I was on a used bookstore shopping spree recently so I have a lot of books I plan to read this Fall. Or at least that I plan to carry around with me when I'm going for a chai latte at Starbucks.
This post is part of The Broke and Bookish Top Ten Tuesday meme. Today is Top 10 Books on my Fall TBR list.
First off are books I started in the summer and wasn't able to finish for a couple different reasons.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: Everybody was talking about this book a couple of years ago and I loved Donna Tart's debut novel Secret History (though I'm not sure I'd recommend it) so I thought I'd give this a try. Even though it is a 700+ page book, it was a quick read up until about page 168. The deal breaker was this one very unrealistic event (Theo befriending Welty - what?). Will try and push through though.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky: Every summer I have this tradition of reading a very sad novel, because if I wait until winter I find it's too much to handle. I read The Idiot and Brothers Karamazov years ago, so I picked up Dostoevsky's most famous work. I'm on page 112 and already had 3 nightmares. The letter from his mother, the episode with the horse, the kafkaesque scene at the police station. Shouldn't this be called: "Crime, Punishment and excruciating misery"? For the sake of my sanity, I had to take a break from it, but I have to finish it by Fall or wait until next summer.
If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino: Speaking of books making you lose your mind, this one is getting on my nerves. Italo Calvino was one of my favorite authors growing up, so I was excited when my bookclub chose this. I had to miss the book club meeting because I got stuck on page 104. The premise is very interesting, but reading it is exhausting.
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: I recently finished reading The Sisters Brothers which takes place during the California Gold Rush and ever since I've been dying to visit California. Perhaps this will change my mind?
Nine Stories by J. D. Salinger: This was an impulse buy at Goodwill, specially considering I've been on record saying I'm not a big Salinger fan. But I'm interested in reading his short stories.
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene: I felt the need for a little fun, so I bought this. It was made into a movie, so it's gotta be entertaining. To the extent Graham Greene can be entertaining (ooh, burn)
Mozart the Golden Years by H. G. Robbins Landon: This was bought on the same book fair for a very cheap price. Ever since watching Amadeus (definitely don't recommend that movie) I wanted to learn more about Mozart. How can I resist anything with Golden Years in the title?
Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell: Lastly, my Mozart kick made me buy anything with Mozart in the title. Plus, the cover is an Ingres painting... This will be my first historic fiction novel (if you can call it that), but the cover says it's "filled with musical politics, love, loss and chocolate". One guilty pleasure book never hurt anyone, right?
What are you reading this Fall?
