really engrossed in my current audiobok (Men We Reaped). In other bookish news, I heard that Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace is being made into a miniseries! The more Atwood, the better, in my opinion; I haven’t heard any news lately on the Maddaddam TV series, so I hope that’s still in the works.

Currently reading:

Men We ReapedThe Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neapolitan Novels, #3)

So far, Men We Reaped is really incredible. Jesmyn Ward’s writing is somehow both clear and layered at the same time, and she’s so good at creating a sense of place. The story she tells is traumatic, and I’m amazed that she found the strength to tell it.

I’m over halfway done with The Dream Thieves (the second book in the Raven Cycle) and it’s really good. I’m so glad that I started this series; it’s been awhile since I found a good YA series that I can really get sucked into. The characters in this series are what keeps me  hooked (although the plot is definitely weirdly good as well) and I think Ronan might be my favorite. Although Blue is a great protagonist, and it’s pretty impossible not to love Gansey.

I’ve stalled a bit on Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay; it’s not that it isn’t great, but I’m having a little reading ADD and YA seems to be really working for my reading mood at the moment. I’d like to dive back in and finish it by the end of the month, but we’ll see.

Recently finished:

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)

The Raven Boys (4 stars) and The Cuckoo’s Calling (3 stars).

What’s next?

The Girl Wakes: StoriesBlue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3)LagoonThe Book Thief

I’ve been wanting to get to The Girl Wakes by Carmen Lau for awhile–it’s a book of short stories focused on dark feminist fairytale retellings, and it’s pretty short, so I’ve been waiting until I get a stretch of time to read it in one sitting. I’ll probably start the third book in the Raven Cycle (Blue Lily, Lily Blue) after I finish The Dream Thieves, and I already checked it out from the library in preparation. Also, with all of this series reading, I’d really like to pick up a good standalone next; I’m thinking maybe Lagoon and/or The Book Thief.

 

What is everyone reading right now???

TBR

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated New Book Releases

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11a7d-toptentuesdayTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish (http://www.brokeandbookish.com/).

I haven’t done a Top Ten Tuesday in awhile, but as we approach the halfway point in 2016 I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to focus my reading for the second half of the year. (Upcoming post about this and the first half of 2016 in review will be up in the next few weeks.) This also got me thinking about what books I’m still waiting to be published this year and what I’ll be drawn to pick up and/or buy asap; there are a few of these that I’m absolutely going crazy with anticipation for. These are posted in order of release date, according to Goodreads, not according to how excited I am! I’m also really excited to check out everyone else’s posts and see what books I’m missing 🙂

So here are my top ten anticipated book releases for the second half of 2016:

 

Stiletto (The Checquy Files, #2)

The sequel to The Rook, a supernatural spy thriller with a lot of humor that I read earlier this year, is actually being released today! I have some skepticism about the fact that this sequel will be told in multiple perspectives instead of just the wonderful Myfanwy’s, but I’m definitely still going to pick it up.

Saga, Volume 6

The sixth volume of this impressive graphic novel series about love and a family attempting to escape war will be out on July 5th. This series turned me from someone skeptical about graphic novels into someone who is really impressed by the gorgeous artwork and emotions evoked in the storytelling.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

It’s out on July 31st, but most of you probably already have that marked on your calendars :). I wish I could see the play in London, but I am really interested to read the script (and to knock out another one of the Book Riot Read Harder challenge tasks). I’m also planning on avoiding spoilers like the plague.

The Last Days of New Paris

I’ve read two previous books by China Mieville (Perdido Street Station and The City and the City) and I love the creative weirdness and intense worldbuilding he brings to his storytelling. This new book has a ridiculously intriguing premise; one of the summaries calls it an “intense and gripping tale set in an alternative universe: June 1940 following Paris’ fall to the Germans, the villa of Air-Bel in Marsailles, is filled with Trotskyists, anti-fascists, exiled artists, and surrealists. One Air-Bel dissident decides the best way to fight the Nazis is to construct a surrealist bomb. When the bomb is accidentally detonated, surrealist Cataclysm sweeps Paris and transforms it according to a violent, weaponized dream logic.” It’s out on August 9th.

The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth, #2)

I NEED THIS RIGHT NOW. But I have to wait until August 16th :(. The Fifth Season, the first book in N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth series, was one of my favorite books of 2016; the book starts with the end of the world and backtracks from there in three separate perspectives. I’ve ranted about it a lot on this blog and on Goodreads, but basically if you like creative fantasy with intricate worldbuilding and human stories,  you need to get into this series immediately. I have no doubt that the sequel will live up to the premise and am fascinated to see where Jemisin takes the story next.

