Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Read/Want to Read Because of Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Previous Top Ten Tuesday Topics

• 6th June: Books or Covers that Feel/Look Like Summer
• 13th June: Bookish Wishes
• 20th June: Books on My Summer 2023 To-Read List
• 27th June: Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2023
• 4th July: Book Covers in the Colours of My Country’s Flag
• 11th July: Freebie: Books Set in Rome
• 18th July: Books With One-Word Titles
• 25th July: Ten Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish
• 1st August: Forgotten Backlist Titles

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For me, Top Ten Tuesdays has become a prime source of discovering new books, new authors and new series and it is a genuine delight and pleasure to recognise and celebrate that. One issue, however, is that TTT lists are one amongst other social media including Twitter, Bookstagram, Booktok, Booklr. I am so grateful to you all, but I have been horribly remiss about remembering or recording who recommended what. Usually, it is a scribbled note to myself on a post-it, back of an envelope, a receipt, the back of my hand. So it is a little tricky to do what I would love to do: to give proper credit and thanks where due!

So instead, I offer my heartfelt and humble thanks to all of you who offer up your favourite books each week and who comments and visit my little blog.

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Babel, R. F. Kuang

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison…

But can a student stand against an empire?

I am currently reading this – well listening to it as an audiobook – and loving every moment: the sheer joy and fascination with language is a real pleasure to read – language as slippery and fluid and ungraspable, language as identity, language as power. If anything, I’d want to have more lectures on etymology and translation theory in the novel!

Circe, Madeline Miller

Woman. Witch. Myth. Mortal. Outcast. Lover. Destroyer. Survivor. CIRCE.

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child – not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods or mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft.

When her gift threatens the gods, she is banished to the island of Aiaia where she hones her occult craft, casting spells, gathering strange herbs and taming wild beasts. Yet a woman who stands alone will never be left in peace for long – and among her island’s guests is an unexpected visitor: the mortal Odysseus, for whom Circe will risk everything.

Adored this book – bringing back a love for Greek myth retellings in a somewhat oversaturated market through the beautiful language and powerful characterisation – and paving the way for The Silence of the Girls

Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general – also known as her tough-as-talons mother – has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away . . . because dragons don’t bond to ‘fragile’ humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter – like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

This is getting a lot of hype… and I fear it probably won’t live up to it. And personally I would want my dragons to come across as something other than “grumpy” which sounds a terribly weak and human word, but obviously that wasn’t the author’s choice. I’ve not read it yet, so….

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsin Muir

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

Loved Gideon and Harrow in both this book and in the sequel, Harrow the Ninth – incredibly fun, playful, action packed and very knowing… and far more touching than the high number of skeletons would suggest!

The House in the Cerulean Sea, T. J. Klune

He expected nothing. But they gave him everything . . .

Linus Baker leads a quiet life. At forty, he has a tiny house with a devious cat and his beloved records for company. And at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, he’s spent many dull years monitoring their orphanages.

Then one day, Linus is summoned by Extremely Upper Management and given a highly classified assignment. He must travel to an orphanage where six dangerous children reside – including the Antichrist.

At the orphanage, Linus must somehow determine if they could bring about the end of days. But their guardian, the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, will do anything to protect his wards. And, as Arthur and Linus grow ever closer, Linus must choose: his duty, or his dreams . . .

It is thanks to you Top Ten Tuesday posters that I discovered one of my new favourite authors: T J Klune writes quirky, low stakes, gorgeous, romantic narratives… incredibly touching and tender.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V. E. Schwab

When Addie La Rue makes a pact with the devil, she is convinced she’s found a loophole―immortality in exchange for her soul. But the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone.

Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day.

Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him.

Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can’t escape her fate forever.

I am still yet to read this, but looking at the blurb again it does sound great! I’ve not actually read anything by V. E. Schwab yet… persuade me that I am missing out!

The Love Hypothesis, Ali Hazelwood

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire and Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support (and his unyielding abs), their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion.

Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Romance is not my go-to genre, but TTT has introduced me to a number of books that I have loved in that genre. This is one, and it is still lurking on my TBR shelf…

The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells

The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.

In a corporate dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid – a self aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as ‘Murderbot.

Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighbouring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

A great set of stories and a fantastic main character in Murderbot – and a reminder that we are all people regardless of our appearances or designated ‘roles’, and that we just need to treat each other with kindness… or a hail of bullets where that doesn’t work. Is Murderbot deliberately coded as neurodivergent?

Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy ‘Alex’ Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world’s most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch.

Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale’s secret societies – well-known haunts of the rich and powerful. Now there’s a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won’t accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder.

Because Alex knows the secret societies are far more sinister and extraordinary than anyone ever imagined. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And sometimes they prey on the living . . .

A great, fun fantasy read – I loved the different magic perpetuated by the different student groups and Alex’s progress as a character… I must say, less enamoured of the sequel, Hell Bent… Darlington’s glowing demon erection just seemed silly.

One Last Stop, Casey Mcquiston

Moving to New York City is supposed to prove cynical twenty-three-year-old August right: magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist.

But then, she meets this gorgeous girl on the train.

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile.

August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane is displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help Jane. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things after all.

Like I said, Romance is not my genre, but this was really very tender, sweet and fun.

Psalm For the Wild Built, Becky Chambers

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers’ series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

I could have included with the Monk and Robot or the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers because I loved them both – but Psalm for me felt more lyrical, more contemplative, more universal… and had more tea in it. It really was a tender, humane little novel.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin

This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It’s not a romance, but it is about love.

When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one winter morning he is catapulted back to the brief time they spent playing together as children. Their unique spark is instantly reignited.

What comes next is a story of friendship and rivalry, fame and creativity, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, ultimately, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

I cannot deny that I enjoyed this novel – I did, a lot! But I found that the failure of Sam and Sadie to communicate and to talk to each other properly in the second half of the novel highly frustrating!

That said, it would be cool if someone wrote a computer game just to make contact with me… but a little creepy when they start catfishing me with every NPC!

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So, these are book that I have bought and read, and mostly loved as a result of your Top Ten Tuesday lists – and I thank you greatly!

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Upcoming Top Ten Tuesday Themes

August 8: Books I’ve Read/Want to Read Because of Top Ten Tuesday (books you discovered through Top Ten Tuesday, or they kept appearing in top tens and you got intrigued) (submitted by Ellie at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm)
August 15: Characters from Different Books Who Should Team Up (or date, be friends with, etc.) (Submitted by Cathy @ WhatCathyReadNext)
August 22: Genre Freebie (Pick a genre and build a list around it.)
August 29: Water (This can be covers with water on them, books with bodies of water in them, titles with bodies of water in them, etc.)
September 5: Books That Defied My Expectations (books you thought you would didn’t like that you loved, books you thought you’d love but didn’t, books that were not the genres they seemed to be, or in any other way subverted your expectations!) (Submitted by Sia @ everybookadoorway.com)
September 12: Favorite Character Relationships (These can be platonic or not. Romantic relationships, parent/child, siblings, family bonds, friendships, found families, pet/human, etc.)
September 19: Books on My Fall 2023 To-Read List
September 26: Secondary/Minor Characters Who Deserve Their Own Book