We Read Stuff discussion

Welcome to your discussion and recommendation sharing thread for Q4 of 2018


As a reminder, you will be partners from October 1st - December 31st.


~Pick 2-5 recommendations for your partner each month and from those selections they will read at least one. You will do the same from their selections for you.

~Share your thoughts either as you read or when you finish with your partner. Whichever works better for you.

~For your recommendations I encourage you to stick to books that you have either rated 3 or more stars or are by an author that you have read and rated a book they wrote 3 or more stars.

~It is up to the two of you if you want your curator to pick only from your tbr or if you are fine with them not sticking to a shelf.

Hi Ian! Before deciding on my picks for you for the first month I wanted to see if you were ok with me giving you some that were not on your to-read list but still fit into what you put in your likes and dislikes?

Nikki ~ The Nocturnal Bookworm wrote: "I wanted to see if you were ok with me giving you some that were not on your to-read list"

Shouldn't be a problem.
But there are things I should mention.
I tend to read books written by women and about women. It's not a rule but they seem to be the books I enjoy.
I cross a range of genres but I avoid certain types of violence. Probably the best way to describe it is true to life violence.

But I'll read pretty much anything from YA to Regency Romance.


Do you have rules?
Would it be OK if I recommend books inspired by other books you have liked?

I’ll make sure I’m keeping those in mind while I decide picks and if I’m remembering your sign up post right bad stuff happening to kids is also a no go for you right? Just want to make sure I have all the rules down :)

I don’t really have rules there isn’t much I won’t read the only thing is YA tends to be pretty hit and miss for me. I am totally fine with you picking things not on my shelves inspired by other books I have liked so if you think of something go for it!

October picks:

Manners & Mutiny - This first pick is on your to-read shelf. I've read the first book in this series and plan to read the rest. I thought continuing this series would be a good choice as one of your picks.

Marine Biology - This is a short and sweet love story by the same author (Gail Carriger). An LBGTQ paranormal romance story written by a female author you already seem to like felt to me like a good selection for you.

Being Mrs. Dracula - This one isn't on your shelves and I don't think I saw you had read anything else by her but I thought you might like this. It's the backstory of the brides of Dracula written from their perspective and is written by a woman. I read this back in 2013 and just loved it. Valeria was definitely my favorite and if you decide to go with this one I would be interested to know which was your favorite character.

They look great.

I think I might pick 5 so I can throw in a couple of curve balls (which I will be totally OK with if you completely ignore). Your tastes are a lot darker than mine and we don't have a lot of books in common. Hopefully there is something in there that appeals.

1. Angelfall by Susan Ee
Honestly I didn't really like this one...and even though I didn't like it I rated it 4 Stars. It was a little too dark for me but but still a great book.

2. The Biting Cold: An Athanate Novella by Mark Henwick.
His books are big, 400+ pages. But because you have taken on two challenges I won't throw you under that bus. This is one of a series of novellas set in the same world as Amber Farrell but not connected. Mark mentioned that some of these characters will show up in Denver in the next Amber Farrell book which is due to be published later this year.

3. Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig
A drug taking anti-hero who lives in a trailer with her mom, and takes on bullies and nazis with her single barrel shotgun and the help of a dog she rescued from a dog fighting ring.

4. Still by Camilla Monk
Hard to explain but I have a feeling you might like this. I had to lie in my review so I wouldn't give away a key plot point.

5. Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
Imagine a superhero whose superpower is hypochondria which she can zap into the bad guys paralysing them with fear that their birthmark is actually an inoperable cancer.

I'm thinking I will probably go with The Biting Cold to start. If I can read more I am thinking either Mind Games or Angelfall would be my next read.

Finished Marine Biology and quite enjoyed it. I love short fiction but I think it's a challenge for authors. It's not easy cramming a coherent story into 40 pages....honestly I think it can be a challenge writing a good novella.

But I love that authors are turning their hands to shorts and novellas.

How are you going?
I have a few books on the go at the moment but should be able to start Manners and Mutiny later in the week.

It's a quarterly challenge so do I give another selection for you to choose from for November and then December? I should probably start thinking about that.

I haven't gotten a chance to start The Biting Cold yet but I plan to this coming week. And yes we will give each other a set of picks for November and December as well :)

Finished Manners & Mutiny last night. Was a lot of fun. I read book 3 W&W in 2014 and I think I must have given up on the series because nothing really happened in that book.

But I'm glad I finally finished off the series. M&M is probably the best of the 4.

Ian wrote: "Finished Manners & Mutiny last night. Was a lot of fun. I read book 3 W&W in 2014 and I think I must have given up on the series because nothing really happened in that book.

But I'm glad I final..."

Glad you like it :) I'm going to be reading my picks from you during the deweys 24 hour readathin that starts tomorrow. Hoping I can finish one if not two of them.

Just finished The Biting Cold: An Athanate Novella I enjoyed it but didnt love it. Ended up giving it 3/5 stars. It interested me enough that im curious to check out the longer novels in the series

Gonna go ahead and give you my recommendations for November :) all of these are by female authors.

Loud in the House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl by Stacy Pershall- I don't usually read memoirs but this book really connected with me and hit all the feels. It's an autobiography and in it, she chronicles her struggle with mental health issues and navigating the mental health care system.

Sacrifice of the Widow by Lisa Smedman - This one is a fantasy novel written by a woman with a lot of strong female (badass) characters. If you are in the mood for high fantasy then this one would be perfect.

Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea - The author spent two years in a small village in Iraq with her husband while he finished some graduate work in anthropology. This book is her account of her time there living in the traditional way women lived in that area at that time (mid 50's)

Hunting Season by Annie Bellet - Wanted to give you another "continue a series" option. Once again I have only read the first book in this series but I enjoyed it.

Nikki ~ The Nocturnal Bookworm wrote: "Just finished The Biting Cold: An Athanate Novella I enjoyed it but didnt love it. ."

It's the challenge of short fiction and novellas. It's not easy building a story. There is a second novella with the same characters called Winter's Kiss: An Athanate Novella but these books really fit into the world of Amber Farrell in Denver.

There is actually a prequel novella with Amber Farrell .... Raw Deal ... but it was released after Sleight of Hand.

Mark Henwick is one of a very few male authors I read religiously. He writes it, I buy it. You don't really get it as much in the first book but he brings in LGBT and polyamory themes into the story almost without you noticing. It's just natural.

Ian wrote: "Nikki ~ The Nocturnal Bookworm wrote: "Just finished The Biting Cold: An Athanate Novella I enjoyed it but didnt love it. ."

It's the challenge of short fiction and novellas. It's ..."

I’ll definitely have to check out more of his works :)

November...

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
This book is really YA ... maybe even a little younger but I enjoyed it.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
All of Laini's books take a commitment ... the first few chapters are like a tangled ball of yarn. Push on because this and the conclusion, Muse of Nightmares are brilliant. I'm yet to meet anyone who didn't fall in love with the worlds she creates.

The Bees by Laline Paull
I'm not sure about this one. You'll either love it or hate it. It's like a dystopian novel but set within a beehive.

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater
So this one is based on your interests listed on your profile. It's a zombie book but one of the best. Kind of like Thelma and Louise and zombies.

The Siren by Tiffany Reisz
What Laini Taylor is for fantasy, Tiffiany Reisz is for erotic fiction. She's a brilliant writer so I thought I'd throw this one in.

I read The Dark is Rising must have been in 1978 or 1979. I can't really remember exactly but I was about 10.

Ian wrote: "I read The Dark is Rising must have been in 1978 or 1979. I can't really remember exactly but I was about 10."

I don’t remember a ton of details by info remember that I absolutely loved it when I read it in the 6th grade.

Me too.
I don't remember anything except I enjoyed it.

How are you going?
I started Sacrifice of the Widow a couple of days ago and I can't figure out if I love it or loathe it. It's dense which isn't unexpected in fantasy...it really does feel like somebody spinning a yarn which is probably what I like about it the most, but it also feels a bit amateurish in places.
So I'll continue on and see how it goes.

Ian wrote: "How are you going?
I started Sacrifice of the Widow a couple of days ago and I can't figure out if I love it or loathe it. It's dense which isn't unexpected in fantasy...it really does feel like s..."

I'm really enjoying The Bees so far. It's quite interesting. I like the way it anthropomorphizes them while still retaining the picture of the characters being bees in a hive. I'm curious what will end up of Flora and why she is so different. I'm about 16% through as of now.

I'll be interested to know what your final thoughts on Sacrifice of the Widow end up being since you are so torn right now.

Just finished The Bees and I loved it!

In the end SotW didn't work for me. Way too much going on which is par for the course with Fantasy but for me it sometimes works but not always and this time it didn't work.

So....for December I'm going to give a couple of recs out of left field.

1. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
This book reminds me a lot of Harry Potter. Some people have criticised it because of that. I quite liked it. We are 25 years on from Harry Potter so maybe she can get away with it now. You can make up your own mind should you choose to read it.(recommended because you liked Harry Potter)

2. Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak
Brilliant sequential art...disturbing in parts, occasionally confusing but beautiful

3. The Last Hours by Minette Walters
This book is set in the 14th century in England during the black death...but calling a spade a spade it's a zombie book. Minette Walters is an author I used to read in the early 1990s and I don't think she intended this book to be a zombie apocalypse book but if you look at it that way it's quite interesting.

4. Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson
More sequential art. I love this series. Girl power!

5. Hell's Belle by Marie Castle
Half demon / half witch doing battle with zombies from hell when they're not getting the sexy times on. Lesbian.

None of those are on your TBR but they are sort of related to how I interpret the books you enjoy....if that makes any sense. If there is nothing in there that interests you let me know and I'll have another crack at it.

Those are great recommendations! Sorry, my recommendation for November ended up not working out, hopefully, you like December's much better!

Beyond: the Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology - This is actually something we both have on our tbr. Anthologies are always fun and I thought this would be a good suggestion.

The Cybernetic Tea Shop - This one is short (65 pages) but packs a lot of feels in a tiny package. Bittersweet at times but very heartwarming.

The Dovekeepers - This one is a historical fiction book focusing on 4 women and it was written but a female author. Each section is from the perspective of one of them and I found the transitions very well done (I know sometimes that style can be jarring or clunky). Yael and Aziza were my favorites if you read this one I would be interested to hear which characters you enjoyed reading the most.

Beyond is either out of print or not available in Australia. I might try The Dovekeepers, it's a big book but I like books about strong and determined women. I'll also probably get the Cybernetic Tea Shop.

Ian wrote: "Beyond is either out of print or not available in Australia. I might try The Dovekeepers, it's a big book but I like books about strong and determined women. I'll also probably get the Cybernetic T..."

Awwww that sucks about beyond. But glad the other two seem to be available. I hope you end up liking them.

Nearly there. It's been a stupid month. Things just went completely nutso but I now have the rest of the week off so I can get my December read done. Just about to start the Cybernetic Teashop.