I'm Back!

So, it’s been an interesting (and very busy) time for me. Over Christmas and January I was doing an internship at Angry Robot, and since then I’ve been catching up with stuff and exploring some new opportunities. It’s been fun!

And of course, I’ve been reading some great books too! In addition to being piled with Angry Robot, Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A books (SO many amazing looking books!), I’ve finally started reading a series that I’ve been dying to try: Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourist series. I’ve also been reading some great book club picks, including The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. And I’m currently LOVING The Copper Promise by Jennifer Williams. For Valentine’s Day I finally got to see Disney’s Frozen (adored it!), and I’m super excited that we’ve just got Netflix! I won’t tell you how far into The Vampire Diaries I am already, because that would just be embarrassing...

And so now, after a bit of a hiatus, I’m going to be kick-starting the blog again, getting back to posts and reviews. :-)

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the things coming up:

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The Copper Promise by Jennifer Williams

Assembly Code by Colin F Barnes

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville

Frozen

2013 Wrap Up

Wow, 2013 has been an intense year for me, and a great year in terms of both reading and writing! So, here is my 2013 in review...

Books Read

I read 72 books in 2013 and reviewed 51. I thought it might be fun to look at some stats, so here are some interesting break downs of what I read in 2013:

38 books by female authors (including anthology editors)

34 books by male authors (including anthology editors)

1 unknown (K.J. Parker)

32 British authors and anthology editors

22 US authors and anthology editors

5 non-British or US authors and anthology editors (wow, I need to try to read more next year!)

29 review copies

6 audiobooks

12 book club reads

62 SFF or with SFF elements

5 contemporary

5 historical (non fantasy)

2 crime/mystery

25 YA or children’s

My Favourite Books of 2013

Yesterday I listed my favourite books of 2013. You can find the post here, and since then I've finished another book that I would have included on the list: Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce.

Challenges

Goodreads Challenge - I managed to complete this with half a day to go! I set my challenge as 70 books, and I actually read 72 books this year, but two of them were not listed on the site.

British Books Challenge - I completed this with 18 books read and reviewed.

Paranormal Challenge - I completed this with 26 books read and reviewed.

Witches and Witchcraft Challenge - I completed this with 8 read and 3 reviewed. I'd have liked to read and review more for this one, and was surprised how few books about witches I actually had. Plenty with magic, but not many with witches.

Richard and Judy Challenge - I completed this with 5 read and 3 reviewed. This was a fun challenge, forcing me out of my reading comfort zone, and it was great to try new things that I otherwise might not have picked up.

Genre Variety Challenge - I completed this with 16 read and reviewed. My genres ranged from fantasy and science fiction to contemporary, crime and even a zombie western!

TBR Challenge - I completed this with 11 read and 9 reviewed. I definitely want to get more of my TBR pile finished in 2014!

Success in all challenges! :-D

My Writing – Short Stories

I finally felt ready to start sending out short stories, and have had some successes! Next year I’ll have stories appearing in three anthologies – The Sword and Laser Anthology, Women Writing the Weird 2, and Missing Monarchs. I’m so pleased with this, and can’t wait to get writing and sending off some more!

My Writing – Novel

I’ve planned, plotted and begun writing a novel. It’s still in early stages yet, but I’m feeling pleased with the progress and hopeful about finishing it next year!

Internship

I’ve started an internship at Angry Robot, a science fiction and fantasy publisher in Nottingham. I’ve been learning and experiencing so much so far, and I’m really enjoying it. :-)

Conventions

I attended three conventions this year – Edge Lit in Derby, Eastercon in Bradford, and World Fantasy Con in Brighton – as well as one book fair in Leicester. I enjoyed all of them, but I think Edge Lit was my personal favourite.

Readathons

I took part in 5 readathons this year – three Bout of Books, the Wicked Valentine Readathon and the WWReadathon. I love readathons, but haven’t had as much time to join in with them this year. I’m hoping I can be involved in more in 2014!

