Showing posts with label diana wallace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diana wallace. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

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?

Tuesday, 19 January 2016

Top Ten Tuesday | New to my 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 I've Recently Added to my TBR'.

Fiction


Harrow County, Vol.1: Countless Haints by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook: I want to keep reading more graphic novels, and this series sounds like a lot of fun. Ever since I started reading Shirley Jackson I've been a little bit in love with Southern Gothic so I'd love to check some out in graphic novel form!

The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew: I haven't read any dystopia in a long time, and this one sounds very unique. Although I always find it weird when the main character in a book or movie or tv show is also called Jess...

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston: The author behind A Thousand Nights has turned her talents to a Shakespeare retelling. We can expect to see a lot of those this year, what with 2016 marking 400 years since Shakespeare's death. I'm not a big fan of The Winter's Tale, but I love the sound of this book; I really appreciate how much anti-rape culture we're seeing in YA lately.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson: I have an eARC of this novel from NetGalley, and it sounds like a quiet, charming little read. I plan to read and review it soon!

Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal: I still haven't read Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamourist Histories series, but this book sounds very cool; I love stories involving mediums.

Non-Fiction


Do It Like a Woman... and Change the World by Caroline Criado-Perez: I just love the sound of this one. I'm all for feminist non-fiction.

Female Gothic Histories: Gender, History and the Gothic by Diana Wallace: I started working at the University of Wales Press this month, and this is one of their books; they have a brilliant series of Gothic literary criticism and I'd love to read this one, as it's all about historical fiction and how female authors have used the Gothic to reclaim their place in history through historical fiction.

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff: A memoir about a writer who works in publishing. I wonder why I want to read that... In all seriousness, though, this sounds like a really interesting read.

Science in Wonderland: The Scientific Fairy Tales of Victorian Britain by Melanie Keene: I love Victorian Literature, it was my favourite period of literature to study at university, and this book sounds so cool. Given that the 19th century was a period of such huge scientific change I've always been fascinated by the effect that had on the literature of the time, so I can't wait to read this one.

The View from the Cheap Seats: A Collection of Introductions, Essays, and Assorted Writings by Neil Gaiman: Neil Gaiman's one of my favourite authors, but other than his Make Good Art speech I don't think I've actually read any of his non-fiction - this sounds good!

Which books made your list this week?