I’ve read 108 Kindle samples this year – I reckon that downloading sample chapters is more prudent than impulse buying books that don’t quite pan out after the first few chapters.
Of the 108 I’ve read, I’ve said ‘yes’ to 56. Of those that I’ve said yes to, I’ve read six (via the library) and own another three.
As always, I avoid a TBR-stack-blowout and narrow the shopping list down to the 15 that I’m busting to read –
- Australian Gospel by Lech Blaine
- Aphasia by Mauro Javier Cárdenas
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- Heartsease by Kate Kruimink
- Here After by Amy Lin
- Sleep by Honor Jones
- Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru
- The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
- Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford
- Diving, Falling by Kylie Mirmohamadi
- Objects of Desire by Neil Blackmore
- Discontent by Beatriz Serrano
- The Names by Florence Knapp
- The Unclaimed by Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans
- The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan
Which one should I start with?
I picked out Blue Ruin, The Names and Objects of Desire from these. I am becoming resistant to endless tales of dysfunctional families, alcoholism and thinly veiled autofiction. I want writing to be writing, not reportage, however well done. The older I get, the more demanding and if I want dysfunctional, I can listen to my daughter’s stories of what her friends go through in real life.
I dunno, Heartsease? I read her first novel which won the Vogel and I thought it was a ‘promising debut’.
I don’t know them all but Lech Blaine and Florence Knapp sound like good choices to me.
I thought Sleep was brilliant. The Names was good but not all I’d hoped for after the buzz (a little too much like One Day et al.). I’d be interested in the Kruimink, having read her novella Astraea.
Thanks for the warning, I found One Day irritating!
I loved The Names, but it could be because I’ve changed my first and last names, and I can tell you, I’m not the same person I was while I was using my birth names.
I’ve not read any of these but I’ve loved Rachel Clarke’s books in the past so that would get my vote
Blue Ruin? An enjoyable takedown of Britart.
I very much enjoyed The Names – and didn’t find it a bit like One Day😃
The only book I read was The Glass Castle which was very good, I thought. But some of the others seem quite interesting, as well.
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/walls-jeannette-glass-castle-memoir.html
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