Tag Archives: TBR

September 24, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2024 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Photo of a light brown mug and an opened book lying in a bed of red and yellow autumn leaves on the forest floor. When I first began working on this post, I couldn’t find anything that appealed to me.

There is a lot of gory horror as well as Christmas stories that are generally released in the autumn.

No offense to anyone who loves either of those genres, but I needed to look elsewhere to build my list this week.

Sometimes it pays off to dig deeper and keeps going. Here are some of the upcoming autumn books that have caught my eye.

I’m too much of a mood reader to commit to a specific reading schedule in most cases, but all of these do look interesting.

Thank you to Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits for doing this topic a week early and giving me two more titles to add to my list!

 

Book cover for The City in Glass by Nghi Vo. Image on cover is a drawing of a city on fire just after dusk. We are looking at the flames from far away while standing under two carved stone pillars that are still connected by a piece of stone placed on top of them. There are female figures carved into the pillars. They look a little like Greek goddesses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo

Publication Date: October 1

Why I Want to Read It: This novella looks like a nice mixture of several different themes: adventure, romance, and fantasy.

 

Book cover for The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen. Image on cover shows a tabled filled with autumn fruits like apples, some of which are rotten, and a human skull placed on the side of the table. This is an unsettling scene that made me shiver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen

Publication Date: October 8

Why I Want to Read It: The story looks scary but hopefully won’t be gory. Maybe it would be a good Halloween read?

 

Book cover for What Does It Feel Like by Sophie Kinsella. Image on cover is a drwaing of a white woman with long, straight light brown hair who is wearing a fluffy turquoise gown that has a low-cut back and walking away from the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella

Publication Date: October 8

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve never read her work before. After hearing about her life-threatening cancer diagnosis earlier this year, I’m wondering if I should give her work a try.

 

Book cover for Masquerade by Mike Fu. Image on cover is a drawing of a chrysanthemum-like flower blooming under a full moon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masquerade by Mike Fu

Publication Date: October 29

Why I Want to Read It: My reading pile has been low on mysteries this year, and this one sounds interesting.

 

 

Book cover for The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong. Image on cover is a possibly computer-generated painting of a woman sitting on the back ledge of a covered n wagon and looking out at some homes in the distance. It’s just past dusk and quickly growing dark outside. You can see a fe stars in the sky as well as a lamp hanging over the backside of the wagon and illuminating her and a small black cat who is sitting next to her. It’s a peaceful scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publication Date: November 5

Why I Want to Read It: I’m very into cozy reads at the moment.

 

Book cover for We Are All Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson. Image on cover is a drawing of two people, one adult and one child, walking together in a forest that has a thick layer of fog in it that obscures most other details about the scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Are All Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson

 

Publication Date: November 7

Why I Want to Read It: 2020 sharply reduced my interest in post-apocalyptic stories, but I am slowly coming around to enjoying them again so long as there is no disease component to the plot. A world without the Internet would be so different.

 

Book cover for The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso. Image on cover is a drwaing of three different clocks. One is a normal analogue clock like you’d see anywhere on Earth. The second one has far too many hours noted on it. Instead of 12, there are more like 24. The third clock has interesting symbols by each hour marked on it. They look like they might be Chinese symbols.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso

Publication Date: November 19

Why I Want to Read It: The time travel and reality bending aspects of it sound cool. I also like the fact that the protagonist has a young child but is still able to go on adventures. Good for her!

 

 

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June 25, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Closeup photo of a pale-skinned woman with long, black, straight hair reading a book. She’s sitting outdoors next to grass that is partially green and partially brown and dry. It looks like grass that has gone dormant in the summer heat!It looks like this week’s list will be shorter than last week’s list was.

Here are some books I’m looking forward to that are coming out in the second half of this year.

While researching this post, I noticed that there didn’t seem to be as many books to choose from as usual.

Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe there will be some real treasures popping up in a month or two that just haven’t quite been announced yet.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

Book cover for Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks by Yuval Noah Harari. Image on cover shows a drawing of a pigeon-like bird standing still and facing to the right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

Publication Date: September 10
Why I’m Interested: I love reading about how information spreads around as well as how it can change over time depending on the medium involved.

