New Year's Book Haul + 2016 TBR
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope everyone had a lovely season of bookishness, a veritable ingathering of new titles and TBR's to entertain and perhaps even educate in the new year.
2016 holds some gems I've been looking forward to for awhile, and some new delights as well.
As always, I will review every title I read, and hope to talk about some of the series others have enjoyed long before me.
With limited shelf space, 2016's TBR was approached with some strategy, headlined by the passionate fans of Sarah J. Maas, known only in some circles as "Queen Maas' Assassins".
All literary allegiance considered, (with so much discussions concerning relationships and the possible futures of book #5) I am excited to dive into the series myself.
Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass Series, paperback.
Sarah J. Maas
The Assassin's Blade
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight
Heir of Fire
Queen of Shadows
Controversially viewed by readers as either derivative and mundane or utter genius that knows no bounds, I have also been looking forward to diving into Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series with the purchase of the hardcover edition of Red Queen, and pre-ordering of hardcover editions of Glass Sword and Cruel Crown. Of Glass Sword I have heard only the best, and I am very eager to read the novels of a screenwriter by trade, enjoying the promise of a more graphic and less loquacious visualization of the heroic YA narrative, seeing as the covers so beautifully offer such.
Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen Series, hardcover.
Victoria Aveyard
Red Queen
Glass Sword
Cruel Crown
Perhaps closer to the season of warm darkness and mosquitoes I'll be digging into a rave-review retelling of one of my favorite pieces of literature of all time, The Arabian Nights, and trust Reneé Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn will not disappoint one who realized, at a young age, the potency of losing oneself in the exotic magic and mystery of Scheherazade's story within a story within a story within a story. And while Richard Burton's classic translation is a sacred building block in my own development as an author, I will in no way expect Renee to live up to some factual reinvention, or structured reinterpretation, but rather, am just plain flat overjoyed that she chose to take on such amazing material for a brave new YA series that promises much in the way of imaginative adventure. I also pre-ordered The Rose and the Dagger. Howabout those covers? And those titles! :D
Renee Ahdieh's The Wrath and the Dawn Series, hardcover.
Renee Ahdieh
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Rose and the Dagger
Also coming highly recommended to me is Robin Lafevers’ His Fair Assassin Trilogy, which is nice to get on board with a series or trilogy after it's finished. I don't know much about these books, but the one woman with the bow on the cover made me think if I made it to her book I'm sure I would be happy that I did.
Robin LaFevers
Grave Mercy
Dark Triumph
Mortal Heart
I also felt it was time to embrace the expansive classicism of 90's fantasy and buy Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series. If I read one of these every month, they should last a year. I think it was the cover of A Memory of Light, the final book in the series, written by fantasy master Brandon Sanderson (he wrote the last three in the series) that kept catching my eye in the store. It seems The Stormlight Archive, with its incredible Michael Whelan covers, is a generational ancestor of The Wheel of Time, (one might even call it The Wheel Reborn) and while opinions on the series and the work of Robert Jordan are scattered far and wide, it is important to note what a contribution he has given to the fantasy community. It might also help understanding the context of Sanderson's lectures (which you can see on YouTube) since much of his Widsom on how to sustain character and plot development over a long period of time (or many books) and other such subjects jumped between The Wheel of Time and Lord of The Rings. It's great to have all the artwork together, too. The work of Darrel K. Sweet beautifully and imaginitively captures generously-detailed visual interpretations of a post-Tolkien landscape in magnificently subtle oil paintings, and the wonderful title, A Memory of Light, in essence, honors the memory of two titans of the fantasy genre, Robert Jordan and Darrel K. Sweet, who have captured the hearts and minds of millions and inspired legions of writers to forge their own adventures, characters, and worlds. So at the end of the year, I look forward to voting on the poll that rates The Wheel of Time Series' best books.
Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series, mass market paperback.
Robert Jordan
The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt
The Dragon Reborn
The Shadow Rising
The Fires of Heaven
Lord of Chaos
A Crown of Swords
The Path of Daggers
Winter's Heart
Crossroads of Twilight
Knife of Dreams
The Gathering Storm
Towers of Midnight
A Memory of Light
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, JULIE ESHBAUGH'S IVORY AND BONE! GO PRE-ORDER IT NOW!
Julie Eshbaugh
Ivory and Bone
I hope everyone had a lovely season of bookishness, a veritable ingathering of new titles and TBR's to entertain and perhaps even educate in the new year.
2016 holds some gems I've been looking forward to for awhile, and some new delights as well.
As always, I will review every title I read, and hope to talk about some of the series others have enjoyed long before me.
With limited shelf space, 2016's TBR was approached with some strategy, headlined by the passionate fans of Sarah J. Maas, known only in some circles as "Queen Maas' Assassins".
All literary allegiance considered, (with so much discussions concerning relationships and the possible futures of book #5) I am excited to dive into the series myself.
Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass Series, paperback.
