tbr

20 Books for 2020

Emma7 Comments

If you know me at all, you know I love a good to-do list. The only way I semi-function at work at the moment is because my work diary is just a to-do list for each day and nothing is more satisfying than ticking a box once you’ve finished something. A colleague at my previous job even put tick boxes on my ‘sorry you’re leaving’ card because they reminded her so much of me.

It therefore stands to reason that I quite like a good ‘to read’ list too. Except, here’s the thing – I don’t do great with monthly TBRs, unless it’s for a readathon that has specific challenges, because it’s simply too much restriction and my brain is oddly stubborn and goes ‘well let’s read the exact opposite of that instead!!’. (Really helpful, thanks brain.) But, longer term ‘to read’ lists? Those I can do… which brings me onto the theme of today’s blog post…

Is it a really a nice round number of a year if you don’t take advantage of it by putting together a numerically-matching list of books to read in the next twelve months? I don’t think so, so with that in mind I have put together 20 books that I want to read in 2020. These are backlist primarily and a mix of some of the longest-standing books on my TBR and the ones that I just really feel I will be in the mood for in 2020.

  1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  3. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  4. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
  5. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  6. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  7. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
  8. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
  9. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
  10. The Diviners by Libba Bray
  11. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
  12. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
  13. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
  14. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  15. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  16. The Prestige by Christopher Priest
  17. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
  18. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
  19. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
  20. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Yes, I am really going to hate myself later considering the amount of books of 500+ pages on this list but we are starting off 2020 with reckless positivity! We shall see how long that lasts…

Do you have a similar lists of book you want to read this year? Do share it below in the comments, I’d love to hear what books you’ve got on the docket for your reading year!

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Non-Fiction November | Sign Up & TBR

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Shall we talk about the elephant in the room? The fact I haven’t been around on the blog or in the online book community much over the last month or so? Ok well, in short, I ran out of mojo; my reading and blogging was affected by it and I don’t think I’m actually back to my usual self yet. However, I am trying. And we all know the best way to get yourself back into reading is to take part in a readathon, readalong, or reading challenge, right? Enter: Non-Fiction November.

Non-Fiction November takes place (funnily enough) throughout the month of November and is hosted by the lovely Olive from Abookolive. She is a voracious non-fiction reader and, to be honest, I envy her knowledge of the genre. You can find out more about the initiative in Olive’s announcement video or watch her TBR and recommendations video. It’s primarily run on Booktube but there is a Twitter account, a Goodreads group, and an Instagram challenge, if you’re so inclined. There are challenges to help you pick your TBR if you need some guidance and, of course, checking out the #NonfictionNovember hashtag on any social media will be sure to return a wealth of fellow participants and recommended reads alike.

Non-fiction is always something I intend to read more of – I even put it in my resolutions this year – but I inevitably forget it exists, unless I hear that a particularly compelling memoir has been released on audiobook. In fact, the only non-fiction I’ve consumed all year was Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally’s The Greatest Love Story Ever Told (audiobook gold, to be honest) and Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell’s Art Matters (gorgeous presentation and Liz bought me a signed edition last Christmas!). So, since I’ve pretty much entirely failed to read non-fiction thus far in 2019, I have decided to take part in Non-Fiction November to try to rectify that neglect. But ‘what will you be reading?’, I hear you ask – wonder no more…

 

Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson
Notes: Will likely listen to audiobook. Also fulfils Around the Year Week 2 challenge.

The Gender Games by Juno Dawson
Notes: Also fulfils Around the Year Week 33 challenge.

Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Pérez

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Notes: Will likely listen to audiobook. Also fulfils Around the Year Week 48 challenge.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Notes: Will likely listen to audiobook.

 

So, that’s my TBR for Non-Fiction November. Are you participating? Let me know what you’ll be reading! Or, if you’re not, do you read non-fiction regularly? Got any recommendations? Comment them below, I’d love to add them to my TBR!

