Top Ten Graphic Novels on my TBR

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This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday is all about the visuals, a kind of freebie topic focused on graphic novels/comics/picture books. Today, I’ll be talking about the ten graphic novels that are at the top of my wishlist. I’ve only really gotten into comics and graphic novels over the last couple of years, so a lot of the books that I mention here are probably already pretty well-established. I’ve heard amazing things about all of them, and I’m desperate to read each and every one of them!

As always, the covers will take you to the Goodreads pages.

Continue reading “Top Ten Graphic Novels on my TBR”

Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant to Read But Didn’t Get To

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Hello! Welcome to my first Top Ten Tuesday post of the year. This week’s theme is 2016 releases you meant to read, but didn’t get around to. Today I’ll be sharing with you some of the 2016 releases that I bought and haven’t read, and some that I meant to buy, but didn’t.

Hopefully I’ll get to most of these in 2017, but for now, let’s get started! As always, the book cover of each will take you to the Goodreads pages.


1. THE RAVEN KING BY MAGGIE STIEFVATER

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I really like the Raven Cycle and I was so excited for this book to come out, but then I just…never bought it? My favourite thing about this series is definitely the characters, but I was so excited to see how the whole thing would conclude. I’m definitely hoping to buy/read this at some point this year!


2. THE LAST STAR BY RICK YANCEY

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Again, this is a series that I really, really like. But I didn’t buy the last book, and now I barely remember what happened in the second book, so I’ll probably have to reread the whole series. Why do I do this to myself.


3. STARS ABOVE BY MARISSA MEYER

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This is a collection of short stories set in the Lunar Chronicles universe. However, it’s set after the events of Winter, and since I haven’t read that yet, I couldn’t read this!


4. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM BY J.K. ROWLING

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While this wasn’t a priority, I’d hoped to read this not long after I watched the film. I ended up seeing the film quite spontaneously, and then didn’t get the screenplay until Christmas. Still, I’d really like to read this, because I enjoyed the film much more than I thought I would, so it’d be interesting to compare the two!


5. THE ESSEX SERPENT BY SARAH PERRY

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I mean, I mostly bought this because of the cover. And because I had a full Waterstones stamp card, which meant that I got £10 off, which meant that I was completely justified to make an impulse cover-buy. It does still sound incredibly interesting, and I’ve heard nothing but great things about it.


6. EMPIRE OF STORMS BY SARAH J. MAAS

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Now, this one I’m not sure I’ll ever read. While I didn’t enjoy Queen of ShadowsI did intend to give Empire of Storms a chance. However, after reading a considerable amount of reviews, I’m not so sure anymore. I’m about 80% sure I’ve completely dropped this series — 80% because every time I tell someone I won’t read it, I doubt myself. So we’ll see.


7. THE BUTCHER’S HOOK BY JANET ELLIS

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This was actually another impulse buy when the hardcover was really cheap on Amazon. I’d heard Jen Campbell on YouTube talk about it a lot, so I figured that it must be good. Really, all I needed to know was that it’s historical fiction about a cunning, apparently macabre girl, and I’m pretty much sold.


8. AND I DARKEN BY KIERSTEN WHITE

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You guessed it, this was another impulse buy. I just thought the concept of this book was so intriguing, I couldn’t resist picking it up. I love reading about unlikeable characters, so I’ll be sure to make time for this book soon!


9. THE CITY OF MIRRORS BY JUSTIN CRONIN

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This book was my most anticipated release of 2016 by a long, long way. The only reason I didn’t read it is because the previous book in this series came out in 2012, so I really need to reread all of them. This is one of my favourite series, so it’ll be interesting to see what I make of it when I do make time to read all three books.


10. LABYRINTH LOST BY ZORAIDA CORDOVA

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This book was everywhere last year, and I (impulsively) bought it during a Kindle daily deal. This was one of the books on my TBR for the #DAReadathon, and I’m actually currently reading it at the moment! Look at me! Not avoiding books on my TBR! Progress!


Those are all the 2016 releases that I fully intended to read. I’m not entirely sure which of these I’ll get around to in 2017, but I’ll definitely be prioritising the books I actually own. Which, realistically, means that there’s probably going to be a couple more series that I’ll need to reread in the future…

If you’ve read any of these books I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Top Ten Most Anticipated 2017 Releases

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and this week’s theme is top ten books I’m looking forward to in the first half of 2017. I’ve gone by the UK dates for these, and I’ve tried to get the dates down as accurately as possible (if there are books without a date, it’s because Goodreads and Amazon were giving me completely different ones).