So that was my 2013. Did you have a good year? :-)

My Favourite Books of 2013

2013’s coming to an end, so it’s time for the inevitable favourites of the year post! I’m not limiting this to books that were released this year, as this is a personal faves list. So this includes everything that I’ve read in 2013, no matter how old. Here were my favourites:

Favourite Books Read This Year

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

A beautifully written story about a magical duel played out in a Victorian circus. A gorgeous book.

The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker

This is a clever story with a lot of layers. Low fantasy with no magic, revolving around banking and politics in a Romanesque setting.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Science fiction with an intriguing society and a very unique feeling created through its approach to gender, and through the main character’s position as an ancillary unit of a larger shipmind who is now severed from the ship.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

A time travelling serial killer loose in Chicago. I love time travel stories, and this one is excellently written, the time travel logic works well, and the characters are brilliant.

The Other Half of the Sky edited by Athena Andreadis

An anthology of science fiction stories about women, but also exploring non-western cultures and characters, and exploring tropes and ideas from new perspectives. Intelligent, fantastic stories.

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

A story of revenge with a lot of depth. Gritty fantasy in which a mercenary seeks revenge on the seven men who tried to kill her and murdered her brother. A great main character and some wonderful side characters.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

The story of a girl who visits fairyland. One of the best examples of the girl-taken-by-fairies stories that I’ve read. Wonderful writing and brilliant characters.

Any Other Name and All Is Fair by Emma Newman

I read Between Two Thorns in 2012, and followed with the last two books in the Split Worlds series this year. A fantasy series set in modern day Britain with sorcerers, magic, evil fae, feuds and investigations, and people just trying to drink their tea in peace.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Told from a zombie’s point of view, this is a love story with a difference. The wonderful writing and black humour took me by surprise. A great book!

Holes by Louis Sachar

The story of a young boy who is wrongfully accused of stealing and sent to a juvenile correction camp, but this is so much more than that. With strong themes dealing with race, fate and family, and the way in which echoes of past actions can be felt in the future, this story amazed me with its complex weaving together of seemingly separate storylines.

Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

Airship pirates in a fantasy setting! This is a fun, exciting adventure story with some memorable characters.

Pantomime by Laura Lam

It’s hard to talk about this one without giving away what others might perceive as a spoiler, so I will just say that the main character in this one is wonderful, the world is rich and interesting, and I’m hooked on this series now!

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

I enjoyed The Immortal Rules, and its sequel is even better! The story of a vampire girl in an apocalyptic world – it’s part vampire novel, part zombie novel, with echoes of Fallout, great characters and a can’t-put-it-down story.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

I have to admit that I didn’t expect to like this one so much. Werewolves in modern America, a story about rivalry, feuds, murder, and romance. A very quick and exciting read, with characters I really cared about.

Geek Girl and Model Misfit by Holly Smale

These stories charmed me so much. A geeky girl called Harriet is suddenly thrown into the fashion world when she is spotted at the Clothes Show on a school trip. I adore Harriet and she is probably my favourite narrator ever. The author writes her voice so perfectly, and her observations about the world are brilliant. Incredibly funny, warm and intelligent books.

Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville

I finished this one in December and haven’t even had a chance to review it yet, but I had to add it to the list. An extremely dark and disturbing story in which fairytales are expertly woven with real events in 19th century Vienna and at a Nazi concentration camp in the final stages of the war. Impressive writing and a story that will stay with me for a very long time.

Booking By Numbers

 
Want to have a nosy at my bookshelves? :-)

Jess from Jess Hearts Books recently posted a fun Q&A and invited other bloggers to take part as well. I noticed a great response from Kat on The Aussie Zombie, and thought it would be fun to have a go too!

Here are Jess' instructions:

Put the number of books on your bookshelf (or if like me you have hundreds of books break it down to 50, 70, 100 - however many books you’d like to play with) into a random number generator this could be via Random Org or simply by pulling numbers out of a hat. For each question draw a number and apply that question to the selected book from your shelf (or wherever you like to store your books.) For example if you pulled the number 11 you’d count across your shelf to the 11th book. It’s as simple as that!

Okay, on to the questions:

My books (and nick-nacks). I decided to limit it to 500 for this survey.

Q1) Have you read this book? If so, what did you think of it?

