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 Books On My Winter TBR' - hooray for themed TBRs which, if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know I love! 

I love reading books set in cold landscapes during the winter, such as Hannah Kent's Burial Rites and Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves, but I also love trying to tackle high fantasy and fat, epic novels that I can totally escape to in the winter, when the nights are dark and the candles are lit.

The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin: I'm half way through The Obelisk Gate at the moment but my reading year's been so poor I've accidentally left it despite having pre-ordered, and now also owning, a copy of The Stone Sky. I'd love to get this trilogy finished because I really enjoyed The Fifth Season and I want to know where this story's going!

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb: Frankly it's criminal that I haven't read any Robin Hobb and I've owned my copy of Assassin's Apprentice for a while now, so it's about time I got to it. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) enjoying a long series in which I can follow one character from childhood through to adulthood.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: My lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change really enjoyed this book and it sounds like a lot of fun - I'm all for a heist story, and I liked Bardugo's story in Summer Days and Summer Nights so I'm interested in reading one of her novels.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence: I tried reading this one earlier this year and, sadly, couldn't get into it, but I want to give it another chance. I've heard such wonderful things about Lawrence as a fantasy writer and I'm always drawn to stories set in nunneries so I'm hoping to, if not love, then at least like this one the second time around.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: Natalie @ A Sea Change also loves this one and I still haven't read it because it's such a beast, but I think it'd be the ideal book to curl up with over winter and experience.

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu: I don't know why I didn't realise it sooner, but over the past year or so I've really begun to notice just how European the high fantasy I'm familiar with is. I'd like to discover more Asian and African-inspired fantasy realms and this series sounds very intriguing - I've heard very good things thus far!

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: This is one of my favourite books of all time and I haven't reread it yet this year, so I think it'll be fun to curl up with it over Christmas. I love Maia so much.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I've been meaning to start this series for a few years now, but there are almost ten books in the series now and each one is huge. So many people I know love this series, however, and I'd really like to watch the TV adaptation - I just want to read the book(s) first!

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis: Another chunky book and one that I think at least begins around Christmas time, so it's a fitting read for the winter. This is about a history student who time travels back to the Middle Ages during the outbreak of the Black Death, only to get stuck there. I've heard it's amazing so I'm looking forward to picking it up (hopefully) soon!

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Shut up and take my money

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 'Ten Books You'd Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card', which I actually found quite tough purely because I have no control - I buy way more books than I should, in fact most of my wages go on books, but I do have a few I still haven't completely convinced myself to buy. Yet.

Tale as Old as Time: The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast by Charles Solomon: Disney's Beauty and the Beast is my favourite film. Ever. The Mummy is a very close contender, but I've adored Beauty and the Beast since I was a little girl and still love it now. I wish I had this book on my shelves, but I believe it's out of print which means it's being sold for around £200 online. I want it, but I don't want it that much. One day I hope I can find one for a decent price!

His Last Fire by Alix Nathan: This is a collection of historical fiction short stories, something I very rarely come across. I love historical fiction and I'd like to read more short stories in this genre, and this collection has received a lot of wonderful praise.

Red: A History of the Redhead by Jacky Colliss Harvey: I came across this book in my local Waterstones a couple of weeks ago and almost bought it, until I discovered this beautiful hardback edition existed. Unfortunately the hardback is a little expensive, so I'm hoping to either snap it up when the price has come down or ask for it for my next birthday.

Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino: Since going to Rome last year I've completely fallen in love with Italy, and was lucky enough to return there again earlier this year when I went to Florence. This is quite a chunky book of folktales, and another fairly expensive one, so I think it's another book I'll be adding to my birthday list this year...

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: I've never been too fussed by Leigh Bardugo. The Grisha trilogy doesn't interest me and while I've heard great things about Six of Crows, and I do love a heist story, nothing has compelled me to pick it up until I read her short story 'Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail' in Summer Days & Summer Nights. I really enjoyed Bardugo's addition to the anthology, so I'd like to check out Six of Crows soon!

The Uninvited by Cat Winters: Mallory @ The Local Muse has been recommending Cat Winters to me for yonks, and I love the sound of The Uninvited. I think I'm going to pick a copy up near Halloween, as I'd like to read a bunch of spooky novels this October!

Female Gothic Histories by Diana Wallace: Unlike any of the other books on this list, Female Gothis Histories is actually a piece of academic criticism - it's the kind of book I was always dipping in and out of during university to pick out quotes for my various essays. I actually work at the publishing house which publishes this book and therefore can get a discount, but even with the discount this book, being an academic book, is very expensive. Diana Wallace specialises in the study of historical fiction, during my MA I ended up dipping in and out of her other books, and in Female Gothic Histories she explores how female writers have used the Gothic to rewrite women into history, which is an idea that fascinates me.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood: I seriously need to read more Atwood. One of my colleagues recently recommended The Robber Bride to me, and it wasn't until he recommended it that I realised it's actually a fairy tale retelling. I really enjoyed The Penelopiad (reviewed here!), another of Atwood's retellings, so I'd like to get my hands on a copy of this one, too.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I've heard nothing but amazing things about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her novels have recently been released in these gorgeous new editions, so I'd like to treat myself to a copy of her debut novel soon.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis: Doomsday Book sounds like time travel that's dedicated to accurately portraying the history rather than exploring the science, and I love the sound of that. I've heard it takes some getting into and that it's rather slow-moving but I don't mind that at all - I think I may add this book to my Christmas list this year!

Which books made your list this week?