Top Ten Tuesdays: My Summer TBR Pile

Cheers to the gals at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this lovely meme!

This is meant to be the Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR pile. However, I’ve listed the nine books (or possibly 13, if you count all the titles by Hobb that I intend to read!) that are definitely next up in my TBR list, although I’m sure I’ll pick up some random others based on reviews I see floating around. I've got a one month holiday coming up in August too, so I'm hoping to get through quite a few!

Assassin's Quest (Farseer Trilogy #3) by Robin Hobb
This is the last book in an epic trilogy that I have loved so far. I binge-read the first two books, and have definite plans to finish off the third soon (and probably the Tawny Man trilogy too, because why not). Based on the first two, I have no doubt that they will be awesome. Just look at that dragon on the cover!

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
I’ve only ever read one short story by Nnedi Okorafor. (It was marvellous.) Plus, her books seem to keep extremely good company on Goodreads – whenever they pop up, they’re always listed with others I love. So looking forward to her novel on the alien invasion of Nigeria!

Lord of Emperors (The Sarantine Mosaic #2) by Guy Gavriel Kay
I started reading Kay a couple of years ago, and have loved everything he’s written. Now this book was actually on my Spring TBR list, but somehow I didn’t get around to it (I blame Netgalley!). But I love Kay’s novels. They’re dramatic, and epic, and always make me cry. Definitely reading this over summer.

Shadowplay (Micah Grey #2) by Laura Lam
I read Book 1 earlier this year, and now Book 2 is sitting on my Kindle, waiting patiently to be read. A second instalment of queer fantasy, apparently with more magic than the last? Yes please.
  
The Mirror Empire (The Worldbreaker Saga #1) by Kameron Hurley
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Hurley’s other books, although I’ve never read them. This new series of hers seems like a good place to start! It looks suitably epic. 

The Magician’s Land (The Magicians #3) by Lev Grossman

I know there are a lot of people who dislike these books, but I’m not one of them. (Maybe this could be blamed on my love of Narnia, despite its many flaws?) Anyway, I can’t wait to see how Grossman wraps this trilogy up.  

Rose Under Fire (Code Name Verity #2) by Elizabeth Wein
Another WW2 pilot novel, this time about an American who gets captured and sent to Ravensbruck, the notorious women's concentration camp. Looks as heart-wrenching as the last, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Also, that cover! Arty & dramatic.

Earth Star (Earth Girl #2) by Janet Edwards

I don’t read much YA, but am happy to make an exception for this series. The first book was awesome, and I’ve heard the second lives up to its predecessor. Yes to clever sci-fi & awesome female protagonists. 

 

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

This book has been sitting on my Kindle for at least a year, and I found it when I was reorganising my books. I know it’s a classic (with faeries! I have a terrible weakness for faeries) so am really looking forward to reading it.

Top Ten Tuesday: The Best Books I've Read (So Far) in 2014

Cheers to the gals at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this lovely meme.

This week’s list features the top ten books I’ve read so far this year. It was an easy list to make as I haven't actually read that much recently - I blame my new job. Still, the list below is filled with great novels so I'm happy to let the gushing (re)commence! 

SFF: 

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. I never got around to reviewing this one, but my god did I love the adventures of Breq the gender-subverting ex-spaceship. Probably my favourite novel this year.

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar. A beautifully-written fantasy about literacy and ghosts. (My review.)

Child of a Hidden Sea by A. M. Dellamonica. An awesome portal fantasy - full of nautical mishaps, pop-culture musings and even a few gay people. Although I find it depressing how happy that last fact made me. (Review coming soon.)

Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb. A compelling fantasy about Fitz, a lonely royal bastard and apprentice assassin. (My review.)

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. A very thoughtful stand-alone examining the burdens of leadership in an elven court. (My review.)

Pantomime by Laura Lam. Queer fantasy with circuses and a slight bit of of magic. Yes, of course I liked this. (My review.) 

Historical/Lit Fic: 

Somewhere in France: A Novel of the Great War by Jennifer Robson. A satisfying story about a rich-girl-turned-ambulance-driver and her on-off boyfriend. (My review.)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. A surprisingly easy read concerning the Vel D'Hiv incident in France. (My review.)  

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. Heartbreaking novel about a string of interlinked families.

 

Non-fiction: 

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why by Amanda Riply. Very interesting book, full of anecdotes & a bit of research. 