Book No. 156 - A Storm of Swords (Part 2: Blood and Gold), by George R. R. Martin

I have read this! I loved it. This is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series; the book is split into two parts, and this is the second half. A lot of very unexpected and shocking things happen in this one (including the Red Wedding, I think, if I've got my books right), and the scale of the whole thing just seems to get bigger and bigger. I also think this is the high point of the series before it started to drag just a little, for me. Though, having said that, I am still really enjoying later books too.

Q2) Why did you buy this book? Were you recommended it? Was it a random purchase?

Book No. 10 - Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery

I didn't actually buy this one. My parents bought it for me ages ago, when I was a child. I loved it so much, and I read it every year for a long time.

Q3) Based on what you know about this book, which other book blogger would you recommend it to?

Book No. 136 - Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

Hmmm, tricky one. It's science fiction with horror elements, a bit weird, with a really different and interesting way of telling its story. I'd recommend it to people who already enjoy science fiction and like the idea of mixing up a few different genre feels in one story - a bit cyberpunky here, a bit space opera-y there, a bit military SF style there, etc. One thing to bear in mind, it tends to be sold as if it's a stand-alone, but it isn't really! I was really cross with the ending until I realised there was actually another book. It's definitely not complete without the second book (The Fall of Hyperion), so make sure you look out for that if you do want to read this.

Q4) Who’s this book's bookshelf neighbour?

Book No. 125 - Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Dracula's neighbours are The Night Watch, by Surgei Lukyanenko, and The Time Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. I imagine The Night Watch is either unfazed by Dracula's presence, or desperately trying to get his autograph. The Time Traveller's Wife is probably giving him the side eye and hanging up the garlic, though I'm sure if it came to it, Clare wouldn't go down without a fight.

Q5) How many books have you read by this book’s author?

Book No. 262 - Imperium, by Robert Harris

I've read three books by Robert Harris: Imperium, its sequel Lustrum, and a stand-alone novel, Pompeii. These are all his books set in an ancient Roman setting - I LOVE ancient Greeks and Romans! I really enjoyed Imperium and Lustrum, and I think he's done a good job of catching the feel of the time and bringing history to life. Pompeii was fun, but not as good. It's more of an escape-from-the-disaster plot, whereas the other two are much deeper, with more memorable characters.

Q6) Do you have any special memories attached to this book? 

Book No. 479 - The Odyssey, by Homer

Yes, this was my first introduction to the literature of Ancient Greece, and I went on to do Classical Studies at university. I still love this story so much!

Yep, two copies of the Odyssey (different translations)

Q7) Is this book part of a series? If it is, are you up to date with the series?

Book No. 319 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J. K. Rowling

This is really weird because Jess' seventh book happened to be a J. K. Rowling too, but under the name of Robert Galbraith! Yep, this is the final book in the Harry Potter series and I'm definitely up to date. I was up to date within a few days of each book coming out! :-)

Q8) Is this book something you’d typically read or is it out of your comfort zone? 

Book No. 85 - Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas

I haven't read this one yet, but I'm really looking forward to it! I think this is pretty squarely in my comfort zone - high fantasy, secondary world, female protagonist, magic?, assassins... yep, definitely my kind of thing!

Q9) Have you reviewed this book? If yes, then share a link to it.

Book No. 334 - The Case of the Good Looking Corpse, by Caroline Lawrence

I have! Here's the review.

The hardback wouldn't fit on the shelf with my other Caroline Lawrence paperbacks.
Need to do some re-ordering of shelves I think!

Q10) Where did you buy this book from?

Book No. 173 - Robots and Empire, by Isaac Asimov

I bought this from a charity shop. They were selling the whole collection of Asimov's robot and foundation books. :-)

Q11) Roughly how long have you owned this book for?

Book No. 381 - Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones

Ooh, I can't remember. It must be quite a long time! Let's say... 6 years?

Q12) Share the first sentence of this book.

Book No. 224 - Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett

"The Morris dance is common to all inhabited worlds in the multiverse."

Q13) What’s your opinion on this book’s cover? 

