BookBuddyAthon TBR!

The BookBuddyAthon is back! Hosted by Elena @ Elena Reads Books over on Book Tube, this is a week-long readathon that encourages you to read with a friend and, luckily, I've managed to rope the lovely Natalie @ A Sea Change into doing this with me.

Unfortunately Nat and I are both a tad too busy to try and complete five reading challenges in a week, so we're bending the rules a little; we're going to take on the BookBuddyAthon challenges and try to complete them by the end of the year. We like taking things at our own pace, as right now I have a busy job and Nat's in the midst of a PhD, so deadlines make us twitch.

Essentially the five books we pick for this challenge we need to try and finish by the end of the year. Will it be the end of the world if we don't? No, but I hope we can!

Read a book with your buddy

Nat and I have chosen The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, which has been absolutely everywhere lately. We both love historical fiction and we both love ladies pursuing science when everyone else is telling them they shouldn't be. I've heard quite mixed reviews so far, so I'm keen to see what I think of it and I'm hoping Nat likes it - I got her copy for her for Christmas, so I hope I didn't choose a rubbish book for her!

Read a book that's your buddy's favourite colour

Nat's favourite colours are blue and red, so I decided to go with my edition of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood because I'm ashamed to admit I still haven't read it. I've heard fantastic things about the recent adaptation but I'm determined to read the book first. I do want to read it, I just know it's going to make me angry and upset.

Read a book that begins with your buddy's first initial

I was quite surprised by how few books I own that begin with 'n', but I'm going to listen to the audio book of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (NATural - I get bonus points!) which is a book Nat actually recommended to me very recently, so it feels fitting to go with this one and read about more ladies who love science.

Choose 3 books on your TBR and read the book your buddy picks for you

I decided to give Nat three of my NetGalley reads to choose from because, as always, I'm behind with my reviews: Gone by Min Kym, New Boy by Tracy Chevalier or See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt. Nat chose See What I Have Done, a novelisation of the story of Lizzie Borden, which also happens to be the book I was leaning towards most, too, so I'm very happy with that choice! I'm hoping it'll give me Burial Rites vibes.

Read something you feel like reading

A nice and simple challenge! For this one I'm choosing The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman because Nat very kindly bought it for me a couple of Christmases ago and I still haven't read it which is ridiculous because I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it.

Are you taking part in the BookBuddyAthon?

Top Ten Tuesday | Ifs and Debuts

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 2017 Debuts I'm Excited For', but to be honest I'm pretty rubbish at keeping on top of forthcoming debut novels. So instead of sharing ten 2017 debuts with you, I'm going to share ten debut novels I own that I haven't read yet but really want to!

The Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis: I wasn't sure if I was interested in reading this when it was first released, but I've heard such great reviews describing this as a rather disturbing, Gothic tale I couldn't resist getting my hands on a copy and I'm hoping to read it soon.

The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman: This has praise from Sarah Waters, one of my favourite authors, so I'm looking forward to reading it and consuming more new voices in the realm of historical fiction.

The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift: I met Deborah Swift a couple of years ago while I was doing my MA and she was so lovely. She did the same MA as me at the same university and The Lady's Slipper is the product of that MA set in the Lancashire area that I adore. I need to get to this one sooner rather than later!

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: I don't know why I haven't read this yet because this is essentially historical crime meets the Suffragette movement and that's a book I need in my life.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman: I'm ashamed I haven't read this yet as it was a Christmas gift from my lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change last year. I'm planning to get to this one soon!

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee: I love my historical fiction that focuses on women and poc, so I need to get to this debut soon - I'm considering have a historical fiction and non-fiction binge throughout Women's History Month in March.

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng: Tan Twan Eng's books have such beautiful covers and I love the sound of his novels, especially as I've read so little by Asian authors or set in Asia.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I can't wait to get stuck into Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's fiction and I'd like to start with her debut, which has this stunning cover.

The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer: This was on the 2016 Wales Book of the Year shortlist in the English-language Fiction category and I've heard good things about it. I don't tend to read many thrillers but I always enjoy them when I do, so I'm looking forward to this one.

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson: The amount I've read by or about the trans community is shocking. Sadly Williamson isn't a trans writer, and I'd like to read books about trans people written by trans people, but I also refuse to believe that people can only write about people exactly like them so I'm not going to dismiss Williamson's debut, which has certainly got a lot of people talking about the trans community and what cisgender people can do to be good allies.

Which books made your list this week?