As always, the covers will take you to each book’s respective Goodreads pages.


STRANGE THE DREAMER BY LAINI TAYLOR

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Expected UK publication: 28th March 2017.

I’m a huge fan of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, so I’ve been excited for this book ever since it was first announced. I’m not even too sure what this new series is entirely about, but really I’d like to keep it that way. I think Laini Taylor’s writing is beautiful, and so absorbing. The world she created in her trilogy was so rich and imaginative that I have such high hopes for this book. In a way, I’m kind of glad that the publication was pushed back because it means that I can actually make time to read this book!


A CONJURING OF LIGHT BY V.E. SCHWAB

31671570Expected UK Publication: 21st February 2017

I read both A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows this year and really, really enjoyed them. I’m so excited (and nervous!) to see how this series is going to finish and where the characters will end up!

 

 

 


RELEASE BY PATRICK NESS


Expected UK publication: 
4th May 2017

I’m automatically on board for anything Patrick Ness writes. His Chaos Walking trilogy ranks among my favourite series of all time, and More Than This is also one of my favourite books. Release sounds like it’s sure to be another favourite of mine as its partially inspired by Mrs Dalloway. It follows one character, Adam Thorn, during one day of his life. I’m really, really excited for this one—and I’m also excited to see what the cover will look like because I’m…shallow…


THE LOVE INTEREST BY CALE DIETRICH

31145148Expected UK publication: 16th May 2017

This book just sounds so cool. Not only is about a secret organisation of teenage spies, it seems to lightly poke fun at the common YA trope of the love triangle by making it a literal life or death situation. To top it all off, one of the boys starts to fall in love with the other, and honestly, I’m 100% here for LGBT romances.

 

 


CARAVAL BY STEPHANIE GARBER

30964236Expected UK publication: 31st January 2017

I feel like I’ve been seeing this book absolutely everywhere, and all the hype has definitely got me interested. I’ve seen it compared to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which I read last year and really enjoyed. It definitely sounds like a lot of fun, so I’m really interested in picking it up.

 

 


A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN BY SARAH J. MAAS

23766634Expected UK publication: 2nd May 2017

Okay, so while I didn’t enjoy A Court of Mist and Fury as much as most people, the ending successfully sold me on picking up the next book in the series. I’m really looking forward to this new plot direction, and I definitely prefer this series over the Throne of Glass series, which I’ve indefinitely put aside. I find the world in this series to be wonderfully described, and I’m kind of invested in Feyre and Rhys’ relationship.

 


THE INEXPLICABLE LOGIC OF MY LIFE BY BENJAMIN ALIRE SAENZ

23447923Expected UK publication: April 2017

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is one of my favourite books, but for some reason I’ve never read anything else by him. Seeing that this book was being released has thankfully reminded me that I need to check out his other work!

 

 


GILDED CAGE BY VIC JAMES

26168646Expected UK publication: 26th January 2017

This is another book that just sounds really, really cool. It’s the first book in a fantasy series set in modern Britain, wherein the country is run by magically gifted aristocrats, and those below them must serve them for ten years. It sounds like an interesting mix between a fantasy novel and a dystopian novel, so I’m really intrigued by this one!

 

 


SAGA, VOL. 7 BY BRAIN K. VAUGHAN AND FIONA STAPLES. 

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Expected UK publication: April 2017

Honestly, there’s not much I can say about this. Saga is my favourite comic book series, and I start anticipating the next volume as soon as I start reading the one that came before it. I love the characters, and the plot always surprises me. I know that I could read these as single issues, but that doesn’t really work for me, and there’s something to be enjoyed about waiting for each release!

 


 

THE HATE U GIVE BY ANGIE THOMAS

32075671Expected UK publication: April 2017

This is a YA contemporary book inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, focusing on the protagonist, Starr after she witnesses her unarmed friend, Khalil, get shot and killed by a police officer. I feel like this is going to be an important, powerful book, and I’ll definitely be picking it up as soon as it comes out.

