Top Ten Tuesday | My 2018 Summer TBR!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This year I've been letting myself get back into reading for the pure, unadulterated fun of it, and after reading and absolutely adoring Six of Crows earlier this year my love for fantasy is back with a vengeance and I'm craving it like mad. As well as high fantasy, lately I've really been in the mood to blast through some urban fantasy reads, the warm weather and my love of The Song of Achilles last year has put me in the mood for Ancient Greece, and I've been craving non-fiction, too, after barely reading any in 2017.

Essentially my summer TBR is brimming with fantasy and non-fiction, and I'm excited for all of it! So without further ado, here are the ten sixteen books I've got my eye on this summer:

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire: I've seen Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies sing this series' praises for so long and it's a series I've been meaning to get to for the longest time. Seanan McGuire also writes under Mira Grant, and is therefore the author of my beloved Newsflesh trilogy, and I'm looking forward to reading her take on faeries - especially as someone who isn't usually drawn to faerie books.

How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland: I powered through the first three books in this series a few years ago and had a great time, but haven't read any more of them despite owning books four and five. It's about time I rectified that!

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs: This is another urban fantasy series I've heard great things about and I've had a copy of Moon Called on my kindle for almost three years so it's about time I read it.

Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain: This one is giving me Haroun and the Sea of Stories vibes and, when it comes to mythology/folklore, genies aren't a creature I come across very frequently so I'd like to try something a little different this summer.

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston: I can't believe I still haven't read this one even though I own a copy of the gorgeous UK hardback, thanks to the lovely Mikayla @ Mikayla's Bookshelf, so I think it's about time I crossed it off my TBR. Plus when I think of The Arabian Nights, I can't help but think of the summer, warm weather and desert nights.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: Another retelling from the same author who brought us Uprooted which, to be honest, I didn't love, but as this is a retelling of my favourite fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin, I have to pick it up when it's released this July.

Circe by Madeline Miller: I finally read and adored The Song of Achilles last year, so I can't wait to get to Miller's second novel this year.

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig: I read and really enjoyed The Girl From Everywhere a couple of years ago and still haven't read the sequel. I don't tend to read many books set on ships, but when I do it's usually during the summer; there's something so summery about the sea.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: I've heard nothing but great things about this African-inspired high fantasy so far, so I need to get to it this year.

Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution by Mona Eltahawy: This is another one I've had on my TBR for the longest time and, as I'm in the mood for non-fiction this year, I'd like to get around to it this summer if I can.

The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam by G. Willow Wilson: In the past year or so I've become really interested in Islam. Unfortunately it's a religion that, in the UK at least, has been tainted by its association with terrorism and often the media wants us to believe that Islam = evil because it helps them sell newspapers. If Islam is going to be talked about so much then I want to learn more about it so I'm not another ignorant butthole leaving ignorant comments on the internet, and I'm fascinated by what it was that encouraged G. Willow Wilson to convert to the faith. If you're wondering where you recognise her name from, she's the author of the Ms. Marvel graphic novels!

On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back by Stacey Dooley: I've been a big fan of Stacey Dooley's work for almost ten years now, her documentaries are always excellent, so I'm looking forward to reading her very first book.

Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault: One of my friends adores Alexander the Great and has been recommending Mary Renault's fiction to me for a few years now, so when I saw this beautiful new Virago Modern Classics edition I couldn't resist it. I know very little about Alexander the Great apart from that he died very young and yet accomplished so much in those few years, so I'm looking forward to learning more about him through Renault's fiction.

The Sweet Girl by Annabel Lyon: I read Lyon's Imagining Ancient Women a couple of years ago in which she talked about her research for this novel, so I thought it'd be fun to read this one. I know very little about this one other than it's about Aristotle's daughter after the death of Aristotle and Alexander the Great (there he is again) and the tumultuous turn her life takes.

The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes: We've all heard of the Oedipus complex, but I know very little about the Oedipus myth other than that Oedipus was a prince who was raised by the enemy kingdom and, when he defeated the man he didn't know was his birth father, ended up taking his birth mother as his wife. Here classicist Natalie Haynes has chosen to retell the story from the point of his mother, Jocasta, and I've heard brilliant things about it so far.

Troy by Adèle Geras: I've owned this one for a while now and I was very lucky to meet Adèle Geras at an event at Litfest several years ago now and she was wonderfully eccentric. As much as I adored The Song of Achilles last year I do feel like the Trojan War has been rather overdone in the realm of Ancient Greek books and movies, but I like the sound of this one because it's the story of two Trojan sisters trying to survive amidst the war rather than following the well-known names such as Achilles, Hector or Paris.

