I'm feeling a level of mental contentment that is due primarily to the state of my library request list. It is stocked with lots of juicy books that will keep me content at least until early December, maybe even longer for the books that have really long wait lists. My whole family should be breathing a sigh of relief because they know that I am a nicer person to be around when I have good reading material to soothe me. What with the oldest critter starting High School (and come to think of it, now that he's taller than me, I probably should come up with a term more apt to describe him than "critter." Maybe "great galumphing creature"?) and all of us adapting to lots of new situations and schedules, I need all the soothing I can get.
Thankfully the publishing industry seems to have anticipated my need because there are lots of terrific sounding books that have just come out, many of which I have requested and one which I bought.
I bought and started David Mitchell's latest, The Bone Clocks (and oh my god it is already so good). I know I'll want to re-read it, so I went ahead and bought it rather than patiently waiting for a library copy. I have even cleared a bit of shelf space for its future home next to Black Swan Green, Ghostwritten, Number9Dream and Cloud Atlas.
Here are some highlights of books that I'm looking forward to:
Tigerman by Nick Harkaway. I loved his book The Gone Away World.
Lila by Marilynne Robinson. Return to the world of Gilead? Yes please!
Some Luck by Jane Smiley. Sometimes I love Jane Smiley (The Greenlanders, A Thousand Acres) and sometimes not so much (Moo, Horse Heaven), but I always look forward to seeing what she's up to.
Lock In by John Scalzi. Time for some fun sci-fi to keep me from going into literary fiction overload.
Lucky Us by Amy Bloom. Her books don't always stick with me, but I do enjoy the process of reading them.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I've read/heard a few reviews of this book and it sounds fascinating--speculative and fantastical.
Sweetness #9 by Stephan Eirik Clark. I heard a Fresh Air interview of the author and the book sounds interesting.
Elephant Company by Vicki Croke. A little non-fiction history to keep me grounded.
Are there any new releases that you are eagerly anticipating? Send the titles my way and I'll add them to my (extensive) request list!
