Wishes for My TBR Pile #20: More New Discoveries

Wishes for My TBR Pile is a monthly post where I list and sometimes discuss the books I’ve discovered and would like to get and read.

These lists come in handy when I’m at the bookstore and can’t decide on what to purchase (though I really don’t need to buy any more books). I often get one or two of the books after featuring them in these lists because discussing them here helps to refresh my memory and interest in them.

And since my last post, I bought Klaus by Grant Morrison, illus. by Dan Mora. Actually, I placed an order for it soon after completing that post. Klaus is a comic book that reimagines the tale of Santa Clause. The art looks pretty cool and I love the book’s overall presentation: It’s a hardback with gold-leaf edges. It’s so beautiful. I hope to read it sometime this year.

Here are some more books I’ve discovered:

The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, trans. by Lola Rogers

I’m not sure what to make of this one, but the synopsis sounds interesting. It a Finnish mystery novel that has some fantastical elements in it and seems to be one that book lovers will love. I first heard of it on Juan’s YouTube channel, which convinced me to add the book to my Goodreads TBR. It’s about a young woman, Ella, who joins a literature society in a small town called Rabbit Back, but soon discovers that the Rabbit Back Literature Society isn’t as it seems.

Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose work I’ve never read. However, after reading this Brain Pickings post one morning, I placed her book of essays on my Goodreads TBR because I enjoyed reading passages from the book that were included in the post. In the excerpted passages, Oliver discussed creativity and one’s creative self, which are always of interest to me.

The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling by Charles R. Johnson

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Charles Johnson before receiving this Shelf Awareness newsletter that featured an interview with him. It seems that he was friends with African-American playwright August Wilson, whose plays I’d studied in college. I liked what Johnson had to say about writing and how he encourages his students not to limit themselves to one art form. His interview made me immediately add his book on Goodreads.

Batman: Noël by Lee Bermejo

This is on my TBR because of Lashaan. Obviously this is a comic book about the Dark Knight himself; however, what interested me was that this is a reimagining of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol but in Gotham City…and with Batman. 😮 That blew my fucking mind so I immediately placed it on my TBR. Check out Lashaan’s review of it here. I also love the illustrations, which is another reason why I’d love to get and read this…after reading the two Batman comics I already own, of course.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, illus. by Chris Riddell

Resh Susan at the Book Satchel introduced me to this book when she featured it on her Instagram. The cover is beautiful, which made me immediately add it to my TBR. It’s a middle-grade fantasy book based in Nordic mythology about a boy who must help the gods escape the frost giants, who trapped the gods in animal form.

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

I was intrigued by the title of this book. It’s a young-adult fantasy about a girl who is an apprentice to a paper magician, who she must later try to save. I don’t know much about it and haven’t read any reviews on it, but I would like to give it a try.

soft magic. by Upile Chisala

A book of prose and poetry on a variety of topics. Chisala is a Malawian writer. I forgot what made me add it to my TBR, but Darkowaa’s (African Book Addict) review of it on Goodreads makes me think I’ll like it. She compared Chisala’s style to salt by Nayyirah Waheed, which I loved, so it’s totally possible that I’ll like soft magic too.

The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke

I think I came across this on Didi’s booktube channel, Brown Girl Reading. It’s a historical literary fiction novel set in Barbados after World War II that tackles colonialism and the effects of slavery. I don’t often reach for books like this, but I’m curious to see how it portrays the effects of slavery in the West Indies at that time.

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

A YA fantasy novel about a girl descended from witches who’s supposed to be very talented but lacks power. I believe I placed this on my TBR because I’m interested in reading more stories focused on witches, especially if they are set in the real world, which Once a Witch is. So far, the only such book I’ve read is Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz, which I didn’t like.

The Heartbeats of Wing Jones (some places list the book as just Wing Jones) by Katherine Webber

I learned about this contemporary YA novel when Becky posted a review of it on her blog. It’s about a girl, Wing Jones, whose family has experienced a tradegy: Wing’s brother, who was drunk driving one night, hit and killed two people and is now in a coma. I was drawn to this story because it’s told from the perspective of the family of the guilty person.

The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips

A novel about an intelligent girl whose opportunities are limited because of who her mother believes she should be. Tangy Mae is 13 years old and is the only dark-skinned child of her light-skinned mother. Though Tangy wants to continue her education, her mother believes she should instead clean houses and bed men for profit. I forgot where I learned about this book, but the premise makes me curious about the story since it deals with discrimination within the Black community.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

A sci-fi novel about a girl accepted to a prestigious university. If she decides to attend Oomza University, Binti will be the first of her people, called Himba, to do so. However, attending the university would also mean giving up her place in her family. I’d like to read another of Okorafor’s books. I read her YA fantasy novel Akata Witch last year and enjoyed it and am hoping its sequel will be published soon.

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