As always, it’s hard to choose a TBR that I think there’s any chance of me sticking with. Even more so when the world is in such chaos (and, because of it, I have toddler to entertain at home, with no playdates or trips to the park, potentially for weeks). But there are several books that are either coming out in the spring or that have been on my TBR for a while and I’m still excited for. So here are a few I really hope I manage to get to shortly!
I’m actually already part way through a few of these. I’m plugging away at Ducks, Newburyport in small chunks, I’m about 40% of the way through The Starless Sea, and I’m enjoying picking up and putting down Incidental Inventions since it’s a collection of articles that’s great for dipping in and out of. I’ve also started A Long Petal of the Sea and American Dirt and am interested in both. And I’ve heard wonderful things about the audiobook of My Time Among the Whites, so I’ve got that downloaded and ready to go!
Have you guys read any of these? If so, did they live up to my expectations of greatness? Which books are you dying to pick up this spring? And, the million dollar question – has the current pandemic changed your reading habits or the type of book you find yourself reaching for? Are you wallowing in the panic and reading books about similar crises, or are you going the escapist route and heading for genre fiction or fantasy? I’d love to hear from you guys! (Particularly since this is likely to be the closest I get to social contact for a while!)
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
I’m curious about My Time Among The Whites. I’ve heard good things about it. I hope you enjoy all these!
I saw a review of it (can’t for the life of me remember who it was by) that piqued my interest. Sounds like it’ll have a lot of important points about how those of us who are white take the world around us for granted, and what it looks like (and feels like) from another perspective. Going to give it a try on audio I think!
The Glass Hotel made my list too! And I LOVED The Starless Sea.
My TTT!
I’m so excited. I’ve read two of Emily St. John Mandel’s books and though neither really seemed like my kind of thing based on the blurbs, they both amazed me because of her writing and insight. Will always pick up anything new by her!
I hope you enjoy all of these. I was going to read American Dirt this year, but then all that controversy came out about it. 🙁
Yeah, I already had it on my shelf before the controversy hit, and I’m still curious about it. I hope to give it a try and go into it with an open mind, though I know it is problematic.
I thought I would love The Starless Sea, but I DNFed it about 80 pages in – it just wasn’t what I thought it would be. I’m hoping to read the Ocean Vuong book at some point too!
Yeah I’m nearly halfway and mostly I’m persevering because it’s long and if I get it in my pool for judging the BookTube prize I’d prefer to already be at least a good chunk of the way through it! I’m not enjoying it as much as I had hoped. The main plot drags a lot and it has all these short stories and interludes added in that are starting to get old. A few would be sweet, but it feels like there’s as much of those as the story and they’re not seeming relevant and they’re repetitive. They’re padding on an already too long story IMO, so unless it really picks up the pace it’s not going to be a favourite. But I’ll try to finish. I’ve heard good things about Vuong – and hey, at least it’s not so long!
I’ve added My Time Among the Whites to my TBR. Good list.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Yay! Always love to hear that I’ve added to someone’s bulging TBR list! Not sure when I’m going to get to it, but when I do I shall report back!
I’ve just requested Starless Sea and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous from my library. I hope you are able to find some fun things to do with your toddler at home during this stressful time.
I’m undecided on Starless Sea – I like the writing but it is dragging and feels waaaaaay longer than necessary with too many unrelated short stories scattered through it. We’ll see how the second half goes! Looking forward to Vuong. My mom read and really enjoyed it. Thank you! We’re actually doing okay so far – she has lots of ideas about what she wants to do, so really it’s a matter of listening and saying yes a lot. There have actually been a lot of really wonderful moments. I’m soaking it all in because who knows what’s going to happen. But then, that’s the situation we’re all in, and all we can do is try to be careful and look for the good moments. I hope you and your family are healthy and making it through the stress okay!
I hope you enjoy all of these titles!
My TTT .
Thank you – me too!
A few of these are on my TBR as well. I was a big fan of Allende
s writing in high-school, really curious to see what Ill think of her latest book.She’s one of my favourites as well. Her ability to evoke a place, a feeling, a flavour or a feeling is unparalleled. I haven’t read her more recent books (likewise I read a lot of her when I was younger) but I do want to get back into her again! I hope you enjoy it!
Some of these look good but I haven’t decided if I want to read them or not. Happy Reading!
That’s always the thing, isn’t it? So many books that look wonderful, and never enough time to read them all! Happy reading to you as well!
I haven’t read any of these, but I’m also excited for The Starless Sea! With the pandemic going on, I actually find that I’m more of an escapist by reading fantasy and contemporary books. Hopefully things get well soon, though <3
My TTT
Did you read The Night Circus? I didn’t, and I’m reading The Starless Sea now. It’s not what I expected. My biggest issue is it’s very slow and I’m not a fan of all the extra short stories. But I think if you’re a bigger fan of whimsy and more patient than I, you’ll love it. It’s been getting a lot of love! I’d be interested to hear how it compares to The Night Circus for those who have read both. Yeah, I think escapism is the name of the game right now. That’s one thing I am enjoying about The Starless Sea – the fantastical element of it, and the concept of another whole world hidden behind secret doors in ours. Keep wishing I had one of those doors I could go through and get away from all this madness for a while! I hope you find some wonderful escapist books to keep your brain busy for however long this lasts!