I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out upcoming Top Ten themes on Jana’s blog!
Today is the 10th anniversary of Top Ten Tuesday, how cool is that? The actual prompt is to go back and rework a Top Ten post you’ve done in the past, but I didn’t really want to do that. Instead, I wanted to take a look at my favorite books so far this year, since we’re at the halfway point right now. 2020 may be a shit year in general (oh for so many reasons that we don’t need to rehash!), but I have to say as far as reading goes, it’s been quite amazing. I decided to keep this list to ten books only, so it was challenging to narrow down. And what’s hard to believe is that we still have six months to go! This list only includes books I’ve read since January, and doesn’t include anything I might be in the middle of or have yet to start. Here we go (click on the titles to read my reviews):
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. I just reviewed this yesterday, in case you missed it, and I’m blown away by Jones’s voice and storytelling chops. I won’t go into too much detail here, just read my review if you want to hear me gush about this book!
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. Another horror novel that made my top ten, this is Hendrix at his best, in my opinion. Don’t let the sweet peachy cover fool you, this book is brutal, in the best ways possible.
You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce. This book surprised me in every way possible, and made me a Camilla Bruce fan for life!
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey. This was another surprise! I loved the start to Carey’s new post apocalyptic series, and luckily, I have an eARC of the second book in my hands already.
The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker. This is the only non-2020 release on this list, but I’m so glad I finally went back and read Barker’s amazing seafaring fantasy! I can’t wait for the sequel!
The Queen’s Road by R.S. Belcher. This is the only audio book on this list, which isn’t a surprise since I’m still trying to figure out if I want to continue listening to audio books. BUT I love everything Belcher writes, and this crazy-ass space opera was a ton of fun!
A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers. Wow I loved this historical fantasy about four women connected through time. It was much darker than I thought it was going to be, but Sayers masterfully incorporates those moments into a compelling story that was hard to put down.
The Bard’s Blade by Brian D. Anderson. I loved this start to a new fantasy series, and I’m already looking forward to book two! This is a character-driven story with a fascinating fantasy world.
Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst. This is the only YA on the list, probably because I’m so picky about YA. But this exciting fantasy works great as a crossover into adult fiction. So much fun!
The God Game by Danny Tobey. We’re going way back to January with this book. Wow I had a blast reading The God Game! If you’re looking for a futuristic video game-based story with plenty of fast-paced action, you definitely need to try this out.
The Southern Book Club’s Guide is incredible! I want to go back and read Grady Hendrix’s entire backlist. I have been curious about The God Game, so I am happy to see it on your list.
Kristin @ Kristin Kraves Books recently posted…Books I Have Lost Interest In Reading
You should definitely read We Sold Our Souls, it’s my favorite Grady Hendrix:-)
Ooh. Great list! Of the books here that I’ve read, I absolutely agree that they deserve to be on a “best of” list! Loved Southern Book Club, Book of Koli, and A Witch in Time!
It’s been such a great book year already, right?
Look at this top 10, Tammy. You really have had some great reads and there are many here I need to take note of. I was just reading your review of The Only Good Indians- gosh, I definitely have to read that book!
I feel lucky that I’ve enjoyed so many books already this year:-)
I haven’t read any of these but several are on my wishlist because I know how much you loved them. Especially The Bone Ships!
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I seriously cannot wait for the sequel to The Bone Ships:-)
Oh, what a lovely list. It sounds like your reading year has been very productive. 🙂
My TTT.
It has, thank you Lydia:-)
A great way to reflect. I would have to agree on The Southern Book Club and The Only Good Indians. I hope we have some more great reading for the second half of the year.
And yep, 2020 sure has been a shit show!
I feel like books are the only thing keeping me sane at this point:-/
Race the Sands is currently a contender for my Top Five, but Shorefall is the 2020 release that completely stole my heart. The next six weeks are going to be interesting, some highly anticipated releases on the horizon!
Caitlin G. recently posted…Top Five Tuesday: SFF Books with LGBTQ+ Rep
I agree, the summer releases seem to be out of control!
Great post! I haven’t read any of these yet but have 3 of them on my library holds already.
I hope your holds come in and you can read a few:-)
I can’t wait to read Hendrix’s new book! Great list!
