Lazy Sunday TBR List Roundup

by Joli

Welcome to Sunday! What did you add to your TBR list this week? Here are some of our additions.

Janna

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. Someone from one of my book clubs mentioned this book and when I looked on Goodreads a good girlfriend of mine gave this 5 stars! From the looks of it, The Bone Clocks is a mystery tinged with a few fantasy elements thrown in for good measure. Looking forward to digging into this one.

Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood by Claire Hoffman. This memoir chronicles the childhood of a journalist who grew up in the Maharishi school in Iowa, which from what I’ve read is an organization dedicated to an interesting form of meditation. I lived in Iowa for three years and heard all about this place….much of it in jest because the Maharishi’s highest form of meditation is levitation. Basically, I’m a gossip and I NEED to know more about this place I never visited during my time in Iowa.

Joli

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier: I actually requested this from the library some time ago, and it has finally come in! So, this is my next read. This is the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is a book I haven’t read, but have seen the movie, and I find the story captivating. At the Edge of the Orchard is also set in frontier times, which is a period in American history I just love!

The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale: I was browsing a list on Goodreads and this one caught my eye. It was really great reviews, and sounds like it’s up my alley! “In this spot-on Southern novel brimming with wit and authenticity, you’ll laugh alongside lifelong friends, navigate the sometimes rocky path of marriage, and roll through the outrageous curveballs that life sometimes throws . . . from devastating pain to absolute joy. And if you’re lucky, you just may discover the secret to hummingbird cake along the way.”

Kathleen

I heard an interview with Noah Hawley, author of the new emotional thriller Before the Fall on last week’s New York Times Book Review Podcast. A plane goes down in the Atlantic after lifting off from Martha’s Vineyard. The plane belongs to an executive from a conservative news channel and is carrying his family, the crew of the plane, and a struggling painter. The book examines the back stories of each person on board, as well as follows the trajectory of the two survivors. Hawley, in addition to being the author of several novels, is the writer and showrunner of the TV series Fargo.

Also new on my list, Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler. This debut is getting a ton of buzz, including raves from the NYT Book review, Elle, the Boston Globe, and People. It’s about a young woman who works in the restaurant business – not in the kitchen, but in the front of house. As a Top Chef junkie AND a contemporary fiction junkie, this seems like the perfect fit.

Mel

Last week I went to a town hall rummage sale down the road (in a township with a population of 41). The books were 15 for a $1 paperback and 5 for $1 hardcover. Mostly romance and mystery novels, but I found these two gems:

The Falcon: A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner by John Tanner
I’ve started reading this but I’m only a few pages in. I think this will be a slow read. It’s the first-hand account of a guy who was kidnapped by Native Americans when he was nine and sold to and raised by Ojibwas. He lived his life as an Ojibwa for 30 years.

Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul by Scott Weidensaul
Exactly what it sounds like, I just thought this sounded good because it’s about nature and about environmental change. It was only 25 cents.

Then I picked up The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel from the “New Books” section at the local library. I needed some fiction in my rotation. I liked Life of Pi but had no background on this new book. The cover looks cool (always a good basis). I’m reading it right now!

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2 comments

Meg @ebooksandcooks June 12, 2016 - 8:53 am

Certainly a ton of good finds! I’m in the small minority that didn’t enjoy Sweetbitter. I have The Girl with the Pearl Earring on my Kindle unread. I’d be curious to see your thoughts on the author!

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Joli June 12, 2016 - 10:16 am

Hey Meg! Oooo now I’m really interested to know what Kathleen ends up thinking of Sweetbitter! I love hearing negative reviews of books that a majority of people love – it’s always interesting to read why. And I’m definitely liking At the Edge of the Orchard so far. I’m about half way through, and super engaged! I also just heard from another friend of mine who loves Chevalier – she recommended Remarkable Creatures. So, putting that one on my TBR!

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