Book Review: Static by L. A. Witt

Title: Static
Author: L. A. Witt
Genre: Science-Fiction, Romance, LGBTQ
Publisher: Riptide
Date Published: Jan 2014 (revised second edition)
Source: ARC from publisher
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Blurb (taken from Goodreads): After two years together, Alex has been dreading the inevitable moment when Damon learns the truth: that Alex is a shifter, part of a small percentage of the population able to switch genders at will. Thanks to a forced implant, though, Alex is suddenly static—unable to shift—and male. Overnight, he’s out to a world that neither understands nor tolerates shifters . . .  and to his heterosexual boyfriend.

Damon is stunned to discover his girlfriend is a shifter, and scared to death of the dangers the implant poses to Alex’s health. He refuses to abandon Alex, but what about their relationship? Damon is straight, and with the implant both costly and dangerous to remove, Alex is stuck as a man.

Stripped of half his identity and facing serious physical and social ramifications, Alex needs Damon more than ever, but he doesn’t see how they can get through this.

Especially if he’s static forever.

Why I read it: 

This looked like a cool concept, plus I’ve been meaning to read more specifically queer novels. Seemed like a good pick.

My thoughts: 

The world Witt creates here is an interesting one. It’s our Earth, with the single addition of shapeshifters who change gender rather species. It’s a cool idea, right? Witt’s shifters aren’t transgender, because they switch genders repeatedly rather than just once, and can tweak their body to match their mind. Instead, they have an identity of their own and a raft of other shifter-specific and queer issues to match, although these were a bit of a mixed bag. Some felt very realistic - for example, American shifters have documentation for both of their bodies, but can’t get married unless they show up as the opposite gender to their chosen partner on the big day. However, some of the set-up seemed bizarre – I mean, why would shifting exasperate some medical problems and solve others?

I also really liked the characters in this one, especially at the start. It was hard not to feel absolute pity for Alex. A closeted shifter who was illegally operated upon at her family’s behest, she ends up trapped in a male body – and suddenly out to a straight boyfriend and conservative workplace. Sounds like hell. It would be bad enough to have a family that wouldn’t accept you… but to have one that would drug & violate you in such a way? Urg. However, I though the book did a great job at balancing the pain Alex feels at being a shifter with the conflicting desire to live however he pleases, which was certainly not as a single gender.

The aforementioned straight partner in this book was Damon, who I think wins the award for best book boyfriend ever. Sure, he was bewildered and angry when he discovered that Alex was a shifter - but they’d been dating for two years and Alex had been lying the entire time about his identity; a little anger is natural. In fact, Damon’s initial reactions rang very true to me. However I didn’t buy how their friendship/romance progressed, but won’t say too much more on that front (because spoilers). I do wish we found out what Damon’s job was though – learning that Alex worked in technical support as a woman and moonlighted in a gay bar added a nice dimension to her character.

The only one thing I had trouble believing was in how Alex performed gender. Damon frequently notices that male Alex has the same mannerisms as his girlfriend. Makes sense, as they’re the same person. But the book never comments on how Alex walks or sits, which can be intensely gendered actions. It would have been nice to get at least a throwaway comment acknowledging this, even it was just to lampshade it and then let it go.

So I’m a bit torn about this book overall. I loved the central idea, but I thought the execution was lacking. There was average writing, a romance that veered between adorable and unbelievable, and a couple of heart-rending scenes.(Hesitantly) recommended, especially for those who like their fiction queer.

Ten Awesome Books on my Spring Reading List

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly book meme hosted by The Broke & The Bookish.

Gotta say I'm really excited about this week's topic. Why? Because a fortnight ago, I didn't really have a Spring TBR list. And then I decided that I would start reading/ reviewing/ blogging more, and spent the week discovering awesome new sites full of awesome new (and old!) books that somehow I had never heard of, and now my bulging TBR list is making my wife talk about hiding our credit card. Muhahahah.

ANYWAYS. Here's a list of books I intend to read in the next month or so.

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
I first picked up this book when I was on holiday in New Zealand and killing time in a bookstore. A few chapters in, I was entranced by the rich prose and the promise of misadventures in an decadent city across the sea. It's been nominated for a Nebula too... I can't wait to read the entire thing.

Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
I am a raging fangirl when it comes to Guy Gavriel Kay. His work is just that magnificent. This is the second book in his Sarantine Mosaic duology; one I would have read months ago, were I not trying to pace myself on his backlist.

Who fears death by Nnedi Okorafor
I came across a review of this book last week and was surprised it slipped under my radar. Post-apocalyptic fantasy set in Africa, good enough to have won the World Fantasy Award in 2011 – I’m looking forward to it.

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
I suspect this is on a lot of people’s to read lists! I love most of Sanderson's work (I always want to translate his magic systems into RPGs) and thought The Way of Kings was great. I'm sure this one will be too.

