Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It’s all about books, lists and sharing the love we have of both with our bookish friends. This week, it’s time to take a look at our autumn TBR!

Autumn is a good time for reading. The days get shorter, the weather gets wetter, there’s fewer reasons to pull you away from your book. Or maybe that’s just me. Autumn is also time for my beloved SciFiMonth and usually a scramble to fit in as many of the year’s releases as possible before Subjective Chaos nominations start – so what am I considering reading this year?

Let’s start with a selection of the ARCs and novellas calling my name…

 

Soon – Lois Murphy

Horror isn’t my usual cuppa, but even I can’t resist something spooky at this time of year – and I’m very curious about this Outback-set literary horror. Leaving a remote town can be as hard as surviving it… it’s probably just as well I didn’t read this before my own Outback adventure last winter!

Foxfire, Wolfskin and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women – Sharon Blackie

Look at that gorgeous covers, folks. I am a lifelong fan of legends of shapeshifting women, so I was an instant YES PLEASE when I was offered an ARC and a spot on the upcoming blog tour. Plus I’ve got a few read-alongs to juggle, so a collection of short stories is just the ticket for the coming weeks.

The Lights Go Out in Lychford – Paul Cornell

My favourite Cotswold market town is back – but the borders with other worlds are crumbling. What will its guardians have to do to keep Lychford safe this time? I adore the Witches of Lychford novellas, and a new one is always a delight. I can’t wait to dip back into this darkly cosy urban rural fantasy.

The Bone Ships – RJ Barker

Did someone say disgraced crews, competent women and sea dragons? They did? Well that must be why I hared over to grab a copy of The Bone Ships. I’m also intrigued by critical reviews that this is too much world-building (IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?) so I can’t wait to dive in and find out for myself.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate – Becky Chambers

I know, I know, a new Becky Chambers came out and I haven’t read it yet. Don’t worry, no need to check for body snatchers quite yet – I’m just saving it for SciFiMonth.

…speaking of SciFiMonth, it will of course heavily bias my reading for the next two months – hopefully getting me closer to completing one of my Dance with Fantasy and SciFi dance cards. Some likely candidates:

Hunger Makes the Wolf – Alex Wells [Space Western]

Coming to a SciFiMonth Throwback Thursday near you, I’ve heard lots of good things about this space western. Corporate monopolies, mercenary bikers, complex family dynamics and witchcraft in a high octane space adventure? Damn right I want to find out for myself.

Childhood’s End – Arthur C Clarke [Hive]

What, I’m considering reading some classic SF? Yes I am (hang on to your hats). This will tick the Hive box on my dance card, and has been on my TBR for ages as a slice of essential SF reading.

Steel Frame – Andrew Skinner [Mecha]

From old to brand spanking new! I love movies about giant robots – but how about a book? With a female jockey in a decrepit rig sent to patrol a mysterious phenomenon in space aboard an ageing rustbucket ship, I’m thinking we’re off to a good start (at least in collating some of my favourite tropes)

Hyperion – Dan Simmons [Teleportation]

…see, told you there’d be more classic SF. Hyperion is my pick for Teleportation as I realised I had it tucked away on my shelf following rave reviews during a previous SciFiMonth. Let’s see if I can pay that forward, shall we?

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 – P Djèlí Clark [Steampunk]

I really enjoyed The Black God’s Drums, so Djèlí Clark seems a shoe-in to tick my steampunk box. If I’m honest, I suspect this may be more urban fantasy than scifi, but far be it from me to start policing genre boundaries. Although given it’s about a haunting I may read it for #SpooktasticReads rather than #SciFiMonth even if I put it on my SciFi dance card.

I have a lot of other books clamouring to creep into my SciFiMonth reading so we’ll have to see how honest my dance card keeps me. Maybe I can read fast enough to make room for A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (yes, finally) and Planetfall by Emma Newman (I know, I know)… and the rest. As ever at this time of year, there’s a lot of SF jumping up and down on my shelves begging for attention!

What will you be reading this autumn?