Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Wish List Additions




Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is whatever I want! I’ve blogged before about how I manage my reading life. I used to have a problem with impulse-buying books. I solved that problem by using a wish list. Whenever I come across an interesting book, I write it on the list and leave it there for weeks (or months, or years). Every few months, I go through the list and delete the books that no longer appeal to me. Here are ten books that I recently added to my wish list. I may or may not ever read them. 



Recent Wish List Additions










Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church – Lauren Drain



Lauren spent her early years enjoying a normal life with her family in Florida. But when her formerly liberal and secular father set out to produce a documentary about the WBC, his detached interest gradually evolved into fascination, and he moved the entire family to Kansas to join the church and live on their compound. Over the next seven years, Lauren fully assimilated their extreme beliefs, and became a member of the church and an active and vocal picketer. But as she matured and began to challenge some of the church's tenets, she was unceremoniously cast out from the church and permanently cut off from her family and from everyone else she knew and loved.


















A History of Women in 100 Objects – Maggie Andrews & Janis Lomas


The history of the world has been told in objects. But what about the objects that tell the history of women? What are the items that symbolize the journey of women from second-class citizens with no legal rights, no vote and no official status to the powerful people they are today? And what are the objects that still oppress women, even now? From the corset to the contraceptive pill, the bones of the first woman to Rosa Parks's mugshot and the iconic Mary Quant cape, A History of Women in 100 Objects documents the developing role of women in society through the lens of the inanimate objects that touched women's lives, were created by women or that at some time—perhaps even still—oppressed them.


















The Loneliest Girl in the Universe – Lauren James


Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship traveling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth—with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication with each other is via email—and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.

But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?

Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . .
















Medieval Bodies: Life, Death, and Art in the Middle Ages – Jack Hartnell


In Medieval Bodies, art historian Jack Hartnell uncovers the complex and fascinating ways in which the people of the Middle Ages thought about, explored and experienced their physical selves. In paintings and reliquaries that celebrated the—sometimes bizarre—martyrdoms of saints, the sacred dimension of the physical left its mark on their environment. In literature and politics, hearts and heads became powerful metaphors that shaped governance and society in ways that are still visible today. And doctors and natural philosophers were at the center of a collision between centuries of sophisticated medical knowledge, and an ignorance of physiology as profound as its results were gruesome.


















Motherhood: A Novel – Sheila Heti


In her late thirties, when her friends are asking when they will become mothers, the narrator of Heti’s intimate and urgent novel considers whether she will do so at all. In a narrative spanning several years, casting among the influence of her peers, partner, and her duties to her forbearers, she struggles to make a wise and moral choice. After seeking guidance from philosophy, her body, mysticism, and chance, she discovers her answer much closer to home.






















Never That Far – Carol Lynch Williams


After her Grampa dies, the last place Libby expects to see him is sitting on the edge of her bed. But that’s what happens the night after the funeral.

Even more surprising is that Grampa has three important things to tell her: first, that she isn’t alone or forgotten—“The dead ain’t never that far from the liv­ing,” he says; second, that she has “the Sight”—the ability to see family members who have died; and third, that there is something special just for her in the lake. Something that could help her and her father—if she can find it.

Libby and Grampa try to help her father heal from his grief, but it will take all of Libby’s courage and her gift of Sight to convince her father that the dead are never truly gone.
















Picnic at Hanging Rock – Joan Lindsay


It was a cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred.

Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared.

They never returned.





















Red Dust Road: An Autobiographical Journey – Jackie Kay


Once, as a small child, she realizes that her skin is a different color from that of her beloved parents, Jackie Kay embarks on a complicated and humorous journey to treasure the adoptive family that chose her, track down her birth parents—her Scottish Highland mother and Nigerian father—and embrace her unexpected and remarkable life.
























The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid


Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
















A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail – Bill Bryson


Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakesand to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings.

