September 04, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: My Fall TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

I wasn't going to do Top Ten Tuesdays again this week, but then I thought maybe I could use this weeks topic of 'top ten books on your fall TBR list' to get my reading list organized for this fall. I rarely never have a reading plan in place, instead, I tend to just go to my bookshelf and grab a new book when I need one, But sometimes, this means I'll go a whole day or two without reading anything because I can't decide on what to read. Or I'll become too overwhelmed with my TBR pile to pick something. OR...I forget about the books I was so excited to read just last month. So without further ado, here are the 10 books I am challenging myself to read this fall. Most of them are no longer new, but they will be new to me! 

 
1. When God Was a Rabbit, by Sarah Winman. This is Septembers book club pick, and it is also my pick. Which means that I am hosting book club this month as well. While I think everyone should read every book club book, I definitely think you should read the book you choose!

2. We'll Always Have Summer, by Jenny Han. This is the 3rd book in the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy and I absolutely loved the first two. I'm excited to finish this series.

3. Love Anthony, by Lisa Genova. My boss received an ARC of this book which comes out this month, but decided it wasn't for her. She passed it along to me, feeling the subject matter is much more up my alley. I'd love to finally read a book *before* it's released. I've never had this opportunity because I've never asked for or received an ARC before.

The Tower of TBR


My husband and I were supposed to be in Nova Scotia right now for a holiday, but ended up having to move the trip to the end of September. The next few books are the books that I was saving for the trip and would like to read while I am there.


4. Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume. I've never read this book of Judy Blume's before. When I was getting ready to leave for my destination wedding last November, I asked Twitter for "beach-read" recommendations. (Ha! Silly me, thinking I would have time to read during my wedding...!) Anyway, a conversation occurred in which a friend of my SIL's highly recommended Summer Sisters, but my SIL was like "ugh, do not read that book" (or maybe it was the other way around, I can't remember). Either way, of course it made me want to read it all that much more to decide for myself, you know? I found an old paperback copy at Value Village a few months ago and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since.

5. On the Island, by Tracey Garvis Graves. I have read nothing but amazing reviews on other blogs about this book. When I picked it up for super-cheap at Costco one day, I decided I wanted to save it for the long plane ride to Nova Scotia. Flying is one of my favourite times to read, and I wanted to ensure I had an unputdownable book with me.

6. The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker. This cover was constantly catching my eye from the shelves at the bookstore, but the synopsis on the front flap didn't really grab my attention. Then I read a really great review of this book on Bookosaur that pretty much had me purchasing the book the next day!

7. The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough. My mother-in-law gave me this book several months ago. She said she had been keeping her eye out for it at thrift stores as she really wants me to read it. I generally cringe at the sight of old mass market paperbacks, but then a little discussion with her and a little research on this book had me bumping it up on my TBR list.


I know to most people, four books for a 10-day vacation doesn't seem like a lot, but I'll be lucky if I read two of the four. I always take more books with me than I will read because I hate running out of the things to read when I am travelling. How much reading I get done will really depend on how much we do in Nova Scotia. I can't read in the car so that takes away a large chunk of possible reading time.


8. The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. I have had my eye on this book sine January. I even ordered myself a hard cover copy! But I'm a little nervous to read it as books about animals are almost always sad.

9. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs. I bought this book months ago because it's cover and pages are beautiful and eerie at the same time. I figure it will be a good Halloween read this fall!

10. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. I don't think I need to say much about this book. It's been all over book blogs and best seller lists this past month. I picked up a copy at Costco the other week and can't wait to read it. I may take it with me to Nova Scotia if I don't get to it before then. 


So there we go! Hopefully now that I've put it down on paper the internet for everyone to see, I'll feel more accountable to sticking with my list. Unfortunately, at the speed I'm reading books these days, these ten books *could* potentially take me to the end of the year to read! Yikes. Or maybe this list will encourage and prevent me from wasting time in between books!

Tell me: What books are on your must-read list for the fall?

18 comments:

  1. Okay, I read The Thorn Birds when I was a teenager (snuck it from my Mom's bookshelf!) and I remember loving it! Granted, that was twenty-some years ago (eek!) but I can't wait to hear what you think of it! I might need to do a re-read.

    I really enjoyed The Age of Miracles; just know going in that it's a quietly told coming-of-age tale. There are no big fireworks and dystopian craziness going on. I got a chance to read this back in February through Netgalley and it really resonated with me. Here's my review: http://www.coffeeandabookchick.com/2012/02/age-of-miracles-by-karen-thompson.html

    I hope you enjoy all of your reading this season!

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    1. No idea why Blogger spaced out my Age of Miracles comment; I mean it did resonate with me, but the spacing makes it look like it REALLY did. LOL

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    2. Yay! I'm actually really looking forward to relaxing on vacation and delving in to The Thorn Birds! I haven't read an "epic saga" in god knows how long ;p I'll let you know if it's worthy of a re-read.



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  2. I really liked the Summer series, though I wanted to shake Belly sometimes! Have fun with your fall reads! Here is my list http://wp.me/pzUn5-1aL

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    1. Yes, Belly definitely has her moments! But most of the time I could appreciate where she was coming from.

