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?

Top Ten Tuesday | New Year, New Authors

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!

Happy New Year!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2017' and I'm going to interpret this as authors I read for the first time in 2017, not necessarily authors I first heard about or came across in 2017. On with my list!

Alison Plowden: I read Plowden's Women All On Fire: The Women of the English Civil War in 2017 and have since picked up copies of Henrietta Maria: Charles I's Indomitable Queen and The Stuart Princesses. I'm a huge history nerd, particularly of women's history, and the Stuart era is an era I'm starting to develop much more of an interest in. I think Plowden's work is going to help me learn so much more about this period of history.

Mary Robinette Kowal: I didn't love Shades of Milk and Honey, but I enjoyed it enough to want to seek out more of Kowal's work in future.

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀: Stay With Me was one of my favourite reads of 2017 and I can't wait to get my hands on whatever Adébáyọ̀ releases next!

Julie Berry: All the Truth That's in Me was another of my favourite reads of last year, I loved the way it was written, and I'm interested in reading more of Berry's work.

Camilla Grudova: The Doll's Alphabet is probably the weirdest short story collection I've ever read, full of grotesque, unpleasant stories that were so well written I'll definitely picking up whatever Grudova releases next.

Riley Sager: I don't read many thrillers so, when I do, I tend to enjoy them a lot which is exactly what happened with Final Girls. I'm looking forward to the release of The Last Time I Lied this summer!

Mackenzi Lee: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue was so much fun, I loved Monty and Percy so much, and I can't wait to read The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy and Bygone Badass Broads later this year.

Madeline Miller: I finally read The Song of Achilles in 2017 and it easily became one of my favourite books of all time. I'm so excited for the release of Circe this year.

N. K. Jemisin: I've been slowly getting back into high fantasy over the past year or so and have been especially keen to read high fantasy books written by BAME authors. I picked up a copy of The Fifth Season after seeing so many good reviews and now understand why it has so many good reviews. Jemisin's writing and world-building is exquisite and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.

Kirsty Logan: A Portable Shelter was one of the best short story collections I read in 2017 so I'm hoping to read Logan's other collection, The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales, very soon.

Who did you talk about this week?

Review | A Portable Shelter by Kirsty Logan

A Portable Shelter

by Kirsty Logan

My Rating:

In their tiny, sea-beaten cottage on the north coast of Scotland, Liska and Ruth await the birth of their first child.

Each passes the time by telling the baby stories, trying to pass on the lessons they’ve learned: tales of circuses and stargazing, selkie fishermen and domestic werewolves, child-eating witches and broken-toothed dragons.

But they must keep their storytelling a secret from one another, as they’ve agreed to only ever tell the plain truth. So to cloak their tales, Ruth tells her stories when Liska is at work, to a background of shrieking seabirds; Liska tells hers when Ruth is asleep, with the lighthouse sweeping its steady beam through the window.

My appreciation and yearning for short story collections has been growing and growing over recent years, and after sadly being disappointed by Lucy Wood's Diving Belles earlier this year, a collection centered around Cornish folklore, I had hopes that A Portable Shelter, a collection this time centered around Scottish folklore, would satisfy my short story needs. Thankfully, it did!

As with all short story collections, there were some stories I liked a lot more than others, though there weren't any I disliked, but what I loved about this collection was how the stories were all stories within one over-arching story of two women, Liska and Ruth, who are expecting their first child and are telling the unborn baby stories that seem to have some kind of basis in reality as they feature people the women know or know of through other people. It's such a clever way to help one story flow into the next, and it really pulled me through the book from story to story.

There are tales of selkies, bears, dragons and people, each one playing with the blurred line between the mundane and the magical, how our lives are influenced by our stories and our stories are influenced by our lives. While the stories are true to an extent, I really enjoyed that we couldn't be sure how true they are - it was never clear if selkies and dragons actually exist in Ruth and Liska's Scotland or if they're metaphors for something else and I loved being able to decide that for myself.

