I was going to share a new/forthcoming books list today (seeing as I am actively adding to my wishlist almost every day it seems), but when I sat down at the computer to start, I decided I wasn't much in the mood for another book list. So, I thought I would play a little game instead. Or my variation of a book list that is sort of a mental game anyway. I did this before, though I must admit I have not read a single book from that post. It is a mental game after all, or at least that's my excuse. I have bought two of the 'forthcoming' books from that post, however. And curiously when I was looking at my stacks considering which I would choose, two of the books and an additional same author almost made it to this post, which just goes to show I really do want to read all those books (and these books, too). Time is always my problem. Too bad you can't grow time, or I would plant a nice big crop of it.
So, this is the game. If I was going to choose a new book to read (or, three as the case is here) from my newest books, my older-sitting-on-the-piles-too-long books, and those eagerly awaited forthcoming books, these are the books I would choose from. Ask me in a week I will likely pick other books. But then you never know, a year later and I am still reaching for the same books. That is surely a sign I need to actually not fantasize on this and just pick the books up, open the cover and start!
First the older books. Some have been on my shelves for years and years and a few are slightly more recent acquisitions--at least a year on hand though in most cases longer than that. I am actually planning on reading Caro Fraser's The Pupil soon. It is a little mental trade-off I made with myself for sticking out one in progress book I am struggling with, and this will be the reward. I know it sounds weird, but we'll just call it mental-reading diplomacy. Fraser wrote eight of these Caper Court books and I read one of the later books several years ago and decided I had to go back and start from the beginning. Well, as with so much in life, better late than never. The series follows a young barrister from his days as a student through his career. It is "a delectable blend of sec, law, and politics."
I don't think I read a single book by Mary Stewart last year, so it is certainly time for another and I have several unread books by her on hand. Maybe another novel set in Greece? The Moon-Spinners was published in 1963 and is set on Crete--a usual blend of romance and mystery.
I guess I am in the mood for a bit of romance and escapism. Rachel Hore has been recommended to me on a number of occasions. The Silent Tide is a duel narrative story set in the present day and 1948, both stories take place in London, and the present-day story is set in a publishing house.
I cannot tell you how many times I have reached for Clare Clark's Beautiful Lies. I have read one of her earlier books and think I have at least two more on my shelves. I need at least one good novel set in Victorian England and this might just be it. It is supposedly "steeped in the rich detail of the period."
And I really like Dawn Tripp's novels. I have read most of them and see she has a book out about Georgia O'Keefe. I have some catching up to do and must read Game of Secrets first. A few teasers from the reviews--"a hypnotic literary mystery", "a mesmerizing novel about infatuation, enduring secrets, and our relentless quest to make amends", and it is "at once a beautiful, old-fashioned love story and a heart-stopping literary thriller."
And now five new books that I have only recently bought. Storms of War by Kate Williams is the 'oldest' of the group and the one that I put on my beginning of the year list to read. (See, I am still keeping those plans in mind!). It is a WWI novel and possibly (if I am remembering correctly) the first of a projected trilogy of books.
Do you know I have never read any of Natasha Solomons's books, though I think I own nearly all of them? I am going to rectify that this year. The Song of Hartgrove Hall is her newest set in post-WWII England and involves a romantic triangle. I seem to recall reading a review by a fellow blogger who mentioned Solomons has come into her own with this one, so a perfect place to start I think.
Had to, had to, had to have this one! Anna Hope's The Ballroom. Zero self-control when I spot a book I like the sound of. "A tale of unlikely love, of madness and sanity, and of who gets to decide which is which." This is my most recent new book, which just came in the mail earlier this week. It is the newest so maybe I should start here.
I kept seeing Lauren Groff's Fates and Furies everywhere and so used a coupon and gift card to buy it. It is a portrait of an "extraordinary couple" over the course of twenty-four years. I wonder if it will make it on the forthcoming Orange/Baileys Prize list?
And art and fiction. I keep meaning to read something art-oriented--fiction or nonfiction. I like the sound of B.A. Shapiro's The Muralist--"entwining the lives of both historical and fictional characters, and moving between the past and the present, The Muralist plunges readers into the divisiveness of prewar politics and the largely forgotten plight of European refugees refused entrance to the United States. It captures both the inner workings of New York's art scene and the beginnings of the vibrant and quintessentially American school of Abstract Expressionism.
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And how to choose just five new books that are yet to be released but which I am eagerly awaiting?
A new mystery series to follow! Brighton Belle by Sara Sheridan -- "In post-World War II England, former Secret Service operative Mirabelle Bevan becomes embroiled in a new kind of intrigue…"
More mystery, and this one just sounds like great fun, The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder by Rachel McMillan -- "In 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, two friends perfect their sleuthing skills and find a murderer. Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a consulting detective business. The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda and Jem deeper into the mire of the city's underbelly, where the high hopes of those dreaming to make a new life in Canada are met with prejudice and squalor."
The Muse by Jessie Burton -- "From the bestselling author of The Miniaturist comes a captivating and brilliantly realized story of two young women—a Caribbean immigrant in 1960s London and a bohemian woman in 1930s Spain—and the powerful mystery that links them together."
Exposure by Helen Dunmore. Finally a new book by an author who I have read before and enjoyed (and not one of many whose books I only seem to be forever collecting). "It’s London, 1960. The Cold War is at its height, and a spy may be a friend or neighbor, colleague or lover. Two colleagues, Giles Holloway and Simon Callington, face a terrible dilemma over a missing top-secret file. At the end of a suburban garden, in the pouring rain, Simon’s wife, Lily, buries a briefcase containing the file deep in the earth. She believes that in doing so she is protecting her family. What she will learn is that no one is immune from betrayal or the devastating consequences of exposure."
Another novel set in Jerusalem (instead of an author I am collecting, I seem to also collect stories set in particular places), City of Secrets by Stewart O'Nan. "In 1945, with no homes to return to, Jewish refugees by the tens of thousands set out for Palestine. Those who made it were hunted as illegals by the British mandatory authorities there and relied on the underground to shelter them; taking fake names, they blended with the population, joining the wildly different factions fighting for the independence of Israel. City of Secrets follows one survivor, Brand, as he tries to regain himself after losing everyone he's ever loved."
Plenty to choose from and I am going to choose one now, so when I decide to repeat this post sometime in the future and look back I won't be disappointed by my excitement and then subsequent failure to have made a dent in the piles by reading a few of them.
Feel free to play along, though maybe on a more abbreviated level--one old book, one new one and one you are looking forward to reading later in the year.