My TBR lists are sometimes the places where good books go to die. I add books to my lists full of hope and excitement, and inevitably find that three years later, they’re still sitting in the same place, gathering metaphorical dust, having magically lost their appeal. Maybe this week’s Top Ten Tuesday will shame me into finally attacking that looming TBR pile. But somehow I doubt it.
N.B. These books aren’t necessarily the newest additions to my various to-read lists, but they are the ones I’m perhaps most looking forward to.
Top Ten Books Recently Added To My TBR List
1. Cyrano, by Geraldine McCaughrean – Recommended to me by Cleo from Classical Carousel after reading my review of Cyrano de Bergerac. Any adaptation of a story about a guy with an enormous nose and a sarcastic sense of humour gets my attention every time.
2. Peggy and Me, by Miranda Hart – Comedian Hart wrote a book about her relationship with her dog. I’m not a dog person (I feel that any creature that demands I clean up its faeces after it is probably not worth the bother, which is yet another compelling argument against my ever having kids), but I love Hart’s brand of humour.
3. Gorsky, by Vesna Goldsworthy – Another adaptation of a literary classic. This time Gatsby set in contemporary London among ridiculously wealthy Russians. No way I’m letting that pass me by. Nyet.
4. The Geek Feminist Revolution, by Kameron Hurley – Basically, I just want to read a book of essays by a lady who is as obsessed with Doctor Who and Star Wars as I am. Maybe Hurley’s book is the one?
5. Italian Folktales, by Italo Calvino – For someone who claims Calvino is one of her favourite authors, I’ve actually read almost nothing by him. And this collection doesn’t help, since technically Calvino ‘collected’ and ‘edited’ (to what extent this actually means ‘rewrote’ I’m not sure) traditional Italian folktales for this book.
6. When Michael Met Mina, by Randa Abdel-Fattah – I loved Does My Head Look Big in This?, Abdel-Fattah’s best-known book, and this new one taps into some very important issues in contemporary Australian society.
7. The Secret Science of Magic, by Melissa Keil – I’m a tried and tested cynic. I’m increasingly sceptical about almost all romantic stories; sometimes I re-read the ending of Pride and Prejudice and think, ‘yeah, but maybe after the wedding Darcy’ll discover that Lizzie farts in her sleep, and then all the magic will be gone’. But this does not apply to Melissa Keil’s books, which are so gut-wrenchingly adorable that you’ll either roll your eyes and then promptly hurl, or become so overwhelmed by their adorableness that you’ll simply dissolve into a steaming puddle of pink goo (see also: Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, although I’d recommend staying far away from her terrible adult fiction about thirty-something nitwits and internet stalkers).
8. Blight, by Alexandra Duncan – I was completely absorbed in Duncan’s debut novel, Salvage, which was a feminist sci-fi novel about a futuristic Earth suffering under the effects of global warming. I’m so excited to see she has a new book out.
9. Why Not Me?, by Mindy Kaling – Kaling is a hilarious screenwriter and actor. Basically, I’d be happy to read shopping lists if she’d written them.
10. Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym – Another recommendation, this time from Miriam from The Literary Proustitute, after reading my post about books that have made me laugh. If Pym is like a twentieth-century Austen, I’m already there.
What are the latest additions to your TBR pile?
Love the idea of the place where books go to die – a kind of cemetery of books…
Haha, yes, that’s definitely my TBR pile. :D
I get the whole TBR as a place books go to die. I also get excited about a bunch of books, add them to my Goodreads TBR or TTT lists and then forget about them because of impulse check outs from the library. My TTT if you’re interested.
Borrowing way too many books from the library is such a problem for me too!
What a wonderful list! I read most of the Calvino folktales some years ago. I seem to remember that he both edited and partially rewrote some tales but that his notes make it clear what he did in each case and why.
I don’t have a top ten as I’d rather be reading than goung through the several hundred TBR books I already feel guilty about! But I do have a few classics waiting patiently, by the Du Mauriers (George and Daphne), the last two Austens, Bronte’s ‘Shirley’ and of course ‘Middlemarch’, not forgetting a Greek classic I should have studied properly at school: Xenophon’s ‘Persian Expedition’. And a couple of recent publications must include Kate Saunders’ take on Nesbit’s Five Children and the Great War, and ‘The Lie Tree’ by Frances Hardyng. They’re all pencilled in for completion before the end of 2017. Wish me luck ..
Good luck! It sounds like a great list. Middlemarch has been in my sights for years, but I’ve somehow struggled to drum up enough enthusiasm to actually sit down and read it. I’ve heard it’s well worth it, though!
I’m more of a cat person myself, but I do love Miranda Hart, and I’m such a sucker for stories about people and animals, so I’ll definitely be picking this one up.
I’m also more of a cat person too. Hart’s book sounds very interesting, though!