Furthermore

This is a middle-grade release from Tahereh Mafi, the author of the Shatter Me series, which is one of my all-time favorite YA series (and has possibly my favorite YA love interest). I don’t read middle-grade at all, but I’m a huge fan of Mafi’s writing (and this will knock off another Read Harder challenge task for me). It’s about a young girl searching for her father in a magical and dangerous land, accompanied by a boy she can’t trust, and it’s out on August 30th. Also, how beautiful is that cover? Tahereh Mafi seriously gets the most amazing cover art for her books; I love the eye motif on the Shatter Me covers.

Once Broken Faith (October Daye, #10)

Out on Sept 6th, this is book 10 in Seanan McGuire’s UF series that follows Toby, a half-fae, half-human who solves mysteries and problems in the magical realms around San Francisco. The last book I read in this series I was pretty lukewarm about, but I do want to see this out to the end. (This is not the last book.) I like a lot of things about this series (especially the characters) but it’s not my favorite.

Magic Binds (Kate Daniels, #9)

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK I’M ALMOST AFRAID TO READ IT. It’s the 9th book in the Kate Daniels series, which is an incredibly well-done UF series set in post-apocalyptic Atlanta, where the world vacillates between being controlled by magic and technology. The humor, action, and romance is this series are all fantastic, and this book is the penultimate in the series, which means things are going to get intense. The problem is that I’m so invested in these characters that I won’t be able to handle it if anybody dies. It’s out on Sept 20th.

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)

Six of Crows was one of my favorite books of 2015, and I’m so anxious to see how things fall together in the sequel. Since this is only a duology, not a trilogy, there’s a lot that needs to happen in this book; I can’t wait to return to the amazing characters we met in book one. Especially Kaz. It’s out on Sept 27th.

Hag-Seed (Hogarth Shakespeare)

From Goodreads: “Hag-Seed is a re-visiting of Shakespeare’s play of magic and illusion, The Tempest, and will be the fourth novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare series.” Margaret Atwood is an auto-buy author for me, so I’ll definitely be checking this out when it’s released on Oct 11th.

And…there’s no release date  yet, but I’m really anxious to read Roxane Gay’s memoir as well, which is supposed to come out sometime this year.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

 

 

What books are you looking forward to? Let me know!

TBR

June TBR!

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It’s officially time for summer reading! Even though I read year-round, there’s something special about reading in the summer. I always tend to spend a lot of time reading and relaxing in the sunshine and seem to get through more books during this season than the others (although I’ve never really kept track; it might just feel like I read more). I already laid out my top 20 books to get through this summer in my last post, but here is a more specific breakdown of my TBR for June. This month, I plan to finish the Neapolitan novels, continue my streak of listening to nonfiction audiobooks with no DNFs, and pick up a bunch of books I’ve had on my TBR stack for too long. I figure that it’s OK to be ambitious–it’s summer!

So here’s what I’ll hopefully be reading this month:

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante – book 3 of the Neapolitan novels and, to me, the one with the most beautiful title and cover. The last book ended on a pretty major note (don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of spoiling anybody) and I’m so intrigued by the direction the story is taking. I feel like once I dive into this, though, I’ll have to set my other books aside for awhile and then snag book 4.

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante – book 4. I feel pretty confident I’ll get to this book as well this month, but it depends on whether I want to savor the Ferrante books and postpone reading it.

And Again by Jessica Chiarella – I won this in a giveaway from Tor.com earlier this year (the first and only book I’ve ever won in a giveaway!) and I’m really interested in the premise: it’s a literary science fiction standalone where four people are given new, physically perfect versions of their bodies and then struggle to fit back into their lives.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – I started this audiobook in May but now am super frustrated: my Overdrive account only lets me take out an audiobook for a week at a time, and after I had to return this book, I was bumped back to fifth in line. Fifth! So now I might have to find a new audiobook for June…really annoying, since I was getting really into this one. I really like some things about Overdrive, like how easy it is to use, but right now none of the books I really want to listen to are available 😦

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – I paused this for awhile in May due to a severe case of Ferrante fever, but I will definitely finish this month. I’m over halfway through and it seems like a solid enjoyable 4-star read.