Sarah J. Maas
The Assassin's Blade
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight
Heir of Fire
Queen of Shadows
Controversially viewed by readers as either derivative and mundane or utter genius that knows no bounds, I have also been looking forward to diving into Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series with the purchase of the hardcover edition of Red Queen, and pre-ordering of hardcover editions of Glass Sword and Cruel Crown. Of Glass Sword I have heard only the best, and I am very eager to read the novels of a screenwriter by trade, enjoying the promise of a more graphic and less loquacious visualization of the heroic YA narrative, seeing as the covers so beautifully offer such.
Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen Series, hardcover.
Victoria Aveyard
Red Queen
Glass Sword
Cruel Crown
Perhaps closer to the season of warm darkness and mosquitoes I'll be digging into a rave-review retelling of one of my favorite pieces of literature of all time, The Arabian Nights, and trust Reneé Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn will not disappoint one who realized, at a young age, the potency of losing oneself in the exotic magic and mystery of Scheherazade's story within a story within a story within a story. And while Richard Burton's classic translation is a sacred building block in my own development as an author, I will in no way expect Renee to live up to some factual reinvention, or structured reinterpretation, but rather, am just plain flat overjoyed that she chose to take on such amazing material for a brave new YA series that promises much in the way of imaginative adventure. I also pre-ordered The Rose and the Dagger. Howabout those covers? And those titles! :D
Renee Ahdieh's The Wrath and the Dawn Series, hardcover.
Renee Ahdieh
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Rose and the Dagger
Also coming highly recommended to me is Robin Lafevers’ His Fair Assassin Trilogy, which is nice to get on board with a series or trilogy after it's finished. I don't know much about these books, but the one woman with the bow on the cover made me think if I made it to her book I'm sure I would be happy that I did.
Robin LaFevers
Grave Mercy
Dark Triumph
Mortal Heart
I also felt it was time to embrace the expansive classicism of 90's fantasy and buy Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series. If I read one of these every month, they should last a year. I think it was the cover of A Memory of Light, the final book in the series, written by fantasy master Brandon Sanderson (he wrote the last three in the series) that kept catching my eye in the store. It seems The Stormlight Archive, with its incredible Michael Whelan covers, is a generational ancestor of The Wheel of Time, (one might even call it The Wheel Reborn) and while opinions on the series and the work of Robert Jordan are scattered far and wide, it is important to note what a contribution he has given to the fantasy community. It might also help understanding the context of Sanderson's lectures (which you can see on YouTube) since much of his Widsom on how to sustain character and plot development over a long period of time (or many books) and other such subjects jumped between The Wheel of Time and Lord of The Rings. It's great to have all the artwork together, too. The work of Darrel K. Sweet beautifully and imaginitively captures generously-detailed visual interpretations of a post-Tolkien landscape in magnificently subtle oil paintings, and the wonderful title, A Memory of Light, in essence, honors the memory of two titans of the fantasy genre, Robert Jordan and Darrel K. Sweet, who have captured the hearts and minds of millions and inspired legions of writers to forge their own adventures, characters, and worlds. So at the end of the year, I look forward to voting on the poll that rates The Wheel of Time Series' best books.
Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series, mass market paperback.
Robert Jordan
The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt
The Dragon Reborn
The Shadow Rising
The Fires of Heaven
Lord of Chaos
A Crown of Swords
The Path of Daggers
Winter's Heart
Crossroads of Twilight
Knife of Dreams
The Gathering Storm
Towers of Midnight
A Memory of Light
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, JULIE ESHBAUGH'S IVORY AND BONE! GO PRE-ORDER IT NOW!
Julie Eshbaugh
Ivory and Bone
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Mike
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Jan 02, 2016 04:45AM
You have an interesting year of reading planned, Luke. I'll be looking forward to what you think of all of these, especially Jordan's Wheel of Time Series.
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Mike wrote: "You have an interesting year of reading planned, Luke. I'll be looking forward to what you think of all of these, especially Jordan's Wheel of Time Series."Thanks Mike. I've been reading and writing a lot of YA Fantasy lately, and I really love it. I've been waiting for The Wheel of Time for awhile, and though I ran out of room, I also have Outlander and some other books, such as J.K. Rowling's Casual Vacancy and some historical pieces too.
I'm looking forward to joining you and Trang for the group read of Throne of Glass next week.I'm also wondering about The Arabian Nights - did you actually read the whole eighteen volumes of the Richard Burton translation? I have been reading on this for about three years now and am in volume 9, about night 960, and finally within striking distance of finishing all the stories, I hope. And still haven't come to Aladdin or Ali Baba! I plan to write a massive review of this when I decide I have read enough.
Lora wrote: "I'm looking forward to joining you and Trang for the group read of Throne of Glass next week.I'm also wondering about The Arabian Nights - did you actually read the whole eighteen volumes of the ..."
Hi Lora!
Yes, Throne of Glass will be a lot of fun! Good to read it with you!
The Arabian Nights that I read was a 735 page hardcover edition published by Barnes and Nobles. You can find it here on Goodreads. I would recommend it as the essential reading edition even though there are many more versions, but since you've stuck with it to this point, you should keep going! Ali Baba is a fun story, but I really like the one with the fish! But the whole idea of a story within a story within a story and on and on made me feel like a the king who could not sleep till he'd heard it all. Absolutely genius!!!
