My Virtual TBR Pile
Before I begin, obviously I also have a very real TBR pile. Pile being the operative word, actually.
My real TBR currently includes Queenie, The Magnificent Sons and The Cabinet. That’s just physical books I need to read; my Kindle app is a whole other basket of snakes.
I should say, my reading speed varies wildly based on what else I’ve got going on. Most recently, I’ve been writing my own novel as well as reading friends’ books before they send them out to agents. The pesky day job often gets in the way of my reading goals, and there are also other forms of media I’m equally interested in. I can’t read a book and play Stardew Valley now, can I?
What this means is, I end up with HUGE TBR piles, some of which only live in my head, and every time I see someone talk about a book on Twitter I think, Oh My Gosh I Wanted To Read That! and then promptly forget all about it again.
So, I’ve decided this post will serve as a Virtual TBR List - and there some real benefits to this. Not least, if I’ve expressed an interest in reading a book on this list, I don’t actually have to buy it straight away. I mean, usually what happens is, I walk into Waterstones and leave with an armful of books I’ve never heard of before but looked interesting in the moment. Then all those books get added to the pile of books I already own that are waiting to be read, and I still haven’t given any thought to the others I wanted to get.
(I might also share this list with anyone who asks “is there anything you’d like for your birthday?” The answer is usually “book vouchers”, but this could also work…)
I’ve recently set up Libby/Overdrive accounts with my library at work and my local library, so I’m already moving further into this virtual bookshelf world. Maybe I’ll have a check later and see if either of them have these books available…
SO, here is my Virtual TBR as it stands on 15th January 2022
Again, Rachel by Marian Keys. Not actually out yet, but I can’t WAIT.
The Girl With No Soul by Morgan Owen and Tag, You’re Dead by Kathryn Foxfield. These two are cheats, because I’ve already pre-ordered them but that’s just how much I want to read them.
Another Time by W. H. Auden. He’s from my hometown and I’m embarrassed I don’t know more of his work.
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam. I love books that transport me elsewhere, and from the reviews and accolades I’ve seen of this, I think it will achieve that.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. The premise sounds like it will break me open, and sometimes you need that.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. I’ve wanted to read this one for a while, so definitely one to see if my library has. (I also kind of want to own it though. I like the cover.)
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell. I’ve heard some really great things about this collection and I have a feeling it is very much For Me.
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. I don’t always love “spare, minimalistic prose” (I’ve never read a Sally Rooney for this reason) but this story sounds like something I might like regardless, so I’m willing to give it a go.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, because this is definitely one of the books that’s going to be on GCSE syllabi before you know it, but also because I’ve just heard it’s bloody great, and I’d like to find out for myself thanks.
The Houseguest by Amparo Dávila and translated by Audrey Harris and Matthew Gleeson. Because one of the reviews says it’s a mix of Shirley Jackson, Franz Kafka and Edgar Allen Poe, which makes it Supremely My Shit.
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie. Look, I like reading murdery books sometimes, alright?!
The Hungover Games by Sophie Heawood. I… do not wish to be a mother. Ever. The very idea of an unplanned pregnancy frightens me in ways I can’t explain. And yet, I love reading about motherhood. It’s like wanting to read A Passage North; I don’t expect I’ll go to India in my lifetime, but I still want to read about it.
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. I haven’t read a Murakami book since Wild Sheep Chase when I was twenty-one, and I didn’t get the hype. But someone described this as “batshit” and there are talking cats, so, I’m in.
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, translated by Jamie Chang. I have a feeling this will give me lots of feels, about the world and what it is to be female in a male-led society. So, you know, casual Saturday stuff.
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge. I read an interview with the author last year and I was struck by how interesting it is to actively choose the story of not the first black woman doctor, but her daughter, who might want to make different choices. I find that incredibly compelling, so it’s on my list.
Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola. Like lots of people, I really enjoy Bolu Babalola’s Twitter presence. But also, when I saw this book was coming out I thought the premise was perfect. I love myths, I love retellings, I love romance.
Loveless by Alice Oseman. I write a lot of teenage girls, and sometimes I think I might still be one… so I like reading about them too, and I love a book that shows a different angle on that experience.
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Enjoyed Daisy Jones & The Six, like the cover. Sold.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Another murdery book, but in this instance one that’s been on my list since I read the Kindle sample. This year’s going to be the year I get it read!
Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong. I’ve heard mixed things about On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous; one of the more “damning” (I guess?) reviews being that it’s more poetry than prose, more style than substance. I don’t know if I actually mind that, even if it’s true, so I’m going to start with poetry and go from there.
No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. Gosh, I love a short story collection, and I feel like for consistency Miranda July’s going to have it down.
No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. Largely because everyone is talking about this, and also because I am probably More Online than is good for me.
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson. I am now, I suppose, a part-time Londoner. I mean, I live here full-time, but half my heart is somewhere else. But, I understand London now more than I ever did before I moved here, and I want to read more stories that explore all aspects of London, and London As Britain - because it’s drastically different than, say, Yorkshire As Britain or Wales As Britain. And when it comes to London, it is one of the few truly Black British spaces in our country, so I am very excited to read this book.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. My library definitely does have this book, but I also really like the cover so I want to own it. I know, bloody capitalism.
Passing by Nella Larsen. Because I’ve never read it, and I should have.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I mean, everyone’s reading it anyway, and I like a weird book.
Season of Migration to the North by Tayib Salih. It’s a classic, I want to know it.
Shine, Darling by Ella Frears. I don’t buy many individual poetry collections, but I want to; and this one keeps popping into my head.
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers. I seem to be collecting books with oranges on the cover, so what’s one more?
Strange Beasts of China by Ge Yan, translated by Jeremy Tiang. I love a bestiary, and that’s how this is presented. Myths! Legends! Fantasy/sci-fi crossover elements! One of my favourite styles, that.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. The number of people who rave about this it might as well also call itself a classic, and again, I want to have read it.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric Larocca. I love a horror novel. I’ve written before that I got indoctrinated into truly disturbing, interpersonal horror early on, and I particularly like stories that focus on the horror within us. Also, I only vaguely remember the early-2000s internet age and I want to relive it.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Another books about race, society and personal decisions influencing the shape of a life.
(And this is why I don’t re-read books.)