 


 

So those are my most anticipated books! I’m probably missing quite a few, but honestly I tend to be quite bad at keeping up with new releases, so more often than not I end up being surprised when I see a book is out.

I’d love to know if any of these books also made your list! 🙂

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Ten Books I’ve Added to my TBR Lately

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I’m back with another Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week’s theme is ten books that you’ve added to your TBR recently. Today, I’m going to share with you ten recent additions to my wishlistrather than ten books I’ve actually bought. Until Saturday, when I bought three books, I’d been doing quite well at slowing down my book buying! I consider my wishlist my eventual TBR, so here they are in no particular order! As always, the covers will take you to the Goodreads pages.


1. EVERFAIR BY NISI SHAWL

26114130Everfair is an alternate history novel set in the Congo, exploring what it would have been like if the native populations had discovered steam technologies prior to the arrival of the Belgians, who colonised the area. This is neo-Victorian fiction, which I have read some of, but I do enjoy Victorian literature more generally. The premise of this sounds absolutely fascinating. After reading Homegoing I’ve been very keen to read more historical fiction from a non-white perspective, and I’ve really been wanting to read more books set in African countries. I’m sure curiosity will get the better of me and I’ll end up buying this soon.

 


2. INVISIBLE PLANETS BY KEN LIU (ED.)

30626608 Invisible Planets is a collection of translated Chinese science fiction short stories both edited and translated by Ken Liu. I actually eyed this up in Waterstones recently, and I have no idea what stopped me from buying it. Not only does it have a beautiful cover, it sounds really interesting, too. I’m admittedly not very well read when it comes to science fiction, but I though it would be really interesting seeing how the future is imagined in a different culture.

 

 

 


3. DIFFICULT WOMEN BY ROXANE GAY

30644520I read Roxane Gay’s essay collection Bad Feminist earlier this year and completely loved it. I was a huge fan of the style and tone of her writing, and I already own her novel An Untamed StateDifficult Women is a short story collection that I believe discusses a variety of women of different backgrounds and experiences. It isn’t released until January, so I’m hoping to have read her novel by then, and I’m sure I’ll love her fiction just as much as I enjoyed her essays.

 


 

4. THE GOOD IMMIGRANT BY NIKESH SHUKLA (ED.)

28668534The Good Immigrant is an anthology edited by Nikesh Shukla, focusing on what it’s like to be part of a minority ethnic group in Britain today. I was pretty much sold on this from the start, but after reading Riz Ahmed’s essay titled Typecast as a Terrorist, which features in the collection, it jumped straight to the top of my wishlist. As this focuses on Britain, I’m very excited to eventually read it, and hopefully I’ll discover some new writers in the process. (By the way, I’d highly recommend you read Riz Ahmed’s essay regardless!)


 

5. ANOTHER DAY IN THE DEATH OF AMERICA BY GARY YOUNGE

31819463This is a non-fiction book focused on one day in America when ten young people, aged between nine and nineteen, are killed by guns. None of these deaths made the national news. It is, essentially, about the consequences of the lack of gun control in America. Younge focuses on children as, on average, seven children and teens are killed by guns in America every day. I did a little research on gun violence for my dissertation, and I’m interested in taking that research a little further. While I’m sure that this will be a depressing read, I don’t doubt that it will be an important one.

 


6. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD BY COLSON WHITEHEAD

30555488This book has been getting a lot of interest lately, and I’m very intrigued by the premise. The Underground Railroad is a slavery narrative wherein the historical Underground Railroad is an actual railroad. I’ve read some reviews saying that the content is brutal, and others saying the same, but that the writing was quite detached. If anything, this has made me more interested to read it. Especially since, as I said before, my background in historical fiction is very lacking.

 

 


7. THE KILLING MOON BY N.K. JEMISIN 

11774272After reading The Name of the Wind last month, I’ve really been in the mood to read more fantasy novels. I’ve heard so many amazing things about N.K. Jemisin, particularly about her novel The Fifth Season, and I’m desperate to read some of her work. However, I think the book of hers I’ll start with is The Killing Moon (though, if you think I’m better off starting with The Fifth Season, let me know!). This is, I think, loosely based on Ancient Egyptian mythology. It’s about a group of priests in service of the dream goddess, and their job is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind. Again, this is another one with a really cool concept that I’m sure I’ll pick up soon.


