Bloggin' 'bout Books: 06/09/20

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- Arizona

- Arkansas

- California

- ~~Colorado~~ (2)

- Connecticut

- Delaware

- Florida

- Georgia

- Hawaii

- Idaho

- Illinois

- Indiana

- Iowa

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- Maine

- Maryland

- Massachusetts

- Michigan

- Minnesota

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- Montana

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- New Jersey

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (2)

- North Carolina

- North Dakota

- ~~Ohio~~ (1)

- Oklahoma

- Oregon

- Pennsylvania

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- South Carolina

- South Dakota

- Tennessee

- Texas

- Utah

- ~~Vermont~~ (1)

- Virginia

- ~~Washington~~ (1)

- West Virginia

- Wisconsin

- Wyoming

- Washington, D.C.*

International:

- England (1)

- France (1)

- Puerto Rico (1)

Top Ten Tuesday: It's Summertime and the Reading is Fine

1:00 AM

I'm not sure if this is clear, but when I talk about my TBR ~~pile~~ ~~mountain~~ mountain chain, I'm not referencing a physical pile of books. Although I do have books stacked in various places throughout my house, my TBR list exists only on Goodreads. It's thousands of titles long, which is why it's a virtual mountain chain and not a real one. Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt has to do with our TBR lists (in whatever form they may take). It's all about the Top Ten Books I've Added to My TBR and Forgotten Why. Since that describes the majority of the titles on my aforementioned mountain chain, I'm going to jump ahead to next week's topic, Top Ten Books on My Summer (or Winter, depending on where you live) 2020 TBR List. There are lots of books I'm planning to read this summer, so I'm going to share my adult picks this week and my MG/YA list next week. Sound good?

First, though, I have to give a shout out to our lovely TTT host, Jana, over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over to her blog for all the details on this fun weekly meme as well as book reviews, giveaways, and more.

Top Ten Books on My Summer 2020 TBR List, Part One (Adult Books)

1. Sisters by Daisy Johnson (available August 25, 2020)—Sisters July and September have always been inseparable. After a case of bullying at school, the girls' single mother moves them to her remote, abandoned ancestral home, where the sisters' bond will be tested in ways no one could have foreseen. Abandoned homes and sister relationships are two of my favorite literary tropes, so I'm definitely down for this one.

2. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett—This novel about Black twin sisters, one of whom is "passing" as White, unbeknownst to her White husband, sounds intriguing and timely. I'm in.

3. The Answer Is by Alex Trebek (available July 21, 2020)—I've always been a big Jeopardy! fan, so this autobiography of the game's host appeals to me. I don't know much about Trebek, so this will certainly be an interesting read.

4. Beach Read by Emily Henry—I've heard good things about this summery romance novel that centers on rival writers who are both dealing with severe writers' block. In order to shake up their writing games, they agree to swap genres and compete to see who can publish their book first. Sounds cute!

5. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager (available June 30, 2020)—I've enjoyed several of Sager's psychological thrillers and his newest sounds especially compelling. It's about Maggie, a woman who works as a restorer of old homes who inherits the haunted house her father popularized in a best-selling horror memoir. She doesn't believe in ghosts. But that's about to change ...

6. The Guest List by Lucy Foley—I've heard good things about this Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery. It involves a group of people celebrating a wedding on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. Things start to go awry when someone turns up dead. I love me an atmospheric thriller set in an isolated locale, so this one is right up my alley.

7. The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal (available July 14, 2020)—Books about women returning home to confront secrets from their past always appeal to me, so I'm intrigued by this one that centers on a woman going back to her hometown after an old friend goes missing.

8. The Choice by Gillian McAllister—After visiting a bar where an annoying man wouldn't leave her alone, Joanna is walking home alone when she hears footsteps behind her. On instinct, she turns and pushes the man following her. He falls down a set of stairs and doesn't get up. What has Joanna done? The Choice explores the two paths the night could have taken in a novel that forces the reader to ask themselves, "What would I have done in Joanna's place?" Sounds compelling.

9. The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson—I've never heard a book described as "a comic novel that brings together a train wreck of a family, the Holocaust, and a brooch ..." (see review here) but that's a pretty irresistible description. I'm definitely going to read this one.

10. Sea Wife by Amity Gaige—At some time or another, all of us have probably been tempted to sell everything and hie off on a get-away-from-it-all adventure. That's what happens to Juliet when her husband decides to do just that. A year sailing around the world with their two young children doesn't sound so bad and it isn't. At first.

So, that's a portion of the books I'm interested in reading this summer. What do you think? Have you read any of them? Do you have suggestions for similar books I should pick up this summer? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!