May Reading & Writing Updates

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So it has been a while, again, since I’ve posted but I’m getting it together. 🙂 Of course come on this is fun! Getting behind and running to catch up, not so much.

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But that’s fine. Let’s start off with what I’m reading, well what I’m still reading. I’m still reading My Age of Anxiety by Scott Stossel and Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #2) by Deborah Harkness. You might recall that I went ahead and DNF’d Everfair by Nisi Shawl, a decision I did not take lightly but it had to happen. April and these first two weeks of May… Holy cow it’s been two weeks since May started? Good lawd! I was saying, reading has been slow going largely because I’ve allowed myself to be distracted with other things at the end of the day. I’m correcting that now. I’ve updated my site (what do you think?) and I’m getting back to reading. My Great Aunt is still waiting for me to finish Shadow of Night so I better, and will, hurry that up.

I owe you my review for The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst. You’ll find that this week, hopefully tomorrow. Next up I’ll be reading The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan, #3 in The Memoirs of Lady Trent series. I’ll also be putting up some posts in the next few weeks about my writing experiences. As well I’ll share posts by fellow writers that I find to be especially helpful.

For This Post…

Above I’ve told you things you’ve probably already read if you’ve been here before so what’s new? Besides another episode of Game of Thrones (whoa, this last one was EPIC, at least as much if not more than episode #3, wow) and the Chi and Barry? Well
I got some new books at great prices, of course that meant I had to jump on them while I could. I’ll also share new additions to my TBR as well as my May/June TBR. Let’s get started.

Just today I received my latest book haul from Book Outlet. I’ve mentioned this site before but if you don’t already know about it let me tell you it’s a great resource for cheap books. They sell bargain books and scratch & dent copies. Also with each order you receive points you can redeem in a later order. In fact if you want to FOLLOW THIS LINK to Book Outlet you’ll help me earn points for referring a friend. I’m not just trying to sell you for points, I really think you’ll find their prices are sweet. They don’t have every book imaginable but they’ve got a lot. I figure I’ll get what books I can through them and then buy local or elsewhere.

This most recent haul includes:

This last one, the box set, I got three books for about $15, which I think is fantastic. I’ve heard loads of good things about V.E. Schwab, this series as well as Vicious and basically all her writing. I see on Goodreads the first book in this series is rated 5 stars by Deborah Harkness (author of All Souls Trilogy) of all people! I’ve also listened to some interviews with her on podcasts like Tim Clare’s Death of A Thousand Cuts. This probably bumps this up my TBR for me. These 9 books cost me under $50 with free shipping. Hey, that’s real good. I should be set for reading for a while…

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New Additions to My TBR

The following is a list of books I’ve added to my Goodreads TBR since April 1st until today May 13th. If applicable I give credit to the blogger or person who brought the book to my attention.

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Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery by Kelley Armstrong – Thanks Destiny @ Howling Libraries! – This book isn’t out until October of this year. It’s a collection of tales about witches and witchcraft by popular female fantasy authors. Not only does this sound interesting it could also be a great way to find new authors to read (as if I need anymore).

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Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker – Thanks Sofi @ A Book. A Thought. – The premise of this book, after seeing it on Sofi’s page, reached my interest. Two sister’s go missing and one comes back? Hmmm…

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Planetfall (Planetfall, #1) by Emma Newman – Thanks Tim Clare @ Death of 1,000 Cuts podcast – I was intrigued by his interview with her. She talked about her personal struggles with mental illness and her use of it in her books. As well, when it comes to writing she mentioned that sometimes she hates it but keeps going because she works through things and ideas by writing. This is something I think I also try to do. Point being the author interested me as much as this book about “one secret withheld to protect humanity’s future might be its undoing…”

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Kingfisher by Patricia A. McKillip – Goodreads recommended this to me and I added it because I read Riddle Master trilogy by this author and I really enjoyed it. Her writing is creative and poetic, original and dynamic. This book won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 2017. I’m interested in this idea of ancient magic on the rise and a boy learning from his sorceress mother facts she’s kept from him until now.

