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 what we’ll be reading through the winter…

As usual, year’s end finds me about halfway through my summer and autumn TBRs. This year, however, I’m quite lackadaisical about it. I still want to read those books – and I shall – but I’m firmly in free-range mood-reading mode for now. That has so far led me to picking up books that have been on the shelves a while (I’ve finally read the rather adorable The Loneliest Girl In The Universe) – with a focus on physical books, thanks to ongoing headaches.

Mood reading or not, I’ve got some specific plans over the next few months. While December can mostly be whatever I fancy, it must include at least one outstanding NetGalley ARC. Most likely candidates (having bounced off Nophek Gloss this week) are:

Yes, somehow I still haven’t read the three ARCs that are most obviously my jam: A Psalm For The Wild-Built, the latest cosy SF from Becky Chambers; No Gods No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull, aka We’ve Noticed They Walk Among Us And We’re Being Assholes About It; and You Sexy Thing, which involves retirees, food prep, sentient spaceships and space pirates. COME ON.

Next up, January is Vintage Sci Fi Month moderated by Red Star Reviews, which I’m determined to mark this year.

Sure, I could finally read The Forever War or Foundation, but why should 2022 be the year I stop avoiding them? Instead, I’ve got some SFF classics by female authors to choose from: Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven, Charlotte Gilman’s Herland and Octavia Butler’s Patternist saga (I’ve read Wild Seed, so I’ll be jumping in at Mind of My Mind). Or I might make Peat Long happy and finally start the Vorkosigan saga instead.

Then it’s February She Wrote, hosted by Literature & Lofi. Yes, my reading diet is female-dominated most months, but I’ll happily support those seeking to address the gender balance of their reads and go exclusive for 28 days. Besides, with such a broad prompt, this is basically more mood reading for me – bonus!

It could be the perfect excuse to make a dent in my unread Goldsboro editions, which would make it a fantasy-focused month (fine by me). Of course, we may also have Subjective Chaos Kind of Nominees by February – maybe – in which case, I may dive into 2021 releases I haven’t yet read.

Speaking of Subjective Chaos, this often guides my winter reading as I try to finalise my nominees. Fantasy and novella are more than spoken for, but I’ve not read enough 2021 science fiction to form an opinion (and I’m not sure I have a series pick yet, either). Time to go back through the SciFiMonth archives and see what everyone else recommends? Clearly!

What will you be reading?