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Hayley's Reading in 2018


Hayley

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I haven't, no. I haven't read very many science fiction books in general to be honest, but I'm hoping to try more. I think the first few science fiction books I read gave me the impression that the genre was generally about presenting humans as the worst thing to happen to the universe and that everything they touch is destined to fail spectacularly. Vance writes more about exploration, imagining strange new planets and races, and I really like that. Humans (and their descendants) manage not to be completely inept or evil as well, which is nice! 

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I went into my local Marie Curie shop while I was waiting for someone, just to pass the time, and came out with four books. I now have The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly and the first volume (there should have been two but the second wasn't there) of Charles Dickens' Christmas Stories. The first three are books I've been looking at for a while, so I'm happy I found them, and the collection of Christmas stories has some that I don't have in my own edition of the Christmas stories (I have a feeling that they might not be entirely Christmas related but are stories that were included in the Christmas editions of Household Words and All the Year Round). I really like the cover of The Book of Lost Things too.

Books.jpg

 

I'm about half way through Terry Pratchett's Mort at the moment and I still have a review of Equal Rites to post, I will do that soon!

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Great new books, I hope you enjoy them :)! I too like the cover of The Book of Lost Things, I hope the story itself is good :). Charles Dickens is not for me, but I have read a couple of his Christmas short stories :). A Christmas Carol was my favourite, but then that is what I expected :P.

 

I hope you're liking Mort.

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Equal Rites.jpg

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

5/5 - I loved it 

 

The first of the 'Witches' Discworld books, this one is just as hilarious as the first two Discworld books but also slightly more serious. The first two do feature pretty hilarious social commentary, but I think this is the first Discworld book that has that sensitive, emotional, core that appears in a lot of the later books. When a baby girl (Esk) is mistaken for a boy and accidentally inherits wizard magic it kickstarts a series of events that are often pretty funny. At this point it's necessary to note that, usually in Discworld, women with magical abilities have witch magic (very nature based, practical and often psychological), while men have wizard magic (far more destructive, more science and book based). Wizards are taught to use their magic at the Unseen University... and women have never been allowed in. This basically sets the scene for a bit of a battle of the sexes. The witches think their magic is best, the wizard's disagree and Esk is stuck in the middle. I don't want to say much more about the plot in case of spoilers, but the way Esk grows up with her conflicting abilities in a world that has very set expectations of her is very sensitively done and she becomes a great character. Ultimately, Pratchett makes the point that the world doesn't need one type of magic or the other, it needs both, and it would really help if they worked together. It's a simple yet important point in a book that's also funny, crazy and full of great characters and relationships.

It's also the first time we get to meet Granny Weatherwax, which is noteworthy in itself :lol:

 

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On 12/19/2018 at 10:34 PM, Hayley said:

 

 

Equal Rites.jpg

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

5/5 - I loved it 

 

The first of the 'Witches' Discworld books, this one is just as hilarious as the first two Discworld books but also slightly more serious. The first two do feature pretty hilarious social commentary, but I think this is the first Discworld book that has that sensitive, emotional, core that appears in a lot of the later books. When a baby girl (Esk) is mistaken for a boy and accidentally inherits wizard magic it kickstarts a series of events that are often pretty funny. At this point it's necessary to note that, usually in Discworld, women with magical abilities have witch magic (very nature based, practical and often psychological), while men have wizard magic (far more destructive, more science and book based). Wizards are taught to use their magic at the Unseen University... and women have never been allowed in. This basically sets the scene for a bit of a battle of the sexes. The witches think their magic is best, the wizard's disagree and Esk is stuck in the middle. I don't want to say much more about the plot in case of spoilers, but the way Esk grows up with her conflicting abilities in a world that has very set expectations of her is very sensitively done and she becomes a great character. Ultimately, Pratchett makes the point that the world doesn't need one type of magic or the other, it needs both, and it would really help if they worked together. It's a simple yet important point in a book that's also funny, crazy and full of great characters and relationships.

It's also the first time we get to meet Granny Weatherwax, which is noteworthy in itself :lol:

 

 

Great to hear you enjoyed Equal Rites. I always turn to the Discworld Series when I don't really want to read anything but am feeling a bit bored. His writing always cheers me up.

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On ‎21‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 5:06 PM, Angury said:

 

Great to hear you enjoyed Equal Rites. I always turn to the Discworld Series when I don't really want to read anything but am feeling a bit bored. His writing always cheers me up.

