Mount TBR 2019 discussion
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Books 2 - 5: The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 2: Fandemonium The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 3: Commercial Suicide The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 4: Rising Action by Kieron GillenOne of the prompts for Read Harder is a comic by an LGBTQIA creator so I decided to re-read all of these and decide if I was going to keep them or not. I will be keeping them and have requested the next volumes from the library. Although there are some weak spots, I am a sucker for myths, fairy tales, and anything that pulls characters from these stories into new tellings or situations.
Jessika wrote: "You're off to a strong start this year, good job!"Thanks! I have so many things coming in from the library this year I have to front load while I can! Darn job getting in the way of my reading...
Book 6: Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia YuNice cozy mystery about a busy body older lady in Singapore. This was a fun read, but I don't need my own copy. Trying to clean my TBR and fill a box for Half Price at the same time.
Book 7: The Queen of Spells by Dahlov IpcarA retelling of the Ballad of Tam Lin set in late 1800's America. Definitely a product of the early '70's but I enjoyed it. I will be keeping this because I collect different retellings of Tam Lin.
Book 8: Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan1980 - 6 college friends, a teacher, and the younger sibling of one of the students explore a deserted prison. Someone disappears. 35 years later a body is found and the investigation reopens. It was a fascinating book, but I was hoping for something more along the lines of Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Off to Half Price it goes.
Book 9: The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall by Ann O'LoughlinTwo sisters live in their once grand family manor. They haven't spoken in decades and communicate through notes. An American searching for her birth mother comes to their village and stirs up history and secrets. Some pretty good twists and a few events I didn't see coming. It was fine. If it were a physical book, I'd be taking it to HPB.
Book 10: The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise MillerI'm sorry it took me so long to get to this one. I really enjoyed it and will be looking for the 2nd book set in Guthrie, Vermont by this author. I'll be keeping my copy. She supplies the recipe for the Apple Pie baked in the story, but I wanted the Almond Macaroon recipe!
Book 11: Nowhere But Home by Liza PalmerAnother book about cooking. I enjoyed this enough to look for the author's other books when I was at Half Price this weekend. Queenie Wake has come home to the Texas Hill Country and starts cooking Last Meals at the local prison. Haven't decided if I'm keeping or taking to HPB.
Books 12 and 13: Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening and Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie M. LiuKeepers. I still need to read volume 3 as well.
Book 14: The Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsI enjoyed it, but don't need to read it again. I will be interested in seeing the movie.
Book 15: Year of Wonders by Geraldine BrooksVery interesting. A small village in England is devastated by the plague. Don't need to read again.
Book 16: The History of Bees by Maja LundeI've had this since it was published in the U.S. Overall I enjoyed the book, but will probably not re-read it. The POV characters just made me so mad! 2 of the 3 were redeemed (in my eyes) by the end of the book, but I have not shouted at characters so much in a long time. I will pass this on to my daughter because this tale of what man does to destroy his home planet is right up her alley.
Book 17: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova BaileyI picked this up last year and it very nicely fit into a challenge for the Reading Women Challenge as well. I cannot wait to share this with my daughter! It was hard to read about the author's year of almost complete bedrest due to an autoimmune disorder that, at the time, was not fully diagnosed.
The observations of her snail and the things she learned about snails in general was so fascinating. I even tracked down the Patricia Highsmith short story she mentions. (The Quest for Blank Claveringi) and was not disappointed!
Book 18: The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel LevyAnother book that I have had forever and finally read. I actually have both a print copy and Kindle (you can't pass up a book marked down to 99 cents).
Book 19: Delicious! by Ruth ReichlI don't know what took me so long - I love her non-fiction. I'm going to keep this one. I can easily see re-reading it and there are some people who might want to borrow it.
Book 20: Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste by Luke BarrEh. It was interesting, but not enough to read it again. The petty jealousies were fascinating, but the narrative was about so many different people that you never really got to know about any one of them.
Book 21: Where Am I Now? by Mara WilsonReally enjoyed it, but finally doing the TBR challenge has made me realize how many of the books I read I don't need to keep copies of. This was a good read, but I will never consult it or read it again.
Book 23: Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. LeeHeartbreaking and a wonderful read. I will probably want to read it again someday, but I don't need to hold on to it right now.
Book 24: Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuireOne of my favorite authors. Finally getting around to this series. Book 2 will be later this year.
Book 25: Raising Demons by Shirley JacksonLoved it! Fascinating look at the times and the role of the mother. But I don't need to hold on to it. I've gotten to a point this year where I am actually deciding it's ok to release books back into the wild no matter how much I enjoyed them. When I die I want my kids to see who I was by the books I kept and not by the overwhelming quantity of books.
Book 28: Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'BrienI loved this back in high school and picked up a copy a few years ago. Finally got around to reading it again. I'm very happy I didn't remember the ending. I'd also forgotten the same guy wrote Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
Mount TBR 2019
Books mentioned in this topic
Interpreter of Maladies (other topics)Other People's Houses (other topics)
Uglies (other topics)
The Winter People (other topics)
Z for Zachariah (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jhumpa Lahiri (other topics)Abbi Waxman (other topics)
Scott Westerfeld (other topics)
Jennifer McMahon (other topics)
Robert C. O'Brien (other topics)
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Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant
Christmas Gift that I've known was coming since the Summer. What a great way to start the year! A horrifying take on what could happen if a new super disease appeared and our lack of herd immunity allowed it to spread. The new form of the measles has devastating effects on the survivors and those who are unaffected try desperately to remain quarantined. Definitely a keeper!