Book cover for The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister. Image on cover shows a drawing of the face, neck, and trunk of a young, pale, white woman who has a small pile of dirt on her neck. She does not look dead, just very pale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

 

Publication Date: October 1
Why I’m Interested: Occasionally, well-preserved bodies from a few thousand years ago will be found in the bogs in Europe. I find it so interesting to read about the things scientists have discovered about these societies and am interested in reading a fictional account of something that seems sort of related to this phenomena.

 

Book cover for Sally's Lament (A Twisted Tale) by Mari Mancusi. Image on cover shows a drawing of a young girl standing in a forest. She is bathed in shadow and only a dim outline of her body can be seen. At the bottom of the image you can see a small drawing from The Nightmare Before Christmas where the ground slowly unfurled as the protagonist walked on it. It was an iconic scene in that film that happened during one of the songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sally’s Lament (A Twisted Tale) by Mari Mancusi

Publication Date: October 8
Why I’m Interested: I liked The Nightmare Before Christmas when I was a kid and am curious to see what this retelling of it is like.

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June 18, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2024 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A adorable little figurine of a yellow rubber ducky who is sitting in a beach chair and reading a book. This figurine has been placed on a beach, and you can see a wave gently reaching the shore in the distance on this calm and sunny day. Look how many answers I came up with for this seasonal TBR post!

I often struggle with them due to being a mood reader and relying on my local library for the majority of what I read, so I was thrilled to see how long my list was this time.

Last summer was very smoky here in Ontario due to the massive wildfires burning across our country, and there were quite a few days when we were strongly encouraged to remain indoors due to the poor air quality. It’s been better so far this year, but thank goodness for books on days that are smoky!

I’m writing this post in advance while hoping that this June will have much cleaner air. Fingers crossed.

Book cover for The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez. Image on cover shows a series of seven images that look like stained glass windows. They show a skeleton doing things like dancing, singing, playing a trombone, and, at the top image, talking to someone who is still alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez

Why I’m Interested: I love ghost stories in general and enjoy them even more when they’re written from the perspective of the ghost herself.

Book cover for querade by O.O. Sangoyomi. Image on cover shows a drawing of a gorgeous African woman wearing a red dress and red headdress. She’s surrounded by large golden flowers. There is an elephant behind her, and its trunk is lightly hugging her legs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

Publication Date: July 2

Why I’m Interested: A retelling of Persephone set in Africa in the fifteenth century sounds amazing to me.

Book cover for querade by O.O. Sangoyomi. Image on cover is a comic-style drawing of a little orange cat who has a speech bubble above her head with the title written in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair (Library Binding) by Lucy Knisley

Publication Date: July 2
Why I’m Interested: Cats are fascinating to me. I can never be around them due to how terribly allergic I am to them, so books about them must suffice.

Book cover for We Carry the Sea in Our Hands by Janie Kim. Image on cover shows a stylized, oceanic-themed drawing of a pair of blue hands attempting to clasp a liquid swirl of gold and blue matter as it drains and disappears from view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. We Carry the Sea in Our Hands by Janie Kim

Publication Date: July 9

Why I’m Interested: I’m interested in books about foster care, adoption, and race. This book covers all three topics.

Book cover for  Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch by Andrea Freeman. Image on cover shows a close-up photo of two ears of corn that have black kernels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch by Andrea Freeman

Publication Date: July 16

Why I’m Interested: It sounds fascinating.

Book cover for The Bluestockings: A History of the First Women's Movement by Susannah Gibson. Image on cover shows part of an old painting of a wealthy white woman who is wearing a flowing blue gown and holding a book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. The Bluestockings: A History of the First Women’s Movement by Susannah Gibson

Publication Date: July 23

Why I’m Interested: This is a slice of history I don’t know much about.

Book cover for She Who Knows: Firespitter by Nnedi Okorafor. Image on cover shows a drawing of an African woman who is wearing an animal skull and vertebrae as a hat. Golden light is shining on her face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  She Who Knows: Firespitter by Nnedi Okorafor

Publication Date: August 20

Why I’m Interested: Ms. Okorafor has written some incredible stories, so I always check out her new stuff.

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May 28, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Surreal painting of a little pale-skinned person sitting on the edge of a pond with their legs hanging over the water while the sky above is dark but there is a pale blue light over the horizon. The light in the sky is brighter than the moon but dimmer than the sun. You can see a reflection of it in the pond, although it is partially distorted by ripples in the water. The pond is set on a hill, and you can see two more hills behind it. Is this set at dusk or dawn? Why is the person wearing a hat but not a jacket? Why are they alone so close to the water and at such a lonely time of day? I own ebook copies of all of these titles, but there are so many incredible books out there that I have not yet managed to read anything from this list yet.

