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 year I've been letting myself get back into reading for the pure, unadulterated fun of it, and after reading and absolutely adoring Six of Crows earlier this year my love for fantasy is back with a vengeance and I'm craving it like mad. As well as high fantasy, lately I've really been in the mood to blast through some urban fantasy reads, the warm weather and my love of The Song of Achilles last year has put me in the mood for Ancient Greece, and I've been craving non-fiction, too, after barely reading any in 2017.
Essentially my summer TBR is brimming with fantasy and non-fiction, and I'm excited for all of it! So without further ado, here are theten sixteen books I've got my eye on this summer:
Essentially my summer TBR is brimming with fantasy and non-fiction, and I'm excited for all of it! So without further ado, here are the
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire: I've seen Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies sing this series' praises for so long and it's a series I've been meaning to get to for the longest time. Seanan McGuire also writes under Mira Grant, and is therefore the author of my beloved Newsflesh trilogy, and I'm looking forward to reading her take on faeries - especially as someone who isn't usually drawn to faerie books.
How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland: I powered through the first three books in this series a few years ago and had a great time, but haven't read any more of them despite owning books four and five. It's about time I rectified that!
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs: This is another urban fantasy series I've heard great things about and I've had a copy of Moon Called on my kindle for almost three years so it's about time I read it.
Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain: This one is giving me Haroun and the Sea of Stories vibes and, when it comes to mythology/folklore, genies aren't a creature I come across very frequently so I'd like to try something a little different this summer.
A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston: I can't believe I still haven't read this one even though I own a copy of the gorgeous UK hardback, thanks to the lovely Mikayla @ Mikayla's Bookshelf, so I think it's about time I crossed it off my TBR. Plus when I think of The Arabian Nights, I can't help but think of the summer, warm weather and desert nights.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: Another retelling from the same author who brought us Uprooted which, to be honest, I didn't love, but as this is a retelling of my favourite fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin, I have to pick it up when it's released this July.
Circe by Madeline Miller: I finally read and adored The Song of Achilles last year, so I can't wait to get to Miller's second novel this year.
The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig: I read and really enjoyed The Girl From Everywhere a couple of years ago and still haven't read the sequel. I don't tend to read many books set on ships, but when I do it's usually during the summer; there's something so summery about the sea.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: I've heard nothing but great things about this African-inspired high fantasy so far, so I need to get to it this year.
Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution by Mona Eltahawy: This is another one I've had on my TBR for the longest time and, as I'm in the mood for non-fiction this year, I'd like to get around to it this summer if I can.
The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam by G. Willow Wilson: In the past year or so I've become really interested in Islam. Unfortunately it's a religion that, in the UK at least, has been tainted by its association with terrorism and often the media wants us to believe that Islam = evil because it helps them sell newspapers. If Islam is going to be talked about so much then I want to learn more about it so I'm not another ignorant butthole leaving ignorant comments on the internet, and I'm fascinated by what it was that encouraged G. Willow Wilson to convert to the faith. If you're wondering where you recognise her name from, she's the author of the Ms. Marvel graphic novels!
On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back by Stacey Dooley: I've been a big fan of Stacey Dooley's work for almost ten years now, her documentaries are always excellent, so I'm looking forward to reading her very first book.
Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault: One of my friends adores Alexander the Great and has been recommending Mary Renault's fiction to me for a few years now, so when I saw this beautiful new Virago Modern Classics edition I couldn't resist it. I know very little about Alexander the Great apart from that he died very young and yet accomplished so much in those few years, so I'm looking forward to learning more about him through Renault's fiction.
The Sweet Girl by Annabel Lyon: I read Lyon's Imagining Ancient Women a couple of years ago in which she talked about her research for this novel, so I thought it'd be fun to read this one. I know very little about this one other than it's about Aristotle's daughter after the death of Aristotle and Alexander the Great (there he is again) and the tumultuous turn her life takes.
The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes: We've all heard of the Oedipus complex, but I know very little about the Oedipus myth other than that Oedipus was a prince who was raised by the enemy kingdom and, when he defeated the man he didn't know was his birth father, ended up taking his birth mother as his wife. Here classicist Natalie Haynes has chosen to retell the story from the point of his mother, Jocasta, and I've heard brilliant things about it so far.
Troy by Adèle Geras: I've owned this one for a while now and I was very lucky to meet Adèle Geras at an event at Litfest several years ago now and she was wonderfully eccentric. As much as I adored The Song of Achilles last year I do feel like the Trojan War has been rather overdone in the realm of Ancient Greek books and movies, but I like the sound of this one because it's the story of two Trojan sisters trying to survive amidst the war rather than following the well-known names such as Achilles, Hector or Paris.
Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault: One of my friends adores Alexander the Great and has been recommending Mary Renault's fiction to me for a few years now, so when I saw this beautiful new Virago Modern Classics edition I couldn't resist it. I know very little about Alexander the Great apart from that he died very young and yet accomplished so much in those few years, so I'm looking forward to learning more about him through Renault's fiction.
The Sweet Girl by Annabel Lyon: I read Lyon's Imagining Ancient Women a couple of years ago in which she talked about her research for this novel, so I thought it'd be fun to read this one. I know very little about this one other than it's about Aristotle's daughter after the death of Aristotle and Alexander the Great (there he is again) and the tumultuous turn her life takes.
The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes: We've all heard of the Oedipus complex, but I know very little about the Oedipus myth other than that Oedipus was a prince who was raised by the enemy kingdom and, when he defeated the man he didn't know was his birth father, ended up taking his birth mother as his wife. Here classicist Natalie Haynes has chosen to retell the story from the point of his mother, Jocasta, and I've heard brilliant things about it so far.
Troy by Adèle Geras: I've owned this one for a while now and I was very lucky to meet Adèle Geras at an event at Litfest several years ago now and she was wonderfully eccentric. As much as I adored The Song of Achilles last year I do feel like the Trojan War has been rather overdone in the realm of Ancient Greek books and movies, but I like the sound of this one because it's the story of two Trojan sisters trying to survive amidst the war rather than following the well-known names such as Achilles, Hector or Paris.
Which books made your list this week?
