Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2021 To-Read List

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A red pair of glasses sitting on top of an opened book. The book has a red cover and is sitting on a pile of moss and autumn leaves. Here are the books I’m looking forward to reading this autumn.

My TBR is always much longer than my actual reading time, so I’ll remain flexible as always as I wait to see what strikes my fancy and which titles have the shortest wait lists at the Toronto Public Library.

I try to schedule things so I always have at least a few books waiting to be read and some more that will soon be available.

There’s an art and a science to requesting library books in the right order to keep this steady stream of reading material flowing all year long.

Maybe someday I’ll write a full post about how I do that. Ha!

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson book cover. Image on cover shows a young black girl with a gorgeous Afro that is surrounded by purple and white smoke.

1. White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

Why: Ms. Jackson is on the list of authors I always check out when they release new books. The paranormal elements of this storyline only make me more excited for it.

 

What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie book cover. Image on cover is a painting of a kid standing in front of a two-story picture window at night. There are yelllow-eyed creatures standing outside leering at her.

2. What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie 

Why: This is exactly the type of playfully scary story I would have loved as a kid!

 

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach book cover. Image on cover shows a patch of a national park ranger’s uniform that has bears, trees, and other nature stuff on it.

3. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach

Why: I had no idea that wild animals were charged for their “crimes” a few hundred years ago in certain jurisdictions! This is the sort of unusual history book that I love reading. You’d never find this sort of stuff in a traditional history class.

 

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro book cover. image on cover is a drawing of various middle school aged kids sneaking into and out of various rooms.

4. The Insiders  by Mark Oshiro 

Publication Date: Today

Why: I always dreamed of finding a hidden room when I was a kid.

The Days of Afrekete by Asali Solomon book cover. Image on cover is two african women standing facing apart. Their hair has been styles to resemble the continent of Africa.

5. The Days of Afrekete: A Novel  by Asali Solomon

Publication Date: October 19

Why: The comparison to Mrs. Dalloway intrigued me. I couldn’t get into it when I tried to read it as a teenager, but I’m hoping I’ll be old enough to enjoy both The Days of Afrekete and Mrs. Dalloway now that I’m an adult.

 

The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu book cover. Image on cover shows a young opposite sex couple sitting on top of a large pink donut.

6 .The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu

Publication Date: November 2

Why: The blurb mentions that this is similar to Kim’s Convenience, one of my favourite sitcoms. Romance novels are usually out of character for my reading habits, but I’m totally happy to make exceptions to that general rule of thumb when something catches my fancy like this.

 

Everything else I’m looking forward to was already mentioned in the Most Anticipated Books of the Second Half of 2021 prompt back in June. I don’t know about all of you, but I like to leave plenty of space for last-minute additions and mood reading when I’m thinking about what to read in any given season. May we all have a wonderful autumn filled with books that are perfect for us.

111 Comments

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111 Responses to Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2021 To-Read List

  1. Fuzz is pure Mary Roach. Hope you enjoy it as I did.

  2. White Smoke has been on my radar ever since I first read the synopsis. Sounds like it will be great!

  3. I like the sound of Fuzz, although I found Mary Roach’s jokes a bit awkward when I read Stiff, so I’ve kind a been put off her other books.

  4. I like the look of the Donut Trap

  5. White Smoke is one of my most anticipated – I can’t wait for my library hold to come in soon!

  6. What Lives in the Woods sounds fun, and I do love Mary Roach’s books and haven’t heard about this one.

  7. I also try to schedule my reading around when certain titles will be available at the library! Hope you enjoy each of these!

  8. Bex

    The Donut Trap sounds really fun, I’ll have to check it out when it is released!

  9. Good to see I’m not the only one with less than 10 on my list! Enjoy!

  10. I see that Mary Roach is out with a new book. She really does think of such innovative themes! I’ve read her works Spook and Stiff, and they were so good.

  11. Never enough reading time for all the books.

    I’m excited to read White Smoke too!

  12. Ooh, I’m loving the look of all these covers! I hadn’t heard of The Insiders or The Donut Trap but I’m definitely adding them to my TBR 😃 They look and sound like such fun. I hope you enjoy all these reads, Lydia!

  13. RS

    You are so right about the art/science of requesting library books! That’s part of why I try to focus on backlists, but if you can juggle them with new stuff, extra props. I would absolutely love to hear your post about that, because I bet it’s a little different for everyone.

    The cover of White Smoke is really appealing. I clicked on it, figuring it looked like a fantasy novel but willing to consider it anyway based on the sheer coolness of the art design, but uh, “big ol’ house plus GHOSTS”???? My EXACT brand.

    • I’ll work on that post. No idea when it will be published, but your kind words have convinced me. 🙂

      And, yeah, isn’t that the best? I love big old houses filled with ghosts…at least when it comes to reading about them. Haha.