Pathlight: New Chinese Writing (Spring 2013)
Pathlight is a quarterly magazine featuring Chinese stories & poetry. The Spring 2013 edition focused on "The Future" aka Chinese sci-fi. I've been meaning to pick up a copy for ages. Listening to Ling Chen talk at the BLF Global Science Fiction panel only cemented this urge, as apparently this is the only place where her work has been translated in English.

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch
I’ve been following this series for a while. I first started reading them because of the British covers (which are awesome. Come on. Look at those maps.) but I’ve continued with them because they’re a lot of fun. It’s police bureaucracy meets magic, set in a London that actually feels diverse. 

The Silvered by Tanya Huff
Tanya Huff is a pretty prolific novelist, although I don't recall reading any of her other books. This one looks interesting though: high fantasy with werewolves and a magic school drop-out.

Somewhere In France: A Novel of the Great War  by Jennifer Robson
This book has been getting lots of good reviews, and I've been aiming to read more straight historical fiction. Hopefully this one will live up to the hype. 

Hild by Nicola Griffith
Another historical novel I can't wait to get my hands on. Mostly because I've seen a lot of comments on the quality & thoughtfulness of the writing, but also because it's been nominated for a Nebula and the cover is pretty.


China's Urban Billion: The Story Behind the Biggest Migration in Human History by Tom Miller.

Yes, there is non-fiction on this list. Is that cheating? (Guess I'm a cheat.) This book is here because I went to a fascinating talk on urban China at the Beijing Literary Festival last week: a 90 minute discussion on city verses population growth, hukou reform, eco-design, water & air pollution, and how China's changing government structures have impacted all of the above. Tom Miller was one of the speakers. I'm sure it'll be interesting to a geo-nerd like myself.



Have you read any books on this list? What are you most looking forward to?

Book Review: Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

Title: Earth Girl

Author: Janet Edwards 
Genre: Science-fiction, Young Adult
Notes: Published in 2012 by Harper Collins in the UK & Pyr in the USA. 

 
2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an “ape,” a “throwback,” but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra makes up a fake military background for herself and joins a class of norms who are on Earth for a year of practical history studies excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities. She wants to see their faces when they find out they’ve been fooled into thinking an ape girl was a norm. She isn’t expecting to make friends with the enemy, to risk her life to save norms, or to fall in love.

Why I read it

It got a very nice review over at The Book Smugglers and I thought the premise sounded interesting. Also, the UK cover is gorgeous and I am a shallow bookworm. 

Thoughts

For the handicapped, the universe is restrictive. They’re tied to one planet rather than being able to portal to others. (I imagine this feels like being confined to your hometown for your entire life.) To make things worse, most were given up by their birth families, and all are constantly mocked by offworld “norms”. Enter Jarra, the main character of Earth Girl. She’s handicapped, and understandably bitter about that fact. However, a love of history and a desire to escape lead her to enroll in an off-world history course – one she can attend for the first year only, as it takes place on Earth. 

I thought Jarra was an excellent character. Her bitterness at being handicapped felt very real to me, but it never overshadowed her drive to succeed or her love of history, other core aspects of her personality. Other reviews have called her a Mary Sue, but I disagree. It’s true she initially outshines the others on her course, but this is understandable: thanks to her disability, she’s had amateur experience at Earth dig-sites, and is a history-nerd to boot. My only complaint was the reason why Jarra kept her identify secret for so long. I won’t spoil the book, but I feel like the ending glossed over the ramifications of this choice. Hopefully it’ll be better addressed in the sequel.   

Jarra’s classmates were an entertaining bunch. They’re a diverse group hailing from every sector in the galaxy, providing steady subplots of gossip, friendship and romance. I thought the sexual Betans were particularly well-drawn. Karth, a foil for Jarra rather than a person in himself, was the only character I found frustrating. He was described as suspicious of the military, thanks to his left-wing conspiracy theorist of a father. Fair enough. But he was also most bigoted norm of the course (again courtesy of his “left-wing” father). How does that make sense? I think it would have been better to split the character into two, and give each more complexity.  

Despite that, I really enjoyed this book. It’s a clever YA novel that pairs a bitter and capable teenage protagonist with excellent worldbuilding, and absolutely deserves all the hype it’s been getting. 

The Cover

I love the English cover. The combination of colours and the font are stunning, and I’m not surprised that this is the image the author used for her blog. The American one, on the other hand, makes the novel look like a handbook for young environmentalists. I really don’t understand why the strident, capable Jarra was portrayed so passively here, or why she’s hugging the Earth that gives her so much pain. It doesn’t fit the tone of the book at all.