Lydia Schoch

  
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Just like I say every time seasonal TBR posts come up, I won’t be able to come up with a full ten answers or predict everything I’ll read over the next few months. I admire those of who you are that methodical, but that’s not quite how my reading habits work.

With that being said, these books will hopefully be included along with the usual mood reads and whatever intriguing stories I happen to stumble across at my local library this winter and spring.

Old Babes in the Woods: Stories by Margaret Atwood

Release Date: March 7

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve loved most of Atwood’s stories and give everything she publishes a shot.

Piñata by Leopoldo Gout

Release Date: March 14

Why I Want to Read It: I am not very familiar with indigenous Mexican lore and am looking forward to learning more about it here.

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Release Date: March 28

Why I Want to Read It: I’m a new fan of Kingfisher’s work and want to try everything she’s written so far!

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I thought this topic would be an easy one, but it turned out to be a little tricky! I found many wonderful books last year, but my list of all-time favourites continues to shift over time.

Feel free to read my full reviews if you wish, but I also condensed my favorite thing about each book into one sentence each in this post (mostly). That, too, was much harder than it seemed at first.

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden (My Review)

What I Loved About It: The spooky setting was fabulous.

My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood (My Review)

What I Loved About It: The main character was delightfully hard to figure out. Was she a good guy or a bad guy? How about her mother? I’m still not entirely sure!

Voices in the Wind by Joshua Scribner (My Review)

What I Loved About It: Tornadoes frighten me, but this tale made me see them in an entirely new light.

The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood (My Review)

What I Loved About It: The main character was blissfully unaware of his deepest character flaws, and that made his adventure much more dangerous than it should have been.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (My Review)

What I Loved About It: The peacefulness and low stakes of the main character’s mission made this a comfort read for me.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (My Review)

What I Loved About It: I loved catching up with the characters I met in A Psalm for the Wild-Built again.

Samantha, 25, on October 31 by Adam Bertocci (My Review)

What I Loved About It: The protagonist had a crappy retail job and yearned for more which made her feel much more real to me than someone who has it all figured out in life.

Vespasian Moon’s Fabulous Autumn Carnival by Berthold Gambrel (My Review)

What I Loved About It: At least half of the characters felt untrustworthy at any given moment, but all of them seemed like super interesting folks to hang out with.

The Story of Sigurd the Dragonslayer by Liam G Martin (My Review)

What I Loved About It: It’s always cool to reimagine origin stories for famous characters.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (My Review)

What I Loved About It: Wholesome horror is hard to find, but this book flirted with that idea in some delightful ways.

May 2023 be a fantastic reading year for all of us.

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Not my dog or my spouse…but look at that adorable little expression on the pup’s face!

If you’re a new reader of this blog, let me explain something quickly before diving into my list.

Over the past few years, I’ve made a serious effort to put indie and small press authors at the top of my priority list for reviewing. I love well-known authors, too, but they have so many more opportunities to be introduced to new readers than someone who self publishes their work or who has secured a book deal with a tiny publishing company.

I believe in supporting other writers and giving them some free exposure on my friendly little corner of the Internet when I can.

So don’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of any of these folks.

Honestly, I’ll be shocked if you do know about them, but please tell me what you think of their work if that’s the case. I haven’t read these titles and therefore can’t endorse them…yet?

All I know is that I was intrigued enough by them to download them when they were free. If you follow me on Mastodon, you’ll see a list of free books every Thursday and occasional retweets of other free books on other days.

When the Last Story Gets Told by C.S. Anderson

Why I’m Intrigued: I love campfire stories, and this sounds like it could be a good one.

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Last year I spun this topic to include all sorts of bookish things I’d like for the winter.. This year I’m going to attempt to answer the question directly, albeit with a little bit of a speculative fiction twist in some answers. Santa doesn’t visit my house, but maybe a fairy godmother or an attentive publishing company will pay attention?

1. New Books From Authors Who Didn’t Publish Anything New in 2022

I was thrilled to read a new Becky Chambers book in 2022. Now it’s time for Sarah Waters, Rivers Solomon, Nnedi Okorafor, Alex Cross, and Andy Weir to do the same thing in 2023.

2. A Magical Book That Recovers Lost Memories

3. A Magical Book That Dampens Difficult Memories

Wouldn’t it be nice to have more say in what we do and don’t remember?

4. A Book About the Psychology of Pain and Chronic Illness

I was originally going to request that it be nonfiction, but a fictional story might work, too.

In early 2022, I was officially diagnosed with migraines. While trying a few different treatments for it I’ve become quite interested in the coping mechanisms people create to deal with pain and chronic illness. For example, I try to find the humorous side of my diagnosis when possible and feel odd going into too much detail about how it affects me with most people. (My current treatment regiment does reduce symptoms if I follow the protocol,  but it can’t completely eliminate everything).

5.  Well-Written Sequels to All of the Books that Make Readers Yearn to Know What Happened Next 

Not everything needs a sequel, of course, but if they do, I’d want to see copies of those books magically arrive at the homes of everyone who can’t wait to keep reading.

6. Books That Make Me Laugh

There’s no such thing as too many humorous books if you ask me.