TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I’m Eager to Read Next Year

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2016 is drawing to a close, and 2017 is right around the bend (so obviously it’s time to start outlining book choices for the new year). As you will know if you’re a regular reader, I rarely keep up with new releases, which is the theme of this week’s topic. Instead, I thought I’d share with you 10 books that I’m really excited to read in the first half of next year. Many of them were published this year, but some of them are older and I’m just looking forward to finally reading them.

  • The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo–Amy Schumer

I really enjoy Schumer’s comedy, and I’m interested to see how she brings humor to her writing in a longer format.

  • Hag-Seed–Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood + Shakespeare= Happy Dance

  • Swing Time–Zadie Smith

Not only is it named after a great Astaire/Rogers musical, it’s also a book by an author I admire greatly. Can you believe she published her first novel at 24? I’m totally in awe of her.

  • After Alice–Gregory Maguire

My TBTB Secret Santa gave me an ARC of this book, and I can’t wait to dig in. I’ve really enjoyed a lot of Maguire’s work like Wicked and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, so I’m interested to see what he does with this iconic story.

  • The Underground Railroad–Colson Whitehead

I love the cleverness of this idea–a metaphor turned into a literal railroad.

  • The Six Wives of Henry VIII–Alison Weir

Another gift from my Secret Santa, this book has been on my TBR list for an embarrassingly long time.

  • Wolf Hall–Hilary Mantel

I read one of Mantel’s short story books last year and loved it, so when I found a copy of her historical fiction at my library’s used book sale, I knew I had to pick it up.

  • Homegoing–Yaa Gyasi

This is the story of two half-sisters from Ghana and the separate paths their lives take–one becomes a slave and the other marries a slaver. The writing was compared to Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi, so I was on board from the moment I heard that.

  • Paper: Paging Through History–Mark Kurlansky

Paper is so ubiquitous, but I don’t always stop and think about where it comes from and how amazing it is to have it around all the time. I love reading nonfiction about the things I use every day.

  • Wide Sargasso Sea–Jean Rhys

I feel like this book and I have been circling each other in the pool, but it’s high time I caught up with it. This adaptation of Jane Eyre has been on my radar forever it feels like, but I only recently added it to my official TBR list.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books that Have Been on my TBR Since I First Set Up a Goodreads Account

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

In college I took a required class that I hated–a library studies class that taught you how to use the databases. Useful, but mind numbingly boring. The best thing to come out of that class was the discovery of Goodreads, which combined my love of making lists with my love of books. What could be better than that?

It’s a love affair that’s continued all the way to the present. Currently, I have 523 books on my TBR list because that’s just how I roll. It doesn’t even include all the books I want to read (I have other lists of books in notebooks), but it’s plenty. There are dozens of books that are still on the list from the first year that I made it. Here’s ten, in no particular order.

  • Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

The first time I watched the film (with Reese Witherspoon) I understood exactly none of it. But I think I was twelve, so I’m giving myself a pass. After college, when it came on Netflix and with a wealth more reading about/from the time period, I enjoyed it so much. I just bought it recently, but I haven’t picked it up yet.

  • A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

This book must have been on a recommended list on Goodreads back then. Since I’ve seen the film (with Helena Bonham Carter), and I’m a little leery of the book and it’s almost certain lack of happy things.

  • Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Not much to say about this one. Haven’t read it. Still want to read it.

  • The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

I love the Tudors. They are such a great, dysfunctional family. This book caught my eye at Costco and I didn’t pick it up. But one day it will be mine! Or I’ll check it out at the library.

  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Oh the great book club read with the crazy title. My mom said she couldn’t really get into it, so I snatched it from the donation pile.

  • The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

I wasn’t ever really that into the movie, but I’m obsessed with fantasy and maybe I’d like the movie more now if I saw it again.

  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

My fiance has told me the book is better than the film but it’s still not that great. So it might actually come off this list. I’m not sure. Anyone have an opinion on this book?

  • The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee

There’s really no reason this novel hasn’t been read yet. I’ve even picked it up from the library several times.

  • The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

All for one and one for all! Love the movies (like the one with Tim Curry), need to read the book.

  • Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier

I used to eye this book at Barnes & Noble as a kid–the cover was hypnotic but there was always some other more urgent book to buy.

 

Want to scroll through my never-ending TBR? Here’s the link.

 

So over to you now. Have you read any of these books? Avoided them on purpose? Had a book that you’ve encountered over and over during the years and never gotten to?

Or have you, like me, seen a bunch of adaptations without reading the source material? Do you always read the book first? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books on My Fall To-Be-Read List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from the Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s feature has you choose books you’re going to read this fall. As you know, these are all by female writers and they’re a mixture of things on my Goodreads list and books from these two great lists (which would be great to peruse if you’re searching for something to read for your own fall or winter list): 30 Books Every Woman Needs to Read (lots of feminist stuff, all by women writers) and 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read 1963-2013 (the compiler of this list chose one book from each year with runner ups, and there are some amazing modern classics on here–if you find it difficult to find books you like–this list is for you).

The top five are straight off my Goodreads list and the bottom five appear on one or both of the other lists.

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  1. Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison (historical fiction)
  2. Mimi by Lucy Ellmann (novel)
  3. We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill (non fiction)
  4. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (young adult)
  5. The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton (poetry)
  6. The Color Master by Aimee Bender (short stories)
  7. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende (novel)
  8. Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill (short stories)
  9. Self-Help by Lorrie Moore (short stories)
  10. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (extended essay)

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There’s a lot of short stories on here, which I’m a little worried about because I’ve never been the biggest short story reader. There are a couple collections I like, but I don’t make a big habit of reading them.

Have you read any of these books? I’d love to know your thoughts on them (if they’re not too, too discouraging).

Do you ever come across random lists that you know you have to read your way through? I think these two are really good–though there are some books that didn’t jive with me.