How ever did my wishlist get so long? That's a silly question, strike that. I have a really long wishlist gleaned from a variety of sources. Most are not due to be published until later in the summer, fall and even a few early next year. When I see those dates, books to be published in October or November or later, I think that sounds so very far away, but scarrily it will come much sooner than I think. Better to keep the books on my list and not think about them too much and concentrate on the books I have right now. Still, lists are good to have and I am a planner when it comes to forthcoming books. I tend to request them as soon as they begin appearing in my public library's catalog. So a few more to share with you. And as it is hard to choose which ones to share, I am going to split the list once more and there will be a part three in another week or so. (Yes, my wishlist really is that long . . . ).
In no particular order here are a dozen more books I am looking forward to reading. See any favorite authors? Any books you can't wait to read, too?
Lillian and Dash by Sam Toperoff -- "This exciting novel about Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man) and Lillian Hellman (The Children’s Hour) reintroduces their larger-than-life personalities and the vicissitudes of their affair that spanned three decades."
The Love-charm of Bombs: Restless Lives in the Second World War by Lara Feigel -- "When the first bombs fell on London in August 1940, the city was
transformed overnight into a strange kind of
battlefield. For most
Londoners, the sirens, guns, planes, and bombs brought sleepless nights,
fear and loss. But for a group of writers, the war became an
incomparably vivid source of inspiration, the blazing streets scenes of
exhilaration in which fear could transmute into love. In this powerful
chronicle of literary life under the Blitz, Lara Feigel vividly conjures
the lives of five prominent writers: Elizabeth Bowen, Graham Greene,
Rose Macaulay, Hilde Spiel and the novelist Henry Green. Starting with a
sparklingly detailed recreation of a single night of September 1940,
the narrative traces the tempestuous experiences of these five figures
through five years in London and Ireland, followed by postwar Vienna and
Berlin." (A must have for me--I'll be buying this one I think).
Letters from Skye: A Novel by Jessica Brockmole -- "A sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, Jessica Brockmole’s atmospheric debut novel captures the indelible ways that people fall in love, and celebrates the power of the written word to stir the heart." The story appears to flip back and forth between 1912 and 1940. I'm in need of a book of letters, and this one is due out in July.
MaddAddam: A Novel by Margaret Atwood -- I'm behind! I have yet to read Oryx and Crake or Year of the Flood (own them both of course) and now the third book in the trilogy is coming out this September. It's been far, far too long since I've read anything by Atwood and I feel a desire to do something about that. Not sure if I will reach for one of her dystopian stories or an older (unread) novel. I've got several to choose from. But for Atwood fans, you have a new novel to look forward to.
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan -- I *loved* both The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife. I haven't read her later two novels, but this one sounds quite appealing to me. "Moving between the
dazzling world of courtesans in turn of the century
Shanghai, a remote Chinese mountain village, and the rough-hewn streets
of nineteenth-century San Francisco, Amy Tan's sweeping new novel maps
the lives of three generations of women connected by blood and history -
and the mystery of an evocative painting known as 'The Valley of
Amazement'." I wouldn't mind rereading either (both?) of those earlier novels in anticipation for this forthcoming one.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt -- "Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America, and a drama of almost unbearable acuity and power. It is a story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the enormous power of art." I have tried at least twice now to read The Secret History but can't seem to find just the right mood and moment for it (strangely), but I did read her second book, The Little Friend. I'm very curious about this one, as it sounds very different from both of her previous novels.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl -- "Brilliant, haunting, breathtakingly suspenseful, Night Film is a superb literary thriller by the New York Times bestselling author of the “blockbuster debut” (People) Special Topics in Calamity Physics."
Sisterland: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld -- "Curtis Sittenfeld, New York Times bestselling author of American Wife and Prep, returns with a mesmerizing novel of family and identity, loyalty and deception,
and the delicate line between truth and belief." I should really start with her book, Prep, which has been sitting unread on my shelf for ages, but I'll likely at least look this one over when it comes out.
A Treacherous Paradise by Henning Mankell -- "From the internationally acclaimed author of the Kurt Wallander crime novels, a powerful stand-alone novel set in early-twentieth-century Sweden and Mozambique, whose vividly drawn female protagonist is awoken from her naïveté by her exposure to racism and by her own unexpected inner strengths." This sounds very different from his Wallander books.
Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel -- "With lyrical prose and exquisite detail, Shona Patel's novel brings to life the rich and rugged landscape of India's tea plantation, harboring a sweet love story at its core."
Revolutionary by Alex Myers -- I'm really keen to read this one, no doubt due to my current read--Jack Absolute. "A fascinating retelling of the story of America’s first female
soldier, Deborah Sampson Gannett, who ran away from home in 1782,
successfully disguised herself as a man, and fought valiantly in the
Revolutionary War." Colonial America is one of those periods that fascinates me and I always
mean to start a new reading project with that in mind but haven't quite seemed to manage it yet.
The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession by Charlie Lovett -- A book about books--what's not to like? "A mysterious portrait ignites an antiquarian bookseller’s search through time and the works of Shakespeare for his lost love."
Okay. One more list of new books to come and then I promise to focus on what I'm reading now (and I am reading lots of really good books at the moment). If only there was a new book by Sarah Waters listed somewhere, life would be good!