sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

March 21, 2018


top ten tuesday: spring ’18 tbr
posted by soe 1:12 am

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is a quarterly favorite of mine — what I’m hoping to read this season. Before I answer, I thought I’d look back at a few previous iterations of this list, as well as some of the lists for what I’d hoped to read in 2018, to see how I’ve fared previously.

In January, I wrote about 10 of the books I’d meant to read last year. I have since read (and enjoyed) two of them — Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Magpie Murders.

In December, I shared 10 2018 titles I intended to read this year. While, as of today, half of that list has been published, thus far I’ve not read any. I’ve bought Down and Across and it’s sitting in the pile in front of me.

I am doing better in terms of the books I wrote I planned to read this winter: I’ve read three — Teetotaled, Turtles All the Way Down, and Far from the Tree — and am on the hold list for a fourth.

Finally, I went all the way back to last spring to see what I’d hoped to read then. I’ve finished four of them and have a fifth on the go currently.

The lesson here is that no matter what I put on this list, I’m likely to only read, at best, half of them, which is really depressing, but in keeping with how fast I add new titles to my TBR list. Without further ado and for whatever it’s worth, here are the Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR List:

  • Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff came out last week. It’s the final book in a chunky epistolary trilogy set in space that I’ve loved and I may have begged the library to hurry up and buy copies so I can read it. Maybe.
  • The Great Spring: Writing, Zen, and This Zig Zag Life, by Natalie Goldberg comes from my list last spring. I did start it and it induced severe eye rolling on my part, which is really too bad, since I own my copy. I’d like to give it one more try to see if it was just me or if I ought to send this one out into the wild.
  • I will read everything that Rainbow Rowell writes, but I draw the line at buying comic books that I’m pretty sure will later be collected into a book. (And, yes, I do understand how the comic book industry works and know that they’re not going to do that if enough people don’t read those flimsy little zines. I just don’t care to give in to that stupid system.) However, lots of people did buy her Runaways series of comics with Kris Anka, so it will be made into a book, The Runaways, Vol. 1, due out in April.
  • I got Me Before You by Jojo Moyes in my TBR Secret Santa package in December. Now that we’re moving into spring, I can read books that I know will make me cry again.
  • Ashley Weaver’s Murder at the Brightwell was part of my last Ninja Book Swap package. I’m in a mystery mood right now, particularly of a historical bent, and anticipate this being a fun new series.
  • I attended an author event last week for The Radical Element, a collection of 12 stories about “daredevils, debutantes, and other dauntless girls.” It contains stories from authors I like, authors whose longer works I haven’t yet gotten to, and an author who also works as a D.C. librarian.
  • David Grann’s true crime nonfiction Killers of the Flower Moon is outside my comfort zone, but it was a National Book Award finalist and he is a fellow Conn alum, so I feel like I should at least give it a short.
  • Speaking of the National Book Award, I have Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jessmyn Ward out of the library right now and intend to start it as soon as I’ve finished the overdue Towles book. Each of her books is on my TBR list, so I’m hoping to finally be able to cross one off.
  • Morgan Parker’s poetry collection There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé was one of two books of verse I bought myself for my birthday. I’ve started one of them and am looking forward to beginning this one soon. I’m thinking of reading several poetry books during April.
  • Finally, the aforementioned Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi. It’s partially set in D.C. and Jenn really likes it, so I’m hopeful. (Also, he said nice things about Jenn when I met him last month, so that’s definitely a count in his favor.)

What are you looking forward to reading this spring?

Category: books. There is/are 1 Comment.



The great spring Zen eye roll made me laugh. Good luck at a second try. I may be stopping my current read :blue mind. Its a bit to scientific for my brain! But I wont give up yet

Comment by kathy b 03.21.18 @ 1:26 pm