Book No. 463 - The Golem's Eye, by Jonathan Stroud

I really like this. It's a bit creepy, but also colourful and suggests a children's book. It hints at things in the book, and the fact that the atmosphere will be a bit darker in this one than the first one. I also like how simple this is - it's not an overcrowded image, but it is effective.

Q14) In a few sentences, describe this book in your own words.

Book No. 408 - The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

A boy called Nobody is raised by the dead. But the man who killed his family is still very much alive, and still out there...

Just noticed that The Graveyard Book is surrounded by poison!

---

Thanks Jess for the great idea! You can check out her answers here, and Kat's answers here.

Bout of Books Updates and Challenges

Here's where I'll be gathering my updates and challenge responses for Bout of Books 8.0. For a quick reminder, here are my goals:

- Finish at least 2 books.
- Take part in at least 2 mini-challenges.
- Write at least 1 review.
- Take part in one of the Twitter chats.
- Visit lots of blogs! :-)

Mini-challenge responses are below the updates.

The read-a-thon is now over, and here's what I managed to read:

And I started these:

Day 1- Monday

Sunday night was a bad night for sleeping, so I got a lot read after midnight before falling asleep. Headstart! Thanks to this, I managed to finish one book already. I doubt the rest of the read-a-thon will go that quickly...

Due to working late, I came to the Twitter Chat halfway through, but I'm still counting it towards my goals ;-) The chat was as fun and confusing as they always are! It was nice to meet some new people too.

Read-a-thon snacks: Marks and Spencers scones and strawberry jam with tea. They were very yummy but I have doughnut envy after a Twitter discussion about Krispy Kremes.

Books Read:
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline - Finished!
The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman - just started

Day 2 - Tuesday

Another good day for reading. Didn't get quite as much read as Monday, but still great progress for me! :-) This book is very different from the last one, and much slower paced than the books I've been reading recently. It's nice to read something a bit different, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

I'm also trying to get in some DVD watching as well as the reading, as I've got series 4 of True Blood out from the library and only have a week to watch it. Got through some today, and I'm not sure so far, but I do love how they've done the faeries. Looking forward to seeing where it goes with them...

Still haven't had a chance to do any of the mini-challenges yet, so I need to get on that on Wednesday!

Read-a-thon snacks: cheese and mushroom pizza, and Mr.Kipling lemon slices! Mmmmmm. :-)

Books Read:
The Light Between Oceans - up to page 178

Day 3 - Wednesday

I'm determined to do both mini-challenges today! Unfortunately, the internet is against me - it keeps coming and going. I've already lost this whole post once, so I'm going to have to try to post it in little bits in the few moments when everything's working!

Not such a great day for reading, but did get a lot of True Blood episodes watched, so I've a chance of making my library deadline for that! ^^

Still enjoying The Light Between Oceans, and it looks like something big is about to happen... I'm genuinely nervous and upset for ALL the characters involved, even the ones who've done some pretty bad things. Great writing! 

Read-a-thon snacks: Cinnamon bun and tea! :-)

Books Read:
The Light Between Oceans - up to page 222.

Mini-Challenges completed: 2 (scroll down to below the daily updates to see them)

Day 4 - Thursday

Wow, two really fun and original mini-challenges today! Looking forward to taking part in those. Also, didn't get the chance to visit many blogs yesterday, so I will have to do better today. :-)

Was having a tired day today, but still managed to get a nice bit of reading done. Approaching the end of this book now and I can't wait to see how it ends. Everything is a bit of a mess for all the poor characters right now!

Only managed one episode of True Blood today, which means I've got about 5 to watch before it has to go back to the library on Saturday. This is the first box set I've borrowed from the library, and getting a whole series watched in a week is harder than I thought it would be...

Read-a-thon snacks: Coffee and a muffin. :-)

Books Read:
The Light Between Oceans, up to page 267.

Mini-Challenges completed: 2 (scroll down to see them)

Day 5 - Friday

Finished The Light Between Oceans, which was very good! I've now read enough to meet my goals, but I'm still hoping to get a good way into a third book by the end of the read-a-thon. Now, I just need to write a review and I'll have completed all my goals!

