It’s once again time for my favorite feature: Tackling the TBR! There’s nothing I love more than picking out which books to read next, and this slightly organized method of reading has really amped my enjoyment to the next level. Bring on the mantras!
Read the best books first. & Life is too short to read books you’re not enjoying.
However you put together your TBR for the next month, the goal is to reduce the amount of obligation in reading and increase the fun.
Here’s a look at how the system works:
1. Identify the titles that take top priority in your TBR. 2. Combine them all in your own Tackling the TBR post. 3. Throughout the month pick from that pile as the mood strikes you.
Here’s what mine looks like:
September 2021 TBR Tackler Shelf:
Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley
Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
Memories of Ice by Stephen Erikson
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
So many amazing titles this month! I doubt I’ll have a chance to get through them all with how busy things have been, but if I manage even half of them I’ll be happy. My most anticipated release of the year in Ryan’s Pariah will claim the highest priority. Most of these are darker fantasy novels so I added a lighthearted middle grade novel by Elizabeth Haydon to give myself a break from all the bleakness.
Things are really rolling. I’ve been working on my new Booktube channel which I’ve been wanting to start for YEARS. I started slow with a few posts at the beginning of the year, but now I’m finding it a very satisfying creative outlet and am committed to keeping it going. I’ll have a more official post about it later in the week, but suffice to say it’s a cool new adventure for me.
Last month I finished all but one of my TTTBR lineup, which is amazing. Here’s hopping I carry on strong in August (getting this post up on time seems a great first start, lol).
The Overview:A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril, has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, as the secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule. It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it will ultimately lead him to the place he fears most, the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies, who once placed him in chains, now occupy lofty positions. In addition to the traitorous intrigues of villains, Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle, are faced with a sinister curse that hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion and all who stand in their circle. Only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics, can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge—an act that will mark the loyal, damaged servant as a tool of the miraculous, and trap him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death. -Goodreads
The Review:
When trying to make a decision on whether or not to read something, it can often be much more helpful to look at the low star ratings than the high ones. To that end I’m going to be including more DNF reviews in my lineup. I have a Q&A format here that I adapted from Nikki at http://www.therewerebooksinvolved.com (with permission), and I think it’s a great way to discuss the book constructively. Here goes:
Did you really give Curse of Chalion a chance?
I went in pretty open-minded and even liked the first chapter or so, but once I started becoming dissatisfied, it became a practice of actively looking for reasons to justify calling a DNF. This is perhaps not fair to the book, but had it been anything other than a pick for a book club I run, I’d have just set it down as soon as it became clear I wasn’t digging it. I think I made it about 35%.
Have you enjoyed other books in the same genre?
Yes! Slow-burn, politically-driven fantasy novels rank among my favorites:
A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
The Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Did you have certain expectations before starting it?
My expectations were hopeful but not too terribly high. I remembered the author’s Sharing Knife (I only read the first one) as a relationship-heavy book with very relaxed and flowy writing. I expected much the same here, but was hoping the romance wouldn’t be quite so prominent (it wasn’t, but it still absorbed too much of the narration for my tastes). I’d also heard so many great things about her scifi Vorkosigan series that I was hoping she was consistently good all around.
What ultimately made you stop reading?
Ultimately, it came down to the childlike, irrational decisions made by the characters. For a novel that was supposed to be ALL about the characters and the politics, the characters came across every surface-level and their actions basic. The politics were equally simple. She lost my faith in her ability to give me something of substance early on and I didn’t find anything to convince me otherwise as I kept reading. None of the happenings in how these characters behaved was realistic to me, and in comparison to dozens of other fantasy novels with similar elements, this one came across very juvenile.
Is there anything you liked about the Curse of Chalion?
The character profiles at the beginning were fun, but they never evolved past just being just profiles. The first chapter was great. The writing was fluid. That’s about it.
Would you read anything else by the author?
I’m still holding out for Vorkosigan, but my enthusiasm has waned considerably. I’m definitely now at peace with not continuing with any of her fantasy works.
So you DNFed the book. Would you still recommend it?