Logan's writing is lyrical and melancholic, yet hopeful. Some of the stories were heart-wrenchingly sad, but many more of them left me with the feeling that things can, and do, get better - not necessarily straight away, in fact never, really, straight away, but eventually they do, and eventually is enough. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Logan's work, particularly her debut collection, The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales.

If you're a fan of fairy tales and folklore, or you're simply in the mood for a good short story collection, I definitely recommend picking this one up!

#BookBuddyAthon TBR

The #BookBuddyAthon is a read-a-thon created on YouTube by Samantha @ Cold Tea and Crumbs and Elena @ Elena Reads Books. The official read-a-thon is running all this week, from the 7th-13th May. My lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change agreed to be my buddy - go and check out her blog if you haven't already, because it's wonderful - and we've decided to extend our read-a-thon to last throughout the month, purely because we'd like to read all of the books we'll be reading and there's no way we can do it all in 5 days; I work full time and Natalie's in the midst of a full time PhD, so we're both busy bees!

The #BookBuddyAthon challenges are:

1. Read a book with your buddy.
2. Read a book with your buddy's favourite colour on the cover.
3. Read a book that begins with your buddy's first initial.
4. Pick three books you want to read, and read the one your buddy picks for you.
5. Read a book you want to read.

Read a book with your buddy:

Natalie suggested we read Kirsty Logan's A Portable Shelter as we both own it and both have yet to read it, and I whole-heartedly agreed! It sounds like a lovely collection of stories, and because it's a collection I can dip in and out of it throughout the month which is ideal.

Read a book with your buddy's favourite colour on the cover:

Like me, Natalie's favourite colour has a tendency to waver, but for this challenge she chose the colour blue so I decided to go with The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, which I've been meaning to get to for a while now. It's a beautiful book, so I hope I enjoy the inside as much as the outside!

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

For an 'N' book I decided to go with The Night Watch, which is the last of Sarah Waters' published novels I have yet to read. It's the one book I hear the most mixed reviews from, which is why I haven't gotten to it yet, but Waters is one of my favourite authors and I'd really like to get to it soon.

Pick three books you want to read, and read the one your buddy picks for you:

I picked The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. As Natalie is also a big Gaiman fan, like myself, she picked The Ocean at the End of the Lane which I'm very excited to read; Gaiman is another favourite author of mine.

Read a book you want to read:

I've been meaning to read Jo Walton's Among Others for years. I've yet to hear a bad thing about it, and considering it won the Hugo and Nebula Awards when it was published it must be pretty darn special. I think that's why I haven't got to it yet, because I've been worried I won't like it as much as I'm hoping I will - there's only one way to find out, though!

Are you taking part in the #BookBuddyAthon? What are you hoping to read this month?

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 | My Winter TBR

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 2016 Debuts Novels We Are Looking Forward To' but I'm very bad at keeping on top of new debuts before they've been published. I thought about searching for some debuts, but I didn't want to talk about books I'd only just discovered because the likelihood is I won't actually be that excited for all of them, and I'm sure that after looking at other people's lists I'll have plenty of 2016 debuts to add to my TBR. 

So instead of talking about 2016 debuts, today I'm going to share with you my Winter TBR!

Christmas at Lilac Cottage and Snowflakes on Silver Cove by Holly Martin: I received eARCs of both of these from NetGalley, and they sound adorable. Last year I read a bunch of Christmassy contemporaries in December and I really enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to doing the same this year. Plus these covers are lovely!

The Little Christmas Kitchen by Jenny Oliver: Again, I love my Christmassy contemporaries. I found a little copy of this for just £4, and it sounds very cute; I love stories about sisters and I love Greece, so I'm looking forward to this one!

The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson: This is another eARC from NetGalley, and one that sounds so much fun. I feel like this is the kind of book that could be a brilliant feel-good, Christmas movie, and I hope I enjoy it.