Part of the problem is that my attention span isn’t as long as it was when I was a kid.

I tend to gravitate towards short stories, novellas, and short novels these days instead of mostly reading regular to long novels like I did back then.

Maybe Toronto will have a lot of thunderstorms this summer?

I find I’m more interested in digging into something full length if the weather outside isn’t conducive to doing something active there instead.

It’s hard to remain cooped up inside on a pleasant, sunny day.

At least half of these recommendations came from my friend Berthold Gambrel, so I’ll tip my cap to him for recommending them. If you love talking about indie books or older films, he’s a great person to follow. Just tell him that Lydia sent you over to say hello. 🙂 

 

 

Book cover for Vander’s Magic Carpet by Patrick Prescott. Image on cover is a photograph of train tracks taken at night. You can see what might be the light of an oncoming train at the very edge of the cover. Then again, maybe it’s moonlight instead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Vander’s Magic Carpet by Patrick Prescott

Why I’m Interested: Patrick is an Internet friend of mine, and I’ve been curious about this story of revenge and magic carpets for a long time.

Book cover for The Devil and the Wolf by Richard Pastore. Image on cover shows a sketch of two people, one in a blue suit and one in a red suit whose colour fades to grey at the shoulders, walking down a grey path and towards the head of an enormous blue-grey wolf that looks like it is about to devour them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Devil and the Wolf by Richard L. Pastore

Why I’m Interested: This sounds hilarious. Richard is another Internet friend of mine I’ve gotten to know well over the years.

 

An Assortment of Rejected Futures by Noah Goats. Image on cover is a photo of the branches of a leafless tree against a starry night sky. It appears to be dusk or dawn as the sky is purple instead of plain black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. An Assortment of Rejected Futures by Noah Goats

Why I’m Interested: I love both reading and writing short stories. They can be so entertaining and memorable.

 

Book cover for The Left Hand of Dog - an Extremely Silly Tale of Alien Abduction by Si Clarke. Image on cover shows the silhoutte of a person and a medium-sized leashed dog standing on a hill and admiring the night sky. Curiously enough, there is a gigantic purple, blue, and pink teapot in the sky that is pouring some extra light into the sky through its spout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The Left Hand of Dog – an Extremely Silly Tale of Alien Abduction by Si Clarke

Why I’m Interested: Silly science fiction about aliens? Sign me up!

 

 

Book cover for Born of the Sun: A novel of human ancestors by Peter Munford. Image on cover shows a drawing of a large leg bone lying on cracked and dried red soil. The sun is setting over this desert scene, but it still feels unbearably hot and dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.Born of the Sun: A novel of human ancestors by Peter Munford

 

Why I’m Interested: I love reading about prehistory and the various hominids that have lived on Earth. This is set about 2 million years ago, so it could be quite interesting to compare how people are now to how pre-human species were back then.

 

Book cover for A Reconciliation With Death by Cody Ray George. Image on cover shows a drawing of a short-haired person sitting on a couch and looking wistfully through the blinds at the world outside. Have they finally decided to try to heal from their trauma, maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. A Reconciliation With Death by Cody Ray George

Why I’m Interested: So many post-apocalyptic books end before their characters have any chance at all to begin recovering from what they’ve endured. I relish the thought of reading something that acknowledges that a terrible plague happened but then speeds forward to see how the characters recover from it. Healing is vastly underrated in speculative fiction in my opinion.  We need more hope in the world.

 

Book cover for Little House on the Wasteland by Laura Ingalls-Wei, Amanda Platsis (Illustrator), Christopher McElwain (Translator). Image on cover is a drawing of the characters from Little House on the Prairie but in a futuristic postapocalyptic setting. They are walking down an abandoned road and keeping an eye out for trouble. This scene is framed by a torn and decaying white and red gingham curtain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Little House on the Wasteland by Laura Ingalls-Wei, Amanda Platsis (Illustrator), Christopher McElwain (Translator)

Why I’m Interested: Horror and Laura Ingalls Wilder are two things I’d never think to blend together, but the people I know who read this book really loved it. I need to find out for myself how such wildly different styles of writing can improve each other.

