Teaser Tuesday: A Closed and Common Orbit

July 24, 2018July 22, 2018 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.

This week my teaser comes from A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. I read this in its entirety on Saturday and absolutely loved it. It’s the follow up to The Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet but is a very different story, focusing on just two characters, Pepper and Lovelace. I personally enjoyed it more for the closeness of the story, I struggle when there’s a lot. It’s wonderfully written and surprisingly emotional so I had to share a teaser, and for once I’m actually going to pick one at random 🙂

My Teaser

Jane had thought maybe the purple stuff was alive, but knowing it for sure felt weird. She held the mushroom a little further away from herself. ‘Is it bad?’

~ pg134 A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

Blurb

Spoiler alert: this includes some mild spoilers for the first book

Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.

Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet introduced readers to the incredible world of Rosemary Harper, a young woman with a restless soul and secrets to keep. When she joined the crew of the Wayfarer, an intergalactic ship, she got more than she bargained for – and learned to live with, and love, her rag-tag collection of crewmates.

A Closed and Common Orbit is the stand-alone sequel to Becky Chambers’ beloved debut novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and is perfect for fans of Firefly, Joss Whedon, Mass Effect and Star Wars.

WWW Wednesday: 18th July 2018

July 18, 2018July 17, 2018 Ali@abookishlife19 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I started reading In Bloom by C.J. Skuse on Monday but haven’t made a lot of progress as I haven’t had much reading time. Skuse is one of my fave authors and I’ve been looking forward to this one as it’s the sequel to Sweetpea which I read and very much enjoyed last year. Hopefully I’ll manage to find a bit more time to really get into it.

As well as In Bloom I’m still dipping in and out of Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig and I also picked up Why We Sleep by Matthew P. Walker from the library and have been reading bits of it too. Both are fascinating reads but I do tend to be a little slower with non fiction.

Recently Finished

Technically I finished The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang last week but as I had it still sitting in my currently reading I think it’s fine to put it here this week (plus this section’s looking a bit thin). It also gives me another chance to talk about how much I loved this gender switched version of Pretty Woman (I really need to write a proper review at some point). It’s just funny, sweet, very enlightening and also one of those books that make you smile. It’s not perfect but I found the very few flaws easy to overlook.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) The other book finished this week was The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I’m going to see Becky Chambers on the 24th so thought it was probably a good idea to read at least one of her books before then 🙂 I have a general wariness of all things sci fi but I ended up absolutely loving this. It reminded me a bit of my fave sci fi TV shows Firefly or Star Trek as it follows a mixed species crew as they make their way across the galaxy on a job. They have a few incidents along the way but I felt this book was less about the story and more about the characters.

Reading Next

I kind of want to keep going with the Wayfarers series so I think I’ll probably be picking up A Closed and Common Orbit next, I just need to buy it first. I also need to make a start on The Falconer by Elizabeth May and To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo as there’s another author event I’m going to on the 25th where both authors are appearing.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers, #2) To Kill a Kingdom The Falconer (The Falconer, #1)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

July 17, 2018July 16, 2018 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

This week my teaser comes from The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I finished this late yesterday and very much enjoyed it. I often struggle with sci fi but loved this story of a mixed species crew on a long haul trip. There’s not a huge amount of story but this is more than made up for with some wonderfully different and extremely likeable characters.

My Teaser

The truth is, Rosemary, that you are capable of anything. Good or bad. You always have been, and you always will be. Given the right push, you, too, could do horrible things. That darkness exists within all of us.

~ pg266 The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Blurb

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

WWW Wednesday: 11th July 2018

July 11, 2018July 10, 2018 Ali@abookishlife26 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I started reading Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig at the weekend and am making fairly steady progress with it. As it’s the true story of how Haig managed to get his depression and anxiety under control, I’ve been a bit wary about reading it in case it triggers my anxiety (sometimes just thinking about a panic attack can cause one for me). I’ve therefore just been reading a chapter or two at a time before switching to fiction. It is very good though and I’m loving both how open and honest Haig is and the way he works facts and science in throughout.

The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1) As I’ve only been dipping in and out of Reasons To Stay Alive I’ve also been reading The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. It’s kind of a gender switched version of Pretty Woman where main character Stella hires a male escort to help her figure out how to do a relationship as she is autistic. I have to confess I finished this late last night as I loved it so much I couldn’t put it down. The relationship between Stella and Michael was just the sweetest thing ever.

Recently Finished

Another slower reading week as I’ve been trying to get my flat cleared so I can put it on the market. I did however manage to finish a couple of books, the first of which was Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence and OMG I loved this book. It’s the second in the trilogy but there’s definitely no middle book syndrome going on as I thought it was so much better than Red Sister. It’s absolutely packed with action and so many twists and turns but what I loved the most is the way it moved the story forward. There is so much character development and a few of the minor characters are really given the chance to shine.