Me too! I always think when you try to explain the plot of a Discworld book to someone it just sounds completely crazy, but Pratchett is so witty it all just works!

 

I had three really lovely books for Christmas this year, Melmoth by Sarah Perry, The Corset by Laura Purcell and a signed copy of Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch!

 

Books Christmas.jpgBook Boxes.jpgSigned Book.jpg

 

 

Technically not books, but my boyfriend got me three boxes that look like giant books, which I love! They all have Dickens quotes on the front and the book the quote is from on the spine. I haven't decided what to keep in them yet but they fit perfectly under my reading chair!

 

I also noticed that Jasper Fforde's new book, Early Riser, was half price in Waterstones, so I picked that up today :) 

 

I have so many brilliant books for 2019, I literally don't know where to start! 

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On 12/30/2018 at 6:29 PM, Hayley said:

Me too! I always think when you try to explain the plot of a Discworld book to someone it just sounds completely crazy, but Pratchett is so witty it all just works!

 

I had three really lovely books for Christmas this year, Melmoth by Sarah Perry, The Corset by Laura Purcell and a signed copy of Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch!

 

Books Christmas.jpgBook Boxes.jpgSigned Book.jpg

 

 

Technically not books, but my boyfriend got me three boxes that look like giant books, which I love! They all have Dickens quotes on the front and the book the quote is from on the spine. I haven't decided what to keep in them yet but they fit perfectly under my reading chair!

 

I also noticed that Jasper Fforde's new book, Early Riser, was half price in Waterstones, so I picked that up today :) 

 

I have so many brilliant books for 2019, I literally don't know where to start! 

The boxes look brilliant! 'Melmoth' is a book that I'm tempted to read. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

Happy New Year! Here's to some great reads in 2019!

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10 hours ago, Chrissy said:

 

What a great way to start the new year! I love it when I have an overload of 'come-read-me' books. 

Love the boxes! 

That's a great description, I will definitely now think of them as 'come-read-me' books :lol:

 

1 hour ago, karen.d said:

The boxes look brilliant! 'Melmoth' is a book that I'm tempted to read. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

Happy New Year! Here's to some great reads in 2019!

Thank you! I love books that start with the discovery of a strange manuscript or letter and I love things with a fairy tale/ folklore element, so I'm really hoping I love 'Melmoth!' Happy New Year to you too! :) 

 

1 hour ago, Athena said:

What great presents! I hope you enjoy all of your new books :). The boxes look so good too :)!

Thank you! I'm actually tempted to put books in the boxes, because I have a stack that don't fit on my shelves at the moment. Then I would have a book full of books!

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I need to do two very quick reviews before ending this thread and starting my new 2019 one!

 

Mort.jpg

Mort by Terry Pratchett-

4/5 - I really liked it

 

This is the book where Death really emerges as a character, and what a brilliant character! I don't think any other author has made Death as funny and relatable as Terry Pratchett did. In this book he takes on an apprentice, Mort. When Death decides to have a bit of a break and leave Mort to his new job, things quickly become complicated. It's another very funny, wildly fantastical Discworld novel with a great cast of characters (including Binky, which is a great name for Death's white horse). It isn't my favourite Discworld book. I think there are others with even better characters, deeper world-building and more emotion, but it's a great book all the same. 

 

Ghosts-of-Christmas-Past.jpg

Ghosts of Christmas Past ed. Tim Martin

3/5 - I liked it

 

This book succeeds in giving the impression of ghost stories told around a winter fire. However, it didn't feel like a particularly special collection, which is why I only gave it three stars. Some of the stories stood out much more than others, some I didn't feel like I really understood (like 'The Step', which seemed quite long in comparison to the others but had an ending that seemed so random I actually went back to the beginning to make sure I hadn't missed anything.) I wouldn't say that any of the stories were actually very scary, considering the blurb promises a mixture of 'terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre.' Some of them are actually quite funny, albeit in a dark humour sort of way (like 'The Ghost of the Blue Chamber' and Neil Gaiman's 'Nicholas Was' - although I'd read the latter before in Gaiman's 'Trigger Warning'.) It was interesting and a good December read, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

 

And that finishes my 2018 reading, with a total of 35 books read. Time to see if I can beat that in 2019!

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