- The King – Kader Abdolah. This seems to be a novel about historical Persia – I borrowed it from the library as part of my ongoing effort to read more (or, indeed, any) books by POCs. It sounds like it could be either fascinating or extremely dull.
- A Gathering of Shadows – V.E. Schwab. Another library book and the sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic, which I rather liked. I’ve seen some slightly iffy things recently about Schwab’s conduct on social media, though, so my enjoyment might be coloured by that.
- Steampunk Fairy Tales. A work colleague gave me this because, in her words, “I know you like fairy tales and I know you like steampunk”. And, yes, that’s a pretty perfect combination. #excited
- A Street Cat Named Bob – James Bowen. A present from the Circumlocutor’s mother. Alongside fairy tales and steampunk, cats are one of the best things you can ever expect to find in a book.
- The House of Shattered Wings – Aliette de Bodard. Part of my enormous Nine Worlds haul, this sort-of urban fantasy is also part of my diverse reading project and has been on my radar for ages. It sounds awesome and I just cannot wait to start.
- The Book of Phoenix – Nnedi Okorafor. Another Nine Worlds book and another diverse read. I read Lagoon earlier in the year and enjoyed it rather a lot. I’ve heard this is a prequel, though, so I’m slightly worried I might be missing out on other bits of story when I read it.
- Deja Vu – Ian Hocking. I got this free in my Nine Worlds goody bag and it looks like it could be mildly interesting? It sounds like it might be a vaguely cyberpunk-y SF thriller – I’m imagining a cross between Neuromancer and Channel 4’s Humans, though that may have something to do with the cover.
- The Uncommon Reader – Alan Bennett. I got this at the wedding of some TolkSoc friends I went to over the summer where they gave out second-hand books as wedding favours (how lovely an idea is that?). A story apparently about the Queen becoming a bookworm, it sounds like it will be a fun read with heart.
- The City’s Son – Tom Pollock. Yes, OK, another Nine Worlds purchase. I actually accidentally bought the second in this series a while back thinking it was something else and figured that since I was already saddled with it I might as well read the series in the right order. Serendipitously, it looks like it might be a rather enjoyable urban fantasy.
- The Geek Feminist Revolution – Kameron Hurley. I promise, this is my last Nine Worlds purchase, as well as possibly the one I’m looking forward to most. Hurley became one of my favourites when I read God’s War earlier in the year and it was awesome and powerful and gutsy and sure. And, yay feminism!
(The theme for this post was suggested by the Broke and the Bookish’s weekly meme Top Ten Tuesday.)
The English Student 