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Middlegame by Seanan McGuire – So I’m pretty sure I heard about this book through Destiny @ Howling Libraries first and then again from Sofi @ A Book. A Thought, who highly recommends it. And I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m forgetting where else I’ve heard about it. This book has some high praises, even as it was just released a week ago (not including early review copies of course). On Goodreads it has 4.25 star rating out of 361 ratings. Roger’s skilled with Words. His sister Dodger’s skilled with numbers. They’re not human but they’re not exactly Gods either. Reed created them. Not their father, but not not their father. Hm…curious? I am.

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The Ice House by Tim Clare – This is the newly released sequel to The Honours which I read in April (here’s my review). You know by now I follow his podcast and am a fan. He’s a very talented writer and I look forward to reading this book probably this month to see whatever became of Delphine now that she’s an old lady.

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Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor – First I read The Book of Phoenix. Then I read Binti forgetting I’d read The Book of Phoenix. Naturally I need to read more of this author and this is book two, Akata Witch being #1. I just added these because I thought I already had, and I just got this and Lagoon below. This is (not Lagoon) a YA series the first released in 2011. In the first book the protagonist, a 12 year old girl, albino thus incredibly sensitive to the sun, befriends some other kids and is plunged into the world of the Leopard people where your worst defect becomes you best asset. They set out to track down a man responsible for kidnapping and maiming children. I was hooked at “your worst defect becomes your greatest asset”, cool! Might be a good one for my niece and nephews.

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Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor – Besides what I’ve already shared, I added this book because well read the blurb:

” It’s up to a famous rapper, a biologist, and a rogue soldier to handle humanity’s first contact with an alien ambassador—and prevent mass extinction—in this novel that blends magical realism with high-stakes action.

After word gets out on the Internet that aliens have landed in the waters outside of the world’s fifth most populous city, chaos ensues. Soon the military, religious leaders, thieves, and crackpots are trying to control the message on YouTube and on the streets. Meanwhile, the earth’s political superpowers are considering a preemptive nuclear launch to eradicate the intruders. All that stands between 17 million anarchic residents and death is an alien ambassador, a biologist, a rapper, a soldier, and a myth that may be the size of a giant spider, or a god revealed.”

Yup, you know it, that sounds cool. Have you read any of these? Will you add them to your lists now? Let me know, give me a shout out and link back here if you do please. And let me know what you think if you read or have read these authors. I’d love to hear from you.

May/June TBR

Last but not least here’s what I hope to read from now until the end of June (not necessarily in this order):

  • Finish Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
  • Finish My Age of Anxiety by Scott Stossel
  • Start & Finish The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
  • Start & Finish Women Wartime Spies
  • Start & Finish The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
  • Start A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
  • Start & Finish Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (I’m bumping this so I can share with the young folks)
  • Start The Book of Life (All Souls, #3) by Deborah Harkness
  • Start & Finish The Ice House by Tim Clare – because I just finished The Honours and why not?
  • Start & Finish Home (Binti, #2) & The Night Masquerade (Binti, #3) by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Start & Finish Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
  • Start The Greek Poets – Homer to the Present

And I almost forgot because I haven’t got it yet but Catching Teller Crow by Ambellin & Ezekiel Kwaymullina, published in Australia, is now in a paperback edition you can get through Amazon. Yeah!

That’s a great big list for me what with everything else going on, including of course my novel, gosh! Stay tuned there’s lots of fun to come. I’ll probably even tell you about my experiences helping out at my Aunt & Uncle’s sheep farm during their lambing season (AWESOME & inspiring). Maybe you’ll get to see some cute ass lambs. 😉 Thanks for reading my May Reading & Writing Updates.

Okay so whatcha got? Whatcha thinking?

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