Books On My Radar

It seems as though I always have books on my radar. Usually they show up on my radar after I've seen them on a list, or read about them on a blog, or talked to people about what they are reading (by the way, what are you reading and loving? I'd love to hear!). Ideally I like to see the book in person before ultimately deciding to read a particular book. A book can be more or less inviting in person, even if someone else raves about it.

There is also the right book for right now. I know that when I am dealing with a lot in my life (like a new job, for instance, which I have been dealing with lately. Learning curve, learning new routines, new co-workers, new duties and responsibilities), I find that I am less able to focus, so books that require a little more effort may not work well for me when I feel scattered or stressed.

There are of course books we have here at home that are TBR (To Be Read), but that stack may contain titles that are different than the books that are on my radar.

Here are some I'm interested in right now...

Bark: Stories by Lorrie Moore
Lorrie Moore is a luscious and luminous writer. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, at least I rarely find myself reading them, but short stories in the pen of Lorrie Moore are wonderful. BARK is her first collection of stories since 2010.

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham
There are authors whose works are eagerly anticipated, no matter what the subject matter because I enjoy their writing so much. Michael Cunningham falls into this category. THE SNOW QUEEN comes out in May. Looking forward to it!

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
Emma Donoghue is another author in that category. I loved ROOM. She actually has many more books that I would like to explore as well.

                    

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
This has been on my radar for a while. I have seen it, picked it up, put it down again, but it keeps popping back up. Have any of you (reading this blog) read it? What did you think?

The Ruins (Vintage) by Scott Smith
Recommended by John Green (who wrote The Fault in Our Stars, which I loved), this looks like a great thriller. I love me a good thriller.

Death Comes for the Archbishop (Vintage Classics) by Willa Cather
Also recommended by John Green, about religion in America. I am interested.

Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston
My partner just received this as an ERC (Early Reviewer Copy) from librarything.com. It looks a little dark and intriguing. I read the two page prologue and someone is dead (are we going to focus on the people who saw the dead body? or the discover who died? I do not know.) Some books that come as ERCs are more interesting after they arrive and we can see it in person, and others are less so. This one is definitely more interesting.

                       

Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawk
This guy travels around Ireland with a refrigerator. I'm not sure why he takes a fridge as a traveling companion, but I'm sure it makes for an interesting trip!

Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow
There are a few friends who, when they recommend books, I tend to take notice, as we seem to share similar taste in books. This book was recommended by one of those friends. It looks pretty interesting.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
That same friend recommended this one. This has been on my radar for awhile. I may need to just get this one already.

The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine
He is a brilliant author. I, THE DIVINE is one of my favorite books, and this is another of his I'd like to read.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Oprah's most recent recommendation, my partner just read this and enjoyed it.

Enormous Room (02 Edition) by e.e. cummings
This is cummings's first book, not as popular as much of his other works, but he wrote this based on his experience as a prisoner of war in World War I.

And then I went to Costco and picked up a book (that I didn't buy, I mean I literally picked it up and looked at it and put it down again)...The Silent Wife that seems similar to Gone Girl, in that the story is told alternately from the wife's and husband's point of view and something is terribly wrong in their marriage, but even so, it didn't grab me in the first couple of pages. At least not on that day. It is still on my radar.

I DID, however, pick up (as in pick up and buy) a copy of Carol Cassella's new book, Gemini. I just recently read her first book, Oxygen, about an anesthesiologist in Seattle who loses a young patient on the operating table. She is blamed, but is she negligent? It's a bit of a medical mystery, well done and intriguing. Gemini is about an ER doctor who deals with a Jane Doe patient. That's pretty much all I know, and the first few pages started out well.

                    


What books are on your radar? Leave a comment here on the blog or on the blog's facebook page, NOT The New York Times Book Review! Thanks for stopping by!

Clicking on the book cover will take you to Amazon's web page for each book. Clicking on the highlighted book title will take you to Powell's page for each book. Shopping through these links helps support the blog. Thank you, and happy reading!