Top Ten Books I Want to Read This Autumn

So my participation in Top Ten Tuesday is very random, depending on the appeal of the topic, and this time the topic is pretty appealing (mainly because I love autumn and I love lists), so I decided to do it. The meme is hosted by folks at The Broke and the Bookish, go check 'em out for more information.

 

It was easy to make this list because I am kind of hoping to get a lot of reading done this autumn, and I am already on a good path thanks to RIP VIII event. There is also the 24-hour readathon coming in October, so the reading scene looks pretty shiny indeed.

 

All the books are from my already existing shelves, 'cos that's how I roll (I really like to prioritise the books I already own, which is why I also find these lists and events very helpful).

 

 

 

1. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -  short, spooky and classic.

2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera - I failed to re-read this during the reading slump I had in summer, and actually this is autumn book instead anyway.

3. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - I mentally added this to RIP VIII list because it's appropriate and there's a readalong coming in October, and also it's a small book.

4. Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb - I actually read a bit of this one recently at the point when I was between the books, and it was really good! Ships that are alive? Crazy. But potentially awesome.

5. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde - I loooove Fforde's Thursday Next books and after having seen a few good things about this book, I just decided to check it out. Curious to see how Fforde writes other things!

6. Dracula by Bram Stoker - it's going to be the Halloween read.

7. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (currently reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) - so yes, this is bad, but I have never read those books. I just finished the first one last night. When I saw the news of the 15th anniversary edition covers in spring, I decided to get the series in autumn because I really love these covers. So I now own the first three books and will get the rest as well.

8. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - just because I want to read it.

9. NW by Zadie Smith - I still have a few Women's Prize books on my shelf, and I want to get done with the shortlist by the end of this year. (Shortlist minus Hilary Mantel's book that is since I just couldn't get into Wolf Hall, at all...)

10. Bullerby lapsed (Barnen i Bullerbyn, The Children of Noisy Village) by Astrid Lindgren - this is the star book of my childhood, probably. Well I had piles of favourites, but the very favourite must come from among Lindgren books, and it's probably this one. And I want to read it again (I think the number of my re-reads of this book must be over 30 by now).

 

Let's break it down:

* 5 Classics Club books

* 3 RIP VIII books

* 3 fantasy books (yay!)

* 1 Women's Prize book

* 1 children's book

Closing the lid of August

From last autumn.

It's AUTUMN! I am beyond pleased, because as for many, autumn is my absolute favourite season. Summer is actually my least favourite season, so I am double pleased that it is over.

 

How did it go on reading front? I was mega relaxed in my reading, even though I had (and still have for one more day) three weeks off from work. I used to think of myself as a fairly fast reader, but I'm thinking I might have to adjust that mindset - it took me 8 days to get through A Prayer for Owen Meany, and it's not like it's a bad book or anything! Maybe I'm just a slower kind of reader, afterall.

 

Let's get down to numbers. The books I read in August:

 

* J. Fforde "Lost In a Good Book"

* J. Austen "Mansfield Park" - Classics Club; Austen in August

* A. Bahdaj "Matk naeratuse eest" ("Podróz za jeden uśmiech")

* J. Rannap "Agu Sihvka annab aru"

* E. Raud "Roostevaba mõõk"

* J. Irving "A Prayer for Owen Meany"

 

399+439+214+106+159+637= 1943

 

Page count ain't actually too shabby, I used to be around 2000 pages a month in the beginning of the year, so I think I'm getting the mojo back.

 

The three books in funny languages (Polish, Estonian, Estonian) are children's books (actually I think they are more like middle grade) and I brought them to Finland from my childhood home. They have been ridiculously comforting comfort reads this month. I'll do mini reviews on the books I've read in summer (except for Mansfield Park) next week.

 

From last autumn.

So we had Austen in August event, which was successful for me since I only set one goal (read Mansfield Park) and I managed to meet it.

 

September and October will be ridiculously exciting because of RIP VIII reading event. I already started The Night Circus, mostly because I finished A Prayer for Owen Meany on 30th and I knew I wasn't going to finish another book in 1.5 days, so I figured I'll just start with the RIP stack. And, I did have a lot of reservations about this book, but has it managed to grab my attention! I bought it back in January and am glad I finally got the proper push to read it. So far, RIP has started very successfully for me. Next up, I think, will be at least a few Sherlock Holmes stories, and then I'll probably move on to Henry James.

 

 

R.I.P. VIII reading event

 

 

It's almost autumn! My favourite season. And I feel it's time for some season-appropriate reading. I read about R.I.P VIII event in Ekaterina's blog and instantly felt that I want to join in!

 

The event is hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings; visit this post to learn more about the event (and possibly join in). The event takes place during September and October. We read from the following genres:

 

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

 

My list of things I plan to read:

 

1. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - 126 p; also for Classics Club

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - 508 p

3. Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson - 703 p

4. Dracula by Bram Stoker - 402 p; also for Classics Club

5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - 174 p; also for Classics Club

6. The Shadow Over Innsmouth from Great Tales of Horror by H.P. Lovecraft - 52 p (a novella)

 

There are several categories of participation available; I guess my goal and list put me in Peril the First box (read four books).

All the books I bought today

... or, how I felt like I just robbed a bookshop.

The bookshop near here, which sells used books, had a sale today - lots of books for half price. I bought 11 books, and boyfriend bought 6. For this lovely pile up here I paid 18 euros, which explains how I felt a bit like a criminal - most of these look like new or are in an extremely good condition.

From the top:

* Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction by J.D. Salinger - I don't have Holden-hate in me, and I devoured Salinger's Franny and Zooey, so continuing with his works is a natural progress. Love his Glass family dynamics and characters.
* The Turn of the Screw/Daisy Miller by Henry James - first of them is for my Classics Club list. This book is tiny! Perfect to carry around.
* A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving - there has been so much positive fuzz around it lately in the book blogs.
* A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - I haven't read anything by him and probably would never had purchased those books for full price; on the other hand, for 2 euros each, I figured I might look into this phenomenon.
* Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather - I haven't read any Cather so far, so I grabbed this slim volume.
* North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell - it's a Penguin Classics edition that looks brand new and I've wanted to read it anyway.
* The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
* The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - oh, so long have I wanted to get my hands on this book, and now I did, for a ridiculous sum of money. Lovely edition.
* Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett - I want to read this! Leaving my cover whore out now, I have to say it's the prettiest of all the books I got today.
* Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James - it might just happen that I read this book before Pride and Prejudice :)
* Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - this is a lovely hardcover edition, with illustrations - and it cost me 2 euros. Blasphemy :)

It was a successful day.