The second book finished this week was The End We Start From by Megan Hunter. I don’t know what it was about this book but ever since I heard about it I wanted to read it, despite seeing some rather mixed reviews. At not much over 100 pages it is a very quick read and there isn’t much in the way of details or description but it still somehow manages to make a big impact. The prose is very lyrical and just beautiful to read, even if it’s so sparse it becomes frustrating at times trying to work out what’s going on in the wider world.

Reading Next

Despite a lot of temptation in the form of Ilona Andrews new book I’m trying really hard to stick to my Summer TBR. I have a buddy read of The Power starting on the 15th so that will definitely be up soon. I also have a couple of author events in a couple of weeks, the first being Becky Chambers and the other a YA fantasy panel discussion, so I should probably read some of their books. I read a few pages of The Falconer at the weekend so think it’ll be up first followed by The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) The Power The Falconer (The Falconer, #1)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday – Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence

July 10, 2018July 8, 2018 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

This week my teaser comes from Grey Sister, the second book in Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy. I finished this at the end of last week and absolutely loved it. So much happened in it and that ending!!!! I honestly don’t know how I’m going to manage the wait for the final book.

My Teaser

Quite how she could have been there unseen Nona couldn’t fathom. True, her range coat was bark-patterned, but you couldn’t hold a feather over your head and expect people to believe you were a hen.

~ 39% Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence

Blurb

(Warning this may include some very mild spoilers for Red Sister)

In Mystic Class Nona Grey begins to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the Convent of Sweet Mercy Nona must choose her path and take the red of a Martial Sister, the grey of a Sister of Discretion, the blue of a Mystic Sister or the simple black of a Bride of the Ancestor and a life of prayer and service.

All that stands between her and these choices are the pride of a thwarted assassin, the ambition of a would-be empress wielding the Inquisition like a blade, and the vengeance of the empire’s richest lord.

As the world narrows around her, and her enemies attack her through the system she has sworn to, Nona must find her own path despite the competing pull of friendship, revenge, ambition, and loyalty.

And in all this only one thing is certain.
.
There will be blood.

WWW Wednesday: 4th July 2018

July 4, 2018July 3, 2018 Ali@abookishlife18 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I started reading Grey Sister, the second book in Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor series on Monday morning and am currently around quarter of the way through. Not sure if it’s because a lot of the world building and character intro’s are out of the way but I’ve found this one so much easier to get into than the previous book. I also really love that the author had a few pages before the start of the book recapping what happened. I only finished Red Sister about a week or so ago but I still found it helped me a lot. Very excited to see where this story is going to go but I’m a little worried I’m going to have a wait for the third and final book.

Recently Finished

Have to admit it’s been a bit of a slow reading week for me as a result of things getting busier at work, house hunting and hot weather causing lots of travel problems. I did however manage to finish a couple of short books, the first of which was If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura. This just looked like such a quirky and cute read and it’s so rare to find books translated from Japanese (or maybe that’s just me) that I couldn’t resist even though it’s not out till September. I will admit that I wasn’t sure about it at the start, and I think there may be some issues with the translation, but by the end it had sucked me in completely and left me a big blubbering mess. Batman: Nightwalker (DC Icons, #2)

Given the emotional trauma of this book (combined with not being able to get my kindle working) I went for more of a popcorn type read with Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu which I’d gotten from the library ages ago. This was my first book by Lu and while it didn’t exactly wow me, it was an okay-ish read that passed some time and didn’t require much thinking (or any emotional trauma). Probably a good palate cleanser but I have to admit it didn’t make me want to rush out and read more of Lu’s books.

Reading Next

I posted my Summer TBR at the weekend so I’m going to try and stick to it for the moment. I think Grey Sister is probably going to take me a bit of time to finish but if I do I think next up will be The End We Start From by Megan Hunter followed by The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden, both of which I got from the library. Or I may end up going for The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

The End We Start From The Girl in The Tower (Winternight Trilogy, #2) The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: If Cats Disappeared from the World

July 3, 2018June 30, 2018 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

This week my teaser comes from If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura which I received from NetGalley and read at the end of last week. This is a quirky little story that left me a blubbering emotional wreck and incredibly confused about but happy to have read. It’s not out till September (in the UK at any rate) but has been out for a while in Japan, France and I think Germany so I’m assuming it’s safe to post a teaser.

My Teaser

“In order to gain something you have to lose something.”

Mom said it was just obvious. People are always trying to get something for nothing. But that’s just theft. If you’ve gained something it means that someone, somewhere, has lost something. Even happiness is built on someone else’s misfortune.

~ 18% If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

Blurb

Our narrator’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage for company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can set about tackling his bucket list, the Devil appears with a special offer: in exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, he can have one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week . . .

Because how do you decide what makes life worth living? How do you separate out what you can do without from what you hold dear? In dealing with the Devil our narrator will take himself – and his beloved cat – to the brink. Genki Kawamura’s If Cats Disappeared from the World is a story of loss and reconciliation, of one man’s journey to discover what really matters in modern life.