      Thanks for stopping by :)

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  3. The Age of Miracles is one I would love to read as well. Hope you get to all these during Fall :-)

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    1. Gah, I hope I do too! Although it might take me till December ;) It's deciding where to start that's tough! Thanks for stopping by :)

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  4. Four books for a vacation isn't a lot at all! I always have good intentions to read, but never do. Hubby isn't a reader, so we usually go out and do things, or just sit back with a drink and a view!

    Great picks! I really need to read the Summer series -- it looks soooo good! And I'm still insanely jealous of your Lisa Genova book. I'm on the waiting list for that one and cannot WAIT to read it! She's pretty amazing. I want to read On the Island soon ... that one looks super good!

    Enjoy all your books, Brie!

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    1. LOL, I know it's not a lot, but I never get as much reading done as I plan to. I'm hoping we'll have a few days of "down time" - time to just relax at the in-laws and do nothing but read and eat lol. My hubby isn't a reader either, so that makes it tough. Also, The Thorn Birds is 692 pages!! I haven't read a big book like that in a LONG time haha ;p

      Yes, you need to read the Summer series! If I get to Lisa Genova's book sooner than later, you can borrow it if the waiting list ends up being insane. :D

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  5. Eek I'm so jealous that you're going out East! Where are you staying? We are planning a trip to Cape Breton Island for next summer. I can't wait. I have some family out there, never lived there myself, but the maritimes feels like home in a lot of ways.

    You've intrigued me with When God Was a Rabbit. The reviews on Goodreads are quite polarized, lot of 4 and 5 star, lot of one star. Look forward to your review.

    Summer Sisters is a really special book for me. It was the first book I read after a six-month reading hiatus. It wasn't the sort of book I would get for myself. My mother in law dropped off a box of old books for me. They were 95% Harlequin romances that got tossed. I only kept three - Children of Men (awesome,) Summer Sisters, and a romance called "The Magnificent Rogue," because who can argue with a title like that? ;)

    Anyway, Summer Sisters was great for me at the time. It was quick, accessible, and ended up surprising me. One of the characters is maddening, but in a good way. I think there was also some lesbian subtext or something... you'll have to remind me when you're done :)

    Enjoy your vacation and reading materials!

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    1. Hubby's parents are in New Glasgow so we will be spending most of our time there (about 80 minutes outside of Halifax). But we will be in Halifax a bit too to spend time with Jim's friends. I am really looking forward to it - it's been two years since we were last there! It's just such a beautiful and relaxing place to be :)

      I haven't started When God Was a Rabbit yet (probably tomorrow I will), but I'm definitely curious as I also noticed the polarized reviews on it. My SIL just read it and loved it. We shall see...

      I loved Judy Blume growing up so I have to say I am looking forward to reading Summer Sisters. Isn't it neat how certain books hold such amazing memories for us? That's why I think a person's "review" of a book often depends on when in their lives they read it. Which is one of the things I love about people's book blogs and talking about books in general. We all get something different out of reading, even when it's the same book.

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  6. I am jealous you are reading The Thorn Birds for the first time. It is on my Top 10 List of favorites (although really there are more like 25 on my Top 10 List). I read it in my early 20's and thought it so scandalous being raised Catholic by a very strict Sicilian Catholic mother. But she was the one who recommended it to me. It's a thick book but you'll be hooked and will breeze through it. My fiance was at Burning Man last week and I read 600 pages of Les Miserables. I'm finding it a suprisingly easy read.
    I also enjoyed Summer Sisters. A nice easy, perfect vacation read.
    Happy reading :-)

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    1. I'm really excited to read The Thorn Birds now. After I posted this, my mom (who has trouble posting replies so she texts them to me instead!) also told me what a huge impression this book left on her when she was young. I'm surprised she never passed it on to me before.

      I have to admit - I don't know much about the story of Les Miserables. Big books like that intimidate me though. I used to welcome larger books, but now, as I get older, I always think about how many smaller books I could read in the amount of time one really large book would take me. I think this is why I've been putting off re-reading (and finishing) The Outlander series.

      I'm so glad you found me, Lori. I love your comments and hope you continue to discuss books with me :)

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  7. I can't wait to read The Age of Miracles! :D I hope that you like it, and I can't wait to see what you think of it. :) Thanks for sharing your list of Fall TBR books. :)

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    1. I'm really looking forward to it too! Just have to decide if I want to truck a hardcover to NS with me or not ;)

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  8. I really liked Miss Peregrine -- it was totally different than anything else I'd ever read, but in an unexpected way. I hope that you like it too!

    And this is quite amusing -- I read Summer Sisters when *I* went to Nova Scotia for a family vacation many, many years ago. How bizarre is that?!?

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    1. No way! That's really cool, actually! Did you like it? I'm thinking it will at least me an easy vacation read :)

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    2. I did enjoy it! I remember loving the fact that I was reading a Judy Blume book, but as an adult. It had that warm fuzzy childhood feeling, but with more adult content, if that makes any sense at all?!?!

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