It's an old story, one that never changes. My wishlist of books (and the books I am in line for at the library) seems neverending. There are all sorts of great new books that are coming out in the next six months or so. It is not (at all) like I don't have plenty to choose from now (far too many to read actually), but there is always some small corner of my mind that is on the horizon and the books that are coming soon. Here are ten of them.
Love is Blind by William Boyd -- ". . . a sweeping new novel that unfolds across fin-de-siècle Europe as it tells a story of ineffable passions--familial, artistic, romantic--and their power to shape, and destroy, a life." "Moving from Edinburgh in 1894 to the far-flung Andaman Islands in 1906, and smoothly landing in various European cities in between, Boyd's affecting novel follows a young Scotsman's ardent pursuit of a woman and its treacherous consequences."--Booklist
Farewell my Orange by Iwaki Kei -- "Two immigrants, Salimah and Sayuri, navigate isolation, a new language, and devastating loss on their way to a lifelong friendship. Far from her native country of Nigeria and now living as a single mother of two, Salimah works the night shift at a supermarket in small-town Australia. She is shy and barely speaks English, but pushes herself to sign up for an ESL class offered at the local university.
One Day in December by Josie Silver -- (I think this has just been released) "Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic...and then her bus drives away. Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn't find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It's Jack, the man from the bus. It would be. What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness."
Well-Behaved Women: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Anne Fowler -- "With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, in A Well-Behaved Woman Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted against desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman. Meet Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, living proof that history is made by those who know the rules―and how to break them."
The Craftsman: A Novel by Sharon Bolton -- "Florence Lovelady's career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Grassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago in a small village in Lancashire. Like something out of a nightmare, the victims were buried alive. Florence was able to solve the mystery and get a confession out of Larry before more children were murdered., and he spent the rest of his life in prison. But now, decades later, he's dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves. Is someone copying the original murders? Or did she get it wrong all those years ago? When her own son goes missing under similar circumstances, the case not only gets reopened... it gets personal."
The Patron Saint of Lost Girls by Maureen Aitken -- "It’s the Midwest in the 1970-80s, and Mary is growing up in Detroit, where the recession hits hard, and jobs are scarce. In a set of linked stories, Mary tries to conjure the spirits of protection to confront economic struggle, violence, addiction, and death. Mary moves to cities across the Midwest looking for work, all the while learning the healing power of dignity from the true patrons: her community of friends and family who teach her to love better, live fuller, and question power. An ode to the creative spirit’s ability to transcend hardship, The Patron Saint of Lost Girls paints an unflinching portrait of women’s resilience in the face of injustice."
The Orphan of Salt Winds by Elizabeth Brooks -- "Elizabeth Brooks’s gripping debut mirrors its marshy landscape―full of twists and turns and moored in a tangle of family secrets. A gothic, psychological mystery and atmospheric coming-of-age story, The Orphan of Salt Winds is the portrait of a woman haunted by the place she calls home." This one sounds great--right up my alley but I have to wait until mid-January to get my hands on it.
The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr -- "A post-mortem photographer unearths dark secrets of the past that may hold the key to his future, in this captivating debut novel in the gothic tradition of Wuthering Heights and The Thirteenth Tale. Kris Waldherr effortlessly spins a sweeping and atmospheric gothic mystery about love and loss that blurs the line between the past and the present, truth and fiction, and ultimately, life and death."
The Gown by Jennifer Robson -- "From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it." Another tempting one I can't wait for.
The House of Gold by Natasha Solomons -- "Vienna, 1911. Greta Goldbaum has always dreamed of being free to choose her own life's path, but the Goldbaum family, one of the wealthiest in the world, has different expectations. United across Europe, Goldbaum men are bankers, while Goldbaum women marry Goldbaum men to produce Goldbaum children. Jewish and perpetual outsiders, they know that though power lies in wealth, strength lies in family. So Greta moves to England to wed Albert, a distant cousin. Defiant and lonely, she longs for connection and a place to call her own. When Albert's mother gives Greta a garden, things begin to change. Perhaps she and Albert will find a way to each other. But just as she begins to taste an unexpected happiness, war is looming and even the influential Goldaums can't alter its course. For the first time in two hundred years, the family will find themselves on opposing sides and Greta will have to choose: the family she's created or the one she was forced to leave behind."
My reading pile is pretty top heavy with mysteries and novels of suspense or thrillers, and it makes me feel a little fidgety. If there is too much saminess going on in my reading I start looking at my TBR. I need to look at my "set-aside-partially-read" pile and see what I can recover and finish from that stack, but I am drawn to something new. Maybe something just family drama-ish with a hint of romance? Maybe the new Susanna Kearsely that I snapped up not so far back. Or maybe one of my unread novels by Jennifer Robson or Simone St. James. Even as I think this, I know I shouldn't. Focus on the current reading pile. But variety usually triumphs when it comes to my reading.
I need to do a little reading update soon, so I'll let you know how it goes and what ends up in my pile. And where is your reading taking you at the moment?