Christmas at the Vicarage by Rebecca Boxall: This is another eARC, and one that sounds a little more serious than the others. I have no idea if I'm going to enjoy this one or not, but every now and then I do enjoy a family story and for some reason I'm always interested in stories starring families who work in the church.

The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston: This was on my Winter TBR last year and I still haven't gotten to it. I don't know if I'll read it before the New Year, but I think it'd make a pretty good January or February read, too. Plus I think it has a gorgeous cover.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney: Some more historical fiction, and another book I think will make a really good January read if I don't get to it before the New Year. I started this book ages ago and ended up having to put it down because I just wasn't feeling it, but it has a lot of great reviews on Goodreads so I'd like to give it another try.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater: I still haven't read any Maggie Stiefvater - I will read The Raven Boys one day, I will - and while I know The Wolves of Mercy Falls series doesn't have the best reviews I still want to check it out. I think it'll be a great read for this time of year!

Dracula by Bram Stoker: Considering I grew up near Whitby it's pretty shocking that I still haven't read this classic, even more so when you take into account that I studied it for my Victorian Gothic module at university. Whenever I've tried to read it I've ended up giving up, but I'm determined to cross this classic off my list even if I have to force my way through it, and for some reason I just think winter will be a really good time to read this.

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan: I've heard some wonderful things about Kirsty Logan's writing, so I'd really like to cross her debut off my TBR this year if I can. This book has a stunning cover, too, so if you're deliberating between the hardback and the paperback, please treat yourself to the hardback.

Which books made your list this week?

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag!

Okay, so it's past the mid-year point now, but I saw Cait @ Paper Fury do this tag and it looked like fun, so here goes!

Best Book You've Read So Far in 2015

I've read a lot of fantastic books this year, so this was difficult, but I decided to choose Signal to Noise for a few reasons. 1) It's genuinely not only one of the best books I've read this year, but one of the best books I've ever read. Period. 2) It's a 2015 debut novel, and yet I've barely seen anyone talking about it, which is just ridiculous. It's vital that you read this book. 3) I sometimes find it difficult to relate to teenagers in books, and it's not because I'm a super special snowflake or because they're unrealistic, it's just because, let's face it, a lot of YA is romance-centric and romance has never been a big part of my life. I didn't feel attracted to many people at all when I was at school; I never had a cute moment at a school dance or a kiss in the rain or anything, really. But this book reminded me so much of what it was like to be a teenager, it spoke to me even though I didn't grow up in the '80s and even though I didn't grow up in Mexico City. It takes a special book to bring out feelings like that.

There are, of course, a few very close runners up: The Goblin Emperor; To Kill a Mockingbird; Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story; How To Be a Heroine; Fingersmith; The Little Stranger.

Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2015

So this is kind of cheating because I haven't actually finished Blackout yet, but it wasn't until I started thinking about this that I realised how few sequels I've read this year. I've been reading a lot of standalones - I love me a good standalone - and I have been reading a lot of graphic novels, but not a lot of non-graphic series at all. I'm fairly certain this is going to be my favourite sequel once I've finished it, though! I'm just savouring it because I don't know how much more heartbreak I can take with this series...

New Release You Haven't Read Yet But Want To

I own all six of these 2015 releases and I haven't read any of them yet, but I do really want to!

Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year

I mean, duh. I'm desperate to get my hands on Winter even though I'm going to be very sad when this series ends.

Biggest Disappointment

This series has a lot of potential, but I just didn't like it at all. I love the game, The Wolf Among Us, but I'm just not keen on Bill Willingham's writing style.

Biggest Surprise

Oh my God this book. I was warned just how twisty and turny this book is before I started it, but I think I'm usually quite good at guessing what's coming. I wasn't prepared for this. This book left me gaping at three in the morning and desperate to talk to someone about it, while also wanting to shove the book at people so they could read it and we could both be shocked together. It's fantastic.

