Take a look at some of the books we’ve queued up to read! We are both notable Kindle hoarders, so these will only touch on our physical books to be read. Take a look and let us know: what books are on your nightstands? Check out our Bookshop list here!
Helen
I guess this is a good time for me to just come out as a nightstand book hoarder. Before the pandemic, I frequently had books precariously stacked on my nightstand with some on the floor for earthquake safety reasons. As I have switched over to mostly digital books in the last year, my hoarding habits have not been as bad. I do have quite a few physicals ARCs that I saved up from when I was working at my last library. My goal for the Shelter In Place was to finish everything on my nightstand but clearly that hasn’t happened yet. Without further ado, here’s a peek into some of the books on my nightstand
Apeirogon by Colum McCann
Well, this is one of the ARCs that I got at the beginning of 2020 and has just sat on my nightstand. I was drawn to this book because of its historical fiction setting about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. As this isn’t a common setting for books, I was curious what it would be like. I haven’t gotten around to it for a number of reasons but it’s a 450 page book so not a quick or emotionally easy read by any means.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
I have been “reading” this book for over 5 years. I can only hope that someone else out there has a similar experience to me. It is a book from a friend’s personal library and I have just never gotten past page 40. Maybe one of these days or perhaps I should just watch the movie?
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
I haven’t read anything by Octavia Butler yet and that is just super unacceptable. I was really curious to read this one because I stumbled upon a Library Twitter post about how relevant this was to the political events in 2020.
Always Home by Fanny Singer
As a graduation gift, I went to Chez Panisse at the beginning of 2020. I became really curious about the work of Alice Waters which naturally led me to her daughter, Fanny Singer. Before I changed jobs, I was working on Silicon Valley Reads, which Always Home is a book for! Although this is a cookbook, it is more of a story of Singer’s life with recipes in it. I am excited to tackle the recipes and the reading one of these days!
Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates
To just completely embarrass myself, I’ve had this book checked out from my local library for over a year and I have never touched it. I’ve always been a big fan of Joyce Carol Oates and would highly recommend her twisted, dark writing to all. I have a slight memory of reading about Foxfire in another book I read and so I checked it out. However, I can’t remember the book that I read that described it. If you recognize which book it is, let me know!
Lamia
I have a book-buying problem. When my now-husband-then-boyfriend and I moved a few years ago, we donated 50+ books to Little Free Libraries around town, because we needed to whittle things down to save space. However, we bought a house last year and now have a little “book nook” in our bedroom. The lack of books on our shelves now is very apparent. Of course, my solution has been to go to bookstores every weekend and come home with a bunch of books. Whoops. I have over 20 books on my proverbial nightstand – here are just a few of them!
Justice for Bonnie by I.J. Schecter and Karen Foster
I fought tooth and nail to get this in a BOGO deal at Barnes & Noble (it was in the sale section!). It’s been languishing on my nightstand, because I’ve been reading library books first (they have a time limit), but it’s a true crime story written by the mother of a daughter who “died in a hiking accident” in Alaska. She starts her own investigation to bring justice to her daughter.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
I loudly and proudly loved The Death of Vivek Oji, but I’m sad to say that I had not read any other books by Akwaeke Emezi before that. I bought Pet at my favorite indie bookstore, The Avid Reader, and am super excited to read it! It’s young adult magical realism, which is out of my usual reading taste, but I am certain Emezi can do no wrong.
Zodiac by Robert Graysmith
Helen surprise-gifted me this, and I have returned the favor by getting a third of the way through it and subsequently taking the longest break ever. This post is partially a way for me to shame myself into picking it back up again. Please shame me.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
One other thing I’m obsessed with is doing book matches with public libraries so I can continue to flood my TBR with more books (if you don’t know what a book match is, check out Helen’s post on increasing library access here, which goes into it!). My first one was through Helen’s library and she added this book to my list. Also, this cover is super badass.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
This has been on my TBR for ages. I found a paperback copy at my local used bookstore (shout out to Jerry Cloutier’s Used Books!) and took it home with me. Am I the only one that hears the title of this book in my head in the voice of the NPR commercial? Just me? Okay.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
The universe has been telling me to read this book for two years now. Man Booker Prize Winner, feminist narrative, celebrating Black women… I can’t think of something that calls to me more. Now my sister-in-law (also a Book Fairy Godmother) has sent it my way, and it’s about time I read it!
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
This has been on my TBR since its release, and I decided to purchase it as a gift for my best friend because I thought she’d like it (also from Avid Reader). It’s billed as Rear Window meets Get Out. My friend loved it then lent it to me and now it awaits my eyes.
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
My March Book of the Month pick! I was so excited to get this in the mail. It’s a Black feminist punk band story, similar to Daisy Jones and the Six, which was one of my favorite books of 2019.
Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith
I’m a huge fan of young adult books (you knew that already, though), and I checked this one out at the library because it’s about a transgender teen, Pony, who’s going “stealth” at a new high school because he’s afraid of being bullied for his identity. It is a queer romance about Pony and Georgia, a cisgender cheerleader, and I’m super excited to read this one.
Girl Gurl Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic by Kenya Hunt
A collection of essays by Kenya Hunt, I’m looking forward to the cultural observations in this one. It’s no surprise or secret that I devour books that discuss the reality of being a Black woman in the United States today, because I think it’s vital that we know more so that we do better. I also checked this one out from my library (seriously, support your public library!).
What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
I mean… this one is anticipated, and I got it off a hold at my library. Honestly, I needed to add this one to the list so I can document how freakin’ happy I am that I got this so quickly off hold. What’s Mine and Yours talks about race, especially as it has to do with schools. This book is recommended for fans of Ask Again, Yes and I definitely am a fan.
