For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, the topic is the ten books on my spring reading list. This spring, my priority is finishing the ARCs I’ve already agreed to read. The other books on my list are mostly library holds and books for challenges. I’m particularly excited about Who is Vera Kelly?, a novel about a female spy in 1962.
First, the ARCs:
- The Vain Conversation by Anthony Grooms — I’ve started this one, it’s about a lynching in Georgia in 1946. A tough subject but so far really good.
- The Red Word by Sarah Henstra — I’ve also started this one, it’s a novel about college-campus feminism and fraternity rape culture.
- Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
- Miss Ex-Yugoslavia by Sofia Stefanovic
- Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
And books for challenges:
- Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly — picked this up from the library, it’s on the recent list of Nebula nominees.
- Code Girls by Liza Mundy — for the Nonfiction Reading challenge
- An Untamed State by Roxane Gay — for the TBR Pile challenge
- After Atlas by Emma Newman — for the TBR Pile challenge, the SF and Fantasy Bingo challenge, and the Swords and Stars challenge
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi — for Read Harder 2018 and Reading All Around the World
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones — for Read Harder 2018
I also added a few books to my TBR Pile based on the Women’s Prize longlist, but I don’t expect I’ll get to them this spring.
- Sight by Jessie Greengrass
- See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
- The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
- Elmet by Fiona Mozley
- The Idiot by Elef Bituman
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Which ones have you read and what do you recommend?
The Book Stop 
I really liked Miss Ex-Yugoslavia. It’s really funny but also touching, kind of a unique coming of age narrative. And she explains the history of the Balkan conflicts so easily and understandably too. I thought it was a great book. Looking forward to your reviews!
I’m glad to hear you liked it! I’m looking forward to reading it. My family is all Eastern European so it’s a part of the world I’m interested in (and don’t know much about).
My husband was born in former Yugoslavia and I kept reading parts of it to him that had to do with that history, and he was also impressed with how it was laid out. It was really fascinating to learn something about the area and its modern history this way!
Great list! The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock also made my TTT, and I hope to read The Red Word and Elmet soon too. I thought See What I Have Done and An Untamed State were both interesting and well-written but not without some issues. Happy spring reading!
The Red Word has a lot of potential but I’ve just started it, so it’s too soon to say. Glad to hear your thoughts on See What I Have Done and An Untamed State. I’ve had mixed feelings about two books by Roxane Gay so far.
I’d like to read Code Girls too, and The Idiot also sounds good. Happy spring reading!
Eleanor is the only one I’ve heard great things about. Great list. Here’s My Top Ten Tuesday