The Girl Wakes by Carmen Lau – feminist fairy tale retellings in short story form that I cannot wait to jump into this month.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith – from the Goodreads blurb, “Epic and intimate, hilarious and poignant, White Teeth is the story of two North London families—one headed by Archie, the other by Archie’s best friend, a Muslim Bengali named Samad Iqbal.” I’ve heard such amazing things about Zadie Smith, and I keep meaning to read this book but haven’t done it yet.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – I have a bad track record of getting frustrated with and DNFing YA books, but I’ve heard such positive things about this series, and its premise seems pretty mysterious, so I’m going to give it a shot. Fingers crossed! I have DNFing, but I don’t shy away from it; I want to be reading books that I like!

 

What are you all reading in June??

 

Book Challenges, reading challenges, TBR

Summer TBR & 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge!

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20 Books of Summer is a reading challenge hosted by 746 books (https://746books.com/2016/05/23/20-books-of-summer-is-back-whos-in/) where the challenge is essentially just to complete 20 books during Summer 2016; you can also go for 10 or 15 books as an easier challenge. I feel like 20 is fairly doable for me as a summer reading challenge, although who knows; I might dive into a super long book and get sidetracked.

The majority of my picks are books on my physical TBR shelf that I’d really like to take down, although there are a few library and audiobooks on there. I also tried to include a good mix of SFF and realistic fiction, with two nonfiction thrown in. I honestly have no idea if I will be able to stick to this TBR, but based on my current reading mood, these are the 20 books that I could really see myself getting into this summer!

 

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neapolitan Novels, #3)The Story of the Lost Child (The Neapolitan Novels, #4)North and SouthWhite Teeth

And AgainThe Girl Wakes: StoriesThe Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth, #2)A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)

LagoonGods Behaving BadlyDeathless (Leningrad Diptych, #1)Gold Fame Citrus

Get in Trouble: StoriesUnaccustomed EarthBrideshead RevisitedThe Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksRunning with ScissorsThe Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)Roses and Rot

book haul

May Book Haul!

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April was a month filled with enticing library used book sales, so there weren’t any sales in my area in May. Instead, I splurged a bit on some new books and, in an unusual move for me, actually read two and a half of the books I bought this month within the month.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante – I finally caved into the immense literary pressure and bought My Brilliant Friend, a book that for a long time I resisted reading. I genuinely had thought I wouldn’t enjoy it; I was very, very wrong. I loved it so much that I quickly had to run back to Barnes & Noble for the second book.

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante – the sequel to My Brilliant Friend, I just finished reading this book this morning. And now desperately need the third book.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – I pre-ordered this book awhile ago and am currently about halfway through; so far I’m finding it significantly more enjoyable than its predecessor, A Court of Thorns and Roses. I’m looking forward to reading the rest but want to savor it.

Love Poems by Pablo Neruda – I have never read a single poem by Pablo Neruda, although I’ve been meaning to for years. I don’t tend to read a ton of poetry but I think I should be attempting to read more of it; I’ll start with this very slim volume of extremely famously beautiful love poems.

Nobody is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey – I don’t know a lot about this book, but I found it in the Staff Recommendations section at the Strand. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and depicts a woman being submerged in water; from the description, it looks to be about a woman leaving her life behind and immersing herself in a new environment in New Zealand. I’m intrigued.

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro – I’ve read two of Ishiguro’s previous books (Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day) and love his thoughtful style and his focus on the theme of the unreliability of memory. This book is his first foray into touches of fantasy and depicts an elderly couple’s search for their son. I’ve been wanting to read it ever since it came out but was waiting for the paperback edition to be released.

The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson – Winterson’s The Passion was my first 5-star read of 2016, and I found this book completely accidentally on a bargain table at the Strand. From the back of the book, “The Daylight Gate is Jeanette Winterson’s singular vision of a dark period of complicated morality, sex, and tragic plays for power in a time when politics and religion were closely intertwined.” It looks to be about witchcraft and witchhunting in 1600s England, and I have really high hopes for it.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh – I really hate watching a movie before reading a book, but it’s been a long time since I saw the film version in an indie movie theater in my college town. My goal to read more classics has been going really terribly, and I’ve  heard amazing things about this book, so I’m going to hope that this can help get me into a classics zone. The Goodreads blurb refers to this book as “the most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh’s novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder’s infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly-disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognize only his spiritual and social distance from them.”

Currently Reading, TBR

WWW Wednesday!

