toptentuesday

I know this week’s TTT is about Debuts, but I had nothing to put on that list, so I’m cheating and making the post about general releases.

I’m that rare breed of book bloggers who don’t really care about recent releases. I think it’s a mix 1) not being an early adopter of anything, 2) having a soft-spot for delayed gratification and 3) being a reserve-judgement-on-a-book-by-book-basis reader instead of a hard-core-author-fangirl.

I’ve only stayed in line to buy the new Harry Potters and there aren’t a lot of living writers that would get me to make an pre-order or buy their fresh-of-the press hardbacks. I can immediately think of George RR Martin, Hilary Mantel, Scott Lynch, Guy Gavriel Kay (I’m ignoring Isobel), and I want Edmund de Waal’s book about the color white yesterday.

Instead, I prefer to get a feeling for the General Opinion before trying new books. Some friends and fellow bloggers’ opinions are especially valuable, as well as GoodReads’ rating, although that’s more often a hit or miss.

So it was a challenge to put together this list. Even after a lot of research I’ve only found six books that would tempt me to read them within, say, a couple of months of their releases.

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Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (January)
My ultimate comfort read. My experience with Addison Allen has been flawless. Even the books that weren’t in the same league as Garden Spell still left me with a smile on my face and a perfect blood-pressure score.

The Caller (Shadowfell 3) by Juliet Marillier (March)
Marillier is my Addison Allen of fantasy. I’d prefer it if it was one the Wildwood series, but won’t complain too much…

Shadow Scale (Seraphina #2) by  Rachel Hartman (April)
Seraphina was one of the best of 2012 and I’ve recommended it left and right. I’m sure the book blogosphere will explode in April.

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue (April)
And talking about books I recommend, Room would probably top the list. This is the 2014 release I’m more afraid of… please let it be a good one!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (May)
We Were Liars already has a buzz, which is not surprising considering the way the internet loves The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. I haven’t been tempted to pick up any of Lockhart’s other books until I read the synopsis of this one.

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (September)
I’ve skipped Black Swan Green and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (why? no idea. They’re his non-sci-fi novels and gut feeling/experience/reviews told me I wouldn’t find them spectacular), but have a good feeling about this one:  “the story of Holly Sykes, who runs away from home in 1984 and 60 years later can be found in the far west of Ireland, raising a granddaughter as the world’s climate collapses.” (The Bookseller)

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