Tuesday, June 02, 2020

Books I Don't Want You to Miss, Even If I Miss Them Myself

One thing never changes. 

No matter how many books I read in any given month, I can't help but wonder how many better ones are slipping through the cracks. You probably know that feeling yourself because I expect it is one that all avid readers experience to one degree or another. 

Back in the old days, before the internet was in every home and before publishers used it as their main marketing tool, I actually remember finishing a book with no idea what I would be reading next. I may even have finished a book on a Monday or Tuesday and had to wait until the weekend before I could get my hands on something new at the library or, if I had a few dollars to spare, at a local bookstore. I used to look forward to the Sunday Houston Chronicle book section because I usually spotted at least one or two books that I wanted to read that way, especially books that were finally going into paperback editions. I had no idea what a TBR list was because even if I had had one, it would have been very short. 

And then my reading world exploded with the advent of the internet. Flash forward a few years later, and I'm getting at least half a dozen emails a day telling me about new books and offering me deals on them. I keep multiple TBR lists that probably total 300 books or more, even knowing that only a small percentage of them are likely to ever be read. But I add to the TBRs constantly anyway. And that's the thing that never changes. 

That's why I'm going to start spotlighting a few books every week that have caught my eye, books I haven't read for myself and can't fully vouch for in quality or content. I'm going to do this in hopes that some of you will find something that interests you enough to read it - or that you've already read - so you can tell me what you think of it. That will help me choose the ones that I really can't afford to miss. 

Here's this week's offerings (with minimal comment on my part):





I'm curious about this one because of its author and how much I enjoyed (finally) her Station Eleven. This one seems to be more a look at unusual aspects of contemporary society. It was published on March 24, 2020.









This is one by an author whose nonfiction work I've read and enjoyed. I've even heard him speak a time or two at book festivals and he never fails to impress. Wright is, after all, a Pulitzer Prize winner. This one is billed as a medical thriller about - a virus pandemic - that decimates the world population. It was published on April 28, 2020.







Here's a debut novel that some pretty influential people have been raving about forever. It's a pre-pandemic look at contemporary society through the eyes of four sisters who remain rivals even after their parents have been happily married for 40 years. Lombardo's writing is compared to Celeste Ng, Elizabeth Strout, and Jonathon Franzen, among others. It was published on June 25, 2019.





And, finally, this one is from an author whose previous book, The Good Lord Bird, is still one of my favorites. This one takes place in a NYC black neighborhood and involves a church deacon who decides it's time to shoot the local drug dealer - so he does it himself. It was published on March 3, 2020.





There you have it, four books that I've recently added to my always-out-of-control TBR. Have you read any of these or have them on your own TBR? Let me know in either case what you think of them.

10 comments:

  1. I haven't read or even heard of these but the one that would appeal is Deacon King Kong. Posts like these are so useful as I get to see books I wouldn't otherwise be aware of. Years ago we had a wonderful Waterstones in my small town but it closed so I don't get to see large selections of interesting new titles that are just out. I so miss my weekly wander around that shop. Not that I would be able to right now but nevertherless.

    How's your dad, Sam?

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    1. I miss bookstore browsing so much, Cath, that it's hard to explain even to myself.

      This can't be a good time to be a new author or even an established one with a new book coming out. I've seen many established authors delay publication of their new books from spring to late summer hoping, I suppose, that things are back to normal by then.

      But with all the rioting going on in the U.S. at the moment, I expect another covid-19 spike or wave to come through in a few weeks, setting us back to where we were before the rioters decided they needed new sports shoes and free booze.

      Dad is not doing well as his mind seems to be in a steady decline. Our phone conversations have been painful, to say the least. It's been tough to see him this way.

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    1. They do to me, Pat, for different reasons. I'm really frustrated right now because it's kind of hard to keep up with what's on offer. I like to get my hands on new books physically in order to help me judge them - but that's just not going to happen anytime soon.

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  3. The Glass Hotel was already on my list. Now I have to add the others and hope I'll get around to them eventually.

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    1. Can't wait to hear what you think of that one, Jenclair. Of the four I featured in this post, it's probably the one that least appeals to me - except that I so much enjoyed Station Eleven by the same author.

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  4. Like I need more books to add to my own impossible-to-read-in-one-lifetime TBR list! ;D

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  5. Right? The Internet only became a thing when I was in college, so as a kid I got most of my books from browsing at the library or from recommendations from the librarian (I lived in a small town, so she knew me well). I don't remember having any clue about new books coming out. I *think* I'm glad I get so much news about new books these days, except that, like you, I'm always afraid I'm missing out on the latest and greatest. Ignorance is bliss sometimes!

    THE LAST HOTEL and THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD are both on my TBR list. They sound like books I would enjoy. DEACON KING doesn't really appeal to me. I hadn't ever heard of the Lawrence Wright book, but I do enjoy dystopian and pandemic novels, so I'll have to give that one a go. Thanks for the heads-up!

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    1. Like you, I have mixed emotions about all the information available today on new books. We sometimes hear of them a whole year before publication now, and I'm not sure what the purpose of such early chatter really is. The constant barrage of book news just creates a higher and higher level of anxiety in me because I want to be as informed as I can and don't want to let something special slip by me. It's crazy, really.

      Deacon King Kong appeals to me largely because I respect its author's previous book so much, but the plot is kind of intriguing, too. Seems to be the story of a good man who does an evil thing for all the right reasons.

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