  14. When you are getting new releases from the library, which I often do, you never know when your name will come up, so I totally get that. Fuzz looks like a very unusual book, but one that I would like. I will definitely be seeing if I can find it. Enjoy all these upcoming reads, Lydia.

  15. I have heard some great things about White Smoke! I can’t wait to read it!

  16. I really like th cover of The donut trap but it’s not the type of book I would usually read. I still don’t get why romance books had these bright, colorful covers that looks more like children’s books even when there are steamy scenes in them.

    I had never thought much about borrowing from libraries until now. I just read a tip about requesting to purchase a book and then you will be on the waiting list ahead of others – it’s a good tip but I’m never in a hurry to read a book. I read whatever I want to at the moment.

    Have a lovely day.

    • Thank you!

      Yes, requesting that your library purchase a book is a great trick. I request them as often as we’re allowed to and have ended up at the top of the waitlist for all sorts of interesting books that way. 🙂

  17. These all sound so interesting! My husband is a big fan of Mary Roach, and I had no idea she had a new book out. Now that I know, I can think of several family members, including my husband, who may be getting it for Christmas.

  18. Who DIDN’T dream of finding a secret room when they were a kid? 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by earlier. I feel like our Tuesdays are pretty similar experiences!

    Happy TTT!

  19. Fuzz sounds so interesting and unique! I’ll definitely look that on up.

  20. Yes, there is an art to regulating the flow of library books…,and arcs!!! Write a post! Happy fall reading!

  21. The Donut Trap! I love the sound of it.

  22. What a great selection! The cover of White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson is really amazing!

  23. I love the cover for White Smoke, but the story sounds a bit too scary for me, so I’ll stick to The Donut Trap instead 😀

  24. Enjoy!
    I’m also intrigued by the comparison with Mrs. Dalloway!

  25. The Donut Trap looks adorable!

  26. A great list! I hope you enjoy reading them all. It is a true balancing act getting books from the library. I ran into the issue of a bunch coming in all at once. Sadly, I’ll have to return some before I get to read them.

    Thank you for stopping by my post earlier: https://readbakecreate.com/autumn-2021-tbr-10-books-i-hope-to-read/

  27. Really like the look of White Smoke

  28. I’m excited for Fuzz too. It sounds delightfully weird. I hope you love all these!

  29. I love Mary Roach and her approach to teaching us things we didn’t even know we wanted to learn. Enjoy!

  30. Adira

    You have some of my most anticipated reads on your list. I’m excited to read Tiffany D. Jackson’s newest book and The Days of Afrekete is also a book I’m looking forward to.

    Thank you for sharing your list! I hope you have a wonderful week!

    Here is my post:
    https://introvertinterruptedcom.wordpress.com/2021/09/21/my-favorite-2021-emmy-outfits-as-books/

  31. White Smoke is at the top of my October TBR. I cannot wait to read it. Hope you enjoy all these!

  32. Nice list, I love that I see something of different genres, a little of everything. The Days of Afrekete looks really interesting

  33. I like the cover of The Donut trap. Sounds like good fun!

  34. Hope you enjoy all these.
    The Donut Trap sounds like it should be a fun read.

  35. “Steady stream of reading material” :):)

    What Lives in the Woods looks wonderful!

  36. White Smoke sounds cool! Very curious about it. The Donut Trap looks so cute. 🙂

  37. Great list! White Smoke is one I really want to try, too.

  38. I definitely want to read White Smoke!

  39. White Smoke has such a gorgeous cover!

  40. I read Mrs Dalloway recently so The Days of Afrekete may be something I have to check out too. Happy reading Lydia!

  41. I didn’t “get” Mrs Dalloway when I was young either. Read it again about 5 years ago and it was a much more enjoyable experience.

    I do hope you write that post about how to manage all the library requests. Mine always come through in batches instead of in a nice steady stream

  42. I would definitely be interested in a post about how you do your library requesting. Mine always seems to be completely off. I wait and wait and wait for books and then they all come in at one time and I have to rush to read them. I could use some pro tips on how to stagger them better!

    Nice list. Several of these are on my TBR as well, although I probably won’t get to them this year. Eventually, though.

    Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

  43. I feel you about the library, it is hard sometimes to get the timing right–and often a bit unpredictable. What Lives in the Woods looks so fun! I definitely need to check that out. Great list!

  44. I’ve read The Donut Trap and really enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

  45. The Donut Trap looks super cute! Happy reading 🙂

  46. I’m really looking forward to White Smoke. Thanks for sharing!

  47. I didn’t put it on my list, but White Smoke is one I’m really hoping to fit in this fall too. It sounds so good.

  48. I am NOT good at having a steady stream of library books. It’s a good talent to have, though!

  49. Kay

    I forgot about White Smoke but I’ll want to read it eventually for sure, as well as Fuzz. Happy reading!

  50. I am most tempted to read The Insiders from this list.. 🙂 thanks for visiting me always..

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