Starting Fresh

It's been a looong time since I last updated this blog, but it's the summer, it's time to start training for fall marathons, and (mostly) I let my enthusiasm run away with me in requesting advance copies of forthcoming novels through NetGalley and Edelweiss. So, it seemed like a good time to refresh this blog. Many of the books I'll be commenting on this summer are ARCs, but I promise you'll get my honest opinions of them. I'll also likely be talking about other parts of my life (baking, libraries, research, and running), but I will tag all my posts so you can skip the parts you don't care about.

Just to give you an idea of what I'll be reading my way through this summer, here's the list of what I've got loaded on my Kindle:

Sally Rooney's Normal People (April 2019)
I keep hearing rave reviews about this title, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Anne Beattie's A Wonderful Stroke of Luck (April 2019)

Richard Russo's Chances Are (July 2019)
I was slow to try Russo, but I am completely sold. His stories about fading factory towns are intricately crafted, with layers to the narrative and characterization.

Jeannette Winterson's Frankisstein (October 2019)

Mahesh Rao's Polite Society (August 2019)
This is a modern retelling of Austen's Emma in Delhi. You'll discover that I have a particular weakness for Austen retellings - or, really, retellings in general.

Téa Obreht's Inland (August 2019)

Jennifer Ryan's The Spies of Shilling Lane (June 2019)
The latest from the author who wrote The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, which I loved.

Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Water Dancer (September 2019)
A first novel by Coates, who is a genius of long-form non-fiction.

Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys (July 2019)

Tash Aw's We, the Survivors (September 2019)
If you haven't read Five Star Billionaire, there's time before this one comes out. I recommend it.

Uzma Jalaluddin's Ayesha At Last (June 2019)
A modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice. Did I mention that I'm a sucker for Austen retellings?

Chandler Baker's Whisper Network (July 2019)

Sara Collins's The Confessions of Frannie Langton (May 2019)

Jo Baker's The Body Lies (June 2019)

Jacqueline Woodson's Red at the Bone (September 2019)

Edwidge Danticat's Everything Inside (August 2019)

Emma Donoghue's Akin (September 2019)
I loved The Wonder, so I'm looking forward to this one.



Ok, that's a long list. But you can see why I couldn't resist any of these, right? This is my summer reading plan, in addition to a few other projects like finishing a book manuscript, revising my syllabus, writing a few articles, and doing the regular collections and liaison work that are key to the life of the modern library subject specialist. I'm sure this will be no problem!

A few of these titles have already been published, so I'd better get started...