Winter Reading List

It’s winter and we don’t have long until Christmas! I love the warm fuzzy feeling of this time of year but January and February are usually a bit of a struggle so I’m going to fill it with great books!

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye – December

I didn’t get to this at the end of last month, I’ve just started it. It’s good, I like the writing style, it’s a twist on Jane Eyre, the heroine is obsessed with the book and finds herself in a similar situation to Jane herself.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett – December

I wanted to read something Christmasy and this is perfect! I haven’t read it for years, it makes me lugh so much. The Hogfather has been killed by an insane assassin so Death had to take over his duties on the most important night of the year.

The Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski – December/January

This is the second collection of short stories in The Witcher series, they’re set before the events of the main story. I really enjoyed the first book so I’m looking forward to these.

Jingo by Terry Pratchett – January

The Discworld is at war, and as the armies march towards each other Commander Vimes faces unpleasant foes who are out to get him. I think the City Watch books might be my favourite, I love the chaos of Ankh-Morpork.

Abandoned Child by Kitty Neale – January

Penny’s childhood was spent in the shadows of her mother s business schemes, feeling alone and unimportant. It fell to Lorna, her mother’s acquaintance, to take care of the lonely little girl, but the rejection always cut deep. When Penny was sixteen she left home with her cousin and moved to London but they get into some serious trouble.

We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet – January/February

I’ve borrowed this from my Mum, it looks really good and incredibly emotional. It’s set in WWII on the south coast of England which is where I live, it’s a story about the love we feel for our children and how that can endure anything.

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett – February

Rincewind is back and he’s trying to save the Discworld’s last continent. He’s the only hero left so it’s down to him and his luggage to save the day!

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski – February

For over a century humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves have lived relatively peacefully together, but times have changed and the uneasy peace is over. War is brewing and a powerful child is being hunted for her powers. It’s up to Geralt to find her and protect her.

Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan – February

I don’t read non-fiction often but I am really looking forward to this. A new analysis of one of history’s most misrepresented women. I’ve been drawn to Anne Boleyn since I started reading Philippa Gregory’s books about the Tudors, I’m fully aware that they’re fiction but they sparked my interest. I’m really excited to read this!

Spring TBR

Spring is finally here, hopefully it will be getting lighter and less cold. I’m looking forward to seeing all the flowers emerge and watch blossom fall from the trees. Here are the books I’ll be reading this season:

Lord and Ladies by Terry Pratchett – March

I started reading this a few days ago and it’s already making me giggle. We’re back with the witches and they are facing a threat from a different world, Elves have visited before but humans manage to banish them but now the doorway between worlds has weakened.

The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans – March

The book is set partly in the early 1900s and in modern day. A brilliant artist is found burning his most treasured paining in 1919, it is a painting of his children at his home in the garden that him and his wife made for them. Juliet is the great-granddaughter of the couple and is sent the key to Nightingale House. The house holds its mysteries close but Juliet is in search of answers. I am really looking forward to reading this, my Mum has leant it to me because she knows I’ll love it!

The Virgin’s War by Laura Andersen – April

This is the last book in the Tudor Legacy Trilogy, I still haven’t done my review for the second book, but I am loving this series. It’s a different take on Tudor history, Elizabeth I is on the throne but she has a daughter, Annabel. But war is brewing with Spain, partly fuelled by Elizabeth and Philip’s failed marriage. So Elizabeth will still have to deafeat the Spanish Armada. I’m very excited for this one.

Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett – April

Another City Watch story which are my favourites! Ankh-Morpork is a chaotic city and reading about the Watch trying to make sense of the chaos is such fun.

You by Caroline Kepnes – May

This looks both interesting and creepy at the same time. Stalkers are terrifying but it is easier for them to operate now when all our details are online. I think this is told from the stalkers point of view, this might creep me out too much but I’ll see.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – May

A classic that I haven’t read before, I have seen the film but it was quite strange and I’m not sure I got the plot!

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett – May/June

Another Rincewind tale with revolution, war and a falling empire. I’m excited to find out what Rincewind and his luggage get up to this time.

That’s my Spring sorted…what are some of your upcoming reads?

Top Ten Tuesday – Summer TBR

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic by thatartsyreadergirl is the top books on my Summer TBR list. It’s the summer! Although it really doesn’t feel like it at the moment, the weather is rubbish!

1. Transcription by Kate Atkinson

I’m reading it at the moment and absolutely loving it! We follow Juliet’s story through WWII when she joins MI5 and then through the Cold War.

2. Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett

A dragon has taken over Ankh-Morpork, and is burning or eating everything in sight. The City Watch are in disarray and even the Wizards haven’t got a clue what to do. I’m really looking forward to this one, the City Watch are my favourites also dragons!

3. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Kate Morton’s books are always great summer reads. This book is set in the summer of 1862 in London, a group of artists spend the summer in a beautiful manor on the Thames. But by the end of their time there one woman has been shot dead and a family heirloom is missing. In the present day, a young archivist finds drawings of the manor with a photograph of a beautiful woman, will she be able to uncover the truth?

4. The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley

This is the third book in the series and I’m really looking forward to finding out more about Star and her roots. These books are so well written, they really take you on the sisters journeys with them.

5. The House At Riverton by Kate Morton

This will be a re-read and a wonderful pick for the summer. This is Kate Morton’s first book it’s set in the 1920s/30s and it’s been a while since I read it so I’ve forgotten what happ, it’ll be nice to fall back in love with the book.

6. Sunday Morning Coming Down by Nicci French

The seventh Frieda Klein novel this leads straight from the end of Saturday Requiem which ended dramatically with Frieda finding the dead body of a policeman under her floorboards. Frieda is sure her stalker Dean Reeve is behind it but he’s been (supposedly) dead for seven years.

7. Nightflyers by George R.R Martin

I saw this book in a shop a little while ago and I didn’t know George had written any space books, I’m so excited to read it.

8. The Virgin’s Spy by Laura Andersen

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and meeting some of the knew characters. The Tudors are so fascinating, Elizabeth I is on the throne and her daughter has finally been allowed to join the court in London.

9. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

Another re-read, I’ve started reading the Jackson Brodie series again and this is the second book. Jackson is a private investigator and former police officer. This time he’s in Edinburgh and witnesses a brutal attack on a man stuck in a traffic jam.

10. The Day of the Dead by Nicci French

I think this is the last Frieda Klein novel which makes me sad! I didn’t want to read the blurb because it might have spoilers from the seventh book! But I know however they decide to end it it’ll be a brilliant read.

So there are my Summer TBRs, I don’t think I’ll make it through all of them but we’ll see!

Ten Most Recent Additions to My To-Read List

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic by thatartsyreadergirl is the most recent additions to my to-read list so here it goes!

1. Do You Dream of Terra-Two by Temi Oh

It’s set to be published in March and it’s about a group of astronauts who head out to find another habitable planet for humans. I don’t read enough sci-fi so this will be perfect for that. It may take me a while to get to it though, there are 132 books in front of it!!

2. Mythos by Stephen Fry

I got this book for Christmas so I will be reading it soon, I can’t wait, I love history and learning about it, it’s about Ancient Greek Deities. Stephen Fry is brilliant and a genius so anything by him is a must for me!

3. Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

There are nine books so far in the series and I added them all to my list at the same time so I’ve put them all in one entry…it’s not cheating. I’ve been watching the tv show based on the books so I will of course have to read these at some point. The books are ahead of the show which makes a nice change *side-eyes George R.R. Martin*.

4. She Lies In Wait by Gytha Lodge

I love a good crime novel, trying to work out the clues along with the detective. This book is about a night in 1983 when a teenager went missing when out with her friends, thirty years later her body is found and the case is reopened. Jonah Sheens is assigned to the case, he has a personal connection to the victim and the suspects. It looks really good and I need a new detective series as I’m almost at the end of Nicci French’s series.

5. The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

In the blurb it describes it as a ‘dystopic feminist revenge fantasy’ so of course it’s on my to-read list! It sounds really interesting, about three sisters who have grown up isolated on an island with their parents, they can’t leave and they’ve always been warned about the dangerous men out in the world. One day their father goes missing and sometime later three men wash up on the island. Psychologically this looks like such a great read. I’m excited about it.

6. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I saw a few of my friends on Goodreads had read this and wrote raving reviews, it looks so interesting. Like a real life game of Cluedo, not sure I’d want to play though. Aiden Bishop has to solve Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder, until he does he will live that day over and over again, inhabiting a different witness each time.

7. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Any book by Kate Morton will make it onto my to-read list, her books are incredible, moving and beautiful. Set in both 1862 and modern day London, Elodie, a young archivist, finds a satchel with a picture of a Victorian woman, somehow she seems familiar. I’m really looking forward to reading this and adding it to my Kate Morton collection.

8. Fire and Blood: A History Of Targaryen Kings by George R.R. Martin

Can’t wait to read this, I have my copy, but it’s huge so I can’t take it to work with me! I just need to finish Little Women and then I can read all about the Targaryens.

9. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

This book looks so good, the tv adaptation was a bit confusing and I got a bit bored so I’m hoping the book will be a lot more intriguing.

10. The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman

This book also came up on my Goodreads feed. It looks utterly heartbreaking, it follows the stories of Maggie who fell pregnant at fifteen and was forced to give her baby, Elodie away. Elodie grew up in an orphanage and suffered horribly. This book will definitely break my heart.

What are your most recent to-reads? Have you read any from my list? Let me know in the comments!

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.