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The Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

toptentuesday

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is all types of differently acquired books which I think is really cool because I don’t normally include audiobooks or books lent to me by friends in my book hauls and this list has both!

1. The Fire Sermon, by Francesca Haig

A friend of mine lent me this book after we went to an event together where we heard the author read from it. The book sounded great but as this was still before my house move, I couldn’t buy any more books! I haven’t started it yet.

2. Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson

I got this one as an audiobook after I got into a bit of a Sci-Fi kick. I’d never read any other Stephenson books but this came highly recommended and I listened to it very quickly (for such a big book anyway!). I very much enjoyed it and I’ll do a video review of it soon.

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3. The Tropic of Serpents (Lady Trent 2), by Marie Brennan

I’m currently reading the first book in this series and loving it so much that I’m having to make myself slow down so I can enjoy it more. I had to own the next one, I want to have it on hand as soon as I finish A Natural History of Dragons.

4. The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, by Julie Berry

I kept hearing about this book, which is about a group of proper young ladies trying to hide a murders and figure out whodunnit in a Victorian boarding school. It just seemed like it’d tick a lot of my boxes so I picked it up from my local book shop.

5. Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

I love Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, so I was so, so eager for her next novel. Uprooted is a standalone fantasy with a folk fairytale setting and atmosphere inspired by Novik’s polish roots. It’s also got the most beautiful cover! Having read a few pages, I can’t wait to get more time to dive into this one.

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6. The History of Medicine: A Very Short Introduction, by William Bynum

Yay, novel research! One of the main characters in my WIP is a doctor in Victorian London. I needed to figure out that period of time a bit better within the wider historical context of the development of modern medicine, so I thought this would be a great place to start.

Victorian Pharmacy7. Victorian Pharmacy: Remedies and Recipes, by Jane Eastoe

I also got the companion book to the BBC Victorian Pharmacy TV series, which is excellent and well-worth a watch if you’re interested in history or you’d like to see some gross remedies and steampunky implements in action. The book itself has a lot more on the perception of doctors and health during the period, as well as great pictures of the reconstructed pharmacy from the show (it’s so useful to have visual references!).

YA fiction8. Get Started in Writing Young Adult Fiction, by Juliet Mushens

The last physical book I bought recently was a writing book by agent Juliet Mushens, who represents a few people I know and is very wise & funny on twitter. I’m a teensy bit obsessed with writing books and I’ve heard great things about this one from my writing group buddies. It’s supposed to be full of practical tips and exercises which I can’t wait to try!

 
9. Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch 1), by Ann Leckie

I failed to read Ancillary Justice before the Hugos last year, so I got the audiobook now in order to catch up with the series! I’ve already listened to it and really loved it!

10. Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch 2), by Ann Leckie

And of course, I also got Ancillary Sword to read in time for this year’s award season. I haven’t started this audiobook yet but I want to get to it soon. I’m pretty excited to continue the story, especially as a few friends have said they liked this installment better than the first.

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Let me know in the comments what books you’ve acquired recently & if you’ve read anything from this list. If you do your own list, please link back to The Broke and the Bookish, who created and hosts Top Ten Tuesday.

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Top Ten Books on my TBR for Summer 2015

toptentuesday

I’m much more of mood reader than a seasonal reader, so this list of Summer Reads probably won’t be very summery (lots of space doom), but it’s always fun to take a snapshot of what I’m hoping to read in the near future!

After I saw the beautiful trailer for The Martian, I couldn’t stop thinking about the story and just had to listen to the audiobook again. I liked it just as much as the first time, despite knowing what would happen, and it still made me tear up in places. So now I’m in the mood for Sci-Fi, SCI-FI, and MORE SCI-FI.

Luckily I had three shiny Audible credits, so I treated myself to:

1. Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson
I saw this one featured on Audible’s main page and I picked it up because Elizabeth at Books and Pieces recently gushed about it. Good enough for me! I’ve just started listening to it today & the moon’s already exploded. :)

2. Century Rain, by Alastair Reynolds
I asked for recent SFF recommendations on Twitter and this is one of the books that was mentioned. The blurb says it’s about a space archaeologist who rediscovers Earth. Yes, please!

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3. Space Chronicles, by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Audible suggested this one to me and I hesitated approximately 0.415186 of a second. I love popular science books and I loved Neil Tyson when I heard him speak on various science podcasts. Also his twitter is pretty amazing.

Next, I want to read some of the books I’ve already got on my shelves as the unread books are piling up and guilt-tripping me into not buying new ones…

4. The Burning Dark, by Adam Christopher
This one is more space-horror than straight-up science-fiction, but it was recommended by my friend Nick Bryan, and I do have a copy at home. I just read & really enjoyed The Ghost Line, the new Elementary tie-in book that Adam Christopher wrote, so I feel good about trying one of his own titles. Also, check out the cover, I LOVE it!

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5. Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
Nothing says summer like a post-apocalyptic novel about an acting troupe, right? I bought this one a few weeks ago after George R.R. Martin recommended it, and I can’t wait to give it a go. I suppose at least in this one the Earth won’t be doomed, like in my first two selections! The cover design is so gorgeous that I really hope I love Mandel’s writing, just so I can get her other titles & have a matching set.

6. The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks, by Sam Maggs
I pre-ordered this one & got it on the day of release. I’ve already rifled through & what I’ve seen had definitely made me smile. I’m not sure I need a handbook for being a girl geek or a fangirl, but I know this is the book of my people. I’m not going to read it straight away, I have a feeling I’ll need to add a bit levity to my summer reading if it gets too doom-and-gloomy.

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7. Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
I picked this up as an audiobook after watching quite a bit of Parks & Recreation recently. I love the show (and Leslie Knope of course!) so I was curious to read Poehler’s book. A lot of people on booktube really liked it so I’m looking forward to listening to this.

Finally here are three books I’ve been waiting to buy for a little while, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to contain myself when I go to Waterstones on Saturday to pick up another book I ordered for novel research…

8. The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, by Julie Berry
A book about seven proper young ladies attempting to hide two murders and unmask a murderer? In a boarding school? In Victorian England? SIGN. ME. UP. Amazon & Goodreads both told me I should read this after I wish-listed & Want-to-read-ed Robin Stevens’ next Wongs & Wells book (which, incidentally, also comes out this summer) and it sounds about right. I’m very excited to dive into this, and it’s another one to cheer me up after all the space-death.

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9. Uprooted, by Naomi Novik
A brand new standalone based on Polish myth and folklore by the author of the Temeraire series!! I LOVE Naomi Novik’s writing and I’m not alone: Robin Hobb blurbed the book, Brandon Sanderson also said he loved it. I cannot wait. I’m dropping everything to read this the minute I get my grubby little hands on it. (So, Saturday.)

10. The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin, Elio M. Garcia Jr. & Linda Antonsson
I’ve been putting off getting this Game of Thrones companion book until Season Five finished so that I would have something to read in the long dark months with no book or TV episodes. On the bright, no character we love will be brutally killed in the next ten months!

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Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these & if you have any recommendations for me based on this list. If you do your own list, please link back to The Broke and the Bookish, who created and hosts Top Ten Tuesday.