New on my Shelves (6)

We're going to Cornwall for a few hiking days with friends and our dogs. I will make sure to take a few pictures and post them next Sunday.

I got myself three books from the library. Well, I borrowed them about three weeks ago and just had to renew them because I'm still not done.

Knowing England, it will rain and I'll be able to read.

Tchaikovsky's Redemption Blade will be first, as it has been on my list forever, then I'll finally have to get done with The Bitter Twins. Jen Williams is a fairly new discovery, and I'm enjoying her style a lot. And, yes, I'm hopelessly behind in the schedule for this read-along.

And last but not least, I will dive into a few more Kindle Unlimited reads. Or...the weather will be gorgeous and I'll actually have to hike.

Guess which the dogs are hoping for?

Some books currently in Kindle Unlimited.

New on my Shelves (5)

I attended London MCM Comic-Con at the Excel last weekend and walked away with a few new books all signed by fantastic authors.
I love that they're doing author corners now. Who knows, perhaps one day, we'll get to lure George Martin to London.

• Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Ruin, of course. He doodled an octopus for us. Here's my review.
• Claire North's The Gameshouse, without even reading the blurb or the back. She's on my will buy anything from her list.
• RJ Barker's Age of Assassins. My review can be found here. RJ is a wonderful human being.
• And Jen William's The Ninth Rain; it came with a dragon doodle, and I can't wait to dive into it.

 

Octopus vs. dragon

then

Blue reading RJ's book

And finally, have I ever shown you the gift I received from my other half? My favourite books, plus a Doctor Who quote:

What is new on your shelves? Let me know in the comments.

New on my Shelves (4)

On the left a book from my wish list that my other half brought home upon realising that I’m quite stressed out lately. Robert A. Heinlein's The Moons is a Harsh Mistress. It's always lovely to get a new book, and such an old classic as well. To the right Mark Lawrence’s new book, Limited Wish. I reviewed the first in the series, One Word Kill, here.

Any new books you've received or bought lately? Let me know in the comments.

New on my Shelves (3)

I've got myself a few new books on Netgalley, even though I'm also buried in requests from indie authors. My summer will be spent catching up. I'll probably not accept any new requests for a while.

This one, Sanctuary by V.V. James is the read I'm most looking forward to, but it'll have to wait for a few weeks because it won't be published until August, and I have to prioritise the books that come before.

But let's talk about James for a moment. She's this terrific author who also works for the BBC and has worked on documentaries about both Trump and Brexit. She knows her politics. She published the Dark Gifts trilogy under the name Vic James. Here's my review for the third book which contains no spoilers for the series. Her series offers a lot of politics, which I enjoyed. And she gives the other side some POVs, showing that at any moment your political opponent is human. Like you. Perhaps you think your opponent is wrong, and perhaps they are evil, but they're still human, they're still people, and that's what makes the Dark Gifts trilogy so fascinating. I can't wait to read Sanctuary, a novel about witches.

Goodreads summary of Sanctuary: The small Connecticut town of Sanctuary is rocked by the death of its star quarterback.
Daniel's death looked like an accident, but everyone knows his ex-girlfriend Harper is the daughter of a witch - and she was there when he died.
Then the rumours start. When Harper insists Dan was guilty of a terrible act, the town turns on her. So was his death an accident, revenge - or something even darker?
As accusations fly and secrets are revealed, paranoia grips the town, culminating in a trial that the whole world is watching...

 

I don't know anything about Across the Void, but the premise intrigued me and I clicked "request" faster than my brain could yell: NO YOU'VE GOT NO TIME. And Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favourite authors.

Goodreads summary for Across the Void: Across the Void follows the sole survivor of a catastrophic accident in space that leaves her drifting in the void with only the voice of her estranged husband, a NASA scientist, to guide her back to Earth.
Commander Maryam “May” Knox awakes from a medically induced coma alone, adrift in space on a rapidly failing ship, with little to no memory of who she is or why she’s there.
Slowly, she pieces together that she’s the captain of the ship, Hawking II; that she was bound for Europa—one of Jupiter’s moons—on a research mission; and that she’s the only survivor of either an accident—or worse, a deliberate massacre—that has decimated her entire crew. With resources running low, and her physical strength severely compromised, May must rely on someone back home to help her. The problem is: everyone thinks she’s dead.
Back on Earth, it’s been weeks since Hawking II has communicated with NASA, and Dr. Stephen Knox is on bereavement leave to deal with the apparent death of his estranged wife, whose decision to participate in the Europa mission strained their marriage past the point of no return. But when he gets word that NASA has received a transmission from May, Stephen comes rushing to her aid.
What he doesn’t know is that not everyone wants May to make it back alive. Even more terrifying: she might not be alone on that ship.

Goodreads summary for A Brightness Long Ago: A Brightness Long Ago is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition.
In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count, and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast.
Danio's fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one autumn night, intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger, and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.
Vivid figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more, two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.

Anyone who follows me knows I love Adrian Tchaikovksy. And Children of Time was one of my favourite reads in 2016. Now, there's finally a sequel, and I simply can not wait. It's sci-fi, and it's sci-fi at its best.

Goodreads summary: Long ago, Earth's terraforming program sent ships out to build new homes for humanity among the stars and made an unexpected discovery: a planet with life. But the scientists were unaware that the alien ecosystem was more developed than the primitive life forms originally discovered.
Now, thousands of years later, the Portiids and their humans have sent an exploration vessel following fragmentary radio signals. They discover a system in crisis, warring factions trying to recover from an apocalyptic catastrophe arising from what the early terraformers awoke all those years before.

