Books on My TBR This Year
I am feeling especially excited about the books on my TBR for this year, so I thought I’d share it with you! I have already finished several great books so I’ll share a little about those as well. Aside from the “Read” category, everything else is broken down by genre/sub-genre.
Let us know what you’re excited to read this year–or share any recent favorites–in the comments below.
We’ve included links to buy these online, but do purchase from your local bookstore or borrow from your library if you can!
See the full list on Bookshop.org!
Read
My first books of the year have been stellar. Here’s what I’ve finished so far:
Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller (Bookshop | Amazon). 5 Stars
Easy 5 stars. I avoided this for a long time despite buying a copy because I was worried it would be too triggering. It was somewhat triggering, but also incredibly beautiful and important. Chanel Miller’s writing is stunning, and this is a book everyone should read.
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey (Bookshop | Amazon). 4 Stars
A fake biography of an iconoclastic artist written by her widow and set in an alternative history. Highly recommend reading this in a book club, as you’ll definitely want to talk to someone about it.
My Goodreads review: “Ambitious, admirable, and brimming with beautiful prose. I was sure early on that this would be a 5 star read, but I got bogged down in the history. It’s interesting, for sure, but I’m not a history girlie anyway, and I often got distracted by the details, bored with the world building. I found myself wishing it was shorter and more compact. Still, this is a book that will stick with me, and I’m overflowing with admiration for what Lacey has done here. I also loved the ending.”
Molly by Blake Butler (Bookshop | Amazon). 5 Stars
Most blurbs about this talk about how, after Butler’s wife Molly dies by suicide, he discovers the secret life she’d been leading behind his back. Here’s the thing though: the secrets he finds in the aftermath is actually a very small part of this book. Instead, it’s a beautiful, honest portrait of two flawed humans in a loving but difficult marriage. It’s beautiful and engrossing.
I’ll also say that there was a lot of backlash against Butler after its publication, which is why I found it–the writer who reviewed it in the Los Angeles Times talked about it during her visit to the Antioch MFA’s winter residency. I was curious but also moved by her review, and I am so glad I picked up the book. Another easy 5 stars.
No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood (Bookshop | Amazon). 4 Stars
Patricia Lockwood, author of iconic tweets including “jail for mother for One Thousand Years!!!!” (and also memoir Priestdaddy, which I still need to read) has written a book for the Extremely Online crowd. As most will point out about this book, it feels like two books in one. The first part is made up of random nonsense from “the portal” (aka Twitter) and follows the narrator as she gains some prominence thanks to her posts on the portal. The second part follows her as she deals with family tragedy.
If you are or have ever been Extremely Online (especially the mid-2010s), you’ll have an easier time with the front half of the book. I found it to be witty if not completely cohesive. Still worth a read.
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (Bookshop | Amazon). 4 Stars
Greta develops an obsession with a patient she calls “Big Swiss” while transcribing therapy sessions for a local sex therapist. This is one of the “unhinged women with pretty covers” books I mention below, and I really liked it.
My Goodreads review: “There’s bees, maggots, lots of period blood, a vagina described as “advanced origami.” But also: trauma, grief, mini donkeys, bisexuality, women’s desire. A weird, darkly funny, and surprisingly poignant book (with a great cover).”
Green Girl by Kate Zambreno (currently reading) (Bookshop | Amazon). probably 4 Stars
I’ve been meaning to read Kate Zambreno forever, and reading about this one–which was compared to books like The Bell Jar and Play It as It Lays–had me interested. It is…strange. Definitely polarizing–lots of hatred on Goodreads, but plenty of high praise from people, including Roxane Gay. It reads as the stream of consciousness of a lost 20-something American girl in London, with the interjections of some “I” that sounds equally maternal and unforgiving. Like I said, it’s strange. I struggled to get into it at first, but ultimately I am enjoying it, so I will probably give it four stars.
What I’m Planning to Read This Year
My goal is to read 50 books this year, which is a typical amount for me. I read fast and I’m always reading (sometimes several books at a time). Even so, this list might be a little ambitious. I own all of these books (or have preordered, in some cases), but I tend to reread comfort favorites at different times of the year, and I also tend to go off script when it comes to reading, so my end-of-year list could look very different!