That strongly depends on how well I can gage what someone wants out of a fantasy novel. If it’s a relaxing, easy read, this one might fit the bill. My personal tastes crave books with a lot of depth and dynamics these days, but I remember back when an easy-flowing fantasy book was just what the doctor ordered. So yes, to the right audience. Particularly those who enjoy romance novels but want something a little more robust. This author is a great hybrid of the two genres.
It’s once again time for my favorite feature: Tackling the TBR! There’s nothing I love more than picking out which books to read next, and this slightly organized method of reading has really amped my enjoyment to the next level. Bring on the mantras!
Read the best books first. & Life is too short to read books you’re not enjoying.
However you put together your TBR for the next month, the goal is to reduce the amount of obligation in reading and increase the fun.
Here’s a look at how the system works:
1. Identify the titles that take top priority in your TBR. 2. Combine them all in your own Tackling the TBR post. 3. Throughout the month pick from that pile as the mood strikes you.
Here’s what mine looks like:
August 2021 TBR Tackler Shelf:
Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley
Wurms of Blearmouth by Steven Erikson
The Pariah by Anthony Ryan
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
The Thief Queen’s Daughter by Elizabeth Haydon
So many amazing titles this month! I doubt I’ll have a chance to get through them all with how busy things have been, but if I manage even half of them I’ll be happy. My most anticipated release of the year in Ryan’s Pariah will claim the highest priority. Most of these are darker fantasy novels so I added a lighthearted middle grade novel by Elizabeth Haydon to give myself a break from all the bleakness.
Things are really rolling. I’ve been working on my new Booktube channel which I’ve been wanting to start for YEARS. I started slow with a few posts at the beginning of the year, but now I’m finding it a very satisfying creative outlet and am committed to keeping it going. I’ll have a more official post about it later in the week, but suffice to say it’s a cool new adventure for me.
Last month I finished all but one of my TTTBR lineup, which is amazing. Here’s hopping I carry on strong in August (getting this post up on time seems a great first start, lol).
The Overview: Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue’s gallery of side-shows, back-stories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law. The Union army may be full of bastards, but there’s only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta. Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: no one seems to know what the item is. Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp. And after years of bloodshed, the idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There’s only one obstacle left — his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine. -Goodreads
The Review:
This was one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever read!
It’s a short story compilation for the First Law world, and for starters, I usually don’t have patience for short stories unless they’re for series I’m loving (this qualifies). And even then I usually prefer to read them in tandem with the series so I don’t forget details.
The book was hysterical. I laughed too many times to keep count and even felt compelled to share certain passages with other people (my mom is reading it now even though she’s only read the Blade Itself lol). That feeling of reading something I’ve loved and now need to share with others is the compulsion that caused me to start my book blog 10 years ago and there are only a small number of titles that have evoked this reaction. Sharp Ends is now among those all-time favorites. I ordered a hardcover.
I am completely rubbish at remembering character names in series these days. I read so many it’s just not worth the effort to me to retain those details beyond how long it takes me to devour a book. The problem comes when trying to revisit series after a long break or even just when discussing it with others. It’s a trade off… my brain is full. But it struck me as profound while reading this book that I was able to recall almost every single one of Abercrombie’s side characters with vivid clarity, which made the stories just as vibrant as if they’d been included in the series. It’s amazing to me because this author is clearly good enough to bypass my shitty memory and give me the rare experience of feeling truly immeshed in a series. Granted, I read these books fairly back to back compared to most, but even so, I’ve been known to forget names the instance the book gets finished (or even while I’m freaking reading it, so I have to backtrack). It’s just another piece of evidence that Abercrombie belongs on my favorites lists.