 

Book cover for American Chimera by H.R.R Gorman. Image on cover shows a gold scarab beetle against a gold and brown background. The beetle looks like it’s a toy or a pin instead of a real beetle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. American Chimera by H.R.R Gorman

Why I’m Interested: Chimeras are fascinating.

Book cover for Roach by Liz Boysha. Image on cover is a drawing of a red, winged, six-legged insect. It is nothing like any roach I’ve ever seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.  Roach by Liz Boysha

Why I’m Interested: People turning into bugs in stories is one thing…but a roach turning into a person? This could be really good.

 

Book cover for Born in a Treacherous time (Dawn of Humanity #1) by Jacqui Murray. image on cover shows a drawing of a long-haired person holding a spear and a wolf striding confidently towards the viewer. Behind them is a mammoth who has been superimposed onto the scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Born in a Treacherous time (Dawn of Humanity #1) by Jacqui Murray

Why I’m Interested: As mentioned earlier, I love reading stories set in prehistory. This one is set 1.8 million years ago, a time period I have not read as much about as I have other time periods. Here’s hoping it’s an exciting and educational read.

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April 23, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Unread Books on My Shelves I Want to Read Soon


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Four shelves of library books that are stacked neatly but with their spines facing away from the viewer. The shelves are labelled from 3B at the top left all the way down to 7C to the bottom right, although I do not know what those numbers and letters signify. This is going to be one of those weeks when I give more than ten answers. It will help to make up for the weeks when I fall far short of that goal.

As I’ve mentioned here before, most of the books I read come from my local library for practical, environmental, and frugal reasons.

Depending on how many ebooks my library has ordered, this could mean that I might immediately be able to download a book from them, be one of the first people on the waitlist for the next available copy, or, in some cases, have a few weeks or months to go until one is available for me.

I don’t mind waiting for books. It increases my anticipation for my next great read and helps the librarians show just how popular certain titles are. They are often able to order more copies if the waitlists stretch out so long that the people at the bottom of them can expect to wait for several months to years at the current pace.

Usually, the most popular titles either already have plenty of copies of them circulating or will soon see a huge increase in how many of them are available to borrow that will reduce my wait time from several years to a few months or several months to a couple of weeks.

Here are the books on my hold shelf that have long waitlists.

Book cover for Antarctica by Claire Keegan. Image on cover shows a photograph a white woman with long, wavy hair wearing a light summer dress with spaghetti straps on it. She’s crouching down and touching the water below her gently. There is a blue filter on this photo that makes everything look cold and possibly even icy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Antarctica by Claire Keegan

Waiting Since: February 20

Why I’m Interested: She’s on my must-read list. I love her descriptive writing style and realistic storylines.

 

Book cover for The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe. Image on cover shows a red sleeveless dress and two white sheets hanging to dry on an outdoor clothesline. There is a wicker clothes basket partially hidden by the dress and sheets, but with the wind blowing everything around we get a glimpse of it. The grass below is growing tall, and there is a thick forest behind this scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe

Waiting Since: March 5

Why I’m Interested: Canadian fiction often isn’t as well-advertised as all of the books published down south in the U.S., so I make a concerted effort to seek out non-American authors and stories as much as possible. This seems like a nice slice-of-life read.

 

Book cover for Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport. Image on cover shows a painting of a pine forest with a river running through it. The land has been tinted pink by the setting sun filtering through the puffy white clouds in the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport

Waiting Since: March 20

Why I’m Interested: This is something I struggle with and hope to improve within myself.

 

Book cover for The Lost Sounds by Chris Watson. Image on cover shows a drawing of a brown bird that has a white chest. Its head is lifted up as if it has begun or soon will begin to sing. You can see a full moon in the background against the night sky. Why aren’t you sleeping, little bird?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The Lost Sounds by Chris Watson

Waiting Since: March 26

Why I’m Interested: Birds are such fascinating creatures. I’m waiting for the audiobook version of this book so I can hear all sorts of beautiful bird songs from the U.K. that (I’m assuming?) we probably don’t get to enjoy very often here in Canada.

 

Book cover for To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower. Image on cover shows a painting of a white woman wearing a 1900s-style white blouse and floor length green skirt. She is pushing a bicycle on a dusty country road as her brown satchel hangs from the handle bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower

Waiting Since: April 3

Why I’m Interested: Did you know that Orville and Wilbur Wright had a sister named Katherine? I did not, but now I’m curious to read this cozy mystery about her. Is it at all historically accurate? Will there be airplanes in it? I have no idea, but trying new things is worth it in my opinion.