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Gilmore Girls Readathon | Sign Up & TBR

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Welcome one, welcome all, to my TBR for the upcoming Gilmore Girls Readathon. It takes place from the 1st until the 15th October – the perfect time for the start of Autumn and cosying up with a cup of coffee and a book. Rory Gilmore would be proud! It’s hosted by @livs_library, @pastel_pages, and @mackenzielane_ but you can find out more about the readathon on the readathon Twitter too!

It wouldn’t be a readathon without some themed reading prompts/challenges to based your TBR on and this readathon is no exception to that fun. So, let’s take a look at my TBR, shall we?

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A book with a school setting
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

✓ A mother/daughter relationship book
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

✓ Any cosy book set during fall/winter
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

A book with complicated love interests
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater SWAP: The Gap of Time: A Novel by Jeanette Winterson

A book by an Asian author or has Asian representation
The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

The next book in a series you haven’t finished (rereading) yet
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

A book with food on the cover or is a crucial part to the storyline
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

After what has been a pretty dismal reading month in September I’m really hoping this themed readathon will help me feel inspired to finish some more books in October. That’s the hope anyway! I’ll likely update my reading over on Twitter so be sure to follow me there for all the progress updates.

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Summer Cosy Reading Night | TBR

Emma2 Comments

Hello, folks! I come to you today with a TBR for the upcoming Cosy Reading Night. This is the Summer round of the Cosy Reading Night and will take place tonight, during the hours of 7:00-10:00pm GMT on Saturday 17th August. But I’m getting ahead of myself so let me explain for those unaware: Cosy Reading Nights are an evening dedicated to snacks and reading, hosted by the lovely Lauren from Laurenandthebooks from YouTube. You can check out her announcement video here.

This Cosy Reading Night handily coincides with the NEWTs Readathon which is running throughout August. I’m doing reasonably ok with this month-long readathon but there’s no harm in having a night solely dedicated to reading as encouraging to keep going with the readathon.

TBR

  1. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (paperback)
  2. The Furies by Katie Lowe (audiobook/ebook)
  3. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (eARC)

 

Even though there are three books on my TBR, I’m not under any illusion that I will finish any of them; rather, I’m just hoping to make some kind of progress with them. In fact, I’ve probably put more thought into the snacks I’ll buy from M&S this afternoon for our smorgasbord of breads, meats, and cheeses. But the main point of the Cosy Reading Night is just to bring people together for an evening of reading and snacking and hanging out! The twitter hashtag is sure to be active, as is hostess with the mostest Lauren on her Twitter and Instagram so be sure to check out all her links because she is fab! I’ll probably be doing updates (if I remember) over on Twitter so follow me on there if you want to know how the reading goes. Otherwise, happy reading!

 

Are you joining in with the Cosy Reading Night tonight? Have you participated in a Cosy Reading Night before? Let me know in the comments!

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NEWTs Readathon 2019 | Sign Up & TBR

Emma11 Comments

Hello witches and wizards, it’s that (dreaded) time of year again – the exam season is upon us… but that’s ok because these are exams I actually might enjoy studying for! That’s right, it’s time for the second round of the Magical Readathon- the NEWTs Readathon 2019 which is taking place for the entire month of August.

For those unfamiliar with the readathon, this is a Harry Potter/Hogwarts themed readathon – it has two main readathon rounds, the OWLs and the NEWTs, which correspond with the sets of wizarding examinations that Hogwarts students face in their fifth and seventh years respectively. For each round of exams, the wonderful creator of this readathon, Gi from the Book Roast, circulates a list of revision topics (read: readathon prompts) from Professor McGonagall herself which you need to swot up on if you hope to pass all your exams!

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Because Gi is incredible and completely extra she has put together incredible materials that detail the ins and outs of the Magical Readathon (seriously, I’ve not seen detail like it before), so be sure to check out the NEWTs prompts and the Wizarding Careers Guide to see which prompts you need to complete during the readathon if you’re interested in taking part! There’s also a Twitter account and hashtag dedicated to the readathon so any questions you might have probably been answered there.