What's new with you? Any new books? Any new favourite reads? Anyone else buried under a pile of ARCs?

New on my Shelves (2)

I added Gene Wolfe even though I received it as a Christmas gift from my girlfriend, but I thought it was fitting since he died this week. Essays by Arthur Miller to balance out Circe by Madeline Miller.

What's new on your shelves? Let me know in the comments.

New on my Shelves (1)

My tbr pile is growing and it seems like the only thing standing between me and these books is a lack of time...

February TBR

My library text me today and suddenly they had all the books I wanted to read at once. For some I've been waiting for quite a while, so February is shaping up to be a busy month. Sadly their ebook selection is not very extensive and consists of mostly crime and romance novels. But, I ran there and back with a small backpack and got a workout in!
It's getting warmer again, though I feel like that might be just temporary. 

I plan on finishing the first draft of the psychological thriller that I'm currently writing. It's going well. I'm also planning to send out a few short stories this month. Keep your fingers crossed. 

It's my partner's birthday next week, so we are planning a spa day and a day out at the science museum in London. Maybe some sushi for dinner? Not sure yet. 

Also haven't bought any gifts yet, must rectify that like yesterday. She's hard to buy for though. She likes science fiction, is a big fan of The Expanse, The Hunger Games, Red Rising but doesn't enjoy fantasy. Thoughts?

My books for February:

• Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (They're already reserved by another library member, so I have to prioritise those two.)
• Open by Andre Agassi (I'm reading that one with a bookclub, so again, I have to prioritise it.)
• The Fifth Season and The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin (Trying to read more diverse authors and books, so those books are part of that.)
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (I've started that in January, so better finish it!)
• Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (Again, started in January, better finish it!)
• Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (Re-reading it in German to get the most out of this fantasy world, so far it's amazing.)
• The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer (Over a thousand pages of non fiction, I'm pretty sure this one will drag into March if not April. Oh and I've got Hamilton waiting for me! Ha!)
• I'm hoping I'll get to Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows.

What's on your tbr list for February? Hoping everyone is having an excellent winter!

Two Books for November (and NaNoWriMo)

I've just borrowed two new books from the library, one in e-book form. (Sadly our library doesn't have a big selection when it comes to e-books and I rarely find what I'm looking for.) And one physical book, because despite all the love I have for e-readers, I still love a physical book.

First of all I'm looking forward to reading A Darker Shade of Magic. I absolutely love the concept: Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now. How cool does that sound? It almost makes me jealous that I've not come up with this concept. I think there's just so much you can do with this setting and I'm curious to see what V. E. Schwab has done with it.

Besides reading November is always a bit hectic for me because I love to participate in NaNoWriMo and this month I've decided to tackle two projects. A few short stories. 10-20 in total. And on top of that a novella, which I hope will be between 40-50K words once I'm done. My Goodreads challenge is telling me I need to read 24 books until the end of the year and I'm starting to feel the pressure.

This is the other book I picked up from the library. Science Fiction. I'm not usually a fan of space. I can't bring myself to care when I read about species A having a war with species B, fighting on planet Z that is covered in ice. I like my science fiction to be near future and based on technology. More Black Mirror (how good is the new season?) and less Star Trek. However I thought this summary sounds pretty cool: On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

I made a list of 24 books I plan to read in the coming 8 weeks and I hope I can stick to it. Basically a bit more than 3 books a week. That's doable, right? Then why did I decide to put books onto that list that are a 1'000 pages long? Why couldn't I just choose 24 novellas?

Have you all finished the GR challenge? Successfully? Or are at least on your way?

Two Books for October (and why it's important to read a series the moment the books are published)

I just acquired copies of Six of Crows and The Prince of Thorns. Both are the first book in a series and I really don't need to read more series, but I keep seeing people talk about both books and I'm intrigued. Once I'm intrigued I can't wait.

I often think of waiting until an author has finished a series, so I don't encounter another ASOIAF moment where I've forgotten everything that happened (not that it matters, that book is never coming, is it?) or a series like Outlander, which by now has so many books and words that I got lost somewhere along the journey and would have to restart.

I know a lot of people think like that. Wait until the series is done. Binge it. Read them all. At once. No waiting. Sounds like paradise, right?

But publishers watch sales. And if the first book doesn't take off, the second book might never be published. This is how sometimes authors have to announce to fans, that sadly the next installment will not be available... they have options these days, authors can self-publish. But it must suck quite a bit, when you're in the middle of telling your story and not enough people are listening.

Sometimes I'm late to the party. No, that's wrong... I'm mostly late to the party. There are so many books out there, I have no idea where to start, what to pick next and I just kind of stumble through Goodreads, sipping my coffee, and click on random books until I get excited about a particular cover or review and immediately have to buy the book and everything else can wait. Too many books. Not enough time.

What I know about Prince of Thorns: Jorg is the narrator, he endured tremendous trauma during his childhood and is now deeply damaged. He's willing to hurt and kill and possibly not a nice guy. It's fantasy and it's Grimdark. I love conflicting characters, I love anti-heroes, so I'm quite looking forward to this one.

What I know about Six of Crows: Young Adult. Fantasy. And a deadly heist. I honestly don't know much more, so I'm looking forward to it. I like being surprised by books.

What are you planning to read in October? Anything new? Or older books? Anything I'm missing out on and should read right this second?