We're nearly halfway through 2015 (yipes) which means it's time to look at what the second half of the year will bring in terms of publishing. In no particular order, nine books coming up in the rest of 2015 that I can't wait to get my hands on (titles link to listings on Indiebound if you're interested in the full summary or pre-ordering any of the books below):
The Heart Goes Last, by Margaret Atwood: When I reviewed Stone Mattress, Atwood's most recent collection of short stories, on Goodreads, I wrote, "I would read IKEA assembly instructions if Atwood wrote them." So obviously I'll read this novel. (Nan A. Talese, September)
The Beautiful Bureaucrat, by Helen Phillips: From the publisher's description: "A young wife's new job pits her against the unfeeling machinations of the universe in a dazzling first novel Ursula K. Le Guin hails as "funny, sad, scary, beautiful. I love it." Yes. Please. (Henry Holt, August)
Multiply Divide: On the American Real and Unreal, by Wendy S. Walters: A collection of essays on American cities and race and safety. Timely, no? (Sarabanda Books, August)
Changing the Subject: Art and Attention in the Internet Age, by Sven Bikerts: The staff at the Graywolf booth at BEA talked this one up to me, and as I am perpetually fascinated by the implications of our device-addicted society, I couldn't pass it up. (Graywolf Press, October)
The Mark and the Void, by Paul Murray: I loved (love love love loved) Murray's debut novel, Skippy Dies, so I was super-extra-double excited to grab his next book at Book Expo this year. I have no idea what it's about. (FSG, October)
Home Is Burning, by Dan Marshall: It's rare that I get all that excited about a memoir, but the buzz around this one has me, well, buzzing? The story of a grown man who has to return home to care for his aging parents, it promises humor and heart. (Flatiron Books, October)
DC Trip, by Sara Benincasa: Sara is a riot on Twitter, and I expect her novel will be just as much of a delight. Plus, it's set in DC. And I don't live in DC, but I do live close to it, which is sort of the same thing. (Adaptive Books, November)
Under the Udala Trees, by Chinelo Okparanta: I recently read Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie and The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma, and I'm excited to pick up this debut novel from another Nigerian voice. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October)
Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir, by Maggie Thrash: A graphic memoir about first loves. I'm not particularly well-versed in the graphic memoir genre, but this seemed like an interesting entrypoint.
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What are you most excited about in the coming months? What did I miss on my list?
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Part of the Top Ten Tuesday meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
I picked up Changing the Subject and Home is Burning at BEA too, so maybe we can trade notes! I was sad they didn't have copies of Margaret Atwood's new book.
ReplyDeleteI picked up a copy of Honor Girl at BEA. Happened upon the author's signing. I'm really looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI'm on a quest to read more Margaret Atwood. I first read her in college in a Women's Lit course - we read The Edible Woman. Since then I've only read A Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin, but I LOVED both of them. I need to read more!
ReplyDeleteAlso - so so excited for that Paul Murray book! I'm trying to save my galley until closer to the release date, but I may just read it this summer and write my review while it's fresh, and then just schedule it.
Oooh, a few new titles for me to look into!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for The Beautiful Bureaucrat and The Heart Goes Last! I'm also intrigued by Under the Udala Trees.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, I stumbled upon Under the Udala Trees on Netgalley (which has its moments, but is generally NOT a great tool for true discovery, in my opinion). I'm really looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteHope you find something you like!
ReplyDeleteME TOO on the Atwood front. I've got a stack of her backlist titles on my shelf (literally a stack: enough of them that they took up less space together stacked in a pile rather than shelved like normal) that I keep meaning to get to. I'm thinking of Cat's Eye next.
ReplyDeleteOh, well done! It looks really interesting. Looking forward to your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteSame on Atwood! Though can you imagine the swarming line that book would have drawn?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty excited (albeit worried) about The Girl in the Spider's Web.
ReplyDeleteTOTALLY excited about a new Atwood, as always. And The Beautiful Bureaucrat creeped me out in the best way...pretty sure I'll have to read it again before it's pubbed.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! A lot of these were new to me, but they all sound interesting. Here's my <a href="http://www.bookishginger.blogspot.com/2015/06/top-ten-tuesday_9.html>TTT</a>. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise Paul Murray had a new book out either. Loved Skippy Dies so much, I have high hopes for this one.
ReplyDeleteUnderstandable! I only ever read the first one, but interesting that there's a new one coming out so many years later.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to pick up Beautiful Bureaucrat. Even though I have to second-guess myself every time I type the word "bureaucrat." #spellingconfessions
ReplyDeleteMe too! I'm hoping I can get to it before knowing much about it; my expectations are already high as it is.
ReplyDeleteLarsson had originally planned 10 books for the series. There has been a feud between Larsson's partner who has his drafts and his relatives who inherited the publishing rights. I guess the publishing company finally realized that they will never get the original drafts, so they (together with Larsson's relatives) hired someone to write the fourth book. If it a success, my bet is that they will continue with more books for the series. I really want to read the rest of the series, but I'm worried this author will not do as good of a job as the original books.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I had no idea there was a family feud involved. That makes it all the more intriguing. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the 4th--and hoping the new author does the series credit!
ReplyDeleteI love these posts! Other bloggers are always telling me about new books to be excited about -- that collection of essays about race and American cities sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteApparently Larsson didn't have a valid will and he wasn't married to his long-time partner (who has the computer with all the notes for the series) so his estranged brother and father by default inherited the future royalty rights to the books, and unless I remember wrong, I think they refuse to share with Larsson's partner who wants a say in what happens with the rest of the books.
ReplyDeleteOh boy. There are a lot of titles on your list that are new to me. That's good but also bad ;) I can feel my mental tbr pile growing, lol
ReplyDeleteWe have so much in common with this list! I am a huge fan of Sven Birkerts. His Gutenberg Elegies prompted me to write my first fan letter to an author- in the days of snail mail! He wrote back and I was ecstatic.
ReplyDeleteI'm also looking forward to new releases from Salmon Rushdie, David Mitchell, and B.A. Shapiro. It's shaping up to be a great fall!
You have me interested in Changing the Subject! Graywolf is killing it. And of course I also want to read The Beautiful Bureaucrat.
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