Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish 

March 31st: Ten Books you recently added to your to-be-read list.

I'm going by the last 10 books added to my to-be-read list on GoodReads. Makes everything easier to figure out.




We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. - Goodreads


Why read it?: Many of those who I follow on GoodReads seem to like it. When I get in the mood for a YA novel I'll probably head for this one. Every once in awhile I get in one of those moods.



That's Not English by Erin Moore: An expat’s witty and insightful exploration of English and American cultural differences through the lens of language that will leave readers gobsmacked. - Amazon books


Why read it?: One of my favorite classes in college was my intro to the English Language class. I love knowing why certain people pronounce certain things and why certain groups of people use certain words the way they do. Considering I'm a self confessed anglophile and I have a love of the origins of my own accent (Appalachian) I look forward to this book.



Yes Please by Amy Poehler: Yes Please, Amy’s hilarious and candid book. A collection of stories, thoughts, ideas, lists, and haiku from the mind of one of our most beloved entertainers, Yes Please offers Amy’s thoughts on everything from her “too safe” childhood outside of Boston to her early days in New York City, her ideas about Hollywood and “the biz,” the demon that looks back at all of us in the mirror, and her joy at being told she has a “face for wigs.” Yes Please is a chock-full of words and wisdom to live by. - Google Books


Why read it?:
I read Tina Fey's "Bossy Pants" and while I typically consider myself more of a Liz Lemon than a Leslie Knope I figure you can't have one without the other. It's about time I read Amy's.



The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who—from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister—dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukú—a curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevere—and risk it all—in the name of love. - Amazon books


Why read it?: It feel like this is one of those books you hear about a lot on the first day of English classes when they make everyone name their favorite book and I've never read it so here it is.



The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell: This eighth entry in New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell's epic Saxon Tales series brings to life the harrowing and turbulent tale of a nation torn apart by sectarian and religious strife, a political struggle dominated by dynastic rivalries, and the remarkable strength that elevates some characters above their time. - amazon books


Why read it?: Gonna be honest, saw the cover in B&N and since Game of Thrones is still on hiatus and the new episode of Vikings wasn't on for a few days this got added to the list. George RR Martin praised the battle scenes so that's a bonus in it's favor. This is another that's going to have to wait for a mood shift.



The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford: Few aristocratic English families of the twentieth century enjoyed the glamorous notoriety of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy Mitford's most famous novel, The Pursuit of Love satirizes British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modelled on Mitford's own. - Goodreads


Why read it?: Typically I go for earlier period romance novels, but this has me intrigued. Love me a good satire.



Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. - Amazon books


Why read it?: I'm suspicious of another post-apocalyptic novel, but this is another one I've seen making the rounds of my goodread friends. Plus, I have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic novels set near where I live.



Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi: In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty—the opposite of the life she’s left behind in New York. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman. Dazzlingly inventive and powerfully moving, Boy, Snow, Bird is an astonishing and enchanting novel. With breathtaking feats of imagination, Helen Oyeyemi confirms her place as one of the most original and dynamic literary voices of our time. - Amazon Books


Why read it?: Ever since "Wicked" I've liked the idea of "Take a fairy tale and twist it" (not to be confused with that mess known as Once Upon a Time). This is getting dangerously too modern for my typical taste but I think I've give it a go all the same.



The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman: Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the impresario behind The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island boardwalk freak show that amazes and stimulates the crowds. An exceptional swimmer, Coralie appears as the Mermaid in her father’s “museum,” alongside performers like the Wolfman, the Butterfly Girl, and a one-hundred-year-old turtle. One night Coralie stumbles upon a striking young man photographing moonlit trees in the woods off the Hudson River. - Google Books


Why read it?: The American Horror Story fan in me is intrigued.





All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. - Amazon Books


Why read it?: First, that cover is really pretty. Second, I've seen good reviews on it from bookblog friends and it was listed on my library's March Madness tournament.


Any opinions on these, if you've already read them that is. Are any of these just not worth it? Any suggestions based on this that I can add to my growing pile?

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