Sharp Ends is listed as book 7 even though it bounces around the timeline a lot. There are some series prequel scenes, some alternate viewpoints for memorable scenes throughout the series, an alternating set of stories following the same two characters (my personal favorite of the bunch), and there are a few that take place after the last time we’ve seen some of these characters. It definitely should be read as the 7th installment to avoid spoilers. One of the highlights in the audio format was an interview with Joe Abercrombie and audio narrator Steven Pacey. It was a total delight, and I busted a gut listening to it. The only story I didn’t care for was the satire (the writings from the bloke Costca hired to overinflate his exploits). It was fun, but I usually don’t have patience for the style. But I’ll admit to always wondering what he was writing throughout the story…
Recommendations: clearly, this is an Obsessive Bookseller favorite and I’d highly recommend it if you’ve read the first 6 books in the series. I found it wildly entertaining.
It’s once again time for my favorite feature: Tackling the TBR! There’s nothing I love more than picking out which books to read next, and this slightly organized method of reading has really amped my enjoyment to the next level. Bring on the mantras!
Read the best books first. & Life is too short to read books you’re not enjoying.
However you put together your TBR for the next month, the goal is to reduce the amount of obligation in reading and increase the fun.
Here’s a look at how the system works:
1. Identify the titles that take top priority in your TBR. 2. Combine them all in your own Tackling the TBR post. 3. Throughout the month pick from that pile as the mood strikes you.
Here’s what mine looks like:
July 2021 TBR Tackler Shelf:
Bauchelain and Korbal Broach by Steven Erikson
Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie
Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley
Thunderhead by Neal Schusterman
A pitfall from posting my June 2021 TTTBR post so late is that I went 10 days into July thinking I’d posted already ::facepalm::. Eventually I’ll get back into a rhythm with that, but I’m not too bothered by my tardiness because I’ve been super busy with a bunch of other creative projects. Everything seems to get done eventually lol.
I finally started the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach short stories per my intentions to continue the Malazan Ultimate Reading Order. So far so good! My highest priority beyond that is continuing all things Abercrombie with Sharp Ends. This month my book club selected Curse of Chalion. I’m currently about 1/3 of the way through it and the jury is still out…
I’ve been trying to be more mindful about my reading commitments because I realized my reading history for the year so far contains WAYYYY too many obligation reads and not enough of the ones I’m super eager for. I get myself into trouble when allowing myself to pick more than one book up at a time. So I’m practicing limiting that and not signing up for ARCs unless I’m prepared to read them immediately. As a result, my lineup this month makes me very, very happy.
The Overview:They burned her home. They stole her brother and sister. But vengeance is following.
Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she’ll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she’s not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old step father Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb’s buried a bloody past of his own. And out in the lawless Far Country the past never stays buried.Their journey will take them across the barren plains to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feud, duel and massacre, high into the unmapped mountains to a reckoning with the Ghosts. Even worse, it will force them into an alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, and his feckless lawyer Temple, two men no one should ever have to trust . . . -Goodreads
The Review:
I’m becoming an Abercrombie fangirl.
Red Country was probably the biggest offshoot from the main trilogy so far. It had a sort of Wild West/colonial vibe that I didn’t hate. But as offshot as it may have been, it effectively tied up some burning questions I’ve had since the end of the first trilogy. Ahead of most of the books I’ve read lately by a long shot, it ranks somewhere near the upper middle compared to other books in the series so far.
The characters are so rich and vibrant and not a single one of them can be put on a pedestal. I think truly flawed characters might be the magic ingredient to why authors like Abercrombie and Hobb are among my favorites. Maybe it appeals to my growing cynicism, but oftentimes when people act their worst in books it’s more believable and relatable. Even in the most depraved bastards Abercrombie writes about, there’s always a spark, a smidgen of a redeeming quality that makes them feel, well, human. And he’s especially good at putting his characters in such horrid situations that it can’t help but bring out the best or worst in them (usually the worst). It truly is a mastery of characterization that I hope to live up to one day in my own writing.
The way I talk about these books makes them seem like such downers. And in truth they kind of are. But that bleakness is part of their brilliance, because when something good happens, it’s stands out that much more profoundly by contrast. I love each and every one of the characters I’ve read so far and I can’t wait to see what happens to them next.
Recommendations: if you like grimdark fantasy, read all the things Abercrombie. Give the first trilogy a bit to get going, then hang on!
The Obsessive Bookseller 