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It’s WWW Wednesday, hosted by Taking on a World of Words at https://samannelizabeth.wordpress.com/. For WWW Wednesday, you just answer the 3 W’s:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, as for what I’m currently reading:

The Story of a New Name (The Neapolitan Novels #2)Citizen: An American LyricA Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)

I’m very slowly reading/savoring A Court of Mist and Fury; I love how long it is and it’s very romance-focused. A lot of the time I tend to quickly devour books like this, but it seems like a waste; there are so few YA series that I really like that when a new one is released I feel like I should make it last. I’ll probably need to do the same thing with Crooked Kingdom when it comes out; I can’t even think of any other current YA series that I’m that into right now, which is sad.

I started The Story of a New Name, the second book in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet, a few days ago but am waiting for a good stretch of reading time to get completely immersed.  The first book ended on a huge moment (don’t worry, I would never give away any spoilers) and I know that wherever the story goes next is going to be intense.

I’m currently listening to Citizen: An American Lyric, which is a book of poems, prose poems, and essays about the insidious racism in America by Claudia Rankine. It’s beautifully written and I like hearing poetry read aloud, but I keep replaying parts of it to make sure that I’m getting all of the meaning.

What did I recently finish reading?

My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader GinsburgDeath My Own Way

Bout of Books ended on Sunday, which was a really wonderful week for me. I finished 2 audiobooks and 2 print books, and enjoyed all of them; I also emerged with a severe case of Ferrante fever and a newly revived interest in nonfiction audiobooks.

What will I be reading next?

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neapolitan Novels, #3)The Girl Wakes: Stories

The short answer is, I’m not sure. This weekend I’ll be in New York visiting friends (and hopefully the Strand) and am planning on taking The Story of a New Name with me. If/when I go to the Strand, I’m planning on picking up a few new books because I know I will be powerless to resist, so my next reads may depend on what I find.

I’ve also been thinking about starting The Raven Boys for my next YA book to try; there has been so much hype about this series now that the last book has come out, and my library has both the ebook and the audiobook available. I’ve been trying not to read too much about the plot of the series so that I’ll be surprised, but I have a feeling that this might be up my alley.

Also, I’m assuming that once I finish book 2 of the Neapolitan novels that I’ll need to immediately start book 3, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. And I had mean to get to Carmen Lau’s The Girl Wakes, a book of short stories focused on feminist fairy tale interpretations, during Bout of Books but didn’t get a chance, so that’s definitely coming up soon as well.

 

Has anyone read any of these books? What are you all reading at the moment?

 

Book Challenges, bout of books, readathon, reading challenges, TBR, Uncategorized

Bout of Books Starts Tomorrow!! Here are my Thoughts and TBR…

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Bout of Books starts tomorrow! Since the weeklong readathon is less strict compared to Dewey’s, I’ve been thinking about how my reading this week will be different than normal. I typically read a decent amount in any given week, but I’d like to increase my amount of reading during the Readathon by switching up a few things:

-Listening to audiobooks during all of my driving time (instead of only occasionally)

-Reading for at least 2 hours every day (I’d like to do more than that for most of the days, but some might be busier than others and I tend to get out of work pretty late)

-Finishing at least 3 books (again, I think I can do more, but I’ll set a low goal for now)

-Posting frequent blogging updates on my progress

-Participating in as many of the mini-challenges as I can

-Bookstagramming up a storm!

 

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As far as my TBR goes, I’m currently in the middle of two books that I’m absolutely loving: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (which is VERY Rhysand-centric, fyi, for people who were bored by the Tamlin love story in book 1). I figure that this Readathon could go one of two ways: either I’ll focus so hard on those two books that they’re all I’ll be reading until I finish both and dive into a major double book hangover, or I’ll decide that I love them so much that I need to savor them and only read a little each day, in which case I’ll start something new sooner rather than later.

The other thing I’m thinking is that I really, really want to stick to my physical TBR shelf to keep up with the May #SmashYourStack challenge, but if I hit the aforementioned dreaded double book hangover I may hit the library or go in an ebook direction. Who knows! I’m terrible at sticking to TBRs, but I love to make them anyways.

Also! If I read 6 books (ambitious, for sure) I will beat my current record of 5 books from the last Bout of Books in January. So, that probably won’t happen.

I’m looking at reading these 5 books from my physical TBR shelf:

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)The Girl Wakes: StoriesDeath My Own WayStone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales

As well as these audiobooks: I’m listening to Notorious RBG right now and really enjoying it but I think I’ll need a backup audiobook too in case I finish.

