Before the Year Ends: A Belated Top Ten Tuesday List

I'm a little late to the TTT party this week, but I didn't want to miss out, so I'm doing it anyway.  I'm a rebel like that!  I'm not wild about the topic du jour (Fall book covers/themes), however.  I'm probably just bitter that everyone else gets to enjoy gorgeous Fall colors and crisp, cool weather while I'm melting in the Phoenix area.  Cue pity party.  At any rate, I'm going to go back to a list that I missed out on a few weeks ago (with a little twist):  Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to Reading Before the End of the Year.

If you want to join in the TTT fun, it's not too late.  Click on over to The Broke and the Bookish, read up on the TTT rules, make a list of your own, and have a jolly old time hopping around the book blogosphere.  It's a great way to find new book blogs to love.  The last thing on Earth I need is more titles on my TBR pile mountain mountain chain, but I still love getting recs from TTT lists.  Bring 'em on.

Here we go with the Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to Reading Before the End of the Year:

 1.  The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah—I loved The Nightingale, so I've been anxiously awaiting a new novel from Hannah.  There's not a lot of info on this one, but apparently it's about a family struggling to survive in Alaska.  I'm down with that.  (Even though this one doesn't come out until February 2018, I'm hoping to get an ARC to read this year.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.)

 
 2.  The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis—My book club chose this book for our October read.  Even though it's one of my husband's all-time favorite books, I haven't read it yet.  We saw the play on Valentine's Day a few years ago, which sounds like the ultimate irony.  In actuality, The Great Divorce has nothing to do with romance—it's an allegorical tale about heaven and hell, good and evil, etc.

 3.  You May Already Be a Winner by Ann Dee Ellis—I enjoyed Ellis' The End or Something Like That, so I'm interested to see what she does with this MG novel about a girl's plan to win a million dollars in order to save her family from their depressing trailer park existence.

 4.  Murder On the Orient Express by Agatha Christie—With the movie coming out soon, everyone wants to read this one (as evidenced by the fact that there's a looonnnggg wait list for it at the library).  I first read And Then There Were None years ago, so it's definitely time for me to try another classic Christie mystery.

 5.  Caroline by Sarah Miller—I was a raging Little House on the Prairie fan as a child.  It's been that long since I've read the series; I'd like to re-read it soon, then move on to this novel written from Mrs. Ingalls' perspective.

 6.  Reading People by Anne Bogel—Another thing I was obsessed with as a kid was those personality quizzes you could always find in teen magazines.  Reading People goes beyond those to discuss how personality shapes everything we do.  Sounds fun!

 7.  The Emperor's Ostrich by Julie Berry—I'm a big Berry fan, so I'm excited to read her new MG novel about a young dairymaid who sets off in search of her lost cow with a magical map to guide her way.

 8.  Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence—I adore books about books, so this one sounds right up my alley.  It's a collection of love and break-up letters written by a librarian to the tomes she loves and loathes.

 9.  Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan—This novel about a woman who's on a quest to understand the life of her missing father has been getting a lot of buzz.  I'll be interested to see if it deserves it or not.

10.  Healing Your Family History by Rebecca Linder Hintze—I'm so Mormon that another thing I'm totally obsessed with is genealogy.  Lately, I've been able to help other people research their own family trees.  Listening to their stories has made me absolutely fascinated with how all of us are influenced by our family histories.  My husband keeps recommending this book, which talks about how to break free from destructive familial patterns, to everyone he knows. 

So, there you have it.  I'm hoping to read 77 more books this year to hit my goal of 200 and these are just ten that are on my list.  What else should I read before 2017 disappears?  What titles are you still hoping to read this year?  Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!