TBR | Modern Classics

I've come to terms with the fact that my TBR's never going to be small, but it's certainly much larger than I'd like it to be; no matter how much I read it never seems to be enough!

When it comes to classics I always felt most at home in the Victorian period. When I was at university I loved learning about 19th century literature most - Victorian Gothic is so much fun, plus it's during the 19th century that we first got children's literature and detective fiction! - but in recent years I've begun to appreciate modern classics much more, and I've become particularly fond of fiction written during the early 20th century and the '50s.

Anyway, here are some modern classics I'd like to cross off my TBR this year!

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She has only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

The Sundial

by Shirley Jackson

When the Halloran clan gathers at the family home for a funeral, no one is surprised when the somewhat peculiar Aunt Fanny wanders off into the secret garden. But then she returns to report an astonishing vision of an apocalypse from which only the Hallorans and their hangers-on will be spared, and the family finds itself engulfed in growing madness, fear, and violence as they prepare for a terrible new world.

Jamaica Inn

by Daphne du Maurier

Her mother's dying request takes Mary Yellan on a sad journey across the bleak moorland of Cornwall to reach Jamaica Inn, the home of her Aunt Patience. With the coachman's warning echoing in her memory, Mary arrives at a dismal place to find Patience a changed woman, cowering from her overbearing husband, Joss Merlyn. 

Affected by the Inn's brooding power, Mary is thwarted in her attention to reform her aunt, and unwillingly drawn into the dark deeds of Joss and his accomplices. And, as she struggles with events beyond her control, Mary is further thrown by her feelings for a man she dare not trust...

The Chrysalids

by John Wyndham

David Storm's father doesn't approve of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, and his son's cousin Rosalind and their friends, have their own secret aberration which would label them as mutants. But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery, or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands....

Classics & Contemporaries | Science Fiction | Sci-Fi Month 2014

Due to my little hiatus I couldn't bring you Science Fiction in August, so I figured I'd just do two C&C posts in October as a Halloween treat. Then I discovered Sci-Fi Month, and it seemed a shame to do this installment of C&C outside of Sci-Fi Month!

So, at long last, here we have Science Fiction!

Now sci-fi, and especially classic sci-fi, is a genre I know very, very little about, so instead of the usual layout, today I'm going to be offering you some very simple recommendations. Enjoy!

If you like The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Read The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

If you like The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

If you like The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Read The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

If you like Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Read A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Thanks to Rinn Reads and Oh, The Books for a fantastic Sci-Fi Month!

TBR | Science Fiction

When I was younger I never had much of an interest in sci-fi, and as I got older I felt more intimidated by the genre than anything else; I always felt that because I didn't know everything there was to know about sci-fi - I never watched Star Trek and I was only interested in the parts of Star Wars that involved Princess Leia - I wasn't allowed to enjoy it.

Ridiculous, I know. All genres are open to everyone, but I definitely think there are some areas of the sci-fi fandom which, sadly, include the sci-fi snobs and the sci-fi sexists. I've always found it odd that so many men believe sci-fi isn't a genre for women when the genre was practically created by a teenage girl.

But that's a tangent for another post! Recently, thanks to a few of my friends, I've found myself really getting into sci-fi, and I'm especially eager to read some. So below is a small list of books, all of which fall into the sci-fi category, that I'd like to get my hands on soon!

Valour's Choice

by Tanya Huff

In the distant future, humans and several other races have been granted membership in the Confederation--at a price. They must act as soldiers/protectors of the far more civilized races who have long since turned away from war....

Tanya Huff is one of my favourite authors. She's a writer of both sci-fi and fantasy who's well known for the fantastic ways in which she challenges gender stereotypes and representation in her fiction. So far I've only read her fantasy novels - I've read the first two books in her Blood Books series and I'm currently reading Sing the Four Quarters - and now I'd really like to dive into some of her sci-fi.

Valour's Choice is the first book in the Confederation series, and I think the premise sounds really cool. Not to mention any book in which a woman is in charge of a group of soldiers makes me very happy; I've loved all of Huff's heroines so far, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get this book under my belt very soon!

The Chrysalids

by John Wyndham

David Storm's father doesn't approve of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, and his son's cousin Rosalind and their friends, have their own secret aberration which would label them as mutants. But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery, or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands...

I've been meaning to read something of John Wyndham's for a while now, and it took me some time to decide whether I wanted The Chrysalids or The Day of the Triffids on this list. While a story about killer plants does sound pretty awesome, a story about mutants sounds even better. What can I say? I'm an X-Men lover!

I believe Wyndham's sci-fi tends to fall into the post-apocalyptic strand of the genre, but as someone who loves post-apocalyptic fiction that only makes me want to read his work more!

Parasite

by Mira Grant

A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.

We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the tapeworm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives...and will do anything to get them.

I'm currently reading Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy and I'm in love with it; it's up there beside Harry Potter and The Lunar Chronicles as one of my all time favourite series. I first came across Parasite about a year ago, and it's only in the past couple of months I actually realised Mira Grant is its author, but even before I made that connection I knew I wanted to give it a read at some point.

First and foremost, just look at that cover. As far as I'm concerned this book has one of the best covers I've ever seen; it really pops out on the shelf, and I just think it's so much fun. Secondly I love this novel's premise, and I think if it's executed well (which I'm sure it is) it'll be a very sinister read.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travellers.

I couldn't possibly write a post like this without mentioning Douglas Adams. I'm rather ashamed to admit I still haven't read any Adams, even though my Dad has been recommending The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to me for years now. I actually bought him the entire series for his birthday a few years ago, so next time I'm home I should really give them a read - they're such short books, and everyone I know who's read them has told me they laughed out loud more than once!

Vicious

by V.E. Schwab

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? 

I've been dying to read Vicious since I first heard about it, in fact I've been meaning to read something by Victoria Schwab for a while now. She's also the author of The Archived and The Unbound, and her newest novel, A Darker Shade of Magic, is one of my most anticipated releases of 2015.

Vicious might not be as 'hardcore' sci-fi as some of the other books on this list, but it sounds like such a fun read, and it's another book I've heard nothing but amazing things about. It's even being adapted into a movie!

Are you a sci-fi fan? Which books would you recommend to a sci-fi newbie?

J.