Throwing Down the Gauntlet with Flannery of The Readventurer

In the two years since Lisa and I started The Nocturnal Library, I've posted all kinds of things, wrote hundreds of reviews, organized a blog tour and helped put together a week-long blog hop/event, but I have never challenged a friend to read at my recommendation only. Of course, most people would never agree to do such a thing, but you shouldn't underestimate my powers of persuasion. I have honed the skill of transoceanic hypnosis to absolute perfection and I'm afraid my dear friend Flannery had no choice in the matter.

That's not to say it was all easy, though. After long and rather hostile negotiations (virtual punches may or may not have been thrown), we agreed on a list of 50 books, most of them adult Urban Fantasy, Steampunk and even Paranormal Romance. (I tried so hard for this last one, but you guys know it gives me allergies.) Some titles you'll all see coming, and some will probably surprise you, but I hope each of you will find something you'll like.

But first, have you guys met Flannery? All jokes aside, she's the best and kindest friend a girl could ever wish for, so if you don't know her yet, run over to The Readventurer and do some research.

And now, onto the list. (Be afraid, be very afraid!)

For some reason, I feel like starting with Steampunk. It's my new love, a genre I never saw coming, to be honest, but one that just keeps surprising me with creativity. Here are some of my favorites:

1. The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

2. Phoenix Rising by Philippa Ballantine

3. Soulless by Gail Carriger

4. A Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesl Schwartz

5. Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre

For Paranormal Romance, I have only one title, but it's one I really like, so I hope you guys will forgive me.

6. Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Totally embarassing, right? Right. I didn't want many adult post-apocalyptic, dystopian, futuristic titles, but these just snuck up on me somehow.

7. The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell

8. Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead  

9. The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater

I think none of you will be particularly surprised to see that my Urban Fantasy list is by far the longest. All of these are first books of a series, and I love them all.


10. First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
11. Kindling the Moon by Jenn Bennett
12. Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
13. Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
14. The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay
15. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
16. Stormwalker by Allyson James
17. Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
18. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
19. Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
20. Blood Rights by Kristen Painter
21. Right Hand Magic by Nancy A. Collins
22. Midnight Riot by Ben Aronovich
23. Touch the Dark by Karen Chance
24. Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane
25. Sealed With a Curse by Cecy Robson 
26. Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson

The adult Sci-Fi list is also very short, but both are books I absolutely adore.

27. Perdition by Ann Aguirre
28. The Academy by Zachary Rawlins

Next is just a list of books I loved at some point in my life. There's a bit of everyhting in there, some classics, two Croatian titles, a few odd choices, but every one of them is a book that means a lot to me.

29. Chicago by Alaa Al Aswany
30. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
31. As If I Am Not There by Slavenka Drakulić
32. Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree by Santa Montefiore
33. Betty Blue by Philippe Djian
34. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
35. Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
36. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
37. Sarajevo Marlboro by Miljenko Jergovic (SS collection)
38. The Stranger by Albert Camus



And finally, because I just couldn't help myself, here are some of my favorite YA titles I wish Flann would read. She told me she doesn't read that much YA these days, so I don't expect her to pick any of them, but I had to include them anyway.


39. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
40. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
41. All Fall Down by Sally Nichols
42. The Diviners by Libba Bray
43. Sanctum by Sarah Fine
44. Bruised by Sarah Skilton
45. In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
46. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
47. How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kristen Miller
48. Cornerstone by Misty Provencher
49. Boy Nobody by Alen Zadoff
50. Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

You can go over to The Readventurer to check out Flann's post. She already finished two books from my list and she has plans for more.

What about you guys? Do you have any additional recommendations? Do you see something you'd like to read yourselves?

Love,

TBR Intervention Challenge (1)

TBR Intervention Challenge is a weekly challenge hosted by Dani@RefractedLight, Anayami@Whatever You Can Still Betray and April@Books4Juliet.

Even though we're a day late, we both completed our challenges:

Lisa has finished:

Queen of Attolia is certainly a worthy sequel to The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.
I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first one, I got to see a Eugenides I liked much more (he's still quite obnoxious, but more charmingly so) and got to know other characters I was interested in from The Thief. I still have slight problems with the pacing and this book was rather heavy on all the political intrigues, but all in all, a stunning sequel to an amazing book. Will surely pick up The King of Attolia in the neat future. Also, I'm very glad I got this book off my To-Be-Read list.
Read my full review here.

Maja has finished:

I have to admit that this wasn't my favorite book of all time. I guess I was right when I abandoned it about a year ago. I honestly thought that my tastes have changed and that I might like it this time around, but it didn't work out quite like that. To give credit where credit is due, Megan McCafferty is a skilled writer. She uses language intelligently and she is very good at coining words that are both useful and hilarious. My problem wasn't with her writing abilities at all. Just like with Melody and Harmony in Bumped, I had no love for Jessica at all. She was whiny, she spent way too much time wallowing in self-pity, and, well, mostly I wanted to throttle her to shut her up.

I doubt I'll write a review this time. I really have far more important reviews to write.

Even though we're a little late, we decided to challenge ourselves again, and we chose a book that was on both our tbr piles for a very long time. We'll read it together, and we have something very special planned in place of our reviews, but you'll have to come back in a week or so to find out more about that. Here's our choice (And don't you just love that cover?):

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.

Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

Happy reading to you all!

Lisa and Maja

TBR Intervention Challenge

TBR Intervention Challenge is a weekly challenge hosted by Dani@RefractedLight, Anayami@Whatever You Can Still Betray and April@Books4Juliet.

We both decided to participate and we decided to write our first post together. We'll publish separate posts later on to avoid interfering with each other's rhythm. We are a little late to this week's party since we were supposed to choose a book two days ago, but I'm sure we'll manage to complete our challenges by Saturday.

Lisa chose The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner for this week.

When Eugenides (yoo-JEN-ə-deez), the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes's Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eugenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered...she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge.
...but Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times.
...at what price?
When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph, and his greatest loss, comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago...


Maja chose Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?






Both these books have been on our respective tbr piles for quite some time and it'll probably feel good to finally read them. We'll each post our update this Saturday.

Fingers crossed!