It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in on this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Top Ten 2014 Debuts I’m Excited For. This sounds a little similar to 2014 Releases I’m Dying to Read but I will see if I can think of some debut novels I’m excited about.

• Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh
• Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
• Decoded by Mai Jia
• Notes from the Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone
• Ghost Moth by Michele Forbes
• Eat My Heart Out by Zoe Pilger
• The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson

I don’t pay enough attention to what is being released to know what I want to read. I hope to discover some more from this week’s Top Ten Tuesday.

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in on this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Top Ten Goals/Resolutions For 2014. I don’t really have goals for the year, except for reading ones. Here is what I want to achieve this year.

• Complete the Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
• Read more Non-Fiction
• Read bigger books
• Take my time with a book in order to read more critically
• Continue reviewing every book and document my reading journey
• Be willing to abandon more books
• Create a better way to track books read
• Clean up my Edelweiss/Netgalley eARC list
• Exercise more

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in on this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing Me. I know I’m getting some books for Christmas but why not mention books I want to get my hands on.

• & Sons by David Gilbert
• 501 Must Read Books by Emma Beare
• 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
• A Little History of Literature by John Sutherland
• Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon
• Ethics, Evil, and Fiction by Colin McGinn
• Hothouse: The Art of Survival and the Survival of Art at America’s Most Celebrated Publishing House, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux by Boris Kachka
• How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom
• In the First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• On Literature by Umberto Eco
• Paperback Confidential: Crime Writers of the Paperback Era by Brian Ritt
• Raymond Chandler: A Mysterious Something in the Light by Tom Williams
• Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe: The Hard-Boiled Detective Transformed by John Paul Athanasourelis
• S. by J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst
• Shelley’s Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family by Stephen Hebron
• Stoner by John Edward Williams
• The Dark Path: A Memoir by David Schickler
• The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Literature, Revised and Expanded by Clifton Fadiman
• The Parrots by Filippo Bologna
• The Uses of Literature by Italo Calvino

That’s ten books right (and that is just a taste, more here)? I’m surprised how many non-fiction books made my list. Maybe 2014 will be the read of reading non-fiction for me.

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in on this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2013. This sounds like a great theme; I’ve discovered some great authors and never thought about doing an end of year list of newly discovered authors. I’ve decided to split this list into two; I want to highlight some debut authors as well.

• Italo Calvino – I feel in love with If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler and want to read it again and again. I probably should read some more of Calvino’s books and I’m sure I will but discovering this book was a big highlight of my year.
• James Smythe – The Machine was such a great book, I had to read more by this author. I’ve since read The Explorer and The Echo, both amazing and I will be a loyal follower of James Smythe from here on out.  A dark literary science fiction author that writes about humanity and deserves more recognition.
• Sylvia Plath – I can’t believe it took me so long to read The Bell Jar, It was a fascinating books. I am not sure what her other works are like but this one novel was enough to put her on this list.
• Jane Austen – It has taken me so long to actually read Austen and I’ve only Pride and Prejudice but I’m planning to read the rest.
• Warren Ellis – now for something a little weird, Ellis writes some really odd crime novels but they were a lot of fun to read. I’m looking forward to the next one; whenever that is.

Debut Authors

• Anthony Marra – A Constellation of Vital Phenomena will definitely be on my “Best of 2013” list, I was very impressed with that novel and continue to sing praises about it.
• Hannah Kent – Burial Rites was possibly the best Australian novel I read this year. I was very impressed with the novel and happy with how successful she has been with such a great book.
• Gabriel Roth – If you haven’t read or heard of The Unknowns, then I suggest you get onto it right now. On the surface it’s a nerdy romance but there is so much more to this novel.
• Shani Boianjiu – I wasn’t sure what to expect from The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, I’m not normally into NA novels but as soon as I finished this book I turned back to page 1 and started it again.
• Maggie Shipstead – Something a little different, I call this novel chick lit but it has a male narrator. Seating Arrangements is a fascinating novel and I’m so glad I read it.

