A Beginning at the End - Mike Chen (1/14/20) - I put Mike Chen's debut novel, "Here and Now and Then," on my list of anticipated books of 2019, and luckily I loved it just as much as I thought it would. And his second book sounds just up my alley as well - a book set in post-apocalyptic dystopian society after a pandemic has wiped out most of the population. I don't know why, but I love dystopian fiction, so I'm looking forward to checking this one out.
American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins (1/21/20) - This novel is getting some of the most rapturous pre-publication praise I've ever seen, including an endorsement from one of my trusted reader friends who read an advanced copy. According to the publisher, it's about a woman and her son on the run in Mexico from a drug cartel, trying to get to America. Sounds like the kind of book that is timely literary fiction that is also super-compelling to read, and I have a feeling it's going to be a big book in 2020.
A Good Neighborhood - Therese Anne Fowler (2/4/20) - Another book getting high praise from advance readers. Per the publisher, "Told from multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today―What does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don't see eye to eye?―as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful." Sounds like a great book club book, so I may just have to wait to read this one til it's my next turn to host book club!
Weather - Jenny Offill (2/11/20) - I really enjoyed Jenny Offill's quirky book "Dept. of Speculation," so I'm interested to check this one, about a librarian which promises to be another quirky one, about a librarian trying to help her family while also answering reader messages from a famous podcast.
The Sun Down Motel - Simone St. James (2/18/20) - I've only read one book by Simone St. James, "The Broken Girls," which made my list of the best gothic fiction. I'd still like to go back and read her older books, but I'll probably start with this new book, which sounds like another atmospheric mystery/thriller, set in two time periods at the same creepy motel.
This Won't End Well - Camille Pagan (2/25/20) - I've really enjoyed all four books I've read by Camille Pagan (the only one I haven't read is her first book, which seems to be out of print), and one of her books, "Forever Is the Worst Long Time," made my 2017 top 10 list. Her books are generally light contemporary women's fiction, but with real emotions. The longer plot description by the publisher seems a bit overly detailed in terms of plot, but the short description is "An ingeniously witty novel about the risks—and rewards—of opening your life to new people." I've certainly read plenty of novels about closed-off people who are forced by circumstance to open up, but I do tend to enjoy them. I have an ARC of this one so I'm planning to read it soon.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird - Josie Silver (3/3/20) - I really enjoyed Josie Silver's debut novel, "One Day in December," a cute slice of British chick lit which was also a Reese Witherspoon "Hello Sunshine" book club pick. So I'll definitely check out her second book, which sounds like a bit of a Sliding Doors-type setup, where a woman's fiance dies while they are young, but then she gets glimpses of a parallel life where he's still alive.
The Glass Hotel - Emily St. John Mandel (3/24/20) - Emily St. John Mandel's last novel, "Station Eleven," was not only on my 2015 top ten list, it also made my list of my 20 favorite books of the last 20 years. So needless to say, I'm interested to check out her long-awaited follow up. ("Station Eleven," incidentally, has a plot description not unlike Mike Chen's "A Beginning at the End.") Sounds like this one is just straight literary fiction with no dystopian aspect. The publisher's description is another one of those plot-heavy descriptions that are almost unblurbable, other than describing the book as "a captivating portrait of greed and guilt, love and delusion, ghosts and unintended consequences, and the infinite ways we search for meaning in our lives." Since reading "Station Eleven," I went back and read one of Emily St. John Mandel's earlier books, "Last Night in Montreal," which I thought was just okay, so I guess I'd describe myself as cautiously excited to check this one out.
Afterlife - Julia Alvarez (4/7/20) - Julia Alvarez wrote two books I loved when I read them in my younger days, "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" (which I read before I made top 10 lists), and "In the Time of the Butterflies" (which was on my 1999 top 10 list ). Apparently she hasn't published an adult novel in 15 years, but she's returning this April, with a novel about a woman whose life is thrown into upheaval when she retires, her husband dies, her sister disappears, and a pregnant undocumented teenager shows up on her doorstep.
All Adults Here - Emma Straub (5/5/20) - Emma Straub's last book, "Modern Lovers," was on my 2016 top 10 list and I also really enjoyed her book "The Vacationer's," so looking forward to this one. Sounds like another dysfunctional family story, hopefully with her usual humor and insight.
The Side Door - Julie Buxbaum (5/5/20) - I love Julie Buxbaum, one of my favorite writers of both contemporary women's fiction and young adult realistic fiction, who has landed on my top 10 lists 3 times so far, and a must read author. Though I must admit that her 2019 book, "Hope and Other Punchlines," is the lone book from my 2019 anticipated books list that I didn't get to. But only because the library never got a digital copy and it never went on sale, and I am trying not to buy full price books anymore since I have so many to read! But I digress. In sum, she's a writer where I'll read anything she writes no matter what, but this one sounds good - clearly inspired by last year's celebrity parent college admissions scandal!
A Good Marriage - Kimberly Streight (5/5/20) - This book is described by the publisher as "Big Little Lies meets Presumed Innocent in this riveting novel ... in which a woman’s brutal murder reveals the perilous compromises some couples make—and the secrets they keep—in order to stay together." I am definitely suffering from thriller fatigue these days, but I really enjoyed Streight's previous mystery/thrillers "Reconstructing Amelia" and "Where They Found Her," so I'll definitely check this one out.
