I had to make an appointment this morning for about four weeks hence. And the date is in November. And I freaked out. Because after November comes December and then that’s the year, done and dusted. Good grief.
So, given that we’re getting to the pointy end of things, what’s my reading plan? I have some reading challenges to complete, a book club selection, a few ARCs and a couple of books that have been sitting next to my bed for far too long –
01. Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt
02. The Birdman’s Wife by Melissa Ashley
03. The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker
04. The Wangs vs the World by Jade Chang
05. Nutshell by Ian McEwan
06. Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
07. Villa America by Liza Klaussman
08. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
09. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
10. The Words of Every Song by Liz Moore
Have you read any of these? Where should I start?
Fates and Furies was so great.
It’s been on my list since it found a place on my Best of 2015 According to All the Reviewers list – oddly, it was one of the few on that list that I hadn’t heard about until the end of the year but it instantly appealed to me.
Could not agree more. Excellent read.
Oh.. I hate when that happens. I look at the current date and freak out a little because how did it become the end of September already? I remember making new years plans and… really should do something about those.
Villa America sounds lovely. Reminds me a little of the Midnight in Paris film. I am adding this book to my to-read list!
Funny you mention Midnight because I thought the same thing. Did you read Klaussman’s debut, Tigers in Red Weather? It’s a sensational book – light but literary and GRIPPING.
I highly recommend Apple Tree Yard: it’s a proper psychologically creepy page turner.
I’m trying not to be deterred by the S J Watson testimonial on the cover – loved his first book but only recently finished his second and it was dreadful!
Oh, I’ve not read his stuff. Was put off by the hype at the time.
The first book was a real page-turner (lightweight but a good beach read) but I suspect a one-hit wonder.
I know what you mean about the year sneaking past! Fates and Furies was a mixed bag for me but I failed to get on with either The Paying Guests or Apple Tree Yard which was a major disappointment although I know I’m in a tiny minority with both those opinions. Good luck with the plan!
Fates has had mixed reviews – I’m prepared! But yes, I suspect you are in the minority with the other two 😁
Best laid plans though… After writing this list I realised I omitted the new Hannah Kent (which I just got my hands in this evening!) and Girl on a Train which I haven’t yet read but want to before the movie comes out.
Really looking forward to the Kent!
I saw her speak tonight – can’t wait to start reading!
The only one I’ve read is The Paying Guests, which I really liked. Even though it’s big, I whizzed through it, it’s very readable.
The shops have their Christmas stock in – where is my life going??
IKR? I saw mince pies in the supermarket last week – ridiculous.
Paying Guests was good in part though would have benefited from being shorter. In a Nutshell is one I decided not to read – McEwan is so inconsistent and the last two I read I didn’t rate at all.
Because of its size I thought I’d leave Paying Guests until my summer holiday.
Nutshell is my book club read for October – I loved the last McEwan I read (Children Act) but the one before that (Sweet Tooth) was just okay. Interested to discover that Nutshell is based on Hamlet.
I’m a Sarah Waters fan, and Paying Guests, while not her best work, was quite readable. I agree with BookerTalk about the hot and cold running of McEwan’s work; I’ll add that’s he’s among the most overrated of contemporary literary fiction writers, in my opinion.
For all the average stuff McEwan has written, I really did love Atonement. A lot. And for better or worse, his novels make great fodder for book group discussions!
September makes me sad because all of a sudden the end of the year is coming! And cooler weather, ugh. You’ve got two books on your list I couldn’t get through, Paying Guests and Fates and Furies. They seem to be love it or hate it books, so I hope they work better for you!
Seems that the general consensus is that Fates & Furies is either a love/hate affair. Seems that those who didn’t enjoy Paying Guests found it a bit of a slog, with little reward. I’ll read both, if only for the fact that they were both on so many “Best of 2015” lists.
I thought The Paying Guests was super – I hope you enjoy it too!
I think I’ll save it until summer – it’s chunky and I like to have a decent stretch of time to get into bigger books.
Great choices! The Wangs Vs The World, Nutshell and Fates & Furies are all on my to-read list!
PS: I only found your comment on my TTT post now because you were stuck in spam jail :O WordPress being stupid again 🙁
Thanks for letting me know about the spam – I left a whole bunch of comments on blogs last night and couldn’t see any of them and then realised WordPress was playing up – glad you found mine!
I had the same problem a few days ago – it’s incredibly annoying and frustrating!
I’m looking forward to checking out Ian McEwan’s Nutshell at some point. My last few reads from his bibliography have been bordering meh but the premise for Nutshell sounds fascinating. And he writes so well, as always. Great list, happy reading 🙂
My TTT
Being a Shakespeare fan, I’m sure you’ll find Nutshell interesting (it’s a play on Hamlet).
The only one of these that I’ve read is The Paying Guests. I still have very conflicted feelings about this book. I wish I had written a review for it so I can remember why I only gave it 2 stars… I think it was very well written but at the same time, it was so tedious and it felt like it took forever to read. It is one of those books where the author tried to incorporate too much (too many descriptions, too many little details, too many plot lines) and it just distracted from what is actually an interesting idea edna good story. Also, I listened to the audiobook and wasn’t terribly impressed with the narrator, so that might have been one reason for the low score.
I don’t think you’re alone regarding Paying Guests – seems people either loved or hated it and many who didn’t enjoy it said it just dragged on and on. That said, I have found that with audiobooks, the narrator influences my enjoyment tremendously. As an example, I’m currently listening to Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman – the book got pretty poor reviews (and I think people were being generous because it’s Lee) but the audiobook is narrated by Reese Witherspoon and it’s GLORIOUS.
I have not read any of these but I really want to read Fates and Furies hehe 😀 Happy reading! http://www.curious-daisy.com/top-ten-tuesday/10-books-on-my-fall-tbr/
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Pingback: Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts | booksaremyfavouriteandbest
I still have a few of Sarah Waters’ backlist titles to read but The Paying Guests sure does sound fantastic. Might have to check out that McEwan too. Happy reading! 🙂
Paying Guests gets mixed reviews but I’ll read it simply because it was on so many ‘best of’ lists last year. I haven’t read anything else by her.
I loved Apple Tree Yard, which I read a while ago, as well as The Paying Guests. I just finished (and enjoyed) Cruel Beautiful Yard. I want to read Nutshell.
Fates and Furies is the only one here I’ve read and I loved it (it was on my top 10 for last year). But it’s definitely one of those books that people either love or hate, I really don’t think there’s much in the way of middle ground. And it’s always the second half of the book that raises people’s opinion of it, so if you’re not liking the first half, stick with it and it should work out!
I’d prefer to read books that attract either 1 star or 5 star reviews, with no middle ground – far more exciting than books that have you saying “Yeah, it was fine”.
Agreed. I always find it so hard to think of things to say with those middle ground kinda books.
I’ve seen the McEwan around and heard of The Paying Guests but none of the others. Must check them out as I’m sure there are some that will appeal. I tend to request books that remain inside my comfort zone but stumble across those ‘outside’ and enjoy them far more than I expect to.
My book group is where I read out of my comfort zone – same as you, I don’t always expect to like the book but very often pleasantly surprised.
I’ve seen a few of these titles around but haven’t read any of them. I have a few Pulitzer winners on my shelf to get to and some reading challenges to complete too. In January it seemed like there was so much time