Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, in which we talk about a bookish topic and have fun making lists. I’ve not been around recently, so it’s time to get back into the TTT swing with this week’s Top Ten Books on my Autumn Reading List.

First up, confessions: I haven’t read all the books that made it on to my spring or summer TBR. I know, right? You have all these books you’re wild to read, then something else sneaks in as a present or an impulse buy or an ARC you just can’t say no to.

So my conscience nags me to finish reading those, but we all know that’s not how it works. There’s no joy in reading because you ought to. It’s got to be what you want to, or you do the book a disservice. Brilliant, crisis of conscience averted.

So, what will I read? It’s autumn – the nights are getting chilly (even if the days are blazingly bright), and in a month I’ll head north to worship the empty spaces and vivid colours of the far north. Then it’s SciFi Month. So my autumn is all seasonal and scifi and I am made of excitement.

 

Signal to Noise – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

OK, so this was on my summer reading list, but I still want to read it – especially after loving Certain Dark Things. Silvia Moreno-Garcia brings us Mexico City in the 80s – a tale of love, magic and mixtapes. Oh, my heart. Yes please.

 

Caraval – Stephanie Garber

Some pitches have me at hello. Loving sisters. A once-a-year, five-night interactive theatrical show where everything is part of the performance. Or is it? When one sister is kidnapped by the mastermind behind the show, can the other rescue her? And how much of what she’s experiencing is for real? GIMME.

 

Rawblood – Catriona Ward
I’ve been sat on this all year. It is time. The Villarcas die young of a congenital disease – if being haunted by a vengeful ghost can be called a disease.  They must remain alone, unloved, or she will strike. I’m not a big fan of horror, but I do like a splash of gothic from time to time. Can you say Hallowe’en? HALLOWE’EN.

 

Winter Tales – edited by Margret Helgadottir

Winter is a good time for short stories, and this is a collection of the speculative, apparently ‘dark, grim, beautiful and grotesque’. I like bitesize books, so this sounds like it will fill some of my autumn nights with a different sort of chill.

 

The Star of the Sea – Una McCormack

Stella Maris is a world beyond the human Expansion, unusually shared with the alien Vetch. But its peace is about to be shattered, and it will find itself at the heart of galactic politics. I’ve not read any other Weird Space novels (but now I know about them I might have to).

 

Crashing Heaven – Al Robertson

After the war on AI, Jack and psychopathic puppet Hugo Fist must clear their name before Hugo’s software licence expires, killing them both. I’ve sat on this so long it has sequels. This November is finally time to get on board for what sounds like a wild ride.

 

Glorious Angels – Justina Robson

I’ve heard many good things, and I couldn’t resist a GollanczFest deal, so I am all lined up to find out more. A stranger brings news of turmoil, and a young woman must challenge her role: apparently this is science, magic and sexual politics, which puts it right up my street.

 

Dust (Pinion) – Elizabeth Bear

A generation ship in orbit around a dying sun. Bitter rivalries and unforgivable sins. Angels losing their wings and confronting God. I don’t know if this is scifi, fantasy or space myth, but I’ve been meaning to find out. This one is in for SciFi Month.

 

Lock In – Scalzi

I still haven’t read this post-flupocalypse thriller, and a busy autumn at work is the perfect time for some Scalzi brain candy. In fact, the prospect of body-swapping, identity-fuzzing and ethical complexities makes me hope for an unscheduled long-haul flight so I can rip through it in one go!

 

A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers

Last SciFi Month introduced me to the Wayfarer in The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet. This autumn, I get to explore personhood with newborn AI Lovelace in the stand-alone sort-of sequel. I’ll miss the crew of the Wayfarer, but I can’t wait to see what Becky Chambers has in store for me.

 

Of course, this list is almost entirely things that are actually on my shelf now (except A Closed and Common Orbit, and that’s only because it isn’t out yet and I haven’t found out who to bribe for an ARC). So we’ll see how I go as the distractions pop up along the way… Plus the usual weekly dose of dragons and Tremontaine!

 

What will you be reading this autumn?