The Bright Side of Going Dark - Kelly Harms (5/12/20) - Kelly Harms' 2019 book "The Overdue Life of Amy Byler" was not quite top 10 material for me, but yet was one of the books I recommended the most in 2019 because it was just such a cute quick fun read. This one sounds like it will be another great summer read, about a social media influencer who throws away her phone when her life stops being so perfect - only to have her profile hacked by someone else who starts impersonating her.
Big Summer - Jennifer Weiner (5/19/20) - Jennifer Weiner is another must read author for me, one of my most favorite chick lit writers, and I have read every book she has written since 2002, with several appearances on my top 10 lists. Not much info has been released about this one yet - literally all the publisher's description says is that she is back "with a powerful tale of friendship and forgiveness set on Cape Cod during the disastrous wedding of an old friend." Good enough for me!
The Sun Sister - Lucinda Riley (5/19/20) - Lucinda Riley is one of my favorite authors of dual time period historical fiction. This is the 6th book in her "Seven Sisters" series which my friend Sarah and I have been reading together from the start as part of our two person book club. This one alternates between the modern day story of the youngest of the sisters (so who is the 7th sister of the series' title???), and a historical story set in Kenya in the 1930s and 1940s. I wouldn't miss it.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins (5/19/20) - A prequel to Suzanne Collins' smash "Hunger Games" series, set 64 years earlier. Is a prequel necessary? No. But I will I be reading this book as soon as humanly possible? You know it! As my same friend Sarah just said to me, "is there anyone on earth not anticipating this book?"
The Lies That Bind - Emily Giffin (6/2/20) - Emily Giffin is another favorite chick lit author and must read author whose books I've been reading since the very start, and who has appeared on my top 10 lists two times. And thus yet another author on this list whose new books I will read regardless of their description. Interestingly, this one is not quite set in the present day as her books usually are, as it is about "a woman [who] is falling hard for a man she's just met when he disappears without a trace on 9/11."
Remain Silent - Susie Steiner (6/2/20) - I loved the first two books in Susie Steiner's Manon Bradshaw mystery series, the first of which appeared on my 2016 top 10 list and both of which were good enough with just two books to land her near the top of my list of favorite mysteries. It's been 3 years since the second book in the series was published, so I'm excited to read the third one.
The Heir Affair - Heather Cocks and Jennifer Morgan (6/16/20) - I absolutely loved "The Royal We," a fun book about an American woman abroad for college who falls in love with a (fictional) prince of England - think Will and Kate if Kate was American. Loved it so much I put it on my 2018 top 10 list. So I am super-excited that they are publishing a sequel!
I Was Told It Would Get Easier - Abbi Waxman (6/16/20) - Abbi Waxman has totally become a must read author for me, as her three books so far made my top 10 list three times in a row, most recently with my just published 2019 top 10 list. Can she make it 4 for 4 with this tale of a mother and a daughter on a crazy college road trip? We will see but I hope so!
Party of Two - Jasmine Guillory (6/23/20) - I only discovered Jasmine Guillory in 2019, and I'm obsessed with her - I read all four of her books in a 7 month period. Like Kelly Harms, her books are not quite top 10 material, but I have recommended them highly to all looking for a light fun chick lit type of read. Luckily for me she seems to churn the books out, as her next book comes out in June. It's the 5th in this loosely connected series, each of which features a character or characters previously mentioned as a supporting character in one or more of the previous books. This one is about Olivia, the sister of Alexa who was the main character in the first book of the series, "The Wedding Date."
Her Last Flight - Beatriz Williams (6/30/20) - Beatriz Williams is another of my favorite authors of dual time period historical fiction. This one sounds maybe a little Amelia Earhart inspired, with one story set in the late 1940s about a photojournalist working on a biography of a pioneering pilot, and the other set in the 1930s about a fictional female pilot who disappeared during an around the world flight.
What You Wish For - Katherine Center (7/14/20) - Katherine Center's last book, "Things You Save in a Fire," was a 5 star book for me and on my 2019 top 10 list. I've only read one of her other books, so I'm planning to catch up on some of her older books this year, but I'll also need to make room for her next book, about an elementary school teacher fighting the new school principal who wants to take the school in a different direction.
The Daughters of Foxcote Manor - Eve Chase (7/21/20) - Eve Chase is the third author on this list who had a book on my 2016 top 10 list, with her debut "Black Rabbit Hall," an awesome piece of gothic fiction, and I loved her second book as well. So I'm excited for her 3rd book, which sounds like another dual time period gothic fiction set in one of my favorite settings - a crumbling British countryside mansion.
The Lions of Fifth Avenue - Fiona Davis (7/28/20) - Although I only discovered Fiona Davis a few years ago when her first book landed on my 2017 top 10 list, she's become another must read author for me, also in the dual time period historical fiction genre. All of her books center around some famous building in NYC - this time, the New York Public Library in both 1913 and 1993.
Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing - Allison Winn Scotch (8/4/20) - And we can round out the list with one last must read author for me! I have been a huge fan of hers from the start of her career, and two of her books have made my top 10 lists of years past. Her new book is about a senator forced to do damage control after an estranged friend publishes a nasty op-ed about her. My only regret is that I have to wait until August to read this one!
Happy reading everyone! Hopefully next year I'll be able to report back that I read all or most of these!
No comments:
Post a Comment