Top Ten Tuesday: TBR Procrastination

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

September 10: Books On My TBR I’m Avoiding Reading and Why (maybe you’re scared of it, worried it won’t live up to the hype, etc.) (submitted by Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea)

Books that are intimidating because they’re really long

1. Nor Gold by Kerry Lynne– Second in The Pirate Captain series 753 pages.  I’ve also heard it ends with a cliffhanger, so I’m not sure I want to start it until I have the next book nearby.

 

 

2. Five Smooth Stones by Ann Fairbairn– Got really great reviews but between the heavy subject matter and the fact that it’s 768 pages I keep putting it off.

 

 

3. The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss– Second in the Kingkilller Chronicles. I loved the first, but this is 1120 pages. Also, number three hasn’t been published yet so maybe I’ll wait until then and finish the series when it’s complete.

 

4. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey– First in the Kushiel’s Legacy series. It’s been recommended many times, it’s sitting on my shelf, but the premise doesn’t really grab me and it’s 912 pages.  I’ll get to  it at some point.

 

5. Trinity by Leon Uris– This was recommended by several people but it’s a heavy subject matter and it’s 894 pages.

 

 

 

6. Kristin Lavranstradder by Sigrid Undset– This is technically a trilogy of three normal sized books but apparently the translation matters, and I have the first book in the wrong translation. At some point I’ll try to read it and if it’s no good I’ll go for this edition which is supposed to be the “good” translation, but it’s all 3 books together making it a cumbersome 1168 pages.

7. A Column of Fire by Ken Follett– Third in Follett’s Kingsbridge trilogy. I liked the first two but at 923 pages it’s hard to dive into.

 

 

 

8. The Revolution of Marina M. by Janet Fitch– I loved Fitch’s White Oleander and I’m  interested in this genre change (literary fiction to historical fiction) but the fact that it’s 812 pages makes it intimidating to get started on.

 

Books I’m hesitant to start because of content

9. The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett– This is third in Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles series. I liked the first two but they’re filled with obscure references and we rarely get into the main character’s head so it takes a lot of focus to read.

 

10. An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear- This is the fifth in the Maisie Dobbs series. I’ve been enjoying it but after a while the terrible things that these characters go through (so far it’s not limited to war, PTSD, drug addiction, illness, and death) make it a fairly depressing experience.

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter TBR

For The Broke and the Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday:

This week’s topic is pretty self explanatory!

1. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton– This has been on my TBR for a while. It’s about a young man who goes to New Zealand in 1866 to word in the goldfields, but he and his coworkers get caught up in a series of mysterious events. It definitely seems like the kind if thing to tackle over many a cold evening, curled up in my pajamas with a cup of tea!

 

2. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin– I like the premise of this one: if you knew the date of your death, how would that inform the choices that you make in life? This book is four siblings who learn when they’ll die. It follows them as they try to live the rest of their lives with that information.

 

 

3. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman– This is a prequel to Practical Magic. Enough said! Actually I think of Practical Magic as a “fall” book but I can imagine reading this on a snowy day and getting a warm magical glow.

 

 

 

4. The Revolution of Marina M by Janet Fitch-  This is another one I’ve really been looking forward too.  I loved Janet Fitch’s White Oleander, and I’m very curious to see how she does with historical fiction. Plus, the Russian setting seems very wintery to me.

 

 

5. The Cage-maker by Nicole Seitz–  This novel is about a 21st century blogger who inherits an exquisitely detailed birdcage from an unknown relative. In a hidden compartment in the birdcage she finds letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles that tell the story of her family. It’s a bit love story, a bit gothic thriller, a bit historical fiction, and it definitely seems like the perfect read for a cold night.

 

6. A Column of Fire by Ken Follett– This is the third Kingsbridge book, and a follow up to Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. It’s set in  and around the same Cathedral in the sixteenth century. At 927 pages, this seems like a good book to take into hibernation.

 

 

 

7. The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone  by Olivia Laing- I think more attention is being paid to being alone lately, which is good. In some ways it’s a new thing. I don’t mean feeling alone. That’s existed for about as long as people have! But more people are opting not to marry and have families, or putting that off for the future. That leads to more young people physically being alone. This book looks at loneliness through the lives of iconic artists. It also addresses how technology factors into all this. Does it allow us to connect to the outside world, or trap us behind our screens, and keep us from interacting? To me winter has the potential to be a lonely season. You’re indoors keeping warm, rather than in public space. So this seems like a great read to keep me company.

