Tsana's December Status (pre-Xmas)

This state of my reading post comes to you after I ordered a pile of books for vaguely Christmas-related reasons (more like Dragon Age graphics card related reasons, but, well, long story). But said pile of books has yet to arrive so they will go into a future post. Looking at LibraryThing (which is the most accurate rendition of my book collection), I still got quite a few new booksies this past month. Oops?

I also discovered (well, got around to setting up) digital library loans, particularly of audiobooks. Those don't count as books bought/received, obviously, but they have contributed to books read.

And while there'll be more "looking back on the year" type posts in the following couple of weeks, I have already posted by Anticipated 2015 Reads list. I am also hoping that laying out what month those books come out in will help me curtail review books. I don't want to fall as behind as I have been for the last few months again.

Finally, in writing news, I had a flash story in Antipodean SF this month. You can read it for free here.

What Have I Read?

• How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier, an audiobook that I borrowed from the library. I enjoyed it more than I expected to.
• Difficult Second Album by Simon Petrie, an excellent collection of short stories. Highly recommended for SF fans.
• No Need to Reply by Jodi Cleghorn, a collection of flash stories. Contemporary rather than spec fic; an interesting genre sidestep for me.
• The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, another library audiobook. This one was more meh, but not terrible. Will probably read book 2, but won't go far out of my way to do so.
• Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis, a super awesome YA fantasy that I cannot recommend enough to all fans of fantasy or YA. Seriously, just read it.
• The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins, the third library audiobook I listened to. Modern Berlin, fairies and a serial killer of fairies.
• Clockwork Gold by Jenny Schwartz, a steampunk romance novella set in the Western Australian gold fields
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, a solid fantasy book, recommended.
• Horizon by Keith Stevenson, a really good SF novel about an isolated crew on a long-term mission.

Currently Reading

City of Masks by Ashley Capes. I haven't gotten very far in, but I am enjoying it more than I expected (always a level of trepidation picking up a new fantasy author).

I am partway through some other books, but I haven't picked them up in a while. I should probably mention Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, which I've only recently started in audiobook form.

New Booksies

New books were very batchy this past month, so I shall list them as such. Purchased because I could:

• Judgement Day (Science of Discworld 4) by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen
• Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook by Terry Pratchett — also came with a special edition ticket thingy

Review books from Clan Destine Press:

• The Blood She Betrayed by Cheryse Durrant
• Arrabella Candellarbra & the Questy Thing to End All Questy Things by A.K. Wrox
• AKA Fudgepuddle by Fin J Ross

 Purchased because it came out and/or I saw it:

• Symbiont by Mira Grant
• How Green This Land How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant (novella in the Newsflesh universe, set in Australia)

More review books, the first two from the author and the last from the publisher via NetGalley:

• Clockwork Gold by Jenny Schwartz (already reviewed)
• Curses and Confetti by Jenny Schwartz (third in the Bustlepunk Chronicles)
• Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn