Anticipation

Oh, The Millions, are you trying to force me to buy another bookshelf? Today they posted a guide to upcoming released for the next half of the year and I couldn't believe how many fantastic authors are coming out with new books in the next few months. Some that made it on to my wish list (and my attempt at a brief synopsis):

1. Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta: Sibling and artist issues

2. The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta: Borderline sci-fi; love, loss, etc... (you may know him for Election, The Abstinence Teacher or Little Children)

3. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: College baseball as a backdrop for maturing

4. There But For The by Ali Smith: Man locks self in bathroom and communicates with notes under door

5. I Married You For Happiness by Lily Tuck: Wife sits on husband's deathbed and recount their relationship

6. Luminous Airplanes by Paul LaFarge: Man returns to grandfather's remote, foreign hometown when he dies (here's the issue- this physical text is linked to an online component; part of me is opposed since it is a little too eReader for me, but part of me is proud of LaFarge for combining the two mediums in a sort of compromise. We'll see).

7. IQ84 by Haruki Murakami: Finally this book is released in the US- so much secrecy attached, I'm very curious! About a PE teacher, a writer, and a religious cult.

8. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides: I'll be honest: the man could write about dog crap and I'd read it, after The Virgin Suicides and, even better, Middlesex.

9. Zone One by Colson Whitehead: I'm becoming a sucker for post-pandemic stories. While I wasn't a huge fan of Whitehead's last book, I do appreciate his talent and will give this one a try.

10. The Cat's Table by Micahel Ondaatje: Childhood and a voyage; Ondaatje is a talented writer, so content isn't all that important to me,

11. The Angel Esmeralda: 9 Stories by Don DeLillo: Effing Don. One of my summer goals it to finally finish the monstrous Underworld. I love his writing and hope that short stories might me a great way to experience his talent.

12. The Third Reich by Roberto Bolano: I haven't read any Bolano (my husband has and approves), but have really meant to. Seems like (finally) a quality mystery, and it's released on my birthday, so it must be awesome.

Unfortunately, Marisha Pessl's sophomore novel has been pushed back from the fall to the spring- this could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Expectations are high and I'm praying she's not a one hit wonder.

It's only twelve books. Only a third of a shelf. No more than $175. No biggie.