As with the OWLs I took in April, I’m still striving for that coveted position as a Hogwarts Professor, teaching Charms! This means I have to study specific revision topics and pass specific exams aka fulfil some challenge prompts! As their name suggests, these tests could be nastily exhausting so let’s waste no more time and take a look at what’s on my revision schedule aka TBR:

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The Reading Rush | TBR

Emma4 Comments

I know what you’re thinking: ‘Emma, you’re already trying (and failing) to take part in one readathon, adding another into the mix would be stupidity of the highest order’. If you thought that, you’d be completely right, but I must highlight for your consideration that this particular readathon I’m flirting with joining is The Reading Rush (formerly known as Booktubeathon) which has a whole website and BADGES. So you can see why it is so appealing, yes? Us readers are nothing if not predictable and easily swayed.

So, for those who don’t know, The Reading Rush is a week-long readathon that is taking place 22nd to 28th July. It has a whole bunch of challenges, including a bonus one that is a legacy from the readathon’s time as Booktubeathon. I’m hoping that taking place in this will serve as something of a last hurrah for the Book Junkie Trials too and help me finish some books/quests there.

Without further ado here are the Reading Rush reading challenges:

CHALLENGES & TBR

1/ Read a book with purple on the cover
Stardust by Neil Gaiman

2/ Read a book in the same spot the entire time
Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan

3/ Read a book you meant to read last year
Uprooted by Naomi Novik

4/ Read an author’s first book
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

5/ Read a book with a non-human main character
Loki, Issue 1 by Daniel Kibblesmith, Oscar Bazaldua, and Ozgur Yildirim

6/ Pick a book that has five or more words in the title
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

7/ Read and watch a book to movie adaptation
Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Bonus/ Read 7 books!
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

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It’s quite an optimistic TBR but I really need this extra push to avoid sliding into a reading slump (just in time for the NEWTS readathon to start!) and I’m looking forward to a shorter-length readathon too. I’m not sure what challenges (if any) I’ll be able to do on social media but here’s hoping I just participate as fully as possible and enjoy reading (hopefully) seven books in this coming week.

If you’re taking place in the Reading Rush this week please do let me know in the comments below and/or add me as a friend on the readathon website!

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The Book Junkie Trials | Scribe Sign Up & TBR

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What’s this, Emma has decided to participate in yet another readathon because she’s forgotten how else to pick what she wants to read next when she doesn’t have a set of challenges to fulfil? Yes, that’s alarmingly correct. For the next month I will be taking part in the Book Junkie Trials.

This month-long readathon is the brain child of Rachel Marie and she has gone above and beyond in terms of theming so I can’t pass up the opportunity to join in on the quest to find the bookie grail. For more context and to learn about the readathon in full, check out Rachel’s announcement video or head over to the readathon Twitter.

For this readathon you join a team (I love it when readathons do that), and I have taken the personality quiz provided by the readathon host and discovered that (surprise, surprise) I belong to the scribes, who will be lead by Sophie, Duchess of the Scribes! I will be following a certain quest path along with my fellow scribes. You have to do the challenges in order (which will be a struggle for me is I am a polygamous reader at best) and then you can decide to be extra and do other challenges from the quest map if you want. Although I might do that, I won’t decide on my TBR for those right now, because once you pick your TBR, you’re locked into it! For now, let’s just see what my Scribe specific journey includes, shall we?

About Scribes

Scribes are professional chroniclers who write accounts of important or historical events. They follow where the action is. However, they have been known to give rather conflicting accounts of battles, depending upon which side they favour.

ABILITY: The ability to rewrite their tale. Their unique ability is to read a book that wasn’t on their declared TBR.

WEAKNESS As scribes spend so much time documenting their findings, one of their challenges will take MUCH longer than normal. Read a book over 500 pages.