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | If I Could Turn Back Time

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant To Get To But Didn't'. While I thought I did a lot better at reading books that were released in 2015 in 2015, there were still a few that managed to slip by me because I got distracted by other books or I simply wasn't in the mood to read them. Hopefully I can cross them off my TBR soon!

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland: This is the one I'm most ashamed to have not yet read, as the author very kindly contacted me and sent me an ARC. I kept meaning to read it, and for whatever reason I didn't get around to it. I really want to cross it off my TBR soon, because it sounds so fun!

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: Yet more historical fiction that I didn't get around to, which is pretty bad considering I've owned my copy of this for almost a year. Hopefully I'll get to it soon, because I don't think I've ever actually read anything about suffragettes. That's something I need to change.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab: I know, I know. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person left in the world who hasn't read this yet. I've owned it since it came out, I just haven't gotten to it yet, but with the second book coming out next month I'm hoping to read it soon!

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho: I love historical fiction that includes magic, and as I've mentioned before the entire focus of my MA was on the representation of minorities in historical fiction, so the fact that the sorcerer at the centre of this book is a poc is pretty darn cool. I didn't discover this one until the last couple of months of 2015, so I didn't get around to it, but I do have a very pretty copy I'm hoping to read soon.

The Lake House by Kate Morton: I haven't read any Kate Morton, but after watching this interview with her I've been very interested in reading her most recent novel. Hopefully I'll read it soon!

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan: I also haven't read Kirsty Logan's most recent short story collection, A Portable Shelter, and I'm hoping to read both books as soon as I can. I don't think I've read any books that incorporate Scottish folklore and this one sounds very magical.

Resistance Is Futile by Jenny Colgan: I enjoy Colgan's contemporary, so when I heard she'd written a book described as Bridget Jones's Diary meets Independence Day I had to have it. I just haven't read it yet...

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston: I received this gorgeous book from the lovely Mikayla @ Mikayla's Bookshelf for Christmas. It had been on my radar for a while, but it wasn't until I saw Natalie @ A Sea Change's review that I knew I wanted to read it. I can't wait to dive in - it sounds magical!

White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland: Last year I read the first three books in the White Trash Zombie series and thoroughly enjoyed them, but I still have to read the fourth, How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, and this, the fifth. I'm looking forward to them; they're such fun reads and I recommend them to anyone looking for a new urban fantasy series.

The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan: This is about dinosaurs. Obviously I was going to get it. I just haven't been in the mood for it yet, but with the second book coming out this summer I'm hoping to read it in the first few months of this year.

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Best Books of 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Best Books I Read in 2015', and considering how wonderful this past reading year has been I had a lot of books to choose from. There were a few graphic novels I loved this year too, but to make things a little easier for myself I decided to leave them out and just talk about traditional novels instead.

I've put these in the order I read them because I couldn't possibly rank them, although there are one or two that have made it onto my all-time favourite books list!

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent: This is the very first book I read this year, and it started a year of fantastic reading for me. It's a brilliant read for the winter months, so now is a perfect time to pick it up! It'll break your heart, but it's beautifully written.

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland: This book made my list because it took me by surprise. I expected to like it - it sounded fun, and I loved the cover - but I flew through it and just loved it. It's such a great urban fantasy read!

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Another one that took me completely by surprise and wrung me out so it could collect all of my emotions in a little tin bucket. This is my favourite book of 2015. There. I said it. It's also a book that I'm desperate for more people to read, because other than my friend Natalie @ A Sea Change I haven't seen any other bloggers talking about it and it's so good. Please read it!

