Top Five Tuesday – A-Z Authors

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This month’s topics are A-Z authors, this week it’s P-T, I struggled with one letter this week, the rest were pretty easy. I hope everyone is well and safe in these strange times.

P: Philip Pullman

I used to love His Dark Materials when I was younger, the trilogy is still a great read now. My obsession with the nothern lights definitely started with these books. I’m so glad Philip Pullman has started a new series centred around Lyra Belacqua, I’ve read the first one in The Book of Dust trilogy and it has the same feeling as the original series, I’m very excited to read the rest.

R: Lucinda Riley

I discovered Lucinda through The Seven Sisters series, each book tells the story of one of the adopted sisters and how they discover their birth origins. The girls have lived a happy life altogether with their father and when he died he left them all a letter, a clue and coordinates to where from around the world he adopted them. It also goes back in history and tells the story of the sister’s ancestors. I highly recommend the series if you love historical fiction like me!

S: C.J.Sansom

I haven’t read all of his work yet but Dominion is one of my favourite books. It’s set in the 1950s except instead of going to war with Germany in 1939, Britain made a treaty with them instead. But there is a rebel force led by Churchill himself. We follow a government worker who has joined the resistance and his efforts to save a scientist from being discovered by the Nazis. This book made me so scared, but it is so clever, a must read.

S: Lemony Snicket

What a strange soul Lemony Snicket is, his books are quirky and brilliant in equal measure. I used to love A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was younger because it was so different to everything I had ever read.

T: Adrian Tchaikovsky

I first discovered this author when I read Children of Time which is set way in the future. Humanity has tried to reach out into the stars to find a place to live. They started terraforming selected planets and releasing our chimp ancestors down to those planets with a genetic accelerator so they evolve quicker. But the experiment is sabotaged. The last of humanity years later are stranded on a spaceship trying to find these planets, but what they find is more of a nightmare. One of the most interesting books I’ve read, it’s very clever and it even got me to like spiders for a while!

Shouldn’t You Be In School? Review

“If you have a bruise you do not want it touched, but everyone who cares about you will want to touch it, in the hope of somehow making it better.”

This is the third book in the All The Wrong Questions series by Lemony Snicket, it follows a young Lemony and his friends as they try to take down a horrible criminal and save Stained by the Sea which is a tiny, very odd, town on the brink of ruin as their main source of income has dried up. Quite literally, they used to farm ink from squids in their sea and the sea has gone.

Snicket doesn’t go to school, he’s an apprentice with VFD (Volunteer Fire Department) his supervisor is an imbecile so he has to solve the arson case pretty much on his own. There are a group of other young teenagers who don’t go to school and work instead whom Snicket has befriended. Nothing makes sense in the strange town, it’s an odd read, but a fun one. Snicket’s quirky style of writing never fails to make me smile. It’s very witty and really confusing at the same time! I did enjoy the book, not as much as a Series of Unfortunate Events, but it still has similar themes running through it.

“Imagining the worst doesn’t keep it from happening.”

Quotes of the Week

It’s been a lovely sunny week, I’m so happy that it finally feels like Spring! Here are my favourite quotes from this week:

“Imagining the worst doesn’t keep it from happening.” –Lemony Snicket, Shouldn’t You Be In School?

Very true but it’s very hard not to sometimes if you’re a natural pessimist and worrier. I have got a lot better at not picturing the worst possible outcomes though!

“If you have a bruise you do not want it touched, but everyone who cares about you will want to touch it, in the hope of somehow making it better.” – Lemony Snicket, Shouldn’t You Be In School?

I just loved this quote and how sweet it is. It’s so true and so lovely. Lemony Snicket is such a good author.

Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR List

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic by thatartsyreadergirl is the top books on my Spring TBR list. A lot of these may have appeared on my Winter TBR post…I didn’t seem to get very far!

1. Shouldn’t You Be In School? by Lemony Snicket

It’s the third book in the All the Wrong Questions series, I haven’t read any Snicket’s books in ages so I can’t wait to get into this one. His style of writing is so unique!

