Books I’m Currently Reading + My TBR List

Over the last few months, I’ve bought quite a few books mostly with a gift card I’ve had since Christmas. My family knows they can always get me a Barnes and Noble gift card for any occasion, and I’ll be perfectly happy. 😊

Anyway, here is my list of books that I’ve bought but haven’t gotten around to yet. I’ll start with what I’m currently reading.

Current Reads

I don’t know about you, but I’m not one to bombard myself by reading too many books at once. I’ll usually stick to two or three at most, and I try to read a different book each night at bedtime to make sure I’m making progress on all of them.

So what am I reading now?

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This book has been on my TBR list for over a year, and I never got around to buying it. It gained popularity be being elected into Reese Witherspoon’s Blook Club.

Here is its description:

“For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

“But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life’s lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

“In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

“The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.”

Artemis by Andy Weir

I watched the film The Martian, which I thought was pretty good, and that was literally the only reason why I picked this new book by Andy Weir up. Also, the main character’s name is Jasmine, so that interested me. Normally, I do not red science fiction at all, but I thought I would give this book a shot.

It has some rather critical reviews on Goodreads, but I’m trying to avoid reading those before finishing.

Here is its description:

“Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

“Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

“Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.”

To Be Read

The Dilemma by B. A. Paris

I picked this book up during a book haul a while back and still haven’t gotten around to reading it. B.A. Paris is an author whose books are rather hit or miss for me. I really liked her book The Break Down and Bring Me Back, but hated Behind Closed Doors. (Maybe I’ll give a review of that one since I hated it so much!)

Anyway, here is the description for The Dilemma:

“It’s Livia’s 40th birthday, and her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding they never had. Everyone she loves will be there, except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But Livia is secretly glad Marnie won’t be there. 

“Livia has recently uncovered a secret about their daughter which, if revealed, will shake the foundation of their family to its core. She needs to tell Adam, but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.

“Adam, meanwhile, has his own surprise for Livia: he’s arranged for Marnie to secretly fly back for the party. But before Marnie arrives, Adam hears some terrible news. Now he too is faced with a dilemma: Does he share what he’s learned with his wife? Is hiding the truth the same as telling a lie? And how far are Adam and Livia willing to go to protect the ones they love—and give each other a last few hours of happiness?”

Native Son by Richard Wright

This book is one I’ve wanted to read for years but have never gotten around to it. Based on that alone, it should be at the top of my reading list. Here is its description:

“Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic.

“Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright’s powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.“

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

This is another book I have been meaning to read for years. I have really been into mystery novels recently and have never read any of Agatha Christie’s books. Here is And Then There Were None‘s description:

“First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion:

‘Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he’d stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.’

“When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.”

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I have been interested in this book since watching the Netflix series. I am normally not a big sci-fi or fantasy reader, but this concept intrigued me. This book series is gaining in popularity, and I’m excited to compare the book to the show. Here is its description:

“Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

“Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

“Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.“

Freefall by Jessica Barry

I bought this book while in Branson, MO, as part of a 3 for $20 book deal. I had never heard of this book or the author, so I have no idea what to expect! Here is its description:

“The life that she’s built for herself – her perfect fiance, their world of luxury – has disappeared in the blink of an eye. Now she must run, not only to escape the dark secrets in her past, but to outwit the man who is stalking her every move.

“On the other side of the country, Allison’s mother is desperate for news of her daughter, who is missing, presumed dead. Maggie refuses to accept that she could have lost her only child and sets out to discover the truth.

“Mother and daughter must fight – for survival and to find their way through a dark web of lies and back to one another, before it’s too late…”

What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons

This book is one that I picked up in Branson, MO, as well. I have been trying to read more books by people of color, so I’m interested to read this one. Here is its overview:

“From an author of rare, haunting power, a stunning novel about a young African-American woman coming of age—a deeply felt meditation on race, sex, family, and country.

“Raised in Pennsylvania, Thandi views the world of her mother’s childhood in Johannesburg as both impossibly distant and ever present. She is an outsider wherever she goes, caught between being black and white, American and not. She tries to connect these dislocated pieces of her life, and as her mother succumbs to cancer, Thandi searches for an anchor—someone, or something, to love.

“In arresting and unsettling prose, we watch Thandi’s life unfold, from losing her mother and learning to live without the person who has most profoundly shaped her existence, to her own encounters with romance and unexpected motherhood. Through exquisite and emotional vignettes, Clemmons creates a stunning portrayal of what it means to choose to live, after loss. An elegiac distillation, at once intellectual and visceral, of a young woman’s understanding of absence and identity that spans continents and decades, What We Lose heralds the arrival of a virtuosic new voice in fiction.”

Well, that’s all I have for now! If you have read any of the books on this list, what did you think of them? As always, thanks for reading!