Favourite New Author

such a cutie patootie

After reading Signal to Noise I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for anything else Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes. I already have her short story collections, This Strange Way of Dying and Love & Other Poisons, and I'm planning on reading them soon!

Newest Fictional Ship

Like Cait, I'm much more of a shipper than a crusher. I love Violet and Orc Dave from Rat Queens, and also Meche and Sebastian from Signal to Noise.

Newest Favourite Character

This was a tough one because I've met so many wonderful characters already this year that I've loved, but there was one in particular who immediately popped into my head when I read this, and that was Maia. The Goblin Emperor is a fantastic, thoughtful book by a very skilled writer, but there's no way I would have loved it as much as I did if Maia hadn't been in it. He's precious and good, but he's never sickly sweet or unbelievable. I love him.

Honourable mentions go to: Meche (Signal to Noise), Angel (White Trash Zombie series), Violet (Rat Queens), Kamala (Ms. Marvel), The Stalk (Saga) and Caroline (The Little Stranger).

Book That Made You Cry

This book is so heartbreaking. Sadness weeps from the pages in waves, but it's so, so good. 

Book That Made You Happy

I opened this book and I didn't stop grinning from start to finish. This series is everything I have ever wanted in a fantasy series all rolled into one, and I can't wait for the next volume!

Favourite Book to Film Adaptation You Saw This Year

I have to agree with Cait and say If I Stay. I've watched it several times now and I'm still not bored of it.

Favourite Post You Have Done So Far This Year

I've done a few discussion posts that I'm quite proud of:

My Problem with Peeta

Should Our Books Have Trigger Warnings?

How Do You See Cinder?

Most Beautiful Book You Have Bought So Far This Year

That would have to be this stunning 150th anniversary edition of The Complete Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. It's beautiful, and I bought it from a fantastic independent bookshop in Monmouth, Rossiter Books.

What Books Do You Need to Read by the End of the Year?

SO MANY. But especially these ones:

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland: Donna Thorland was lovely enough to contact me and personally send me an ARC a couple of months before this novel was published - she even left me a little message on the cover of the ARC - and I still haven't read it because I'm a terrible human being. I really want to - it sounds amazing - but I'm only just getting back into historical fiction after many months of reading speculative fiction, and I think I'm a little intimidated by my complete lack of knowledge concerning American history. But no more excuses! I'm determined to read this soon, and leave the lovely Donna Thorland a review.

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: One of the 2015 debuts that I couldn't resist picking up. I don't think I've read any books about suffragettes - fiction or non-fiction - and that's something I need to change!

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: How haven't I read this yet? I've heard nothing but amazing things about this book, and my mum managed to find me a signed copy last Christmas, so it's about time I read it. I'm going to save it for the next time I'm in the mood for a cry.

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers: I got this for Christmas too, and I still haven't read it. Seriously, what's wrong with me? I really like this trilogy and I have a problem when it comes to finishing series - I never want them to end! It's about time I crossed this book off my TBR, though...

The Falconer by Elizabeth May: I've heard such mixed things about this book that I just want to see what it's like for myself. I'm hoping it's good, because I think it's a cool concept, and I love me some historical fiction with fantastical elements.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: Again, how have I not read this yet? I think this book makes me nervous because it's so popular, but I'd like to try and read it during the build up to Halloween!

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan: Another debut novel that sounds right up my alley, and one that I've heard some amazing things about it. It also has a gorgeous cover, and it's even prettier under the dust jacket.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: This book has been getting a lot of hype so usually I probably wouldn't go anywhere near it, but my friend Elena (who I went to Rome with!) absolutely loves this book, in fact I'm fairly certain it was her favourite book of 2014, so I thought I should give it a try!

