Books I Bought, Episode Two

Early April seems to be the time of year where the number of great books out there to read – both recent and previously published – goes from exciting to overwhelming. Even when I feel like I’ve been responsible with my purchases and judicious in the number of review copies I request, by April I start to feel this weird stress about ALL THE BOOKS and the knowledge that I’ll never get through it all.

It has helped, I think, that I’ve been focusing this year on only buying books in bookstores rather than online. The fact that I work at a library and can basically request any title I want somewhat negates that, but at least library books won’t sit on my shelves for too long.

Although I did break my pledge once in the last few months – I pre-ordered Leslie Jamison’s new memoir, The Recovering, because I was just so excited to read it – I’ve been largely successful. Here are the books I’ve bought since my last update:  

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti – A coming-of-age story of a young girl whose father has a mysterious past, told in alternating chapters with the father’s coming of age story. I read this on vacation and loved it.

The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen – A collection of short stories reimagining our favorite fantasy and children’s story characters. I’m thinking this will be a late evening Readathon palate cleanser.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle – I don’t think I’d ever read this children’s classic, so I snagged a copy and read it a few weeks ago. It was… ok? It didn’t really hit me the way I was hoping that it would.

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot – This memoir has gotten a lot of buzz, and so when I saw it on a staff recommends table at my favorite independent bookstore, I had to grab it. This one is also on my Readathon pile.

The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead – I am obviously going to buy a novel by Colson Whitehead about a sort of parallel universe in which there’s a department of elevator inspectors. It sounds so fascinating.

Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper – A friend recommended this collection of essays about black women’s anger, how it’s portrayed, and why it’s important.

Nasty Women, edited by Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding – This collection of essays from women writers about resistance and revolution has been on my radar for awhile, so I finally decided to just buy it.

After my last update, I realized I didn’t include the books I’ve selected through my Book of the Month subscription. It feels only fair that I admit to them too (especially since I’ve selected multiple books during multiple months… not responsible!):

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones – Oprah’s newest Book Club pick about what happens to a marriage after the husband is jailed and then released after being convicted and acquitted of a crime.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan – This is a YA novel about grief that’s gotten amazing buzz. I keep wanting to pick it up, but I’m also kind of apprehensive.

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs – This one was compared to The Westing Game, a novel I really loved a long time ago, so I was pretty much sold. A mathematician dies, perhaps murdered, and leaves a clue for his relatives to solve.

Circe by Madeline Miller – The infamous witch of The Odyssey gets her own book. I’m prepared for this one to be amazing.

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil – This memoir is about two sisters who escape from genocide in Rwanda to come to the United States. It sounds like a tough read, but also very meaningful.

Oh dear… now that it’s all written down, it’s clear that is a lot more books than any one person ought to acquire in the span of just a few months. I think a book buying diet is in order soon!