Scribes Challenge Path

1. Dwarf Mount: You spot a fair tavern wench, however the Dwarf Mines, grimey and dusty, didn’t evoke a very romantic feeling.
Read a book with a hint of romance to get you in the mood.
2. Apothecary Towers: Where the wizards dwell. Tricksters. They have blind-folded you and randomised all your books.
Choose a book at random from your bookshelf.
3. The Great Library: Ahh the great archives
Find and read a book that has been on your TBR forever.
4. The Drowning Deep: The Whirlpool… is so…. mesmerising.
Read a book with rich world-building that will suck you into its own world, instead.
5. The Bookie Grail: Here you find a lost manuscript, delivered on this forgotten island by a fallen star.
Read the group book: Stardust

My TBR

1. Dwarf Mount – The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
I’m determined to methodically re-read these books so I can finally pick up the fourth book and finish off this series. I never want it to end which is why I’ve been putting it off, but I really need to get past that and just READ IT ALREADY.

2. Apothecary Towers – The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
I haven’t read as many classics this year as I hoped to (especially considering I’m taking part in the Classics Club) so I’m hoping to re-ignite my desire to do so by including a classic on this unchangeable TBR.

3. The Great Library – Uprooted by Naomi Novik
I’ve been umming and aahing about reading this one ever since I first heard about it and put it on my TBR. I’ve always been hesitant because I actually DNFed Novik’s Spinning Silver which was a book people seemed to love and I just didn’t get the same feelings from it. However, I’ve been enjoying her Temeraire series so clearly it’s not her writing style that’s the problem, I just didn’t get on with the plot of Spinning Silver. I’m hoping that Uprooted will be a hit with me rather than a miss.

4. The Drowning Deep – The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
This is a series I’ve been meaning to start for so long. Is it foolish to pick such a long book to read during a readathon? Probably, but that’s a good way to make me prioritise reading it! (Plus I need a 500+ page book to match with my scribe weakness.) I’ve heard SO MANY good things about this fantasy book that I will be sorely disappointed if I don’t end up getting sucked into its world.

5. The Bookie Grail – Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Although I’ve read this book before and thoroughly enjoyed it, it might be nice to re-read it with a huge group of people. Plus, Neil Gaiman narrates the audiobook so, hey, any excuse to listen to Neil Gaiman telling me a story is always welcome in my world.

 

So there we have it, that’s the quest I will be doing over the next month. I’ll likely keep a Twitter thread of updates as usual so be sure to pop over to my Twitter if you’re curious as to how I’m doing on my quest during July. Otherwise, I’ll see you once I’ve successfully hunted down the Bookie Grail!

 

Are you taking part in the readathon? Which team are you on? (Any fellow scribes around?) Which books are you planning to read? Let me know in the comments!

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A Game of Booksathon & Simsathon | TBR

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As we’re coming to the end of May and I’m (hopefully) coming to the end of reading Les Misérables I decided to look to the future outside of long French classics. However, because I’m a glutton for punishment, I’ve decided taking part in two readathons immediately afterwards is clearly the sensible thing to do. Luckily in June there are a couple of really great sounding readathons with challenges that (thankfully for my sanity) overlap quite well – A Game of Booksathon and Simsathon.

As you can probably guess from the title of the first one, A Game of Booksathon is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series and is hosted by Noura and will be taking place from 1st June to 1st July. For this readathon the challenges are based on houses and places from Game of Thrones so you have reading prompts such as ‘Westeros’ or ‘House Stark’. You also pick a house to belong to during the course of the readathon and each book you read wins points for those houses. I found it a little tricky to choose a house because any personality quiz I do online tells me I’m a Targaryen. Whilst trying not to be alarmed by that fact, I was watching the Blackwater episode of Game of Thrones earlier and exclaimed “ooo WILDFIRE!” so perhaps I’m not not a Targaryen after all. So I’ll be reading for them during this readathon.