Resistance is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan: I have a soft spot for Colgan's contemporary fiction - particularly her Rosie Hopkins books - but she's also a big sci-fi nut. This book has been described as Bridget Jones's Diary meets Independence Day, so I simply have to read it. Plus it's another 2015 release so I'd like to read it in 2015!

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: Yet another book that's done well for itself, and one that several of my friends have said is amazing. I was lucky enough to find a hardback edition for only £5 just before Christmas, and I'd like to read it soon! I'm pretty sure it's set in the autumn, so I think September/October time will be the perfect time to cross it off my TBR.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: Yet another 2015 release and yet another book that everyone has been talking about. I snapped up a copy of this when it was released in February and I still haven't read it because I suck.

The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán: YES DINOSAURS. This is also a 2015 release and the first book in a new trilogy, I believe. I'd like to read it this year so that, if I like it, I can snap up the second book when it comes out next year.

There's so much to read and so little time. Seriously, those of you who manage to read 200 books in a year, I salute you. I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm lazy, but if you want to do this tag then do it!

Top Ten Tuesday | They See Me Haulin'...

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 the 'Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession', and because I can't control myself I'm always acquiring new books.

I got back from Rome last night after an amazing holiday and I'm back at work tomorrow. I'm pretty tired, but it felt wrong to miss out on Top Ten Tuesday!

From my most recent backwards, here are the last ten books I've bought:

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee: I only read To Kill a Mockingbird for the very first time last month, but I loved it and not long after I finished it I pre-ordered a pretty hardback copy of Go Set a Watchman and it arrived today! I'm looking forward to seeing what adulthood made of Scout.

Wytches, Vol.1 by Scott Snyder and Jock: I love Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire series, and when I heard Snyder was writing another graphic novel series about witches I had to have it. This is another one I pre-ordered, and it arrived the day I left for Rome so I'm looking forward to reading it!

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: I was hardly going to come home from Rome without a new book. I tried desperately to find an Italian version of Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, purely because I really like the film and I liked the idea of owning a book set in Italy in Italian, but I couldn't find a copy. I found a little copy of this, however, in the gift shop at the Colosseum and fell in love with it. I've never owned a book of philosophy, but I started flicking through this and I couldn't resist it. Some of it's really funny and some of it's incredibly thoughtful. I'm going to enjoy dipping in and out of this.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey: I found a brand new hardback edition of this for just £2 in The Works, so I snapped it up! I have yet to read any Yancey, but I've heard primarily good things.

The King's Mistress by Claudia Gold: I also found a hardback edition of this in The Works for just £4, and I picked it up for the simple reason that it's about a woman I'd never heard of. I like historical nonfiction and I love my historical ladies, but as much as I'm a history enthusiast I know very little about the whole Georgian and Regency periods so I thought this book might make for an interesting read!

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan: I'll be honest, the main reason I picked this up is because of the gorgeous cover. I have the hardback edition, and the cover is even more stunning beneath the dustjacket. I do also love the sound of plot and I've heard a lot of great reviews, plus it turns out one of the author's favourite children's books is Roald Dahl's The Magic Finger, which is also one of mine. I'm looking forward to reading it!

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier: I already own this and I've already read it, but I decided to treat myself to the VMC edition to match my copy of Jamaica Inn.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: Same again here, I've read it and owned another copy but I wanted this pretty one!

Uprooted by Naomi Novik: So I've heard nothing but amazing things about this one, including a rave review from my lovely friend Natalie, and I so rarely come across standalone fantasies that I couldn't resist buying this stunning hardcover. I'm reading it right now, and enjoying it so far!

The Secret Life of Aphra Behn by Janet Todd: This is another piece of historical nonfiction all about Aphra Behn, a woman who wrote novels, plays and poetry during the 17th century. She was also employed as a spy in Antwerp by Charles II, and was good friends with his mistress, Nell Gwynn, an actress whom she dedicated one of her plays to. Basically she's one of my heroes and I can't wait to learn more about her.

Which books made your list?