Stacking the Shelves & It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, the Monday after a very busy Armchair BEA week. It was absolutely amazing but I also didn't manage to really stick with my usual blogging schedule. I also just got back from Germany, which means I once again have access to continuous wi-fi which is very useful! Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Stephanie over at Tynga's Reviews. It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Last week I read/reviewed:


Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir by Jeremy Barlow (review here)

Darth Maul's arc from The Clone Wars is now continued in comic form. Captured by Lord Sidious and Count Dooku at the end of Season 5, will Maul make it back to his recently established crime emporium or does he form too much of a threat to live?

This was my first comic review and I think I quite enjoy it. Comics are quicker to read as well, which helps.

and

The Final Testimony of Raphael Ignatius Phoenix by Paul Sussman (review here)

‘My name is Raphael Ignatius Phoenix and I am a hundred years old – or will be in ten days’ time, in the early hours of January 1st, 2000, when I kill myself…’

Raphael Ignatius Phoenix has had enough. Born at the beginning of the 20th century, he is determined to take his own life as the old millennium ends and the new one begins. But before he ends it all, he wants to get his affairs in order and put the record straight, and that includes making sense of his own long life – a life that spanned the century. He decides to write it all down and, eschewing the more usual method of pen and paper, begins to record his story on the walls of the isolated castle that is his final home. Beginning with a fateful first adventure with Emily, the childhood friend who would become his constant companion, Raphael remembers the multitude of experiences, the myriad encounters and, of course, the ten murders he committed along the way . . . 

And so begins one man’s wholly unorthodox account of the twentieth century – or certainly his own riotous, often outrageous, somewhat unreliable and undoubtedly singular interpretation of it.

I sort of reviewed this one the Sunday before last week, but it was posted after midnight so I'm counting it as last week as well. I really enjoyed this novel. 

This week I'm reading:

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era -- and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth.  There he discovers two bizarre races -- the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks -- who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well.  

I haven't been able to finish this one up yet but there's the train journey on Wednesday and I'm sure I'll manage it by then! It is kind of reminding me of a sci-fi Gulliver's Travels, only that I prefer this one.

and

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan.

It's time to choose sides.... 
On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

A darkly humorous take on Gothic romance, Sarah Rees Brennan's Lynburn Legacy weaves together the tale of a heroine desperate to protect those she loves, two boys hoping to be saved, and the magical forces that will shape their destiny .

I've finally managed to start this one and I'm absolutely loving it so far! I really liked the "absence" of cliched and forced romance in the first one and I really like how Brennan is approaching things in the second book. Please tell me the third one is out!

I didn't get any new books this week although I did win a Michelle Birbeck ebook Prize Pack at Armchair BEA, which should end up in my inbox soon. Does that count?