I hope you love it!
Great list! I’ve heard so many good things about The Bone Ships and I’m planning to read The Only Good Indians soon, so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | Books by trans and/or non-binary authors on my TBR
You have lots to look forward to, especially with those two books:-)
I’m so glad the SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE lives up to the hype. I can’t wait to read it!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I hope you enjoy, Susan!
Wow, there have been some great books so far this year. Plus I loved You Let Me In and God Game. Let’s hope the next half of the year is equally impressive.
Lynn 😀
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It has to be, because my list of anticipated releases for the second half is ridiculously long, lol.
The only book on the list I’ve read is The Book of Koli. Looks like I have some catching up to do! 🙂
Yeah you better get reading, Todd;-)
So proud to be on this list. Thank you.
My pleasure, Brian! I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel soon:-)
I’ve just added so many books to my TBR haha.
Glad to see Race the Sands made the list!
Yeah, I had to add it, it was so good!
I did miss your review for The Only Good Indians–I’ll be checking that out right after this now!-and I am SO happy you loved it! Jones did such an incredible job with it. I still haven’t posted my review for it yet because it’s release kept getting pushed back, but it’ll be soon now! I still need to read The Bone Ships, I’ve been holding onto a copy for so long now and I keep forgetting about it?? Also really intrigued by Race the Sands and You Let Me In. Looks like you’ve read some great books already so far!
Yeah, I broke down and put my review of The Only Good Indians up early. I’m not very good at waiting, lol.
I think The Only Good Indians needs to go on my list. Definitely going to check it out. 🙂
Belcher’s book looks great too!
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You should check out both!
Awesome stuff on here! It’s been an odd year so far, I’ve read a lot of great books but I wonder if I have enough favorites/standouts to do a list like this!
I was surprised! I feel like it’s been an odd year too, yet I had no problem coming up with ten great books:-)
Not being very comfortable with audiobooks, I hope that the print or better yet ebook version of Queen of the Road comes out soon, because the synopsis sounded like a lot of fun indeed! 🙂
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I just heard it is coming out soon! The author actually just emailed me and said he was trying to get me an ARC, but he didn’t give any more details. I’ll let you know when I find out:-)
OMG, this list is SO GOOD.
Thanks Jen!
Great list, Tammy! I….still haven’t gotten to most of these but I’ve certainly added some of them to my TBR based on your enthusiasm. 🙂
You really can’t go wrong with any of these:-)
The God Game is the only one from your list I’ve read so far, but all of the other titles are on my list. I’m determined to get to the Hendrix vampire book before the end of the summer.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE CONDUCTORS by Nicole Glover
It’s so good, I hope you get to read it:-)
Great list. I’ve onlyky read one of these so far, and had kind of conflicted feelings on it, but I’m desperate to get to several of the others. Especially The Southern Book Club & Race The Sands.
Southern Book Club is sooo good!
So many of these are still on my TBR, and I’m low-key ashamed that I haven’t read them yet, but I will. Eventually. They might eat me first, who knows. I actually just picked up The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires for the library, so I might just read that final copy instead of the eARC that I’m clearly pathetically late for. But I’m super excited for The Only Good Indians. 😀 I can’t wait to start it.
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Read both, I’m so curious to see what you think:-)
You’ve got a few on your list I want to read still, glad to hear you liked them! My Top 10 is in the link below!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Celebrating 10 Years and 500 Topics
I recommend all of them, hope you have time to check them out:-)
I haven’t read any of these, but a chunk of them are on my TBR – The Bone Ships, You Let Me In, The Only Good Indians. Looks like a strong list!
Jenna @ Falling Letters recently posted…Top 10 Tuesday Turns 10: Re-evaluating My First TTT
I feel like this has been an excellent book year so far:-)
Race the Sand is one that would perfectly fit my genre!
It’s really good, hope you can read it!
I can’t believe I haven’t read any of these yet! But I’m very intrigued by The Southern Book Club and The God Game. Great post!
Dedra @ A Book Wanderer recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday {Celebrating 10 Years & the 500th Topic}: Best Fictional Celebrations
Thanks Dedra, both are fantastic:-)
I am dying to start The Bone Ships and it is all your fault!