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I've been on a book-buying ban for nearly a year, and I've been trying very hard to read the books I own and ignore new ones, but occasionally a book creeps onto my wish list.

Here are 10 books that I just couldn't ignore.

🔖  Recent Additions To My Book Wish List  🌟

Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos

Adult Magical Realism Classic

Rómulo Gallegos is best known for being Venezuela’s first democratically elected president. But in his native land he is equally famous as a writer responsible for one of Venezuela’s literary treasures, the novel Doña Barbara. Published in 1929 and all but forgotten by Anglophone readers, Doña Barbara is one of the first examples of magical realism, laying the groundwork for later authors such as Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.

Why I want to read it: I like magical realism, and I don't read enough South American literature. When I Googled popular books from that continent, Doña Barbara kept popping up. Let's see what the hype is about.

Buy it on Amazon

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Middle Grade Science Fiction

There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.

But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children—among them Petra and her family—have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet—and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard—or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

Why I want to read it: The cover is so pretty! (Yes, I judge books by their covers.) This novel won the Newbery, and I'm determined to read every winner, so I'll get to this one eventually. Several of my bookish friends loved it.

Buy it on Amazon

Billy Summers by Stephen King

Adult Mystery / Thriller

Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?

How about everything.

Why I want to read it: Stephen King has written some of the best—and worst—books I've ever read. I never know what to expect from him. This one has a very good average rating on Goodreads, so I have high hopes.

Buy it on Amazon

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Young Adult Romance Graphic Novel

Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more?

Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn't been too great, but at least he's not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He's heard a little about Charlie—the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months—but he's never had the opportunity to talk to him.

They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner.

Why I want to read it: Like everybody else, I quickly developed an obsession with the charming, funny Netflix show. I'm excited to see how the book compares.

Buy it on Amazon

The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, And Myth In Greek And Roman Times by Adrienne Mayor

Adult Science / History Nonfiction

The Greeks and Romans were well aware that a different breed of creatures once inhabited their lands. They frequently encountered the fossilized bones of these primeval beings, and they developed sophisticated concepts to explain the fossil evidence, concepts that were expressed in mythological stories. The legend of the gold-guarding griffin, for example, sprang from tales first told by Scythian gold-miners, who, passing through the Gobi Desert at the foot of the Altai Mountains, encountered the skeletons of Protoceratops and other dinosaurs that littered the ground.

Like their modern counterparts, the ancient fossil hunters collected and measured impressive petrified remains and displayed them in temples and museums; they attempted to reconstruct the appearance of these prehistoric creatures and to explain their extinction. Long thought to be fantasy, the remarkably detailed and perceptive Greek and Roman accounts of giant bone finds were actually based on solid paleontological facts. By reading these neglected narratives for the first time in the light of modern scientific discoveries, Adrienne Mayor illuminates a lost world of ancient paleontology.

Why I want to read it: Paleontology is fascinating. Ancient history is fascinating. I want to see how the two overlap. I think I could learn a lot from this book.

Buy it on Amazon

The Girl In White by Lindsay Currie

Middle Grade Paranormal Fiction

Mallory hasn't quite adapted to life in her new town of Eastport yet. Maybe it's because everyone is obsessed with keeping the town's reputation as one of the most haunted places to visit.

And thanks to the nightmares she's had since arriving, Mallory is having a hard time sleeping. Combined with the unsettling sensation of being watched and losing chunks of time, she’s worried that maybe the ghost stories she’s been quick to dismiss might actually be real.

When Mallory has a terrifying encounter with the same old woman from her dreams, she's not sure what to do. With Eastport gearing up to celebrate the anniversary of their first recorded legend, Mallory is forced to investigate the one legend she's always secretly been afraid of . . . Sweet Molly.

Why I want to read it: I'm interested in the commercialization of tragedy. I've been looking for books that aren't true crime or ghost stories, but are about true crime or ghost stories. When Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction gave this one a good review, I knew I needed to read it.

Buy it on Amazon

Scattered Showers: Stories by Rainbow Rowell

Young Adult Romance Short Stories

In her first collection, Rainbow Rowell gives us nine beautifully crafted love stories. Girl meets boy camping outside a movie theater. Best friends debate the merits of high school dances. A prince romances a troll. A girl romances an imaginary boy. And Simon Snow himself returns for a holiday adventure.

Why I want to read it: I love the Simon Snow book series because it's hilarious. There's a short story about Simon in here, so of course I have to read it.

Buy it on Amazon

So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens

Young Adult Fantasy

Arek hadn’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next.

As a temporary safeguard, Arek’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing.

With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong . . . until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.

Why I want to read it: When I finished the Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell, I immediately started searching for cozy fantasy books with similar vibes. I found this one. I hope it's just as clever and escapist as Simon Snow.

Buy it on Amazon

Confessions by Kanea Minato

Adult Mystery / Thriller

After calling off her engagement in wake of a tragic revelation, Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her only child, four-year-old Manami. Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.

But first she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that upends everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Why I want to read it: I love "best books of the year" lists. I read as many of them as I can and note the books that pop up on multiple lists. I saw this thriller on several lists from 2022 and 2023. According to reviewers, it's innovative and full of shocking plot twists. I hope it lives up to the hype.

Buy it on Amazon

Nothing Burns As Bright As You by Ashley Woodfolk

Young Adult Novel-In-Verse

Two girls. One wild and reckless day. Years of tumultuous history unspooling like a thin, fraying string in the hours after they set a fire. They were best friends. Until they became more. Their affections grew. Until the blurry lines became dangerous. Over the course of a single day, the depth of their past, the confusion of their present, and the unpredictability of their future is revealed. And the girls will learn that hearts, like flames, aren’t so easily tamed. It starts with a fire. How will it end?

Why I want to read it: It's giving me vibes of The Wicker King by K. Ancrum. I love books about morally gray characters who make terrible decisions. Bring on the toxic friendships!

Buy it on Amazon

Which book have you recently added to your must-read list?