For a start there's the gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa along for the walk. Despite Katz's overwhelming desire to find cozy restaurants, he and Bryson eventually settle into their stride, and while on the trail they meet a bizarre assortment of hilarious characters. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America's last great wilderness.






Have you read any of these? What did you think?












44 comments:

  1. Evelyn Hugo is on my list. Just added the Westboro Baptist one. Thanks

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  2. I haven't read any of these, but my mom read A Walk in the Woods and told me about it. Bill Bryson is definitely worth reading!
    Now I really really want to read Picnic at Hanging Rock, but I'm also terrified to do so.

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  3. The book about the woman’s experiences with the Westboro church is probably interesting but I think it would make me too rages too read. I’ve had The Loneliest Girl in the Universe on my TBR for a while. I’ve heard it has an incredible twist so I’m super intrigued. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo... gah. I could rave on and on about that one. I read it back in January and it well definitely be one of my favorites of the year.

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  4. A History of Women in 100 Objects sure sounds like a good read.

    This is our Top Ten Tuesday.

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  5. Adding The Loneliest Girl in the Universe to my TBR now Lol :)

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  6. These all sound great! Medieval Bodies makes me want to read it simply for that cover! The only one I've read was A Walk in the Woods, but it was so long ago I don't remember much about it other than enjoying it. I hope you enjoy all of these!

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  7. I loved Evelyn Hugo! The History of Women book looks interesting.

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  8. Picnic at Hanging Rock has been made into a film and a mini series (Amazon?).

    But I think you should read the WBC one because I want to know where they get their money.

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  9. I'm really looking forward to The Loneliest Girl in the universe, I'm waiting for my library copy! Evelyn Hugo was really good, so different from her other books.

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  10. Never That Far was one I had my eye on. It sounds quite wonderful. I have been wanting to read TJR book for a long while, but then, I think about checking one out, and they seem too emotional for me at the very moments. One of these days.

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  11. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a really intriguing read, the characters (especially Evelyn Hugo herself) are incredibly complicated.

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  12. i love the cover to a walk in the woods. so cute. I have an issue with adding all the book to my goodreads TBR. Really there is no possible way I could read them all. I am such a mood reader though.. I leave them there just in case the perfect time ever comes calling.

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  13. I love your list! I don't usually read nonfiction, but A History of Women in 100 Objects sounds super interesting. I was also really intrigued by the synopsis of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. I've been getting really into novels set in space lately, and that one may have to be next on my list.

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  14. I just recently added The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to my reading list as well. I keep seeing so many great reviews for it!

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  15. Banished is probably fascinating, I imagine, and The Loneliest Girl does too in a totally different way obviously. I forgot about that one.

    I've heard the Bryson book is good too (and I won it in a giveaway eons ago and haven't read it yet- hanging my head in shame).

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  16. Banished sounds interesting, as does the Medieval one. Some of that Medieval art is crazy.

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  17. I love the cover of Never That Far. Hope the story is just as good! Great list here, and thanks for visiting my TTT! :)

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  18. I've only read A WALK IN THE WOODS. It is hilarious. Bryson really knows how to write nonfiction in an entertaining way. You sure have a very diverse list. Good luck!

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  19. Such a fun topic! I should do something like this next time there's a "freebie" topic. :) Hope you enjoy all of these, AJ - and MANY thanks for making a stop on Finding Wonderland.

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  20. The Lonliest Girl in the Universe is one I've got to read. I've been eyeing it ever since it was released in the UK. Also, that Westboro Baptist Church book sounds 👀!!!

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  21. I saw Picnic at Hanging Rock as a film when I was a kid. I heard rumours of some kind of remake.