 

Book cover for Lewis Carroll’s Guide for Insomniacs by Lewis Carroll. Image on cover shows a drawing of a rabbit wearing striped pyjamas and standing up with a puzzled expression on his face as he holds a pocket watch as far away from his legs as he possibly can. He appears to be the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Lewis Carroll’s Guide for Insomniacs by Lewis Carroll

Waiting Since: April 9

Why I’m Interested: I sometimes have trouble falling back asleep at night and I love Caroll’s work.

 

Book cover for The Wisdom of Nurses: Stories of Grit From the Front Lines by Amie Archibald-Varley, Sara Fung. Image on cover is a photo of a blue stethoscope lying on a white surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. The Wisdom of Nurses: Stories of Grit From the Front Lines by Amie Archibald-Varley, Sara Fung

Waiting Since: April 9

Why I’m Interested: Some of my relatives work in the healthcare field. I have a great deal of respect for anyone in that profession and love dipping into memoirs and similar sorts of books about their experiences.

 

Book cover for The Laundryman’s Boy: A Novel by Edward Y.C. Lee. Image on cover shows a drawing of a black shirt hanging on a clotheslines in front of a red sky filled with yellow stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.The Laundryman’s Boy: A Novel by Edward Y.C. Lee

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: Mr. Lee is another Canadian author I’ve added to my TBR. The writing in the short preview I read was gorgeous, and I’m quite curious to learn more about the protagonist, a young Chinese immigrant who dreams of leaving his exploitative job and continuing his education.

 

Book cover for The Minotaur at Calle Lanza by Zito Madu. Image on the cover is a drawing of a Minotaur on the left hand of the figure and a human head on the right. The human’s face is shown in silhoutte, but the Minotaur’s face looked like a maze instead of having any discernible features.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. The Minotaur at Calle Lanza by Zito Madu

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: This travel memoir set in Italy in 2020 sounds like such a poignant read.

 

Book cover for A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland. Image on cover shows a closeup of a person’s chest. The person has long, straight brown hair that is covering much of their chest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: This is a title I mentioned in the Spring 2024 TBR List post back in March. The Selkie Wife is a wonderful folk tale, so I’m thrilled that I’m a little closer to (finally!) being able to read this retelling of it now.

 

Book cover for Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal. Image on cover is a drwaing of two Native people. One is holding a fan made from bird feathers and the other one has a bird feather in their hair and is pointing at the sun above them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: When I was in school, I learned very little about Native American history before the arrival of people from Europe and other continents. I’m hoping this book will help to change that and fill in some gaps in my historical knowledge.

 

Book cover for Health for All: A Doctor's Prescription for a Healthier Canada by Jane Philpott. Image on cover shows a drawing of hundreds of people who have been arranged into an image that looks like two hands that are about to shake each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada by Jane Philpott

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: Canada has Universal Health Care, but our system isn’t funded as much as it should be given our growing and aging population. I am so curious to read this doctor’s perspective on the best ways to ensure that everyone gets the healthcare they need and that healthcare workers are treated fairly and given the tools to succeed as well.

 

Book cover for Microskills: Small Actions, Big Imact by Adaira Landry, Resa E. Lewiss. There is no image on the cover. Microskills is in a large white font and the rest of the title is in a smaller yellow font. There is a blue background, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13. MicroSkills: Small Actions, Big Impact by Adaira Landry, Resa E. Lewiss

Waiting Since: April 19

Why I’m Interested: I have seen some evidence of this working in my life with topics like setting fitness goals, but I want to learn more about it.

 

Wish me luck as I wait my turn for these titles! I’d love to hear your thoughts on them if you’ve already read them, too.

If you have a local library that you use, how long are the waitlists there for new and popular books?

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January 23, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A photo of a huge bookcase filled with hundreds or maybe even thousands of books. The books are stacked in about eight different shelves that reach higher than most people can reach. You’d need a ladder to get the books on the top couple of shelves. It looks like a peaceful place to browse. I still have a number of books from my 2023 seasonal TBR posts left to read.

This is pretty normal for me.

Most of what i read comes from my local library, so I never quite know when they’ll get any specific title in.

