Life has been happening like crazy on this side of the line. Add holidays and heat and pure, unadulterated laziness and you get a blogging slump. It would also be a reading slump if it wasn’t for YA audiobooks and daily newspapers (a holiday tradition and zen moment).
I need a bit of incentive because my spirit breaks just by looking at the two months backlog. Anyone interested in doing a buddy-read or something? Any easy read-alongs going around? Interesting projects?
Meanwhile, and while inspiration doesn’t strike, I’m doing a meme. They’re not usually my thing, but these are desperate times and maybe thinking about the books I’ve planned for the upcoming months will help.
Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR List
Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
Harris’ The Observations didn’t do much for me, but everyone seems to be raving about Gillespie and I so I’ve decided to give it a try.
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
My most anticipated re-read is Tigana, my favorite book by Guy Gavriel Kay. I’ve decided to tackle it in audio format this time around.
Chroniques de Jérusalem by Guy Delisle
All books by Guy Delisle are an instant best-seller here in Brussels, European capital of the graphic novel. I’ve never read anything by him but heard lots about this one, a birthday present from my co-workers.
The King of Attolia (The Queen’s Thief, #3) by Megan Whalen Turner
I’ve recently re-read the first two in the series just so that when I’d pick this one up for the first time everything was fresh. I hear it’s the best one of the series so far?
The Unicorn Hunt (The House of Niccolo, #5) by Dorothy Dunnett
I’m trying to go through The House of Niccolo series reeeeeeally slowly because you only read Dunnet for the first time once. It was a Herculean effort not to lunge for this one right after Scales of Gold and its extraordinary ending. I’ve waited long enough.
Moab is My Washpot by Stephen Fry
Whenever I don’t have a formed opinion on a certain topic, I Google Fry’s thoughts on it and always find myself nodding in agreement. Moab is My Washpot is an autobiography covering his first 20 years of life. The Fry Chronicles is already in the TBR waiting its turn.
The Mauritius Command(Aubrey/Maturin Book 4) by Patrick O’Brian
Another series I want to make last, although its 21 volumes-long… The previous book, HMS Surprise, is set to become one of the best of 2012.
Mayombe by Pepetela
For Kinna’s Africa Reading Challenge, this will be my first by one of Angola’s most famous writers. Everyone I know who reads in Portuguese seems to have read at least one of his books.
She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Nerdy Stuff by Annalee Newitz & Charlie Anders (Eds.)
To celebrate Ada Lovelace Day, on 16 October.
Un día de cólera by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
At the beginning of the year one of my goals was to read more books in their original languages. I’ve done well in Portuguese and French but haven’t picked up anything in Spanish yet. This hour by hour description of 1808’s Dos de Mayo Uprising in Madrid will put me back on track.
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September 4, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Liburuak
Sounds like a fascinating list! I’m particularly intrigued what you’ll make of the Pérez-Reverte one. I have quite conflicted feelings about him (I really don’t like him as a person but he’s a great writer), so I’m curious.
September 4, 2012 at 8:31 pm
joannacreates
Ooh, I’m determined not to miss Ada Lovelace day this year! Can you recommend anything to read? And I’d love to do a buddy read, I’m also in a slump… Suggestions?
September 4, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Sam (Tiny Library)
Gillespie and I was AWESOME!! Not enough people have read this book so I’m excited to see that you plan to read it 🙂
September 4, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Helen
I’ll look forward to your thoughts on The Unicorn Hunt. I’ve just finished Race of Scorpions so I’m still a few books behind you. And I read Gillespie and I last year and loved it! I hope you enjoy it more than The Observations.
September 5, 2012 at 2:18 am
Jenny
Yes, The King of Attolia is the best in the series — full-stop, I’m going to say, although A Conspiracy of Kings was also very good, and heaven knows so was The Queen of Attolia. The King of Attolia’s the one I’ve reread the most often (so far). I hope you love it!
As for inspiration, I am just coming back from a three-months hiatus and it has made me feel much cheerier about blogging generally. I don’t necessarily recommend three months, but maybe give yourself a break of a scheduled amount of time? Enough time to miss it? And then you will want to come back and blog more? It worked very nicely for me.
September 5, 2012 at 5:13 am
heidenkind
I enjoyed The King of Attolia, even though there’s a disappointing lack of Eugenides in it.
September 5, 2012 at 4:59 pm
nrlymrtl
I love Guy Gavriel Kay and have read all his works. Want to do a buddy readalong on Tigana? Let me know (nrlymrtl [at] gmail [dot] com).
Also, Stainless Steel Droppings is doing his annual Readers Imbibing Peril reading event which is pretty fun and can be as light or as intense as you like. You might want to check that out.
September 5, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Zeba Clarke
I’d be happy to do a read of Tigana – I started but I got sidetracked and didn’t finish.
Loved loved loved King of Attolia – I love that series altogether, but that is my favourite too.
September 16, 2012 at 5:36 am
silver price
Is two a series? Could something be a series even if it’s not published as such?I’m thinking of Guy Gavriel Kay and the books Sailing to Sarantium & Lord of Emperors . Those two are a duology – The Sarantine Mosaic. Very good, I ordinarily don’t enjoy all these swords’n’sorcery, dragons’n’fairladies and… swineherd boys gets to be princes and faieries and gnomes and… but with the exception of Last light of the sun he writes really good nonconventional fantasy stories.
September 18, 2012 at 11:19 pm
Mady
I should revisit my goals for this year and challenge myself with other languages as well, but sometimes I feel a bit too lazy 😛 But should try to revive a bit my French, we’ll see!! 🙂
September 21, 2012 at 2:41 pm
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