With that said, here’s what I intend to read this year, in no particular order.
Fiction
While I read mostly nonfiction, I am excited about what I’ve got on deck this year. I read a lot of horror, and I’m also very interested in the many on my list in the genre I’ve taken to calling “books about unhinged women that have great covers.” Most of these fall within those two categories, with some general “weird lit” and literary fiction thrown in for good measure.
Since I haven’t read them and because I don’t need to regurgitate blurbs when you can read them yourself, I’ll just share a brief note on why I want to read each one.
Death Valley by Melissa Broder (Bookshop | Amazon)
The desert + grief + magical realism + Melissa Broder = immediately yes.
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou (Bookshop | Amazon)
First of all: that cover. Second of all, it’s a satire about privilege and power, featuring a PhD student trying to finish her dissertation on a poet, so presumably there’s going to be some skewering of academia, which I always enjoy. Also: that cover.
A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan (Bookshop | Amazon)
This one’s about a couple who obsess over a coworker and stalk her Instagram. Again, a great cover. And it sounds unhinged. My two main criteria for physical books this year. Plus this part of the description: “Part millennial social comedy, part psychedelic horror, and all wildly entertaining, A Touch of Jen is a sly, unflinching examination of the hidden drives that lurk just outside the frame of our carefully curated selves.”
Mona by Pola Oloixarac, translated by Adam Morris (Bookshop | Amazon)
I think this is the last one that I’ll be all, “omg the cover!” even though several others have good covers–this was my final “unhinged woman + great cover” purchase. I will share part of the description as my reasoning, because it’s all I had to read to immediately pick it up: “Mona, a Peruvian writer based in California, presents a tough and sardonic exterior. She likes drugs and cigarettes, and when she learns that she is something of an anthropological curiosity—a woman writer of color treasured at her university for the flourish of rarefied diversity she brings—she pokes fun at American academic culture and its fixation on identity.”
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns (Bookshop | Amazon)
I’m a sucker for both horror by indigenous writers and grief horror, and this one has both. I’m looking forward to reading this one about a Cree woman whose dreams and reality crash into each other and send her home to solve a mystery. I got a sneak peek of Bad Cree at a reading, and I was hooked.
Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh (Bookshop | Amazon)
I love the weirdness of Ottessa Moshfegh, and I’m looking forward to reading this one, which features an elderly widow who becomes obsessed with a murdered woman after finding a note about her. This sounds similar to Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, which I loved.
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom (Bookshop | Amazon)
After seeing Slewfoot recommended constantly by horror readers whose takes I appreciate on TikTok and Reddit, I finally had to buy it, even though I tend to dislike historical fiction (this takes place in 1666). This features puritans versus pagans, with a lonely widow and an ancient spirit as our main characters. I have seen it compared to The VVitch, which is one of my favorite movies, so I gotta give it a go.
The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran (Bookshop | Amazon)
I actually have no idea what this is about, but Gran’s Come Closer left an impression on me when I read it years ago, and the description mentions a “mysterious book” about sex magic and a bookseller, so.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata (Bookshop | Amazon)
This book sounds weird as hell, plus people either love it or hate it, so I’m going to give it a go. I don’t really understand what it’s about, other than it sounds like an outcast woman thinks she’s an alien? Also (sorry), that cover.
The Guest by Emma Cline (Bookshop | Amazon)
I’m not entirely sure why I want to read this. I’ve seen it described as “stressful” so many times, and I didn’t even finish her first novel, The Girls. I think I was probably swayed by Roxane Gay’s review of it on Goodreads, which happens quite often. And I guess I want to be stressed?
I Love You So Much it’s Killing Us Both by Mariah Stovall (Bookshop | Amazon)
This just came out, but I’ve heard glowing things about it for several weeks. It appears to be about music, friendship, and “crafting the perfect mixtape.” Plus the title is a banger.