How To Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis: I was really disappointed when this memoir ended. I just really enjoyed it, and if you're a fan of literary heroines I think you'd like it a lot, too. I know some people aren't keen on non-fiction, but I can promise you that this is a truly excellent memoir.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Yup. I finally read To Kill a Mockingbird this year and I loved it. It's such a shame that Harper Lee never wrote anything else. (Yes, I know there's Go Set a Watchman, but don't let publishers trick you - it's not a sequel, it's basically a manuscript of what To Kill a Mockingbird might have been if her editor hadn't told her to write more about Scout's childhood.) In Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear Elizabeth Gilbert talks a little bit about Harper Lee, and how the huge success that was To Kill a Mockingbird made Harper Lee afraid to write anything else because it could never be as good. I wish people didn't ask authors - or anyone in any sort of field - how they're going to 'top' their biggest success. You can't top your biggest success, that's why it's your biggest success, and I hope writers who do well continue to write for their own enjoyment like J.K. Rowling has done.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: Another book that is one of the very best I've read this year. It's perfection. I've been wary of high fantasy for a couple of years, I found myself struggling to get into it as easily as I used to, but this I adored. I fell into this world and I was genuinely gutted when it was over. Maia is definitely my favourite character of the year.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: I bloody loved The Little Stranger, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I read that final page. If you like ghost stories, particularly ghost stories set in old houses, you'll like this.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: Definitely the best YA book I've read this year, and another one that took me completely by surprise. I knew people were rating it highly but, and I mean this with the greatest respect, I see a lot of readers on Goodreads rate every YA book they read 5 stars, so I was expecting this to be, well, like every other YA book out there. Boy was I wrong. It's so funny and realistic and just a genuinely good book. Loved it!

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: Like Burial Rites, The Miniaturist is another gorgeous historical fiction debut. I loved it a lot, and I can't wait for Burton's next novel, The Muse.

Winter by Marissa Meyer: I couldn't not have this book on my list. It's not my favourite book in The Lunar Chronicles - that's probably Cress - but it did bring to an end one of my favourite series, so I had to include it!

Which books made your list this week?

Late November TBR!

Today I thought I'd share with you some of the books I'd really like to try and read by the end of November, but as this is a very over-ambitious amount of books and I don't do well when it comes to TBRs, we'll see how it goes. The majority of these books are sci-fi, because there's no better time to read sci-fi than during Sci-Fi Month!

I received eARCs of both of these from NetGalley, so I'd really like to get them both under my belt soon. I'm actually reading The Only Woman in the Room right now, and I'm planning to get to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet very soon because I've heard nothing but great things about it.

I love historical fiction, and I love it even more when it has fantastical elements, so The Falconer has been on my radar for a while. I picked it up a few nights ago after I received an eARC of the second book, The Vanishing Throne from NetGalley, and I'm hoping to finish it soon and then jump straight into the second book and whack out some reviews!

I love the White Trash Zombie books and I always find them so quick and fun to read. If I can cross these two off my TBR during Sci-Fi Month I'll be a happy bunny, as I'd like to focus on Christmassy books in December and some other books I'd really like to have read by the end of the year.

I'm hoping I get to all of these. The Falconer and The Only Woman in the Room I'll definitely finish, and if I can read The Vanishing Throne and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, too, then I'll have crossed three of my eARCs off my TBR before I dive into my Christmassy eARCs! If I can, though, I'd love to get to those White Trash Zombie books, too.

What are you reading at the moment?

Top Ten Tuesday | Don't Quote Me On It

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Quotes I Loved From Books I Read In The Past Year Or So', and I decided to only pick quotes from books I've read this year. Purely because I've read quite a few books this year!

Signal to Noise

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Burial Rites

by Hannah Kent

The Miniaturist

by Jessie Burton

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters

Simon vs.the Homo Sapiens Agenda

by Becky Albertalli

Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story

by Jody Gentian Bower

Northanger Abbey

by Jane Austen

Beyond the Pale: Folklore, Family, and the Mystery of our Hidden Genes

by Emily Urquhart

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

My Life as a White Trash Zombie

by Diana Rowland

Which quotes made your list this week?

The Halloween Book Tag!

I saw Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight doing this and had to have a go of it myself, so here goes!

Heebie Jeebies

Favourite Scary Story

I think Susan Hill's The Woman in Black is one of those iconic scary stories. It's been a long time since I read the book, but what really scared the bejeezus out of me was the play, which I went to see while I was at school. It's a fantastic play, and I'm pretty sure I slept with my light on for about a week after seeing it. I do think the book's worth reading, but if you get the chance to see the play go and see it!

Scream

Favourite Book with a Murdery Mystery Plot

This has made me realise that I need to read more murder mysteries. To link in with the Halloween theme, I think I have to go with My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland; it's the start of such a fun urban fantasy series, featuring zombies as you probably haven't seen them before - check it out!

Casper

Favourite Book with a Ghost

It has to be The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which is one of the best books I've read this year and has a firm place on my list of favourite books. It's fantastic.

