Top Ten Tuesday | Pride Month Reading Recommendations!

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 week's theme is 'Books I Decided to DNF (did not finish) too Quickly', but as someone who's a big fan of DNFing books that just aren't working for me, I decided to talk about my LGBT+ recommendations for Pride instead - Happy Pride Month!

(I'm also hoping to read at least one LGBT+ novel this month - you can take a look at my TBR here, if you like.)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire: We're starting off with a strange recommendation because I didn't actually enjoy this one very much; I liked the concept far more than its execution, but this is the only book I've come across (so far) in which the protagonist identifies as asexual, and describes herself as such, and we need far more asexual representation in fiction.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley: Set in America in 1959 when black students were first admitted to previously all-white high schools, this powerful debut follows two teenage girls, Sarah and Linda, as they battle racism, both outwardly and inwardly, and their growing feelings for each other.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: Another fantastic voice in the world of YA, Becky Albertalli's debut follows Simon as he tries to find the courage to tell his friends and family that he's gay, only to be blackmailed by a fellow student who wants his help winning the affection of a girl at school. This is fun, funny and heart-warming, and has some brilliant things to say about the process of coming out.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: A spoiled, wealthy, bisexual boy from an aristocratic family is given the opportunity to take a tour of Europe before he must resolve himself to the family business in this incredibly fun novel. Add to the mix the best friend he's fallen in love with, a sister with no intention of going to finishing school and a theft that sees them being pursued across Europe and you have a wild ride of a novel.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: Quite possibly the twistiest, turniest book I've ever read, Fingersmith is considered Sarah Waters' masterpiece and reads like a Dickensian thriller - only this time, the women have agency. Because of the Victorian setting this one is a great book to read in the autumn, but if you're looking for something to sink your teeth into for Pride this month I'd definitely recommend this one.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: This is one of my favourite science fiction novels. While its focus is far more on character than plot, the universe Chambers has created is such a beautiful, hopeful vision of the future. She explores sexuality, gender, family units, war, peace and what it means to be human, and if you haven't read this one yet then I can't recommend it enough.

A Portable Shelter by Kirsty Logan: The stories in this collection, inspired by Scottish folklore, are told to an unborn child by its mothers, who are eagerly awaiting its birth. It's a lovely, melancholic collection and definitely one to read for anyone interested in folklore and fairy tales.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: One of my favourite novels of all time, this stunning novel tells the story of Patroclus and Achilles, from their childhood together up to their roles in the Trojan War, and their relationship as it grows from friendship, to companionship to love. Definitely one to read if you haven't already!

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Given that this is a Victorian novella I can't imagine Le Fanu would have described this as a lesbian story but, like most early vampire stories, Carmilla is awash with homoeroticism. This novella was released about 25 years before Dracula and, in my opinion, is the far better work. One to read if you'd like something short this month!

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg: This beautiful graphic novel has stories within stories as two women in love tell tales to a friend of the husband of one of the women who has made a bet that he can seduce her while her husband is away. Inspired by The Arabian Nights, it features stories about and for women in a fantasy world where women are second-class citizens.

Which books made your list this week?

The Aussie Book Tag

G'day mates! And now it's time for me to apologise to literally everyone in Australia. Cass @ Words on Paper very kindly tagged me in the Aussie Book Tag and, as you know, I'm always up for  a tag. You can find Cass's answers here and the original, created by Ngoc @ Happy Comes First and Julia @ Picnic Reads, here!

I've never been to Australia but I'd love to go (the only thing that really puts me off are the spiders because I am severely arachnophobic) and the more I thought about it the more I realised I've read barely any Australian writers; Markus Zusak, Garth Nix, Geraldine Brooks and Hannah Kent are the only ones who immediately spring to mind. You don't have to talk about Australian books and authors for this tag, but doing this has definitely made me realise it's a country that I seem to neglect in my reading. That's something for me to rectify.

If anyone has any recommendations, particularly about/written by Australia's indigenous population, please let me know!

That has to be Maia from Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor, not only is it one of my favourite novels of all time, but Maia is one of my favourite fictional characters, too. He's such a good egg and I adore him. You can check out my review of The Goblin Emperor here!

This is a tricky one because I'm usually the grumpy one who hates what everyone else loves, but for this I'm going to go with Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë. I don't think everyone hates it by any means, but I do think Anne is forgotten next to her sisters and she shouldn't be. Of her two novels Agnes Grey is probably the lesser known, but I really enjoyed it when I read it and I'd love to see more people reading Anne's work.