They do a great job of adding new books to their collection, but no library can possibly buy every single book in existence or have enough copies for all of their patrons to read in the first week or two of release.

How are you all doing with your lists from last year?

Here’s what I still have left to read that I hope to get around to sometime.

 

Book cover for Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. Image on cover shows a dwarfing of a curved and pointed axe whose tip is bathed in blood. One large drop of blood is falling off of the tip. There is a castle in the background.
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Book cover for “You Are My Sunshine and Other Stories” by Octavia Cade. Image on cover shows about a dozen wilting sunflowers that are falling down or have already fallen down onto a wooden desk.

Book cover for Furies by Margaret Atwood. Image on cover shows a medieval-style drawing of a dragon who has pink wings, a green neck, a red chest, purple arms and tail, and a face that includes all of these colours in stripes down it.

Furies by Margaret Atwood

 

Book cover for The Mysteries by Bill Watterson. Image on cover is a black and white drawing of a person wearing a cloak as they stand outside of a cottage in a dark winter forest. The person has a frightened expression on their face.

The Mysteries by Bill Watterson

 

Book cover for The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings by Angela Slatter. Image on cover is a drawing of a short, red haired person standing in a smoky magical forest. There is a massive, about 15-foot-tall tree monster with glowing yellow eyes looking at the person as it slowly turns around.

The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings by Angela Slatter

 

 

Book cover for Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor. Image on cover shows a photograph of a beautiful African woman who has short hair and is wearing an intricate necklace. Her head is overlaid with another image that shows lighting striking a lightning rod on a building.

 

Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor

 

 

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December 26, 2023 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A person who is all wrapped up in a a warm winter coat and a red and black headscarf is sitting on a snowy bench in a park reading a book. You can see evergreen trees covered in a thick layer of snow in front of them, too. I was originally thinking about discussing library books this week, but December is such a busy month for me that I needed to finish this post well in advance and therefore would probably have already read (or DNF) any library books I had on my radar when I wrote it by the time this goes live.

Therefore, I’m going to be discussing books I’ve bought or downloaded for free but have not read yet (with two exceptions) instead.

Every Thursday, I share a list of free speculative fiction books on Mastodon. Everything but the first book on this list came from those toots, but they may or may not still be free by the time this post goes live.

Here are my answers and why I’m excited about them.

 

Book cover for The Long Arms by Michael Kanaly. Image on cover shows a fire burning brightly. There is a rock in front of the fire that has a few deer or cows painted on it in a prehistoric style.

 

1. The Long Arms by Michael Kanaly

Why I’m Interested: As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m fascinated by Neanderthals and read everything I can find – both fiction and nonfiction – about them. This looks like it could be a great story.

 

Book cover for Magic, Mistletoe, & Murder by Ruby Blaylock. Image on cover shows a witch flying on her broom in front of a full moon. On the city street below two black cats sit together and peer up at her. The cats are surrounded by a red gift wrapped in a white bow, a witch’s hat, some Christmas lights, and a bat flying low to the ground.

2. Magic, Mistletoe, & Murder by Ruby Blaylock

Why I’m Interested: It’s a cozy mystery set at Christmas. I love reading gentle stories like this sometimes.

 

Book cover for Neuro Noir by Al Hess. Image on cover shows a drawing of about a dozen different eyes that all have black irises and sclera. the one in the centre is red instead!

3. Neuro Noir by Al Hess

Why I’m Interested: I actually have a review of this book scheduled for January 11, so stay tuned.  Artificial intelligence always makes for such interesting protagonists.

 

Book cover for Devil's Night - A Halloween Short Story by Richard Chizmar. Image on cover is a drawing of three jack-o-lanterns leering at the viewer as they sit in a field under the light of a full moon at night.

4. Devil’s Night – A Halloween Short Story by Richard Chizmar

Why I’m Interested: Halloween is my favourite holiday, so I read a lot books set then so long as they’re not gory.

 

(No cover photo)

5. Hologram Kebab by Phillip Kebar

Why I’m Interested: The title was what first grabbed my attention. Isn’t it creative? My review of this book is scheduled for January 4.

 

Book cover for Don’t Look Back - Short Halloween Stories by Jason Thomas. Image on cover shows small, black-and- white drawings of a scythe with blood dripping from it, a gravestone, a stake, and a mushroom that has a little dirt on it.