2. The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

This was definitely on my Winter list, I’m still really looking forward to reading it though, it’s only two books away!!

3. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

Although this is the second Discworld novel I haven’t read it yet! I’ve read lots of his book in a completely random order but I’m now tracking down the ones left.

4. Saturday Requium by Nicci French

I miss Frieda…this was also on my Winter list but I actually have the book now so we’re all set.

5. Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights? by Lemony Snicket

The last in the series, I tried to not read the third and this one too close together because if I read too many books that are similar together, I tend to get bored.

6. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

The seventh book in the Discworld series as with all of Pratchett’s books this looks funny, strange and wonderful.

7. Transcription by Kate Atkinson

I’m so excited for this book, I’ve been waiting for it to come out in paperback and it’s finally due out next month! It’s set in WWII and the Cold War, it follows a woman who joins MI5 and once peace is declared expects her job to be over but she’s very wrong. I don’t know a lot about the Cold War so this will be so interesting.

8. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Again I’ve been waiting for this to be published in paperback form and the time is almost here! I love all of Kate Morton’s books, she never disappoints.

9. The Virgin’s Spy by Laura Andersen

I really enjoyed the first book of this series and I’m eager to find out how all the characters are getting on.

10. The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley

If I make this far before the Summer I’ll be seriously impressed. The third book in the series, this one is set in England and follows Star on her journey of discovery.

What are you planning to read over the Spring?

Top Ten Books on My Winter To-Read List – Top Ten Tuesday

This is my first Top Ten Tuesday (thatartsyreadergirl posts prompts every Tuesday for book lovers like myself) I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read all ten books on my list before the end of winter but we’ll see!

The Long Cosmos by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

It’s the last in The Long Earth series, it’s set almost sixty years after the first book. I have enjoyed this series, not quite as much as Terry Pratchett’s other work, but I love the idea of parallel worlds and I can’t wait to read Joshua’s final adventure.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I got the gorgeous Penguins Classics hardcover copy for my birthday and it’s been ages since I last read Little Women so I’m looking forward to re-reading it next year.

3. Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin

Although I’m slightly disappointed that we still haven’t got our hands on The Winds of Winter, I am still incredibly excited about this book. I’ve always been fascinated by the Targaryen’s and their dynasty and this is written as if it’s a history book, but it’s fiction. I can’t wait to read it. George is a complete genius so I know it will be wonderful.

4. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

I read all four of the first books in the Millenium series this year and I am excited to read the next one! I adore Lisbeth and this story once again looks gripping and intense.

5. The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

I recently read The Seven Sisters which is the first in this series, which I really enjoyed (my full review is here). This book follows Ally on her quest to find out where she’s from. I’m looking forward to getting to know Ally better and seeing Norway through her eyes.

6. Shouldn’t You Be In School? by Lemony Snicket

I haven’t read any books by Lemony Snicket in ages and this book has been on my to-read list for a while, but it’s finally got to the top! I adore Lemony’s writing style, I can’t wait to dive back in to one of his books.

7. The Virgin’s Daughter by Laura Andersen

I love historical fiction and after reading Laura Andersen’s other series about the son Anne Boleyn never had, I was really excited to find out she had written a series about a secret daughter of Elizabeth I. This is my dream genre, the what if’s of history!

8. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

I realised I’ve missed out a lot of the early discworld novels and haven’t read as many as I thought so here we are with the Light Fantastic. Terry Pratchett is a genius and his books are magic so I’m very excited about this one.

9. Lost Among the Living by Simone St. James

Another historical fiction gem. Set in England in 1921 the story follows Jo Manders who lost her husband in the war. Jo ends up working for her husband’s wealthy aunt and stays at their family estate. Looking forward to this one.

10. Saturday Requiem by Nicci French

This is the sixth book in the Freida Klein series and like every book by Nicci French I expect it will be thrilling, clever and terrifying! Freida is such a brilliant character in the fifth book we saw her hit rock bottom, I’m looking forward to seeing how she is now.