Memoirs & Essays
I do love me some memoirs and essays. I have so many physical books and ebooks that I have not yet read–and so many great stuff I intend to buy or borrow–but here are the ones I’m prioritizing.
Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation by Camonghne Felix (Bookshop | Amazon)
This one caught my eye thanks to the cover and the title, and this part of the description sold me immediately: “In this exquisite and raw reflection, Felix repossesses herself through the exploration of history she’d left behind, using her childhood “dyscalculia”—a disorder that makes it difficult to learn math—as a metaphor for the consequences of her miscalculations in love.”
Like Love: Essays and Conversations by Maggie Nelson (out 4/2/2024) (Bookshop | Amazon)
I see Maggie Nelson on something, I immediately preorder.
Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story by Leslie Jamison (out 2/20/2024) (Bookshop | Amazon)
I see Leslie Jamison on something, I immediately preorder.
We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard (Bookshop | Amazon)
I’m not sure where I heard about this one, but it sounds amazing. We Are Too Many is about the aftermath of a marriage that falls apart thanks to her husband’s infidelity (with her best friend, no less), but I’m particularly interested in the ways this memoir plays with form, truth, and time.
Shadow Daughter: A Memoir of Estrangement by Harriet Brown (Bookshop | Amazon)
There appear to be very few memoirs written by estranged adult children, so I’m particularly interested in this one. Brown shares her story alongside other EAC’s stories as well as research.
Little Panic by Amanda Stern (Bookshop | Amazon)
I read A LOT of mental illness memoirs, and I can’t think of one I’ve read that’s primarily about anxiety. I would read this even if I had, but I’m very interested in reading how Stern translates the experience onto the page.
How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind by Clancy Martin (Bookshop | Amazon)
While working on my own book, I went searching for research, articles, and/or memoirs that talk about what it’s like to be suicidal and how being suicidal for so long traumatizes you. There is very little on this specific subject, and while I don’t know if Martin covers the latter specifically in his book, I’m still really looking forward to this read.
Everything/Nothing/Someone: A Memoir by Alice Carrière (Bookshop | Amazon)
Again, a mental illness memoir type I haven’t seen before–Carrière writes about her experiences with dissociative disorder, as well as her unconventional upbringing. The few reviewers online I’ve seen talk about this emphatically love it.
I’m running out of steam (and time), so for the rest of the list, I’m just going to provide titles–click either of the links to get the description! I’ll update this post later with more deets on the rest of these titles when I have more time and brainpower.
Writing
This year, I’m focusing on reading non-craft books, but I have a couple that I own that are calling to me, so I’ll be reading these soon.
1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creatie, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg (Bookshop | Amazon)
Do You Feel Like Writing? A Creative Guide to Artistic Confidence by Frankie Rollins (Bookshop | Amazon)
Poetry
Another genre where I have far too many unread books on my physical and digital shelves. I like to read poetry collections slowly, usually at the same time as other books. Of my massive pile, these are the ones I plan to read sometime this year.
Erase the Patriarchy: An Anthology of Erasure Poetry edited by Isobel O’Hare (Bookshop | Amazon)
Frank: Sonnets by Diane Seuss (Bookshop | Amazon)
Hypergraphia and Other Failed Attempts at Paradise by Jennifer Metsker (Bookshop | Amazon)
Arrow by Sumita Chakraborty (Bookshop | Amazon)
Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar (Bookshop | Amazon)
Witchy
A few magical or astrological books I have on deck.
Poetry as Spellcasting: Poems, Essays, and Prompts for Manifesting Liberation and Reclaiming Power by Tamiko Beyer, Destiny Hemphill and Lisbeth White (Bookshop | Amazon)
Planetary Magick: The Heart of Western Magick by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips (Bookshop | Amazon)
Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology, and Astrology of the Re-Emerging Feminine by Demetra George (Bookshop | Amazon)
Wellness or Whatever
And, finally, because I do like self-help-ish books, I have two on my TBR that I will be getting to sometime this year.
No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard C. Schwartz (Bookshop | Amazon)
Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell (Bookshop | Amazon)
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