 

6. Don’t Look Back – Short Halloween Stories by Jason Thomas

Why I’m Interested: See #4. There are never enough non-gory Halloween stories for my tastes.

 

Book cover for The Ballad of Mary-Anne by Kody Boye. Image on cover shows a starry evening sky that is partially lit up with a beautiful pink and purple light shining up from the bottom of the page. It may be from a sunset?

7. The Ballad of Mary-Anne by Kody Boye

Why I’m Interested: One word – aliens. I think they’re such fascinating things to read about.

 

Book cover for Free Will by Lisa Shea. Image on cover shows a human skull that has some gears drawn onto it. I’m sorry, but I have no idea what that symbolizes either! I guess we’ll both have to read the book to find out. :)

8. Free Will by Lisa Shea

Why I’m Interested: Here’s a fun, quick little story for you. My spouse is adamant that free will doesn’t exist. This is not a topic I honestly think about very much, but sometimes I like to tease my spouse a little by picking rabbits or other random creatures and saying those animals have free will but no one else in the universe does. (Yes, we are a little geeky sometimes. Hehe).  So I want to read this book mostly because it reminds me of this silly memory.

 

Book cover for Life on the Other Side by Daniel Powell,. Image on cover shows a peaceful little cottage covered in several feet of snow. It’s surrounded by gigantic fir trees that are also covered in snow, and there is a friendly little light emanating from a window in the cottage. It is overall a peaceful and happy scene.

9. Life on the Other Side by Daniel Powell

Why I’m Interested: The cover looks rather peaceful, while the blurb promises a lot of conflict. I think it’s cool when there’s a little conflict between a blurb and a cover. Which one will win, I wonder?

 

Book cover for The Fall Of Denver - A Tribute Story to the Original War Of The Worlds By H.G. Wells’ by Richard Paolinelli. Image on cover is a black and white drawing of an alien spaceship that looks like it’s beginning to crash onto a large pile of rubble on Earth. Everything is so messily drawn that it’s hard to tell where the rubble ends and the alien vessel begins. This feels like an intentional choice on the part of the illustrator and makes me wonder what other parallels might be drawn between the two.

10. The Fall Of Denver – A Tribute Story to the Original War Of The Worlds By H.G. Wells’ by Richard Paolinelli

Why I’m Interested: I adored War of the Worlds and am so curious to see what a contemporary author does with those ideas.

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December 12, 2023 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Winter 2023-2024 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

 

Three white pillar candles are sitting on a stack of four antique hardback books. The candles are of varying lengths from short to tall. The books have grey, red, green, and blue covers respectively. As I mentioned last week, winter is a time of year when I often get a lot of reading done.

I love the outdoors in spring and autumn, but I don’t spend as much time there when I have snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to think about.

Thank goodness there are countless books out there for all of us to rely on for entertainment until it warms up again! (Or cools down again for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere).

Here are some of the upcoming titles I’m curious about and why I want to read them.

 

 

 

Book cover for Escaping Mr. Rochester  by L.L. McKinney. Image on cover shows a drawing of Jane Eyre wearing a red, 1800s style dress and the first Mrs. Rochester wearing an off-white 1800s style dress. They are both young black woman who have determined expressions on their faces.

Escaping Mr. Rochester  by L.L. McKinney

Publication Date: January 16

Why I Want to Read It: Jane Eyre is one of my favourite classics novels, but I always thought Jane should have chosen not to marry either of the men who proposed to her. I am intrigued by a retelling that shows her teaming up with the first Mrs. Rochester to make better lives for themselves.

 

Book cover for The Warm Hands of Ghosts  by Katherine Arden. Image on cover shows a pair of painfully pale hands clasping a red rose. They have a bracelet with a small pendant on their left wrist, and both hands are partially covered by the leaves and branches that are concealing the rest of this person’s body.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts  by Katherine Arden

Publication Date: February 13

Why I Want to Read It: While I normally shy away from fiction set during either World War, I love ghost stories and enjoyed the Small Spaces quartet enough to see what Ms. Arden is planning to do with Flanders field and life during the First World War.