Monster Mash

Favourite Paranormal Supernatural Book

I decided to change the wording of this one a little because, to me, paranormal means something that might be explained by science - like ghosts or aliens - and I don't tend to read many books about aliens and I've mentioned two books with ghosts already, so I think it's best I talk about something else! In terms of the supernatural, my favourite book is probably Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, a pre-Dracula 19th century novella featuring vampirism. It's so good, and it's a great place to start for anyone who finds classics intimidating.

Halloween 2007 Remake

Favourite Retelling

The Lunar Chronicles, of course! I know this is probably cheating, but I can't pick just one book from the series because I think Marissa Meyer has done such a good job at mixing these tales together into one big story while also fitting each retelling so wonderfully into the narrative. I love the way she's reimagined traditional fairy tales for a sci-fi setting, and Cinder is one of my favourite heroines.

Female Character You'd Most Want to Dress Up As

Okay so she's not a book character, but one day I'd love to dress up as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's one of my favourite films - I watched it religiously as a child - and I just think it'd be a really cool costume.

Male Character You'd Most Want to Dress Up As

I think Sirius Black could be pretty cool, especially Sirius as he's seen in his wanted poster. He has long hair, so I wouldn't need to cut mine, and it'd just mean making myself look a bit grimy and unwashed. Plus I bet everyone would know who I was!

Favourite Villain

This is a tricky one because I feel like a lot of the books I really love don't tend to have villains in the traditional sense. A lot of the time the villain is circumstance or even the protagonist's own decisions. I do love Mrs. Danvers from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, though. That woman is terrifying!

Fun Size

Favourite Short Story/Novella

For Halloween that'd have to be 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. It's so worth a read if you haven't read it yet, it'll only take five minutes!

What's Your Favourite Scary Movie?

I don't tend to watch horror movies that much because I'm a bit of a wuss, and also because some of them are just gratuitous for the sake of it. One film I really love though, and one that's perfect for Halloween, is Sleepy Hollow. It's historical, which is right up my street, it's got Johnny Depp in it, also right up my street, and it's directed by Tim Burton, who's one of my favourite directors. I love it!

If you want to do this tag then consider yourself tagged! Happy Halloween!

Top Ten Tuesday | Recommended Halloween Reads!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a Halloween themed freebie, so I thought I'd recommend some books that I think are ideal to read as Halloween creeps closer!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: There's a reason this is Daphne du Maurier's most famous novel, and it's almost certain that if this had been the only book she ever wrote du Maurier would still be a famous author today. Rebecca is so atmospheric and beautifully written; you open the first page and you fall into Manderley. There are no 'boo!' moments here. If you're not a fan of slow reads this book might not be for you, but whatever your taste I recommend at least giving it a try.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson is my favourite horror writer, and in all honesty anything she wrote would be a great read for Halloween. Still, you can't go wrong with a good ol' haunted house story, can you? If you'd rather read something shorter, check out 'The Lottery'.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: The Little Stranger is quite similar to The Haunting of Hill House in its mood, and another great book if you want to read a haunted house story that, like Jackson's book, is genuinely creepy.

Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant: Rolling in the Deep is like a literary version of a found footage horror movie. If you like movies like Trollhunter, The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield then I think you'll like this, but if found footage movies aren't your thing I still recommend giving this novella a try. I read it in one sitting, and really enjoyed it.

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield: This is another very slow book, and one that I'm still not 100% sure that I understood. It's a difficult book to describe, and one that I think was marketed in a misleading way; Bellman & Black has been described as a ghost story, but it isn't really, although there is a kind of haunting. I recommend reading this one, though, because Diana Setterfield's writing is beautiful. Even if you come out of this book a little confused, the act of reading it is enjoyable.

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Carmilla is one of my favourite classics, and one of the most interesting things about it is that it's actually a pre-Dracula example of vampirism in Victorian literature. I've tried reading Dracula several times, for pleasure and for university, but I've never been able to finish it. Carmilla, on the other hand, I devoured. I think it's fantastic.

Misery by Stephen King: I'm not really a Stephen King fan, so the fact that I enjoyed this book says a lot if your tastes happen to be similar to mine. I know King has a humungous fan following, but for the most part I don't think his writing style is particularly great, I really don't like how the majority of his main characters are white male writers (seriously, Stephen, can't you try writing about someone other than yourself?) and I feel like a lot of his stories just go too far. IT is scary enough if it's just about a clown that kills children, so why does there have to be a supernatural element, too? Anyway, I did enjoy Misery; Annie Wilkes is terrifying, and the film adaptation starring Kathy Bates is very good if you'd rather watch that than read the book.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman: In all honesty The Graveyard Book would be another wonderful read for Halloween, but Coraline is short and sweet - if you're looking for something to read in one sitting, then Coraline's for you. Henry Selick's film adaptation is also well worth checking out, especially at this time of year!

