This week’s TTT topic is ‘Ten Books You’d Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card’ but really, ten is stupid when what I actually *need* is at least a hundred.
How about we make this the first week of Top One Hundred Tuesday?
Because I’m not buying many books this year (and I’m working out my strategy for next year), I basically think about what I would buy if I could, every other second of the day. *this is the bit where you admire my restraint*
But I’ll play by the rules –
01. The Paper House by Anna Spargo-Ryan
02. The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver
03. The Muse by Jessie Burton
04. Tender by Belinda McKeon
05. The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
06. A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman
07. Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume
08. Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
09. Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett
10. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Read any of these? Which should I get first (when I can)?
Tender and The Glorious Heresies are both incredible – seek out when you can! And I too am looking to get my mitts on a copy of Hot Milk (despite the slightly gag-inducing title…)
That’s so funny you mention the title of Hot Milk – I feel the same (thought it was only me!). Same but different, I have an aversion to hot fruit (as in savoury dishes with fruit in them or even fruit pies…). I mentioned it on Twitter last week when someone posted a ‘1970s dinner party recipe’ for fish with bananas (pass the spew bucket!) – the person replied “Hot Fruit… that would be a good band name!” 😀
It would! I think there’s also a maternity lingerie company called Hot Milk, which makes me feel both vaguely positive (…yay, body reclamation?) and vaguely uncomfortable.
Funny you mention that brand – I wrote copy for them many years ago and felt exactly all the ‘vaguely ‘ things you noted 😂
!!! Small world.
Angle of Repose is a great read, an American masterpiece, but not a light beach read. Spill Simmer Falter Wither and The Glorious Heresies are worthy members of the Irish-Misery-Porn genre, the first dark and humorless, the later darkly humored. I’ve not read Imagine Me Gone, but I’m a fan of Adam Haslett’s earlier work.
Which to buy first? Well, Angle of Repose is the fattest above mentioned book, so it’s probably a cheaper-per-page purchase, especially if you buy it used. And, if you value an author who uses words copiously, generously, as if they grow on trees, but selects only the very best words available in the English language to form his sentences, then Wallace is your man.
I’m busting for more Stegner after opening 2016 with Crossing to Safety – it was pretty much everything I look for in a book.
I picked all of these books from my ‘Sample Saturday’ selections – it’s a good way of whittling down the list. Both Spill Simmer and Glorious will be purchased at the end of the year – I loved the first chapters of book (and, as you know, have a soft spot for books set in Ireland).
Three favourites on here for me – Tender, Spill Simmer Falter Wither and Angle of Repose.
I haven’t read any of these yet, but Imagine Me Gone is on my TBR because it sounds so good.
*admires your restraint* Wow, a complete buying ban? I think I’d have a hard time with that… I don’t buy THAT many books, but I think I’d miss being able to read a book on the release date.
It was very, very difficult at first but now, not so hard to manage and there have been some upsides – notably, I now ‘tune out’ the noise and hype. If a book still interests me a month or two after I have heard about it (such as the ones on my list here), then I’m REALLY interested.
I’ve started a Goodreads shelf of books that have caught my eye this year – do far, there’s 60+ books on that list. Imagine if I’d impulse-bought all of those?! Going back through them to compile this list I realised that if I get to the end of the year not having bought on impulse 100 books, then the purchase of 10 I’ve been coveting will be a very good thing.
With more than 100 books on my to read list on Good reads, my reaction to this prompt would have been the same as yours. I think I would have been tempted to use my card to buy some of the longlisted Booker titles since I don’t as a rule buy hardbacks….
I haven’t heard of any of these, but I’ll definitely have to check out some of these. Perfect picture at the top! 🙂
Thanks for visiting my blog earlier.
I want to own 9 and 10!
I’ll be referring people to this list at Christmas time.
A Year of Marvellous Ways has been on my wishlist for the longest time now!
I’m keen to pick up The Muse as well, although I still have yet to read The Miniaturist (despite having owned it for a while now), and couldn’t possibly justify buying her newest without having read the former yet. The book teases me every time I see it though – the cover artwork is beautiful!!
I hope being restrained on the book buying is going well – it sounds like it is!
Have you read Winman’s last book, When God Was a Rabbit? I loved it – one of those rare books that made me laugh and cry.
Get stuck into The Miniaturist – it’s wonderful (I agree, you can’t buy a new release if you have other books by same author in your TBR stack).
Angle of Repose is AMAZING. There’s a long review on my site archives. I have heard nothing but great things about Tender, too.
I’m reading The GLorious Heresies currently (pretty good so far), and have Hot Milk coming up next/concurrently! Good list for sure!
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The good news is that Stegner’s book is not only brilliant but also very likely to be available at your library.
Exactly. THANK GOD for libraries.