Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Happy Tuesday, readers. It’s time for more new books! At the top of my list of today’s titles that I want to read are Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight and The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag.

If this quarantine was ten years ago, I would be dipping into my backlist stacks. But because I get PDFs of advance reading copies that I can read on my laptop, I am still keeping up with new books, and my backlist continues to sit and glare at me. Poor backlist.

You can hear about some of the amazing new books coming out that I did get to read on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Patricia and I discussed Days of Distraction, Hurricane Season, We Want Our Bodies Back, and more!

As always, I am wishing the best for all of you in whatever situation you find yourself in now. Here’s where you can learn more about COVID-19 Updates from the Bookish World. We’ll continue to update it regularly. Please stay inside as much as you can, but don’t forget that fresh air is good for you, so be sure to open your windows now and then. (And be sure to watch your pets and small children around them when they’re open.)

And please reach out to your friends and family if you’re having a hard time – talking on the computer or phone is a great way to communicate right now! I wish you all wonderful reading during this hard time.

And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite gameshow: AHHHHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants:

Godshot: A Novel by Chelsea Bieker

This is a remarkable debut novel about mothers and daughters, and the damaged world, both within and around us. The world in this novel is now an environmental disaster, because of a water shortage. Fourteen-year-old Lacey lives with her alcoholic mother. Their town has become dependent on a cult leader for guidance in these hard times.  When Lacey’s mother is exiled from the community, she runs away. Lacey moves in with her grandmother, but when the cult’s grasp becomes stronger, she flees in search of her mother. This is gritty brilliance, a coming-of-age novel set in uncertain times. This will not be the last time you hear me mention this book.

Backlist bump: Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman

Artforum by César Aira, Katherine Silver (translator)

This is a quirky little novel about an unnamed narrator who is passionate about Art…forum, the magazine about art. The chapters are vignettes about his attempts to get a subscription, find more copies, his hunt through magazine shops and used bookstores, and more. I will admit that I have read a few of Aira’s books now, and I am not entirely sure that I understand the actual point they are making. I think it largely goes over my head, but I enjoy them anyway. Or maybe I’m overthinking them.

Backlist bump: The Musical Brain: And Other Stories by César Aira

Valentine: A Novel by Elizabeth Wetmore

Remember last week when I told you that you might want to skip certain books if you’re not in the mood for dark subject matter? This is another one of those books. It’s set in a small town in Texas in the 1970s, and is about the violence towards women that accompanies the prosperity that follows an oil boom. It’s told from multiple points of views, and is a novel of the strength and resilience of the women in this town. It is brutal, but also beautifully written, and it addresses important subjects, like the perceived societal worth of the lives of women and people of color compared to white men.

Backlist bump: Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith

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