Lydia Schoch

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I asked the Internet to give me stock photos related to the word question, and it delivered someone wearing a cardboard box over their head. They’re tapping the side of the box with one hand while making a quizzical gesture with their other arm.

I can’t stop giggling at this image and hope you all find it amusing as well. The internet really is full of surprises, isn’t it?

Let’s move on to the list.

1. What’s the Use of Walking If There’s a Freight Train Going Your Way?: Black Hoboes & Their Songs
by Paul Garon

2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

3. How Do Witches Fly?: A Practical Approach to Nocturnal Flights by Alexander Kuklin

4. What Killed Jane Austen?: And Other Medical Mysteries by George Biro

5. Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey by Martin Handford

6. Who Is Santa Claus?: The True Story Behind a Living Legend by Robin Crichton

7. Who Do You Think You Are? by Alice Munro

8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner, #1) by Philip K. Dick

9. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

10. Did She Kill Him?: A Victorian Tale of Deception, Adultery and Arsenic by Kate Colquhoun

 

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I could have written a list two or three times this length! What a fantastic topic.

1. It’s a healthy form of escapism.

2. It has introduced me to historical eras and events I may not know much about. I have no doubt this will continue to happen in the future!

3. It has let me meet people, both real and imagined, that I would have otherwise never met.

4. It gives me a chance to visit places I haven’t seen in real life yet.

5. It lifts my spirits when I’m sad and gives me hope when I’m going through a rough time.

6. It shows me the beauty in our world.

7. It can be a wonderful way to learn about how others live. For example, you can read books about characters from cultures you didn’t grow up in or who are dealing with sensitive issues that generally aren’t considered polite to ask about in many societies unless you know someone quite well. (Even then, there are plenty of things I’d never bring up unless the person experiencing it mentions it first and says it’s okay to ask questions!)

8. It can help you come up with new strategies to handle your own medical issues, experiences with prejudice, conflicts, etc. For example, I love reading books about other folks who have migraines or chronic headaches because of everything we’d have in common related to that.

9. It’s hopeful. I love reading about how past generations solved their biggest problems or how characters tackle issues that seem insurmountable at first.

10. It’s a wonderful way to make new friends though the blogging community and by discussing books with fellow readers.

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There are so many amazing books being published throughout the rest of 2021!

Toronto’s public library system is pretty good at getting new releases, so my fingers are crossed that I’ll be able to request, and probably even read, all of these books by the end of the year.

If nothing else, I hope to be in a comfortable position in the waitlist for the really popular ones on this list before Christmas rolls around.

 

1. So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix  by Bethany C. Morrow

Release Date: September 7

Why I Want to Read It: This will be my first retelling of Little Women. I can’t wait.

 

2. The Lost Girls  by Sonia Hartl 

Release Date: September 14

Why I Want to Read It: It’s a queer vampire romance that playfully acknowledges the creepiness of a 100+ year old vampire dating a teenage girl. I do enjoy this sort of thing on occasion and am not making fun of it or anything. It’s just nice to see some nuance in the trope.

 

3. The Hill We Climb and Other Poems by Amanda Gorman

Release Date: September 21

Why I Want to Read It: I loved the poem she wrote for President Biden’s inauguration and can’t wait to read more.

 

4. The $16 Taco: Contested Geographies of Food, Ethnicity, and Gentrification  by Pascale Joassart-Marcelli  

Release Date: October 5

Why I Want to Read It: There are many restaurants here in Toronto that will take an inexpensive dish from one ethnic group, add a few unusual ingredients, and jack up the price so much that only wealthy (and generally white) folks can buy it. I’m curious to see what this author has discovered about this practice in general.

 

5. Cackle  by Rachel Harrison

Release Date: October 5

Why I Want to Read It: Most books about witches are not at all scary these days. The blurb hints that this won’t be a traditional “witches are terrifying” tale either, though, so I look forward to seeing what angle it does take.

 

6. Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide  by Cecily Wong

Release Date: October 12

Why I Want to Read It: I have some health conditions that limit my diet. I’m as adventurous as my body will allow, but I love reading about foods I can’t actually have just as much as I do the ones I can eat.

 

7. Bright Lights, Prarie Dust: A Memoir  by Karen Grassle

Release Date: October 19

Why I Want to Read It: I grew up watching reruns of Little House on the Prairie and enjoy going back to that world.

 

8. Yummy: A History of Desserts  by Victoria Grace Elliott 

Release Date: October 19

Why I Want to Read It: As you’ve probably noticed, I love reading about food.

 

9. Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

Release Date: November 9

Why I Want to Read It:  Ms. Okorafor is on my shortlist of must-read authors.

 

10. Within These Wicked Walls  by Lauren Blackwood   Jane Eyre retelling. Ethiopian 

Release Date: November 9

Why I Want to Read It: Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favourite classic novels. I can’t wait to read this retelling of it.

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The instructions for this week’s prompt said to list the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to a wishlist so that people can grant your wish.

I’m tweaking it just a little because a) my TBR pile is already huge, and b) I don’t have actual titles or authors for any of my wishes…yet?

Instead of asking any of you to buy books for me, I’m asking for recommendations instead if you know of any titles that might match up to my bookish wishes below.

Wish #1: Fiction about neanderthals. 

For example, I liked:

The Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel

The Neanderthal Parallax trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron

These all happen to be loosely based in the speculative fiction genre, but I’m quite open to other genres. Neanderthals are cool no matter which genre they appear in or whether they’re a main or side character!

 

Wish #2: Cozy mysteries about main characters who are part of minority groups

I occasionally enjoy a good cozy mystery, but I haven’t read many about characters who are people of colour, LGBT+, disabled, etc.

It’s time to change that if any of you can help.

 

Wish #3: Non-romance stories about animals who do NOT die in the end.

A romantic subplot here or there is totally fine, but I’d prefer the main storyline to be about something else. Mysteries,  fantasy, science fiction, nonfiction, mainstream fiction, or any other genre works perfectly well for me. A sprinkling of horror is cool, too, so long as it’s not gory.

The important thing is that Fido or Fluffy lives happily ever after.

 

Wish #4: Alternate history 

For example, I liked:

The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

I enjoy alternate history books based on specific historical events just as much as I do the ones that get creative with their world-changing events. See also: the aftermath of a zombie uprising.

 

Wish #5: Humorous short stories or novellas

They can be from any genre or era.

I don’t know about all of you, but I’ve spent the last eighteen months actively seeking out cheerful and uplifting things to read.