I can't possible talk about a fictional squad without talking about Harry Potter. If I wanted to be part of any gang, it'd definitely be Dumbledore's Army because I am all for students standing up to bad teachers.

Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, which I reviewed here. I can't wait to read whatever Adébáyọ̀ brings out next and I highly, highly recommend this debut!

It'd be pretty easy to mention Harry Potter again here but I think Harry Potter gets enough love as it is, so instead I'm going to go with Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman which is one of my favourite books from my early teens. It's the first book I can remember crying over and it's still very special to me and so worth reading if you haven't already.

Isabel Greenberg's The One Hundred Nights of Hero (reviewed here) is a gorgeous graphic novel but it's so huge which means it can be quite difficult to read comfortably - it's worth it, though!

George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is super depressing but it's such an iconic work of dystopian fiction and it's definitely worth checking out if it's on your radar. Is it the best piece of dystopian fiction out there? No, not necessarily, but it's a really interesting novel and I think it's worth a bit of your time.

I know I keep saying it, but no novel has surprised me more than Sarah Waters' Fingersmith (reviewed here). It's one of the twistiest, turniest novels I've ever read and it's so much fun - if you haven't read any of Waters' work, Fingersmith is a great place to start!

I adored Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (reviewed here), especially because I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did, and Becky Albertalli has quickly become my favourite YA author following her equally excellent sophomore novel, The Upside of Unrequited (reviewed here). Yet again, I recommend reading her if you haven't already!

I'm a big mood reader so the books I reach out for when I'm feeling slumpy usually change depending what I'm in the mood to read - sometimes it's YA, sometimes it's a thriller, but it's usually something I don't tend to read a lot of - but this year I find myself turning more and more towards Fantasy of Manners books when I'm feeling slumpy, particularly Gail Carriger's work. It's so fun!

Thanks so much for tagging me, Cass! I'm going to go ahead and tag some people below, so:

Natalie @ Orchestrating a Sea Change

Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight

Mallory @ The Local Muse

Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews

Deanna @ Deanna Reads Books

Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Lynn @ Lynn's Film & Book Review

Catherine @ We'll Meet it When it Does

Vena @ Vena Isabella

consider yourselves tagged!

Top Ten Tuesday | Best Books of 2017 - So Far!

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 'Best Books You've Read In 2017 So Far', and while I feel like I'm having a more positive reading year, and more positive year all-round, than last year, I'm still not reading as much as I'd like to be and I haven't read many amazing, blow-my-socks-off books which is a little sad considering it's June. I can't believe it's June.

I have read some books I've really enjoyed, though, and this is the best of the bunch so far - I'm hoping the latter half of the year is even better! So, without further ado, here are my top ten eight books of 2017 so far...

The Good Immigrant ed. by Nikesh Shukla: This is such an important book given our current political climate and the kind of book I want to throw at every person I meet. If you haven't read this yet then you must, especially if you're British or currently living in the UK. Check out my review here.

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg: A lesbian retelling of The Thousand and One Nights is everything I didn't know I wanted until I came across it in this charming graphic novel. I loved it.

The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark: Quite possibly one of the most disturbing books I've ever read, it left me feeling the same way I felt the first time I read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and I loved it. It's not a new favourite, a book has to be pretty special to be a new favourite, but it is deliciously dark and short enough to be devoured in one sitting, which I think is what it deserves.

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin: This is one of those really unexpected books; I wasn't planning to read it, I hadn't even heard of it at the beginning of this year, but I was on the lookout for some high fantasy and my lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change recommended Jemisin's work to me. I picked up a copy of The Fifth Season after seeing how many brilliant reviews it had on Goodreads and I loved it. It's so fresh and new compared to the other high fantasy I've read and I had such fun reading it.

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I was determined to read some of Adichie's fiction this year, so I decided to dive into her short story collection and I really, really enjoyed it. There weren't really any stories I didn't like and even now, with the book nowhere near me, I find myself able to remember a lot of them. I can't wait to read her novels. Check out my review here.

Final Girls by Riley Sager: I don't read thrillers often but I tend to enjoy them when I do, and this one, which plays on the horror trope of the 'final girl', was so much fun to read; I read it in two sittings because I couldn't put it down. It's being released next month, I believe, so make sure you pick up a copy! Check out my review here.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli: My favourite book of the year so far, which really surprised me. I loved Albertalli's debut, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (reviewed here), but with this book Albertalli has become my favourite YA author. I wasn't sure I'd be able to love this book as much as I loved her debut and I'm always nervous when a book is marketed as having a fat protagonist - so often the plot will revolve around them losing weight or they won't really be fat - but I read this in one sitting, I didn't move at all, and I adored it. This book and Signal to Noise are the only books I've read in recent years that have reminded me of what it was like to be a teenager, and have spoken to the experiences I had in a very personal way. I loved it. Check out my review here.

Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀: I haven't been this surprised by a debut novel, in all the best ways, since I read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I was really hoping to enjoy Stay With Me and I ended up loving it; it's such a well-crafted and cleverly plotted story and I can't wait to see what Adébáyọ̀ writes next! Check out my review here.

Which books made your list this week?

Diversity Bingo 2017!

I spotted this over on Mallory @ The Local Muse's blog and couldn't resist taking part myself. The last thing I want to do is make it seem as though my striving to read more diversely is about ticking something off a list; as I mentioned in my 2017 Resolutions I do genuinely want to get to a point where I'm reading as many authors of colour as white authors, and reading all across the spectrum within those books because dammit it's 2017 and the world isn't made up of white, wealthy, heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied people and that's something to be celebrated and something that should be reflected in the stories I read.

So I'm going to put this Diversity Bingo here and at the end of the year I'd like to come back and see how much I've crossed off so that I can assess how diverse my reading has been throughout the year, and I'll probably check it myself throughout the year because I know there are areas that I am consistently missing out. For example, I feel as though I've read very little by Asian or South American authors, and even less about Asian and South American characters in Asian and South American settings, and I've read practically nothing about the trans community which is something I need to change. I don't want to be ignorant.

I've read 15 books so far this year, and 6 of those books have crossed something off this list which I'm really happy with, but I'm hoping to cross as many books off this list as I can. I think this will be a great starting point to help me search for new diverse reads that I might not be reading much of already; like I said above I'd like to read more books set in Asia and more books about the trans community, but I'd also like to read as many Own Voices authors as I can this year as well reading books featuring protagonists with disabilities.

So far I've read:

Retelling w/ MC belonging to LGBTQIA+ - The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg and As I Descended by Robin Talley.

Non-Western (Real World) Setting - The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Book by Author of Colour - The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.

Diverse Non-Fiction - The Good Immigrant ed. by Nikesh Shukla.

Hijabi MC (Own Voices) - The Other Half of Happiness by Ayisha Malik.

Are you challenging yourself to Diversity Bingo this year?

LGBT+ History Month Book Recommendations!

Happy LGBT+ History Month!

February is LGBT+ History Month here in the UK (our Black History Month falls in October) so I figured now was as good a time as any to recommend some books to you that feature LGBT+ protagonists. This list is not as long as I'd like it to be; despite being able to think of a lot of LGBT+ characters out there, the list became much narrower when I considered how many of those characters were the main protagonists of their books. I still have a lot of reading to do!

(Before I continue I'd also like to say that reading LGBT+ authors and characters is something we should be doing all year, not just LGBT+ History Month!)

Five of Sarah Waters' six published novels have LGBT+ protagonists - The Little Stranger is the only one that doesn't - so she's an author well worth checking out this month and beyond. Fingersmith is considered her masterpiece and I can see why; it's probably the most shocking book I've ever read (in terms of plot twists, not content) and it's such great fun. Being a gay woman herself Waters writes gay women well, and is particularly good at writing these women back into history. If you haven't read Fingersmith yet, you're missing out.

I wasn't actually the biggest fan of Every Heart a Doorway, which is a real shame because I love Seanan McGuire, but it gets points from me just for having a protagonist who identifies as asexual and actually calls herself asexual in the text. Even better, she discusses the differences between asexuality and aromanticism, and as someone who has asexual friends and falls somewhere on the spectrum herself (if I had to identify my sexuality, I'd probably describe myself as demisexual) it was really refreshing to see it being acknowledged.

This beautiful graphic novel is a lesbian retelling of The 1001 Nights (also known as The Arabian Nights) and it's so lovely and funny and bittersweet. If you like self-aware stories and stories within stories you'll enjoy The One Hundred Nights of Hero, and while the romance is an important part of the book it also has a general focus on women's relationships - be it sisters or mothers and daughters or friendships -  that was a real joy to read.

I don't read much YA but Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is probably one of my favourite ever YA books. I was wary of it at first because there was so much hype surrounding it, but this is one of the few instances in which the hype was well-deserved. If you're keen to read some LGBT+ YA and you haven't picked this one up yet, you're definitely missing out.