 

8. THE GOLDFINCH BY DONNA TARTT

18692995My reasoning behind this one is pretty simple: I loved Donna Tartt’s writing when I read The Secret History and I’d really like to read more of her books. I’m not sure whether I want to read this or The Little Friend next. The Goldfinch is huge and generally well-loved, but people seem less fond of The Little Friend. If you’ve read either, or both of them, let me know which one you think I should read first!

 

 

 


9. THE WOODS, VOL. 1. BY JAMES TYNION IV & MICHAEL DIALYNAS

21412023I saw this over on Lauren’s blog, as she read it as part of her Halloween readathon, and I thought it sounded amazing! Honestly, I don’t know very much about it, but from what I do know it sounds like it’ll be right up my street! I’m so keen to read more comics and graphic novels, so I’m always happy to learn about a series I’d never heard of before.

 

 

 

 


10. VASSA IN THE NIGHT BY SARAH PORTER

28220892I feel like I’ve been seeing this book everywhere lately, so I know I’m eventually going to cave and end up buying it! So many reviews are saying that it’s really weird, so that’s honestly just making me more curious, and more likely to buy it. All I know about it, really, is that it’s set in New York, where the night is slowly getting longer. I also know that it’s inspired by a fairy tale, so I’ll have to make sure I read up on that if I ever end up buying it!

 

 


 

So there you are! There’s a glimpse into my frankly exhaustive wishlist. This probably covers less than 10% of the books that I have sorted into various wishlists on Amazon. I know I’ll never get around to buying or reading them all, but a girl can dream!! Though really, I do think I’ll eventually get around to buying these ones as I’m really interested in all of them.

If you’ve read any of these books I’d love to hear your thoughts on them! That way, it might make it easier for me to decide which ones I’d like to buy first 😉

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Top Ten Gothic Novels

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Before I begin, I want to apologise again for how absent I’ve been. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you might have noticed that I finally handed my MA dissertation in last week, so you can probably imagine how stressful these last couple of weeks have been! Now that I’m no longer a masters student, I have more free time on my hands, so that means I can spend more time on posts, and hopefully update much more frequently than I have been.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s theme is your top ten favourites of any genreI’ve decided to put a bit of a spin on this and bring you my top ten Gothic novels, in honour of handing my dissertation in. These are either my favourites of the genre, or otherwise work as really great introductions to Gothic literature.

The Gothic has several different modes, and as such, it’s kind of hard to pin down what, exactly, is meant by the term Gothic. Studies into the Gothic only really started in the 1980s, despite the fact that the genre itself pretty much started in the late 1700s. Gothic literature was, and in some cases still is, regarded as trashy, and therefore not warranting academic study. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Gothic literature, even when it is melodramatic and trashy.

So hopefully I’ve provided a pretty good selection of Gothic novels, should any of you be interested in getting into the genre! The covers of each will take you to the Goodreads pages.

Continue reading “Top Ten Gothic Novels”

Ten of the Best Books I Had to Read for University

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and this week it’s a Back to School freebie! I decided to talk you through all of the books I had to read for university that I really enjoyed.

Way back when I started university, I was really intimidated by the reading lists. I know that assigned reading is, for the most part, no fun at all. I was expecting to read boring books that I’d completely hate, and so many people who had done literature degrees had said how all the assigned reading had really put them off reading for fun. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case for me. While I definitely didn’t read every book on the many reading lists we were given, I did manage to find a few gems in the books I managed to read, so here they are in no particular order! The covers of each will take you to the Goodreads pages.

Continue reading “Ten of the Best Books I Had to Read for University”

Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR Way Too Long

Look! Baby’s first Top Ten Tuesday. I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but I didn’t really have the time to commit to doing it every week. Realistically, I still don’t until September, but I thought the themes for the next few weeks were too good to pass up.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week’s theme is about the books that have been sitting on your shelf for a really, really long time.

Now, I’ve no shame in admitting that my TBR is huge. It’s dauntingly huge. I used to list all the books I wanted to read on my Goodreads page, but that got overwhelming, so I decided just to list the books that I actually own.

“But Amy,” I hear you say, “Doesn’t your Goodreads TBR look like this:”

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Yes. It does.

Anyway. Here are all the books that have been sitting around my bedroom for longer than I care to admit, accompanied by my flimsy excuses for not having read them yet.

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