Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.
Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.
Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!
Title: Ghost Talkers
Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Published: 2016
Length: 304 pages
What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):
Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Harford, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force.
Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence.
Ginger and her fellow mediums contribute a great deal to the war efforts, so long as they pass the information through appropriate channels. While Ben is away at the front, Ginger discovers the presence of a traitor. Without the presence of her fiance to validate her findings, the top brass thinks she’s just imagining things. Even worse, it is clear that the Spirit Corps is now being directly targeted by the German war effort. Left to her own devices, Ginger has to find out how the Germans are targeting the Spirit Corps and stop them. This is a difficult and dangerous task for a woman of that era, but this time both the spirit and the flesh are willing…
How and when I got it:
I was dying to read this book as soon as I heard of it, so I preordered and got it right when it was released in August 2016.
Why I want to read it:
I can’t believe this book has been sitting on my nightstand for a year now! I’m ridiculous. I still really want to read it — I love the idea of mediums working in military intelligence! It sounds really awesome, and I’m picking this as my Shelf Control book to try to shame myself. Really, I have to stop buying books and then not reading them, especially when they appeal to me so much! Too many books, too little time… I need to be better at prioritizing my reading in 2018!
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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:
- Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
- Add your link in the comments!
- If you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
- Check out other posts, and…
Have fun!
Bookshelf Fantasies 
This one was a super fun read. I haven’t seen that many folk that I have read it either. Looking forward to seeing yer take on it. Mine is linked below if ye like to read it. No pressure!
x The Captain
https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/the-captains-log-ghost-talkers-mary-robinette-kowal/
Thanks for sharing your link! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the book — can’t wait to read it myself! It’s funny, I’m actually listening to a series of audiobooks right now narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal (but by a different author) — so not only is she a good writer, but she also does great voice acting!
I knew she did some voice work. One talented lady. I do want to read more by her when I get a chance.
x The Captain
It’s so hard to not get excited about a book I want to read – so I totally get this! I have more than a few of these on my shelf – shameful indeed! But there is only so much time, right?
I think the only solution is to move to an isolated cabin for a year without access to the outside world… but bringing all my books along! I’d read everything I own, and woulnd’t get distracted by new books!