 

 

Publication Date:

Why I Want to Read It:

 

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September 19, 2023 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2023 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows in it and four chocolate digestive biscuits are sitting on a white plate next to a closed,hardback white book. The plate and book are sitting on a white piece of fur that is in turn sitting on a white wooden surface that could be a table or floor. There are dried purple, yellow, and orange flowers arranged with their flowers pointing towards the items I described earlier. The entire scene seems like it was set up to say goodbye to summer and brace for the cold, damp winter to come. We were already asked to share the books we were looking forward to in the second half of the year, so I’ll do my best not to have too many repeats for this post.

I think it can be just as, and maybe even more, interesting to hear why someone is excited for a specific book as it is to read the blurb of that book in many cases.

You get such a fabulous peek at a reader’s personality, reading habits, thought processses, and what they value in a story that way.

Here is what I’m hoping to have time to read this autumn and why I’m curious about them.

 

Book cover for Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Image on cover shows a housecat who is sitting up and posing for a portrait. The cat is wearing a suit and tie. They have light brown fur with black streaks in it and a darling little white nose and mouth.

1. Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Why I’m Interested: Scalzi is a talented storyteller, and it’s always fun to see pets being anthropomorphized.

 

Book cover for Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things by Dan Ariely. Image on cover shows a drawing of a profile of a human head. There are grey, red, and white lines squiggled up everywhere inside of the head. At the end of each line is a little arrow the same colour as the rest of the line.

2. Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things by Dan Ariely

Why I’m Interested: I believe everyone should work to improve their critical thinking skills no matter who you are, how much formal or informal education you may already have, or what labels best describe your stances on religion, politics, etc. While some people do seem to fall for misinformation more often than others, it’s something that can fool any of us if we’re not careful. We all have blind spots, and I hope to learn how to start correcting mine by reading this book and learning more about the psychology of irrational beliefs.

 

Book cover for This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara. Image on cover shows a dried yellow flower - possibly a rose? - that is lying against a light yellow background. Most of the flower has been fairly well preserved, but a few petals are loose and just about to fall off.

3. This Is Salvaged: Stories  by Vauhini Vara

Publication Date: September 26

Why I’m Interested: I’m in the mood for slice of life fiction. The reference to a story about a character who decides to build a replica of Noah’s Ark also intrigued me. There were a few people in the churches my parents pastored back in the day who might have tried something like this if they had the money for such a project.

 

Book cover for The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings by Angela Slatter. Image on cover is a drawing of a short, red haired person standing in a smoky magical forest. There is a massive, about 15-foot-tall tree monster with glowing yellow eyes looking at the person as it slowly turns around.

4. The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings by Angela Slatter

Publication Date: October 17

Why I’m Interested: This looks like a great Halloween read, and you all might remember how much I love that holiday. I previously reviewed and enjoyed another book of hers, No Good Deed: A Sourdough Tale, so I’m hoping my second attempt with her work is just as worthwhile. 

 

Book cover for Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor. Image on cover shows a photograph of a beautiful African woman who has short hair and is wearing an intricate necklace. Her head is overlaid with another image that shows lighting striking a lightning rod on a building.

 

5. Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor

Publication Date: November 28

Why I’m Interested: She’s on my shortlist of must-read authors. Ms. Okorafor is such a fantastic storyteller, although I do need to read Shadow Speaker before picking this tale up!

 

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August 8, 2023 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Read Because of Top Ten Tuesday


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Photo of a young woman with straight black hair and olive skin standing in a bookstore. Her ethnicity isn’t perfectly clear, but she could be Asian or Middle Eastern. She’s reading a hardback novel while standing in front of a display of books that has been arranged in a large circle formation that perfectly frames her chest, shoulders, and head. It gives the effect of looking through a mirror or a portal and seeing her on the other side. It’s very cool.

Originally, I was planning to give credit to the people who introduced me to these books in previous Top Ten Tuesday posts.

The problem with that plan is that a) I usually can’t remember who talked about them first, and b) most of these books have been mentioned by multiple Top Ten Tuesday bloggers before, during, and after their release dates.

Therefore, I’m giving credit to everyone has who blogged about these books.

Thank you for bringing these titles to the attention of the rest of us. You’ve enriched my TBR list and no doubt the reading lists of lots of other folks, too.

Here are some of the many books that came to my attention thanks to you.

1. Starter Villain by John Scalzi

2. Babel by R.F. Kuang

3. Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen

4. Anna, A Child of the Poorhouse by Pat Mattaini Mestern

5. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

6. Godkiller (Godkiller, #1) by Hannah Kaner

7.  Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg

 

 

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