 |
| This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. |
Spring is the perfect time to make a new reading list! The majority of the books I read come from the library and have waitlists. I can't guarantee I'll read all the books in this post, but the odds are good I'll get a few of them.
Spring Reading List
Bee Journal by Sean Borodale
Poetry
Bee Journal is a poem-journal of beekeeping that chronicles the life of the hive. It observes the living architecture of the comb, the range and locality of the colony; its flights, flowers, water sources, parasites, lives and deaths.
Why I want to read it: I want to read more poetry. I want to read more nature books. This seems like the perfect mashup of both those things.
The Fervor by Alma Katsu
Adult Historical Horror
1944: As World War II rages on, the threat has come to the home front. In a remote corner of Idaho, Meiko Briggs and her daughter, Aiko, are desperate to return home. Following Meiko's husband's enlistment as an air force pilot in the Pacific months prior, Meiko and Aiko were taken from their home in Seattle and sent to one of the internment camps in the West. It didn’t matter that Aiko was American-born: They were Japanese, and therefore considered a threat by the American government.
Mother and daughter attempt to hold on to elements of their old life in the camp when a mysterious disease begins to spread among those interned. What starts as a minor cold quickly becomes spontaneous fits of violence and aggression, even death. And when a disconcerting team of doctors arrive, nearly more threatening than the illness itself, Meiko and her daughter team up with a newspaper reporter and widowed missionary to investigate, and it becomes clear to them that something more sinister is afoot, a demon from the stories of Meiko’s childhood, hell-bent on infiltrating their already strange world.
Why I want to read it: My favorite genres are historical fiction and horror. I love how Alma Katsu blends the two genres. Her books always feel innovative.
Support Independent Bookstores
The Girl In White by Lindsay Currie
Middle Grade Horror
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 the most cursed town in the US.
And thanks to the nightmares she's had since arriving, Mallory hardly sleeps. Combined with the unsettling sensation of being watched, she's quickly becoming convinced there's more to her town. Something darker.
When Mallory has a terrifying encounter with the same old woman from her dreams, she knows she has to do something—but what? 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 loved spooky books when I was a kid. I probably would have been obsessed with this one.
Support Independent Bookstores
How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History Of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
History Nonfiction
Beginning in his own hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader through an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history, and ourselves.
Why I want to read it: I like that it focuses on monuments and landmarks. History feels a lot more "real" when you can visit it yourself. Monuments also show us which parts of history we value and which parts we ignore.
Support Independent Bookstores
How Much Of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
Adult Historical Fiction
Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future.
Why I want to read it: When this book first came out, I read a review of it in my local paper. The reviewer loved it. I put it on my must-read list because it sounds like a unique take on the western historical genre.
Support Independent Bookstores
If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Adult Horror Novellas
A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider.
Why I want to read it: I'm on a lifelong quest to read all of Stephen King's books. I'm a bit nervous about this one because I did not like The Outsider. I'm not sure how much I care about the sequel. I guess we'll find out.
Support Independent Bookstores
You Like It Darker by Stephen King
Adult Horror Short Stories
“Two Talented Bastids” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.
Why I want to read it: Another Stephen King book. I'm more hopeful about this one because it sounds like standalone short stories. I usually enjoy King's short work.
Support Independent Bookstores
What are you reading this spring?
No comments:
Post a Comment