Top 5 Tuesday #45: Witches & Wytches

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 witches

What are your favourite witchy books?

I’m attracted to stories about witches and have bought a few of them. However, I haven’t read as many of them as I thought I had, so these aren’t my favorite books about witches but instead are books I’ve read that have witches in them.

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

The is the second book in the Witches subseries of Pratchett’s larger Discworld fantasy series. I’ve only read two of Pratchett’s books so far, this and Equal Rites, which is the first book in the Witches series. I enjoyed them. They are humorous and quite entertaining. I think I prefer Wyrd Sisters of the two. In it, witches plot to overthrow a tyrant.

Wytches, Vol. 1 by Scott Snyder, illus. by Jock

A horror comic book about a family that relocates to New Hamshire following a tragic incident and learn that there’s something weird about the woods there. The story is a bit creepy and is perfect for Halloween. I liked the father-daughter relationship in it and the colors used for the illustrations.

The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol

The first in a middle grade fantasy series about a girl who becomes an apprentice witch in a small, backwater town after flunking her witch exam. I liked the story but thought it didn’t adequately explain some things or show how certain relationships develop. However, I would like to read the second book. The story was interesting.

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama (illus.)

The first in a manga series about a girl who loves magic and wants to become a witch and is able to do so after a fateful accident. I love the illustrations and was very entertained by the story. I’ve since bought all the volumes in the series (about six) and intend to continue with it soon.

Sylvania, #1 by Kristin Kemper (illus.)

A sweet YA fantasy webcomic about three sisters who are tree witches. The star witches are seeking volunteers to help them terraform Mars and one of the sisters volunteer for the trip. I liked the story. It has a slow start, but it kept me interested and I liked the art. I hope the artist continues with it. It seems that they’ve been on a break from it for about a year now. You can read the webcomic here.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU’VE READ ANY OF THESE.

Top 5 Tuesday #44: Ghosts, Spirits, Spectres

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 ghosts

What are your favourite books that either have ghosts or talk about ghosts?

I don’t consider all these as favorites, but the following are books I’ve read that have ghosts in them.

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol (illus.)

A YA paranormal comic book about a girl named Anya who’s struggling with her cultural identity and body image. She encounters a ghost one day when she fell down a well and is haunted by it, which was fun at first until she realizes that the ghost is not as nice as it initially seemed.

I wasn’t swept away by the story, but it’s a decent read that’s perfect for this time of year.

Top 5 Tuesday #43: Black & Orange

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

Black & Orange Covers

Favorite books that have black or orange on the cover
(I selected a couple books from my collection that have those colors on the cover.
I haven’t read any of them.)

Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture by Emma Dabiri

A nonfiction book about Black people’s hair. I think the U.K. title for it is Don’t Touch My Hair. It’s so confusing when publishers give the same book two different titles.

Top 5 Tuesday #42: U – V – W – X – Y – Z

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

U – V – W – X – Y – Z

(characters whose name begins with the featured letters)
I SUCK at remembering character names, so this will be tough.

U IS FOR…

Uncle Iroh

I’m cheating a bit here because I was having a hard time thinking of a character whose name begins with U. Also, I recently finished rewatching Avatar: the Last Airbender so Uncle Iroh wasn’t too far from my mind.

Top 5 Tuesday #41: P – Q – R – S – T

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

P – Q – R – S – T

(characters whose name begins with the featured letters)
I SUCK at remembering character names, so this will be tough.

P IS FOR…

Phédre

Top 5 Tuesday #40: K – L – M – N – O

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

K – L – M – N – O

(characters whose name begins with the featured letters)
I SUCK at remembering character names, so this will be tough.

K IS FOR…

Killmonger

Top 5 Tuesday #39: F – G – H – I – J

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

F – G – H – I – J

(characters whose name begins with the featured letters)
I SUCK at remembering character names, so this will be tough.

F IS FOR…

Frank Longbottom

Top 5 Tuesday #38: A – B – C – D – E

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

A – B – C – D – E

(characters whose name begins with the featured letters)
I SUCK at remembering character names, so this will be tough.

A IS FOR…

Althea Vestrit

Best Books So Far in 2020

It’s past due that I discuss the best books I’ve read so far this year.

Below are 11 of the best books I read. They are mostly listed in the order I read them. Not all of them are favorites, but I’ll certainly point out which books are as I go along.

For the most part, rereads aren’t considered, but I reread one of my favorite series in a different format and loved it so much that I had to include it on this list.

Farseer trilogy audiobooks by Robin Hobb, narr. by Paul Boehmer

★★★★★
(Favorite)

Summary: This is a fantasy trilogy about the bastard son of a prince who becomes an assassin’s apprentice. The books closely follow Fitz growing up at Buckkeep court and becoming entangled in political intrigues and taboo magic.

Top 5 Tuesday #37: Series I Want to Start

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 series I want to start

Well, this is more the top 5 series to pop in my head when I thought of this topic.

Inheritance trilogy

I’ve yet to read anything by N.K. Jemisin but when I do, I’d like to start with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the first novel in her Inheritance trilogy, which seems to be of the fantasy genre. I want to start with her fantasy stuff before going sci-fi.