I also want to give an honourable mention to Margaret Atwood. She isn’t a new-to-me author but I have newly discovered her brilliance. I will have to go back and re-read The Handmaid’s Tale and see what I think of it. I’m looking forward to seeing what authors make people’s lists this week.

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in on this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Books on My Summer TBR (To Be Read pile). I’m not one to plan too far ahead but there are a few books I really want to read over the summer.

• By Blood We Live by Glen Duncan
• Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh
• Pig’s Foot by Carlos Acosta
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Difficult Men by Brett Martin
• Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
• Goat Mountain by David Vann
• Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook
• Equilateral by Ken Kalfus
• Decoded by Mai Jia

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in of this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: 2014 Releases I’m Dying to Read. This is an interesting topic and I will try to think of ten books, I’m looking forward to. I’ve linked to the Goodreads page so you can have a look at each book.

• By Blood We Live by Glen Duncan
• Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh

• The Echo by James Smythe

• Notes from the Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone
• The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings
• Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
• Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart
• One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore
• Decoded by Mai Jia

• Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in of this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Ten Books I Am Thankful For. Thanksgiving is such an American event; but I’m going to jump on board with this theme because I want something to post. I’m thankful for the following books because of many different reasons.

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – this is my all-time favourite and plays a big part in developing my passion for books.
• Hey! Nietzsche! Leave Them Kids Alone! by Craig Schuftan – for developing my passion in learning and books.
• Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart – I have strong memories of this book and one of the first books I tried to read and critically analyse.
• American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – I didn’t think much of this book but my analysis of this novel really surprised me and made me think I could be a better reader.
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – still one of my favourite books and still happy with the review I wrote for this one.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I put off reading Austen but when I finally read this, so much was opened up to me about her style and wit.
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë – so romantic.
• Swimming Home by Deborah Levy – the first book I read and immediately wanted to read again.
• You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney – for giving me a current thirst for non-fiction.
• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad – because I found it harder to read than Infinite Jest but I defeated it, I understood it and I got some great stuff out of it.

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in of this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Books I’d Recommend to X Person. I decided to pick my dad as he’s the biggest reader in my family (apart from me) and he is the only person I get an opportunity to buy books for as presents. I normally buy him a book that I love but I’m not sure if he reads them; he normally reads old classics. So here are some great books a little out of his comfort zone (but not too much, just enough to broaden his horizon’s) but still brilliant reads.

1. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (actually a default recommendation for everyone)
2. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
3. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
5. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
6. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
7. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
8. The Trial by Franz Kafka
9. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
10. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in of this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Top Ten Covers I Wish Could Be Redesigned.

• Happy Hour in Hell by Tad Williams – it’s tacky and doesn’t seem to match book 1 in the series.
• Fadeout by Joseph Hansen – great novel; very boring and unappealing cover.
• The Last Whisper in the Dark by Tom Piccirilli – when you compare it to the first book, it just doesn’t stand out as much.
• Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan – not a bad cover, I just think it could use with a makeover.
• Perchance to Dream by Robert B. Parker – even though it was a terrible book, the cover doesn’t seem to match the Philip Marlowe series.
• Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell – the original cover is catchy but I don’t feel like it really says anything about the novel.
• Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz – dull and unimpressive.
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke – just feels really plain.
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – that face is just too much.
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz – while not so bad, it could be improved.

It’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in of this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait To Get My Hands On. Rather than going for sequels, I ‘m going to look at the books I’m looking forward to in any series.

1. By Blood We Live by Glen Duncan (The Last Werewolf trilogy)
2. Untitled book 4 by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (The Cemetery of Forgotten Book series)
3. The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin (The Passage series)
4. The Severed Streets by Paul Cornell (The London Falling series)
5. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine series)
6. Sleeping Late on Judgement Day by Tad Williams (The Bobby Dollar series)

Since I’ve round out of books to mention, here are some books I’m really looking forward to reading that are part of a series and already released;

1. Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood (Maddaddam trilogy)
2. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (Peter Grant series)
3. Death Claims by Joseph Hansen (Dave Brandstetter series)
4. Countdown City by Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman series)