The second readathon is taking place between 1st and 30th June, the Simsathon, hosted by Bianca Reads, and is clearly based on the computer games series The Sims. I have a confession: I’ve never really played The Sims properly or for any length of time. I never really got the point of it much. Sorry/not sorry. (If it’s a saving grace I did enjoy comparable games like Theme Hospital?) However, regardless of how much I do or don’t like the game itself, the idea of a readathon based around its challenges sounds fantastic so I’m taking part.

Let’s see what books on my devised TBR will do for what challenge, shall we?

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Avengers Readathon 2019 | (Belated) Sign Up & TBR

Emma1 Comment

So, I did something ill-advised… I decided to join in with (yet) another readathon. I went back and forth on whether I was taking part in this when I found out about it 1 day into the readathon itself. In fact, I sternly told myself ‘no, Emma, one readathon at a time, concentrate on OWLs’ but I’m nothing if not indecisive so I changed my mind when I saw friend and housemate Liz post her TBR to her blog. So I’m doing this readathon too now apparently.

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The Avengers Readathon is hosted by Noura from The Perks of Being Noura and it is taking place from 14th April until 14th May. (For more details, especially on the challenges, be sure to check out Noura’s blog.) I’m a little bit late in posting up this TBR but, handily, the books I’ve read in the past week or so still count towards some of the prompts from this readathon anyway so I’m counting them.

As you may be able to tell from the readathon title, this is a readathon centred on the MCU. Since we’re eagerly (/worriedly) anticipating Avengers Endgame this readathon can be a nice distraction from the Thanos-filled terror for a little while at least. As my own journey with the MCU began back in 2011 with the first Thor film I decided it would be remiss of me to choose any other character’s assignments to follow other than the Asgardian himself (although Captain Marvel sure did tempt me!) so here’s my TBR for the readathon:

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Norse Mythology: mythology book
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Thor: Book with one word title
Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Thor & Loki: book with siblings
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

(1 of Iron Man’s assignments) Tony’s Suit: book with a red cover
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

(1 of Doctor Strange’s assignments) Master Sorcerer: book with magic/symbols
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

If I somehow manage to finish all these books (which I hope I do because the majority also appear on my OWLs TBR!), I’ll move onto a different characters’ assignments. It would be fitting to continue onto Loki’s challenges (especially since he’s, unsurprisingly, my fave MCU character), but we’ll see how it goes…

Are you doing the Avengers Readathon? Which characters’ assignments have you chosen to follow? If you’re not taking part in the readathon, still let me know what you’re planning to read in the next few weeks because I’m curious/nosy!

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5-Star TBR Predictions

Emma17 Comments

Welcome one, welcome all! It’s been a few days since my last blog post and you may very well wonder why. Truth be told, it’s because I haven’t finished a book lately and that has been getting me down a little bit. It’s not like I haven’t been reading – I’m currently reading The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik, and A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (re-read). However, anyone who has read (or even seen) the first book in that little list will understand why it has been a while since I’ve finished a book – it’s HUGE.

The last book I finished was S.A. Chakraborty’s The Kingdom of Copper (I’m still not okay about it) back on 3rd March. For me, not being able to say I’ve finished a book in the last 10 days is… well… it’s not something that happens often. So, although I’ve made progress with all the books I’m reading at the moment, I’m not near finishing anything – Priory is the main reason for that as I’m fairly sure I’m going to LOVE this book, so I don’t want to rush reading it. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it also made me think about how I’m so sure I’m going to love this book that I’ve slowed down my reading pace.

Not only this, I also have a habit of putting off even starting books because I’m SO sure I’m going to love them and don’t want to prove (or, more scarily, disprove) my high hopes/predictions for them. I’ve seen many a Booktuber discuss their 5-star predictions and I thought I’d throw my own hat in the metaphorical ring whilst I was thinking about the topic. So here we have it, here are some books that I’m pretty damn sure could end up being 5-star reads for me:

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