Showcase Sunday #27

Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea.

Lots of exciting books this week, mostly because it was my birthday! I haven't had much time to read this week - a combination of birthday celebrations (including a weekend at the beach, where I celebrated with pizza on the beach and Icelandic beer), applying for jobs, preparing for my viva examination, and just generally saying yes to too many things...

But I am looking forward to an unspecified time at which I will be able to read freely again. (!)

From the library

Last Rituals - Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Icelandic crime fiction, the first in Sigurðardóttir's series about the detective Thóra Gudmundsdóttir. This book counts towards my 2013 Translation Challenge goal.

The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie

Another classic, early Marple mystery. After thoroughly enjoying The Murder at the Vicarage, I am giving Miss Marple another chance!

Received as gifts

Be Awesome - Hadley Freeman

Hadley writes for the Guardian, and this book covers lots of topics, from beauty standards and sex to working in an office, being an unannoying vegetarian (!) and dealing with all those married friends. Have dipped into the first couple of chapters and enjoying it so far - reminiscent of Caitlin Moran's How To Be A Woman, in a way.

The Purity Myth - Jessica Valenti

I have been looking for a copy of this book for ages, and my housemate bought me it for my birthday! The subtitle (if it's unclear in the photo) is "How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women". I first heard about this when Jessica Valenti was still editor of Feministing.com, and I'm looking forward to starting it.

The Hive - Gill Hornby

I saw Gill Hornby being interviewed on the breakfast news a couple of weeks ago, and her book sounds really interesting - it centres of a group of women who know each other from the school gates, and how the hierarchies of their "friendship" develop.

All The Summer Girls - Meg Donohue

My brother sent me this as a gift - I've seen some good reviews, and again it looks at female friendship, focusing on three women who return to the beach they used to visit as children.

Thanks for stopping by - hope everyone has a good weekend!

I choose you! Top ten books to read in 2013

Happy New Year!

It's been a while since I've participated in a Top Ten Tuesday, as hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but this week's topic was Top Ten Books You Have Resolved to Read in 2013, and I thought it would be a nice way to kick the blog into the new year. (Gently, of course.)

1. The Treasure Map of Boys / Real Live Boyfriends (Ruby Oliver #3 and #4) by E. Lockhart

I voted this my favourite series read in 2012 after reading books #1 (review) and #2 (review), and I really want to find out what happens next!

2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Because I loved Anna like most other people loved Anna, and I've been waiting for the paperback to be released, which is finally happening in April!

3. Nemesis by Philip Roth

As regular readers will probably have picked up on by now, Roth is one of my favourite authors. This is his last book, published in 2010. He has since announced his retirement from writing.

4. Transparent by Natalie Whipple

I started following Natalie's blog while I was taking part in Nanowrimo a few years ago, and during that time she got her first book deal. Transparent is her debut novel and I'm excited to read it!

5. Sloppy Firsts (Jessica Darling #1) by Megan McCafferty

I am a big fan of contemporary YA, and Tara at The Librarian Who Doesn't Say Shhh has mentioned these books a few times (along with lots of other bloggers!) - they sound exactly like my kind of thing.

6. Doppler by Erlend Loe

For a tiny slip of a book, Naive. Super by Erlend Loe is one of the books I go on about the most. Until recently, I hadn't been able to find any of his other books translated into English, but Doppler was released recently and I can't wait to read it!

7. Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

Krakauer is perhaps my favourite non-fiction writer, and this is his most recent book (although I think it's a couple of years old now), which I have yet to read.

8. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti

I first became aware of Valenti as the editor of Feministing, a position she has since moved on from. A part of my doctoral research has coalesced around sexuality in American culture, and this looks like an interesting book I've been meaning to read for a while.

9. Grimm Tales for Young and Old by Philip Pullman

I've always been intrigued by Grimms' Fairy Tales in their original, slightly creepy forms, and I'm interested to see what Pullman has done with them.

10. Persuasion by Jane Austen

A friend of mine, hearing that I was reading Pride and Prejudice, suggested that I might enjoy Persuasion more, so I'm going to give it a go!