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland: This one's less spooky and more fun, although there's a lot of fascinating detail about autopsies, but it's the start to such a brilliant urban fantasy series that I had to stick it on here.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: I'm not actually the biggest fan of Wuthering Heights - I'm forever going to be on the 'Heathcliff is NOT a romantic hero' side of the argument - but it is one of the pinnacles of Victorian Gothic literature. It's very atmospheric, and very wild, and very fitting for Halloween because it's full of despicable characters.

What did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | It Takes Two

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Author Duos You'd LOVE to See Write a Book Together'. I had a lot of fun with this topic!

G. Willow Wilson & Fiona Staples: G. Willow Wilson is the writer behind the Ms. Marvel series, and Fiona Staples is the artist behind Saga. Try and tell me the two of them wouldn't produce something cool together!

Jenny Han & Jenny Colgan: Both of these ladies write contemporary, but while Jenny Han writes YA, Jenny Colgan writes adult fiction. I think the two of them would write something very cute together, because not only do they both like to write cute stories but they've also both dabbled in SFF, as proven by Jenny Han's 'Polaris is Where You'll Find Me' in My True Love Gave to Me (reviewed here!) and Jenny Colgan's Resistance is Futile. I'd love to see the two of them write a super cute contemporary that also just happens to have aliens in it.

Samantha Ellis & Jessica Swale: These two ladies are playwrights, and considering Samantha Ellis is the author of the fantastic memoir How To Be a Heroine (reviewed here!) and Jessica Swale wrote the plays Blue Stockings and Nell Gwynn I think they might write something pretty amazing together.

Neil Gaiman & Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Neil Gaiman's one of my favourite fantasy writers and Silvia Moreno-Garcia's debut novel Signal to Noise (reviewed here!) is one of my favourite reads of 2015, if not ever. The two of them also write a lot of short stories, and I think together they could make something truly magical.

Seanan McGuire & Tanya Huff: BOW TO THE QUEENS. These two authors are two of the best authors to turn to if you're looking for female-led SFF. Seanan McGuire (also known as Mira Grant, and therefore the author of my beloved Feed) writes fantastic heroines, as does the brilliant Tanya Huff. Both of them have tried their hand at urban fantasy: Seanan is the author of the October Daye series and Tanya is the author of the Vicki Nelson series, and nothing would make me happier than for the two of them to write something in which these two ladies join forces and kick butt.

Nancy Bilyeau & C.J. Sansom: Nancy Bilyeau is the author of the Joanna Stafford trilogy and C.J. Sansom is the author of the Matthew Shardlake series; both Tudor-era crime series. I think the two of them could combine their talents quite nicely! Sansom could provide his background in law and Bilyeau could provide her ability to write women who have agency.

David Levithan & Robin Talley: These two are both YA authors who both specialise in YA LBGT* fiction, so I think the two of them could write something pretty cool together. I'd read it!

Derek Landy & Diana Rowland: These two are two of the funniest authors on my shelves. They both have rather dark senses of humour, judging by the stories they write, and together I think the two of them could write something both creepy and hilarious.

Donna Thorland & Naomi Novik: Donna Thorland is the author of several books, with leading ladies, set during the American Revolutionary War and is also one of the writers for the TV show, Salem. Naomi Novik is the author of the incredibly popular Temeraire series, set during the Napoleonic Wars with added dragons, and the more recent Uprooted. I think if the two of them mashed their brains together they could write an epic historical fantasy series with a brilliant leading lady and some kind of mythical beast for a companion. Maybe a unicorn this time. Who doesn't love unicorns? No one, that's who.

Nicola Yoon & Gurinder Chadha: Nicola Yoon is one of the official team members of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign and also the author of Everything, Everything (reviewed here). Gurinder Chadha is probably most famous for writing, producing and directing the 2002 film, Bend It Like Beckham, which is a film you should totally watch if you haven't already. I think considering Nicola Yoon knows what it's like to be a poc in America and Gurinder Chadha knows what it's like to be a poc in Britain, I'd love to see the two of them write a book told in letters or emails between two penfriends, one in America and one in Britain, who both also happen to be poc. I imagine there's a lot of similar experiences, but there'd be quite a few different ones too in terms of the little differences in culture between America and Britain.

Which authors made your list this week?