This beautiful tale is translated from the Japanese by Eric Selland, who also translated The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide. Fans of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles will also surely love If Cats Disappeared from the World.

WWW Wednesday: 27th June 2018

June 27, 2018June 26, 2018 Ali@abookishlife21 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I spied If Cats Disappeared from the World on NetGalley on Monday and it had such a weird title and cute cover I couldn’t resist requesting and starting immediately. I’ve been trying to read a lot more widely so it’s great to find a book by a Japanese author and it has such an unusual premise being about a man who makes a deal with the devil. I think there are a few little issues around the translation but so far I’m enjoying it and it seems like it’s going to be a quick read. I am however a bit worried about the cat 🙂

Recently Finished

The first book finished this week was Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. This was one of those books I’d bought ages ago but never got around to reading. I did however receive the follow up from NetGalley so that gave me the little push to finally pick it up. I will admit I found it a little difficult to get into in the beginning (something that’s pretty common with me and fantasy) but it really builds to an exciting conclusion.

After a certain someone commented last week that all of my reads seemed a bit dark and lacking in romance I decided I should really rectify that and went a hunting on Overdrive where I found adult romance Alpha by Jasinda Wilder. It was a little heavy on the sex scenes but a quick read and perfect for clearing the reading palate. Not sure I enjoyed enough to finish the series but maybe. That's Not What Happened

Third and final book finished this week was an ARC of That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger. It’s set three years after a school shooting and reveals the real stories from the survivors and how the truth isn’t necessarily what others want to hear. It’s a difficult topic and isn’t the easiest of reads at times as while it’s three years later they’re still struggling but it’s very relevant right now and demonstrates so well just how emotive the issues can be and how the human side of it is often forgotten about while everyone keeps trying to get their message across.

Reading Next

I’m planning to start Grey Sister the sequel to Red Sister this weekend as I’m doing it as a buddy read from the 1st July. It was nice to have a bit of a break from the series but I am looking forward to getting back into it. A couple of library book holds also came in, The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden and Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella, so I should really be picking them up soon too.

Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #2) Surprise Me The Girl in The Tower (Winternight Trilogy, #2)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: 26th June 2018

June 26, 2018June 25, 2018 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

This week my teaser comes from Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. I finished this over the weekend and while I wouldn’t say it was a fast read I very much enjoyed it. I did get a little confused with some of the world building and all of the names but there is lots of action and the writing is wonderful. I had a lot of quotes to choose from but couldn’t resist the bookish one 🙂

My Teaser

‘But be warned, young Nona: a book is as dangerous as any journey you might take. The person who closes the back cover may not be the same one that opened the front one. Treat books with respect.’

~ 70% Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Blurb

“I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin”

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.

But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

WWW Wednesday: 20th June 2018

June 20, 2018June 19, 2018 Ali@abookishlife32 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I started Red Sister by Mark Lawrence on Monday morning and while I struggled a little in the beginning I’m now around a third of the way through and really enjoying it. It’s a lot different from what I was expecting but the writing is great and I’m loving main character Nona.

No real progress on my audiobook Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It’s not that I haven’t been liking it but I’ve not been doing a lot of driving and when I have I’ve been in more of a music mood. I may end up just switching to the book.

Recently Finished

The first book finished this week was Inferno by Julie Kagawa, the fifth and final book in the Talon series. I’d been looking forward to this for a while and it did not disappoint. Action packed from pretty much the very start, epic battles, more than a few deaths and a little bit of romance it was certainly a fitting conclusion to what has been a really great series.

After Inferno my library hold on King’s Rising by C.S. Pacat came in so, as yet another final book in a series that I’ve been keen to read as soon as possible, I couldn’t resist reading immediately and finished within a few hours. I didn’t love quite as much as the previous book in the trilogy, I think due to it being bigger in scale, but again it was a fitting conclusion and had some really gripping moments.

The third and final book read this week was An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena which I’d received from NetGalley. This isn’t out for a month or so but sounded like just the type of book I was in the mood for and it turned out to be the perfect choice. It’s about a group of strangers trapped in a hotel by a snow storm. First the roads are blocked, then the power and phone lines go down and then someone discovers a body suggesting there may be a killer among them. It reminded me a lot of And Then There Were None. Lots of twists and surprises and some genuinely creepy moments. I pretty much read the whole thing in one sitting.

Reading Next

I’m not entirely sure what’ll be up next but I think there’s a fair chance I’ll continue the Book of the Ancestor series with Grey Sister, assuming I enjoy Red Sister as much as I hope. An Unwanted Guest has also got me thinking I want to read more thrillers and murder mysteries so I may also pick up You Were Made For This or Your Closest Friend, both of which are ARCs.

Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #2) You Were Made for This Your Closest Friend