Goodreads Update 2 July 2023

It's the last week of July. That means it's time to see what I've added to my TBR in the last two weeks. I didn't think it was that much, but when I went to look at my GoodReads account, it was more than I thought. Maybe get a snack and a blanket and settle in.

The first set of books here are from a recent bookstore trip where I bought some things with a gift card I earned from spending so much at the bookstore. I have a problem.

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - I love Thomas Hardy. Not Tess of the D'Urbervilles, but all the other ones I've read. The Return of the Native is my favorite. Anyway, I have not read this one. My sister and I saw the movie in the theater when I was visiting her after surgery. It's been about 8 years now, and I've about forgotten the movie, so it's safe to get the book. It will most likely sit on my shelves for another 8 years before I finally get to it.

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio - The friend I was shopping with read this very recently and when I saw the Barnes and Noble special edition paperback, I snatched it up. My one sentence synopsis of this book is this: A group of students is putting on a Shakespeare play, then the murders started.

The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas - The author is a friend. Her first two books, written under Julia Thomas, are mystery/thriller types, set in present day. This is a historical fiction book. Apparently I missed one of her books, which is also historical fiction. I don't know about the other one, but this looks fabulous. A bunch of college girls at Cambridge get to know each other through a bookstore. I love female friendship books. Also, this cover!

Devotions by Mary Oliver - I don't read a ton of poetry. It takes so much effort for so few words! But I do like Mary Oliver. So here we are.

Ok. That's all the books I purchased at the store. This next section is books I heard about on various podcasts and decided to add to my list.

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdez - This sounds absolutely unhinged. Psychic space cats. Yes please. It's apparently hilarious and chaotic.

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson - The idea behind this one is that the British Monarchy has a designated royal coven that was established by Queen Elizabeth I, who was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, who was herself a powerful witch. Now there has been a split and four girls who joined together have split up due to political differences. Now they have to get the band back together to deal with a super powerful warlock whose existence was foretold.

When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey - Another social justice book for my list. Apparently the author interviewed a ton of people around the crack epidemic including law enforcement, judges, and dealers.

French Exit by Patrick DeWitt - I loved The Sisters Brothers and I like Major Underdomo Minor. I have his newest one on my Net Galley queue. I realized I hadn't read this one. So here we are. The cat!

Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst - This is about a woman who loses her job as a journalist and writes a letter to the company outlining all the racism that runs rampant. When no one responds, she falls apart and goes to her home town to recuperate. Then stuff happens at home and also back in New York where there is a media circus around her letter.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim - A father and son go for a walk in a rural Virginia town. At first no one is concerned when they don't come back. Then the son runs in covered in blood without his father. The son has a disease that renders him unable to speak, so no one knows what has happened to the dad. Then the secrets start to come out.

This last set of books are ones I found in various places and added to my list.

The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America by Monica Potts - I found this by messing around on GoodReads in the recommendations section. I was drawn to it because it is set in Arkansas which is right next door. It's about two best friends who promise to get out of their small town. One makes it and one doesn't.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - This is the author of City of Brass that I read earlier this year. I thought it was fantastic. I actually bought this from Book of the Month and just forgot to put it on my TBR. Amina is a retired pirate who takes one last job.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett - i was not interested in this at all because I thought it was an actual encyclopedia of fairies. I should have known better. It is actually about Emily Wilde who is a bookish, introverted, fairy scientist and her research into fairies. It's cozy fantasy and I could do with that right now.

Mall Goth by Kate Leth - A friend of mine rated this on Goodreads and I thought, "Oo! That looks entertaining." A goth girl moves to a new town because her mom took a job, and she finds her place at the mall.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong - I have seen this all over BookTube and I got the chance to get it from NetGalley, so I did. This is a fantasy novel where a princess has killed her parents in an attempt to bring down the monarchy, but she needs to finish the job by killing her uncle. She plans to do this by winning the games at San-Er. There is also a guy intent on winning the games to save his paramour who has been on the verge of death since they were exiled years ago.

Ok. Those are all the new books on my TBR. Does anything stand out to you?