8. Idaho by Emily Ruskovich– A friend of mine recommended this very highly. It’s told from multiple perspectives and is about a woman whose husband is losing his memory. As his mind fades, she becomes increasingly interested in finding out what happened to his first wife. In some ways I see winter as a season where things fade or are buried by snow. For that reasons it’s also a time when people don’t see things or only see parts of them. So it seems like this would be an appropriate book for a season where things are so uncertain.

9. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden– This is a retelling of Vasilisa the Wise, a Russian fairy tale. It’s set in Russia in the 1300s, which I definitely picture as a sort of deep winter world, where people huddle together to stay warm. I imagine them telling stories to pass the time by the fire as they do that (I’m sure the real fourteenth century Russia was a lot less pleasant than I’m imagining it!). This would be one of the stories that they tell.  It’s the first in a trilogy called the “Wintersnight trilogy” so I think I’m on the right track here.

10. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey– This series has been recommended to me over and over again. The initial trilogy (later books continue the story in another generation) is made up of three big books set in a vivid, complicated world. Perfect for a season when you’re trapped inside by a snow storm and want to escape somewhere else.

Top Ten Tuesday: Historical Fiction Recently Added to My TBR List

For The Broke and the Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday

June 6:  10 Historical Fiction Books That I’ve Recently Added To My TBR List

1. Five Smooth Stones by Ann Fairbain– This is a story about an interracial romance set in New Orleans that was originally published in 1966, and has never been out of print. The reviews are raves. I’m interested to see how this subject matter (still an issue today) was presented and handled during the heights of the civil rights movement.
2. Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye– I loved Faye’s Jane Steele and I love this Victorian London setting, and Sherlock Holmes. So this account of Sherlock and Watson searching for Jack the Ripper seems right up my ally! Also, the fact that it’s being made into a musical appeals to the theater geek in me!
3. The Sharp Hook of Love by Sherry Jones- I think that the story of Abelard and Heloise is one of the most beautiful (true) stories of forbidden romance. So this imagining of it sparks my interest.
4. The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett– I talked about this one a bit here. It’s not really that new to my TBR (it’s been on a few months) but I think it’s new enough. It’s the third in Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles.
5. A Column of Fire by Ken Follett– I’ve just found out about this one. This is Follett’s latest book in the series that began with The Pillars of the Earth and continued with World Without End. I enjoyed both of those quite a bit so I’m eager to check this one out. It’s not really a series in the conventional sense. All the books take place in a town surrounding a cathedral in England, but they take place several hundred years apart, so there isn’t any overlap in terms of characters, and they can be read as stand alones.
6. Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson– This was recommended to me a while ago, as a really stand out novel. I didn’t go for it immediately since I’m not usually a fan of westerns. But the then I decided to leave my comfort reading zone a bit.
7. Trinity by Leon Uris– I liked Cindy Brandner‘s novel Exit Unicorns a lot. Actually it’s the first a series and the rest of it is also on my TBR list! But she mentioned that this book is one of her all time favorites and served as inspiration for her own work. I’ve read a few other Uris novels, and found him to be a good writer, so I’ll check this one out.
8. Tai-Pan by James Clavell– I read the first book in Clavell’s Asian Saga, Shogun, years ago. All the books are set in different time periods in different Asian countries. They’re linked in that they all focus on the experience of Europeans in Asia, and they explore the impact of the meeting of Eastern and Western culture on both sides. I enjoyed Shogun, and I recently found this book, the second in the series) in a used bookstore, so I picked it up.
9. Shadows and Strongholds by Elizabeth Chadwick– I read  For the King’s Favor, by the same author, and I enjoyed it, so when I saw this in a used bookstore I picked it up.  Most of her novels are based on actual historical people from the middle ages. Her writing is compelling and her books are really well researched.
10. Destiny by Sally Beauman– This is a recent recommendation from a friend who usually shares my taste. She said it’s a bit soap opera-ish, but there are times when that’s exactly what you want!

Anything else I should be adding to my TBR list?