Entries for the Aurealis Awards started coming in this month. It has been a challenge to juggle them with reading for the Hugos and reading review books. However, I’m doing a decent job of keeping up with the Aurealis reading and the voting deadline for the Hugos is in a month. Things should ease up a bit then (famous last words, I know).

Unsurprisingly, now that the Aurealis entries are coming in, my #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks stats are beginning to drop. My goal for the challenge was to make sure 60% of the books I read this year come from Mt TBR. I was at 52% at the end of last month and am at 50% now. I expect that’s only going to get worse over the coming months.

Books with an asterisk on the list below were part of my #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks effort.

Mt TBR Status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2016: 244
Mt TBR @ 31 May 2016: 248
Mt TBR @ 30 June 2016: 252

Books Read

49. Vigil by Angela Slatter. Reviewed here.

50. Ember by Bettie Sharpe *. Reviewed here.

51. The Blackmail Blend by Livia Day *. Reviewed here.

52. Tempting Mr Townsend by Anna Campbell. Review forthcoming.

53. Survivor: A Graced Novella by Amanda Pillar. Review forthcoming.

54. Arcadia: Gospel of Witches by Charles Leland *. Purportedly a historical record of the ancient practices of Italian witches, Leland’s fingerprints are visible all over it. Full of half-baked mythology and coercive magic.

55. The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher. Read for the Hugo Awards. A fast-paced adventure full of steampunk elements, though the style lacked a steampunk feel. Lots of fun.

56. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. Read for the Hugo Awards. A powerful novella that looks at what it’s like to be an outsider both within one’s culture and as part of the wider world. Also featuring aliens and friendship.

57. In Your Face edited by Tehani Wessely. Read for the Aurealis Awards. An anthology of SFF stories on confronting topics. Comes with trigger warnings.

 

DNF: Quest for Earth by S.E. Gilchrist. This sci-fi romance reminded me of the pulp sci-fi covers of the 40s and 50s with its high-tech cities under domes and savage men in loincloths wielding spears. It really wasn’t my cup of tea. Not only did it use some tropes I’m really not fond of (alpha male and fated mates) but I found the writing style a bit clichéd and the dialogue clunky. However, I was pleased to see the female characters weren’t as prone to swooning as those on the pulp sci-fi covers but could hold their own.

 

Books Acquired

Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire
Midnight Blue-light Special by Seanan McGuire
Summerlong by Peter S. Beagle
Quest for Earth by S.E. Gilchrist
History and Fiction: Writers, their Research, Worlds and Stories by Gillian Polack
A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Survivor: A Graced Novella by Amanda Pillar
In Your Face edited by Tehani Wessely
The Big Book of Post-Collapse Fun by Rachel Sharp
Changeling’s Island by Dave Freer
Flameout by Keri Arthur
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

Online Reading

Wingborn Ch 9-10 by Becca Lusher. A Regency-style fantasy with giant eagles. Mhysra makes some interesting discoveries.

What have you read this month?