Also finished True Blood! Hooray, I'll definitely be able to get it back on time tomorrow. I have to admit, I didn't really like the witch storyline that much, and I'm a bit bemused what happened to the faeries. Still a good, fun series to watch. :-) I'll have to see what else the library has...

Oh, and another really fun idea for a mini-challenge! There have been some great ones this read-a-thon. My response is below.

Read-a-thon snacks: Mini-cheddars. :-)

Books Read:
The Light Between Oceans - Finished!

Mini-Challenges completed: 1 (scroll down to see it)

Day 6 - Saturday

Started a new book today. Decided to go with the Diana Wynne Jones one, as those are always quick reads for me. Didn't manage to read much in the evening though, as upstairs were having a VERY loud party.

Managed to get my library books and box set back on time, and even managed to resist filling up my loans list again with more books! Go me! :-)

Not sure how much reading I'll get done tomorrow as it really needs to be a cleaning day (people coming round on Monday), but today was definitely a success, and the read-a-thon is going well. Now, to that review that needs writing...

Read-a-thon snacks: BBQ crisps

Books Read:
The Homeward Bounders, by Diana Wynne Jones - up to page 102

Day 7 - Sunday

Last day! :-( Okay, so I never actually got a review written, but that's what Monday's for, right?

I finished The Homeward Bounders, which was great, and started The Lives of Tao. I also listened to a fair bit of Retribution Falls while cleaning. :-)

It's been a great week, and I've had a lot of fun with the read-a-thon. There have been some fantastic mini-challenges, and the twitter chat was as fun and confusing as ever! And I'm pretty pleased with the goals I did manage to meet. Hope everyone else did well and had fun too!

Read-a-thon snacks: Cheese scone :-D

Books Read:
The Homeward Bounders - Finished!
The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu - up to page 34
Retribution Falls, by Chris Wooding - about an hour

Mini Challenges

Friday Mini-Challenge - Hosted by The Space Between

For this challenge, we were given a set of words to look for from books or in book titles. Then, after we've chosen them, we put them into a pre-made story, replacing each letter with our corresponding word.

A) A place in a book title - ZOO, from Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
B) A villain from a book - KING JOFFREY, from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin
C) An adjective from a book title - AMERICAN, from American Gods by Neil Gaiman
D) A number from a book title - 23, from Best New SF 23
E) A noun from a book title - CAT, from White Cat by Holly Black
F) A favourite character from a book - THE WIZARD HOWL, from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
G) A dessert from a book title - CHOCOLATE, from Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Okay, at this stage I have no idea where this is going... Now it's time to take a look at the story.

Help! I'm being held captive at the zoo by King Joffrey!
It is very American here!
He is demanding 23 cats to set me free!
I have just discovered that the Wizard Howl was captured too!
On second thought, please send chocolate, and don't worry if you don't hear from us for awhile!

Much Love

Victoria

Thursday: Mini-Challenge 1 - Hosted by In Wonderland

Road Trip Challenge - match places you want to go with books that are set there.

Okay, my dream holiday is visiting places around Italy and Greece - particularly ancient sites, but also modern cities, romantic getaways, and more.

1) ROME - I've read quite a few books set in Rome, but would recommend Imperium, by Robert Harris, which is a great telling of Cicero's life. One I would really like to read is I, Claudius by Robert Graves, because it is so well-loved, and I think it actually might be a crime to have studied ancient Rome but never read that book! And, for a fun and more modern book, Goodreads lists tell me that Heist Society, by Ally Carter, is partly set in Rome, and is a series I've been wanting to try for a while.

2) BAY OF NAPLES - There's some wonderful things to see around the Bay of Naples, including beautiful islands and coastline, Pompeii, Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Naples, Sorrento, and more. I desperately want to visit this area! A wonderful series that sometimes takes place in the Bay of Naples is the Roman Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence. In fact, she's even written a travel guide to help you find places that are mentioned in the books - From Ostia to Alexandria with Flavia Gemina.