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader GinsburgNot That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"

 

 

Who else is participating?? I’d love to see your TBRs!

Book Challenges, readathon, reading challenges, TBR

May Bookish Plans and #SmashYourStack TBR

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I’m extremely excited for May reading after an odd yet fun bookish April. This month my focus is going to be reading books from my physical TBR shelf for the #SmashYourStack challenge, and I’m really excited about my options. I’m also really looking forward to participating in Bout of Books from May 9-15; I had so much fun during the last challenge in January.

Here’s my May #SmashYourStack TBR! Ranked in order of my excitement level, although I’m very psyched for all of them.

 

Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked TalesMr. SplitfootThe Girl Wakes: StoriesA Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)City of Dark Magic (City of Dark Magic, #1)The Good GirlDeath My Own WayLeo@Fergusrules.Com: A Novel

 

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt – For real, this time. It’s been on my TBR list for the past few months and I’ve yet to finish it, but that’s for a very legitimate and odd reason: because I like it so much. Hear me out! Sometimes when I’m really loving a book I have an extremely hard time actually reading it, because I only want to read it when I’m in the right mood to fully appreciate it. I also have a hard time reading it because I don’t want it to be over. But now I’m over halfway through Mr. Splitfoot, and I’m so intrigued that I absolutely have to know what happens very, very soon. It’s seriously amazing so far.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – I’M SO EXCITED. I was re-reading parts of A Court of Thorns and Roses the other day in preparation for this book, which comes out on Tuesday, and I seriously can’t wait to start it. My goal is to finish Mr. Splitfoot before this one comes in the mail (I pre-ordered it and the release date is Tuesday, so I’m not sure when it will get here? Do stores try to get it to you by the release date or after?) so that I can devote my full attention to it once it comes out. I’m hoping that this book is more akin to the last part of ACOTAR, which was the more interesting part in my opinion.

The Girl Wakes by Carmen Lau – I’m really excited to read this book of dark feminist fairy-tale retellings, and it looks like the perfect length for Bout of Books. I picked it up at the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair last month and I’ve been anxious to dive in ever since. I mean, read this blurb and tell me this book doesn’t sound awesome: “A beautifully vicious first collection of retrofitted fairy tales, with whip-smart swerves, darkly funny moments, and razor-sharp language. Like Angela Carter meets Let the Right One In with a dash of Lady Vengeance tossed in for good measure.”
—Brian Evenson

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte – this was a total impulse buy at one of the library used book sales I hit last month, and I feel like I’m going to be in the mood for a lighthearted fantasy option this month. Its blurb on Goodreads calls it a “rom-com paranormal suspense novel,” which sounds like it could potentially really work for me. There are a couple of not-so-great reviews I’ve seen on GR, but sometimes you really need to ignore reviews and just read something for yourself.

Leo@fergusrules.com by Arne Tangherlini – another book I picked up at the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair, this book is described as “a post-modern tilt at Alice in Wonderland, a computer-age Huckleberry Finn, leo@fergusrules.com is above all the story of a young woman’s search for the lost world of her ancestors in a society in which technology has replaced community.”

Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood – I’ve ranted before about my love for Margaret Atwood, and I’m so interested to see what her short fiction is like. I’ve heard that this collection has a lot of horror influences and dark themes, which I’m totally on board with.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica – I hope I like this book, but I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s supposed to be Gone Girl-esque, and I really enjoyed Gone Girl, but I’m not sure how I’ll feel about something similar but not the same. I hated The Girl On the Train, for example. But it will be good to have a fast-paced thriller option for Bout of Books, so I’d like to try it.

Death My Own Way by Michael S. A. Graziano – Another BSPBF find, this one was described to me as being “extremely weird” but very good. Here’s the blurb: “A man dying of cancer wanders naked into Central Park and embarks on a twisted, fetishistic, hilarious journey toward a deeper understanding of life. A story of vulnerability, brashness, and the universal need to find some comfort and philosophy before the journey ends.” Sounds super interesting, and it’s a very short read–perfect for Bout of Books!

 

Additionally, there are a few books not on my physical TBR shelf *gasp* that I may also read this month, depending on my reading moods and how I’m doing on my challenges (audio/library/ebooks):

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader GinsburgThe Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)The Bone KnifeThe Awakened Kingdom (Inheritance, #3.5)

 

 

Has anyone read any of these books? What did you think? And what is everyone reading in May? Feel free to link to your TBR posts 🙂