Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! This week, we’re talking about our upcoming to-be-read books. This fall, like most seasons, I’ve got a variety of reads coming up…a biography, some short stories, fantasy, a memoir, and the continuation of one of my favorite young adult series of all time!
Alice: Teddy’s Roosevelt’s oldest child was reportedly the source behind one of my favorite quotes (“If you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit next to me”), and lived a fascinating life as a demi-celebrity, political wife, and behind-the-scenes puller-of-strings.
The French Concession: This is a noir novel set in 1930s Shanghai, and the English-language debut of a highly-regarded Chinese author!
Land of Big Numbers: Another China-based book, this is a collection of short stories by a Chinese-American writer and like most short story collections I read, is a book club selection rather than something I picked for myself.
Uprooted: I’ve heard wonderful things about this adult fantasy book, set in eastern Europe, so I’m really looking forward to it!
The Lace Reader: This genre-blender (a little bit mystery, a little bit fantasy, a little bit historical fiction) was a recommendation from a good friend.
The Night the Lights Went Out: I love Drew Magary’s writing on Defector (and what he wrote previously on Deadspin) and remember following the story about his unexpected medical episode as it was happening so I’m really interested in reading his recounting of it!
Cleopatra’s Shadows: Like many other basic bitches before me, I’ve found Cleopatra’s life and legend to be fascinating for years. This historical fiction looks at the legendary queen through the eyes of her younger sister Arsinoe.
Dumplin’: Even your favorite lover of bummer books needs an occasional upper, so this story about the overweight daughter of a beauty queen who starts dating a cute, popular boy and enters a beauty pageant for herself promises to lighten the mood.
Clariel: The books of The Old Kingdom trilogy were some of my very favorites as a teenager (and I’m still pretty fond of them). Author Garth Nix took quite a bit of time off from the series before he returned with its fourth installment, which I am both nervous and excited to read.
Shadowshaper: This urban young adult fantasy got some good word-of-mouth when it was released, and it’s been living on my list ever since.