3) VENICE - Beautiful and romantic, and full of history, this is a place I would love to visit. I haven't read many books set here, but one is The Vampire Armand, by Anne Rice. One I would like to read that's set here is The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke. Goodreads also tells me that Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke, is set partly in Venice, and I've heard a lot of amazing things about that book.

4) GREECE - I'd like to travel around Greece a bit, visiting the little islands as well as places on the mainland. A book that travels around Greece is The Odyssey, an ancient Greek epic by Homer, though no-one is really sure of exactly where Odysseus is during many of his adventures. A wonderful book set on Cephalonia (one of the islands near Odysseus' home) is Corelli's Mandolin, by Louis de Bernieres. A book I would like to read, set in Athens and other places in Greece, is The Last of the Wine, by Mary Renault.

5) CRETE - There are a lot more places I want to list, but I'm only allowed five, so my final one is Crete. This is a fascinating island that was home to one of the most interesting cultures - the Minoans. For a fantastic book set there, read The King Must Die, by Mary Renault, which re-tells the story of the Greek hero Theseus.

And that's the end of my road trip. Thanks for the fun challenge!


Thursday: Mini-Challenge 2 - Hosted by Paperback Dreamer

I-Spy challenge - we have to find a list of things on the covers of our books. This is A LOT harder than it sounds...

Snowflakes - Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett.

Flames - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

A City Skyline - The City's Son, by Tom Pollock

The Moon - Life As We Knew It, by Susan Pfeffer

A Sword - Babylon Steel, by Gaie Sebold

A Wedding Dress - The Man From Pomegranate Street, by Caroline Lawrence (that's a Roman wedding dress and veil - they wore flame coloured veils and shoes when they got married)

High Heels - Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett (Nanny Ogg's shoes)

Fog - The Whitby Witches, by Robin Jarvis (there's fog all over the front and back covers, but it's easier to see on the back cover)

 
A Christmas Tree - Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories, by Washington Irving (I have NO Christmas trees anywhere, not even on my copy of A Christmas Carol! So here's a picture of a fir tree. Imagine a star on top and some baubles on it. There you go.)

Sunglasses - Cinema Year by Year (yeah, this is the best I could do. I can't believe I don't have a single fiction book with sunglasses on! Sorry about the fuzzy image.)

Lightning - Pellucidar, by Edgar Rice Burroughs (it's actually really hard to find covers with proper lightning on them, rather than electricity forking around an object, which isn't really the same thing. In the end, I found some proper lightning on one of the old sci-fi books my dad gave me)

A Tattoo - The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester

 
Combat Boots - The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu

 
Hand-Cuffs - Rule 34, by Charles Stross (I wanted to do a list of physical books only, but this one defeated me. I had to go to ebooks for this one.)

A Road - The Mad Scientist's Daughter, by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Ta da! Found everything, sort of, with only a little bit of cheating! :-D


Wednesday: Mini-Challenge 1 - Hosted by Musings of a Bookshop Girl

Question 1: Which 5 books are at the top of your TBR pile at the moment?

The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu - This is the Fantasy Faction sci-fi book club read for August, but my library only just got it in. I need to catch up quick!
The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch - There's a readalong going on for this book at the moment, and it's one I've been wanting to read for ages.
The Homeward Bounders, by Diana Wynne Jones - This one's been sitting on my shelf for a while, since I found it in a charity shop. I love DWJ, and this one looks really intriguing.
The Fade, by Chris Wooding - Library book. Looks great, and have heard a lot about it too.
Renhala, by Amy Joy Lutchen - A review book, looks really good.

Question 2: If I gave you a wad of cash to go to a bookshop right now, which 5 books would you add to the stack?

Some Kind of Fairy Tale, by Graham Joyce - I've heard a lot of good things about this book!
The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories, by Ursula le Guin - I love Ursula le Guin, but I haven't read many of her short stories.
The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan - I adore this series and really need to catch up!
The Machine, by James Smythe - Another one I've heard amazing things about.
Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson - This looks so good!

Wednesday: Mini-Challenge 2 - Hosted by Such A Novel Idea

It's book spine poem time!

Prophecy, the way of shadows.

Voices, moving pictures,

the truth perfectly reflected across the face of the world