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  22. I really want to read Evelyn Hugo, I've seen so many people saying how great it is. I keep hoping the library will get a copy.
    I'm going to watch the new Picnic at Hanging Rock too so no doubt that will be another I'll end up wanting to read :)

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  23. Oooh, I've been meaning to read Picnic at Hanging Rock. It was the prompt for a Six Degrees of Separation meme last year, and I'd never heard of it before then. You really know how to pick good books. Of these, I've only read Walk in the Woods, and I'm most likely to pick up Lonliest Girl, Red Dust Road, and Seven Husbands. I think Bryson is hilarious, but I liked the first half of the book better than the second.

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  24. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe sounds amazing! I'm adding that to my wishlist now!

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  25. Oh I am so very happy to see The Loneliest Girl here, I loved this book so much and it deserves more love for sure. I hope you will love it as much as I did :D

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  26. I just snagged Evelyn Hugo on an Audible sale. I can't wait! The other two TJR books I read wound up on my favorites list.
    Dani @ The Restricted Section

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  27. Banished sounds interesting. What is it about people who set out to study weird religious groups and end up joining? Dennis Covington's "Salvation on Sand Mountain" is similar as he's a NYT reporter send to down report on a murder trial of a "snake handling minister" and ends up drinking the kool aid. It's another good book and Banished sounds like one I might like.

    I have read "A Walk in the Woods" and, having hiked 4x as much of the Appalachian Trail as Bryson, I feel it was a little unfair that he wrote a book and made a mint while only hiking a small portion of the AT. However, his book is well worth your time and it's so funny!

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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  28. Evelyn Hugo is on my TBR and I really enjoyed A Walk in the Woods - well at least the first half. I felt like it was a little uneven. Banished has me intrigued. We watched a documentary on Westboro Baptist years and years ago and now I'm wondering if it was the one done by her father!

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  29. I'm super guilty of not cleaning up my TBR pile - honestly I should get going on that. 😂 A History of Women in 100 Objects sounds really interesting to read about - I love how they're using objects as symbols to history.

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  30. I have added 'A History of Woman in 100 Objects' to my TBR - I love those kinds of histories! The Westboro one has been on my TBR for ages and I found it at Half Price Books a while ago for a couple bucks. I also have a love/hate relationship with Bill Bryson so I go back and forth often about whether I will read any more of his work. Happy Reading!

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  31. I've definitely been eyeing Evelyn Hugo. People are raving about it and even though it isn't my usual genre, I'm intrigued. Happy reading!

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  32. I just put The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo on my list! I’ve been hearing such great things!

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  33. Oh I'm not familiar with these but some of these covers...they are so pretty! I hope you love them all!

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  34. You always find such interesting books! The Loneliest Girl in the Universe definitely looks like one I might be interested in. Great list :D

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  35. So many intriguing books! I can totally understand why they're on your wishlist. I saw The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo on at least one other list this week, and it sounded pretty amazing. I really like your reading wishlist idea...I may have to borrow it :)

    Lauren @ Bookgirl Secrets

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  36. Ohh there are some fantastic covers in this lot!! And I am so so curious about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I see people talk about it all the time!? And while it doesn't sound like my general genre...I'm a sucker for following the hype. 😂

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  37. The only one off this list I've read is The Loneliest Girl in the Universe and that one was way creepier than I expected it to be, haha! Hope you get to read it! :)

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  38. What a great wish list! I just recently finished The Loneliest Girl in the Universe and loved it! ♥️ I think you’ll enjoy it too!

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  39. Loneliest Girl is AWESOME. It was very different than I expected, but in a really good way. And wowww Banished sounds like it would be incredibly interesting to read- I cannot even imagine! Now I want to get that one too! The History of Women in Objects one looks quite good too!

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  40. I haven't read any of these but the Loneliest Girl is on my tbr. I also keep hearing great things about Evelyn Hugo. :)

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  41. I really want to read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, too.

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  42. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe sounds really good, as does Red Dust Road.

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  43. That is such a fabulous idea for your reading list! I need to implement that but I don't know if I have enough willpower lol! One of my friends from back home just read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and loved it! I hope you enjoy it too if you pick it up.
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

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