#fallforbooksmugglers

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 23: Shelf Decor Fairly minimalist in this new place. My Daisy 'Quake' Johnson and Phil Coulson Funkos, with a model Corvette (Coulson's car in Agents of SHIELD). Then my collection of physical Shakespeare books (by and about). (The shelf above is the disused fireplace's mantlepiece, and holds the rest of my nerdy decor, including Dr Martha Jones and Tenth Doctor figures, and my model TARDIS.) #doctorwho #AoS #bookstagram #Shakespeare https://www.instagram.com/p/BpQuMQPlOOY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=mlj26vjzuj7j

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 31: Scariest Read Alan Garner's The Owl Service terrified me as a child, so much so that it was only relatively recently that I tried re-reading it as an adult, and it proved to still be chilling, creepy and claustrophobic. It definitely didn't help that we watched the TV adaptation at school, as well as reading the book. I learned af a very early age that scaring myself for the purposes of entertainment [sic] didn't entertain me at all, so I avoid the horror genre, and most psychological thrillers too. #bookstagram #alangarner #theowlservice #scary https://www.instagram.com/p/BplazJblWZ8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ee5gjvhil0ch

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 30: Funniest Read Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men. Do NOT let the fact that this book features a 9 year old protagonist or that it's marketed to children put you off reading the Tiffany Aching series. Tiffany's tale proper begins with her taking a frying pan to Jenny Greenteeth, walloping her into next Sunday, then proceeds to her taking on the Queen of the Fairies - and trust me, Pratchett's fairies are no more twee than his elves in the 'Witches-for-grownups' series! - in order for Tiffany to rescue not only her small brother Wentworth but also Roland, the son of the local squire. Tiffany is aided and abetted by the titular Wee Free Men, tiny blue pictsies who seem to be Glaswegian in temperament if not origin! #bookstagram #terrypratchett #tiffanyachingseries https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpi9JgClSmy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1a5lsso6tnlkt

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 29: Book That Broke You And continues to break me. I've read it multiple times since it came out in Jan 2017, and each time the ending reduces me to happy-sad tears. Set in San Francisco, mostly in 1940 SF, it's a queer romance between bisexual artist, Haskell, and Emily, a lesbian singer and English student. I don't want to spoiler anyone by going into more detail, but if you want a spoilery review, you can find one here, on my book review site: https://themondayreview.wordpress.com/2018/04/09/passing-strange-ellen-klages-spoilers/ (I will go so far as to say it's not wholly tragic, though, in case wlw readers are worried about that.) #bookstagram #ellenklages #passingstrange https://www.instagram.com/p/BpgYEqUFKa2/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1uo3cl8gukmdl

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 28: Best SFF Character Crew I gave this question WAY too much thought in all probability. Did I want to pick Terry Pratchett's witches? Or perhaps Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan and her formidable family? For a long time I was convinced I'd pick the Thirteenth Doctor and a select TARDIS team that would include Dr Martha Jones, Kate Stewart, Bill Potts, Dr Liz Shaw, Sarah Jane Smith, and Nyssa of Traken, but in the end, I picked Irene Winters, Librarian and Kai Strongrock, Dragon, from Genevieve Cogman's The Invisible Library series. Because, honestly, who WOULDN'T pick a librarian and a dragon as a fan of SFF?! 😍 (Oh and I hate it when my Kindle randomly decides not to show the real cover of a book I've bought. So rude!) #bookstagram #genevievecogman #theinvisiblelibrary #librariansanddragons #ohmy https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpd5pooF7-l/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zko2h2qg7vwv

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 27: Best Bookish Gift I know all the reasons for hating Amazon, and I totally agree that their workers' conditions are appalling and that they should pay more taxes, but at the same time I am deeply grateful for my Kindle. 7 years ago, in September 2011, I tore the meniscus in my left knee. Despite having physiotherapy multiple times, and having 2 steroid injections in it, I am in constant crippling pain that leaves me struggling to walk or carry anything very heavy, which often includes the weight of a standard mass market paperback. My Kindle means that I can still carry books about and still read a metric shit-ton of books every year. The fact it weighs even less than a paperback is a sanity saver. This is why I get mad as fire when people claim ebooks are somehow less than physical books. Frankly, that is ableist bullshit and anyone who says it around me gets a verbal tongue lashing. So, best bookish gift I ever bought myself. #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BpbHydfF8J8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=o5j8vw2645jl

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 26: First Page I've just started a re-read of Genevieve Cogman's The Invisible Library series, and am just beginning the second book, The Masked City, prior to the 5th book coming out next month. I absolutely love this series so much! The whole concept of the Invisible Library thrills me with its mix of TARDIS and L-space in its conceptual design, plus the characters are fully realised and firmly 3-dimensional. Also the writing is just so immensely compelling. Irene is who I want to be when I grow up! #bookstagram #theinvisiblelibrary #genevievecogman https://www.instagram.com/p/BpYhwjHhJkr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7ygz19viywq8

#fallforbooksmugglers Day 25: MG SFF Pick Susan Cooper's thrilling and thoroughly compelling re-working of the Arthurian legends, The Dark is Rising sequence. Five books (The Dark is Rising; Over Sea, Under Stone; Greenwitch; The Grey King; Silver on the Tree) that follow the adventures of Will Stanton and his growth into his powers as an Old One (the newest, youngest, and last of a small group of immortals who seek to protect the world from the Dark, for they are of the Light). Will is aided by Merriman, but also by a trio of siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney, to whom Merriman (Merlin) is Great Uncle Merry. #bookstagram #thedarkisrisingsequence #susancooper https://www.instagram.com/p/BpV-HF1h0ul/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=92mav9xl10kc