All recommendation lists get tagged thus.
This week’s Top 10 Tuesday has an interesting theme – how our reading habits have changed over time. This actually proved to be a fun walk down memory lane. Let me count the ways, then!
I am ready to write bad angsty poetry on my never-ending reading/ blogging slump! Still, somehow, pushing myself to do this mid-year 2024 blogpost on stuff I have liked till now.
Let’s all pledge to move out of Slump Valley! And just in case these recs reach you, hope you’ll like some of these.
I have not been a great fan or follower of the Grishaverse, so was hesitant in picking this up. But what a marvelous story this turned out to be. We peer into the ages of 16th century when anti-semitism was rife. Luzia is desperately trying to escape her confined pitiful life with her displays of magical craft… but soon ends up getting embroiled in a larger political net. Everything in this book was so impressive – the Spanish Golden Age/ Renaissance feel, the worldbuilding, the writing, the prose, the characterizations. Aaaaand, it is a standalone. If you’ve liked Mistress of the Art of Death, you’ll love this one too.
Top 10 zippy reads? I am all for it these days – and that’s the theme for this week’s Top 10 Tuesday. Here are my recs, with equally zippy blurbs!
The Throme of the Erril of Sherill by Patricia A. McKillip
Tropes: Knight quests, Riddles, Puns, Folktales
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
Tropes: Snarky, Retelling, The Odyssey, Ulysses hero-not-hero
Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne Valente
Tropes: Native American, Retelling, Snow White, Wild West
Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa
Tropes: Anthology, Japanese folklore, Dark, Compassionate
Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck
Tropes: Anthology, Science-Fiction, Bizarre, Quirky Horror
Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema by Lindy West
Tropes: Essays, ROFL Funny, Old blockbuster movies, Punchlines
Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Terror
Tropes: Surreal, Otherwordly, Lurid, Anthology, Poetic
How the World Became Quiet by Rachel Swirsky
Tropes: Anthology, Science-Fiction, AI & Identity Crisis, Evolution
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Tropes: Graphic Novel, Poetic, Feel-Good, Found Families
Princess Floralinda & the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir
Tropes: Snarky, 40-floor fall, Coming of Age, Unexpected friends
So, do any of our choices match? Do you have any zippy read recs? Let’s chat!
Happy New Year ’24, everyone! And at last, my favorite topic for the yearly wrap-up to Top 10 Tuesday: favorite books of 2023. We save the best for the end, and it is so much fun adding those best to Mount TBR. Here’s my list too.
Happy Halloween! And right on cue, we have Top 10 Tuesday giving out a Halloween freebie treat. I’m by no means a horror fan, but I will try to wrap up the month with top 10 spooktastic and deliciously dark reads.
1 / The Shepherd King series by Rachel Gillig
Phenomenally gothic and creepy. This duology took me completely by surprise and got me out of my reader’s block. Absolutely mindblowing world-building, plot AND writing.
2 / The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
In Udolpho, young Emily St. Aubere finds herself orphaned and in the clutches of her wicked uncle-in-law, Montoni. Montoni is up to no good, and more than one skeleton hides in his closet. This is Gothic suspense at its finest, and is highly recommended.
3 / Cry Baby Hollow by Aimee Love
I found this on Goodreads for lesser known Urban Fantasy reads. One of the reviewers said that the “Hollow” was for “holler” — and this is not about your friendly neighborhood wolf. It was such a change from the usual Urban Fantasy, recommended.
For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, we are looking at bookish wishes. I am taking it rather literally, about bad bargains, perilous wishes and the hazards of ambition. Here’s a quick list:
1 | Shakespeare’s Macbeth – Prophecies, anyone?
2 | Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – This heroine has been given the gift of obedience!
3 | Half Magic by Edward Eager – Only half of what these kids wish for comes true
4 | Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit – These kids’ wishes will expire promptly at sunset.
5 | Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – Tall or short, please can she make up her mind?
6 | The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – He wished all of his aging on a portrait.
7 | Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba – Writing down criminals’ names in a magical death book is not so heroic.
8 | The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien – You get a ring of invisibility but just makes Sauron see you more clearly.
9 | Faust by Goethe – This guy though success on earth is worth selling his soul away.
10 | The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller – Experimenting with fairy contracts? Oops!
What do you think? Do you have any books to add to this dangerous booklist on worst bookish wishes ever?
A very intriguing prompt for this week’s Wyrd & Wonder: Eye of Newt! Magical ingredients, spell components or fantasy cooking… or any story tropes or character ingredients that make the perfect brew for the reader in us. This got me thinking of some of the interesting fictional cuisine items that I have come across in fantasy books!
Butterbeer | Harry Potter series
Lembas Bread | The Lord of the Rings
Wonka Chocolate Bars | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Queen of Hearts’ Tarts | Alice in Wonderland
Goblin Fruit | The Goblin Market
Death of Marat | Sunshine
Nobby’s Mum’s Distressed Pudding | Discworld series
Pop Biscuits | The Folk of the Faraway Tree
Groosling Soup | The Hunger Games
Just… some Honey | Winnie-the-Pooh
Any of these be your “eye of newt”? Did you recall any of these dishes? Did you ever try to give them some mundane world recipes? Did this post bring on some hunger pangs? Spill the beans! 😉
Wyrd & Wonder has super interesting prompt(s) on the art of reading past, present and future by magical means. So, let me pick your brain on how to make some predictions. I could come up with 7 ways, none too dire, I hope!
The wonderful Wyrd & Wonder reading/ blogging marathon is being hosted by Annemieke (A Dance With Books), Ariane (The Book Nook), Jorie (Jorie Loves A Story), Lisa (Dear Geek Place) and Imyril (There’s Always Room For One More).
This Sunday, the prompt is our favorite songs that we associate with the Magical. Some great food for thought – and obviously my chance to conjure up some music for magic and mayhem.
This week’s Top 10 Tuesday has us looking at top 10 books that we recommend often to fellow bloggers and friends. Since May is also the month for Wyrd & Wonder, I’m going to stick to some underrated books from fantasy fiction that I do like to clobber people with.