A bit of historical YA now and, like Sarah Waters, LGBT+ women are the focus of all of Robin Talley's novels. She's such an important voice in the YA community and from what I've read so far (I still have her most recent book, Our Own Private Universe, to read) her debut is still her best work yet because it's so heart-breaking and, sadly, so relevant when we take into consideration the problems with racism the world is still having in 2017. What I appreciate about Talley is that her characters feel like people, they're not perfect, and while I did have one particular issue with Lies We Tell Ourselves that I discuss in my review it didn't take away from my enjoyment of it. This is such a great read, and also relevant for those of you in the US celebrating Black History Month!

Have you read any of these books? Which books with LGBT+ protagonists would you recommend?

Top Ten Tuesday | Comic Comic Comic Comic Comic Chameleon

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 'All about the visuals', so I'm going to share with you the graphic novels that are on my TBR!

The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg: I read Greenberg's The One Hundred Nights of Hero (reviewed here) and really enjoyed it, so I'm interested in checking out more of her work.

Ladycastle by Delilah Dawson and Ashley Woods: This is a retelling of the Arthurian legends with women at the centre. Yes please.

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki: I read the Tamakis' other graphic novel, Skim, a couple of years ago and loved it, so I'd like to check out this one too.

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, John Jennings and Damian Duffy: I'm fascinated to see how this story has been adapted into a graphic format, and even though it's harrowing I'm totally drawn in by that cover.

Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh: Despite only being a few years old this feels like one of those classics I should have read by now. It really doesn't seem right to me to leave out that extra 'u' though...

Fun Home and Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel: I haven't read any Alison Bechdel yet and that's something I need to change, especially as she's the creator of the Bechdel Test. Fun Home is something of a classic, but I really like the sound of Are You My Mother? too.

Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll: This looks so fun, and I feel like I haven't actually read many stories featuring Baba Yaga. I liked Emily Carroll's Through the Woods a lot, so I'd like to see more of her illustrations and I love the colours on the cover.

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton: How have I not read this yet? I love Beaton's Step Aside, Pops so I need to read this one, too.

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins: I've yet to hear a bad thing about this graphic novel. It's just so huge (the book that is, not the beard).

Which books made your list this week?

Review | The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

The One Hundred Nights of Hero

by Isabel Greenberg

My Rating:

From the author who brought you The Encyclopedia of Early Earth comes another Epic Tale of Derring-Do. Prepare to be dazzled once more by the overwhelming power of stories and see Love prevail in the face of Terrible Adversity! You will read of betrayal, loyalty, madness, bad husbands, lovers both faithful and unfaithful, wise old crones, moons who come out of the sky, musical instruments that won't stay quiet, friends and brothers and fathers and mothers and above all, many, many sisters.

If you say: lesbian retelling of The 1001 Nights, I say: gimme gimme gimme!

When it comes to fairy tale retellings I usually end up reading the Brothers Grimm with a fresh lick of paint, so to read a story inspired by The 1001 Nights instead is always refreshing. To read a retelling with the added twist of LGBT+ protagonists is even better - frankly I think we need more LGBT+ retellings in the world.

I haven't read Isabel Greenberg's The Encyclopedia of Early Earth but I know it was very popular upon its release, but I heard so many people talking about The One Hundred Nights of Hero, and plenty of people including it in their list of favourite reads of 2016, that I couldn't resist picking a copy up for myself. It's been a while since I read a graphic novel and reading this one was like reading Through the Woods meets Nimona: it's a gorgeous tribute to the power of storytelling (and what is The 1001 Nights if not a testament to the power of a good story?) that's both bittersweet at times and brilliantly funny at others.

Hero and Cherry are lovers in a land where women are second-class citizens, and when Cherry's idiot husband makes a horrible bargain with his idiot friend that said friend won't be able to seduce Cherry over the course of one hundred nights, Hero, who works as Cherry's handmaiden, tells the 'gentleman' stories that distract him from his less-than-noble quest. The novel subsequently weaves in and out of stories with women at their centre, stories that are both dark and whimsical.

I love the clever ways the stories link to one another, the way they cross the line between fantasy and reality in Hero and Cherry's world, and the art style is lovely. Reading this has definitely made me want to check out more of Greenberg's work in future.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the ending, but I had to give The One Hundred Nights of Hero five stars; it's funny and heart-warming and just so darn good. If you haven't read this yet, I highly recommend it!