May TBR

Another ambitious month for numbers (16 books), since at minimum half (probably all) of it will (once more) be spent in quarantine. Some of these books have been sat on my TBR shelf for months, and I'm going to clear those and make room for some exciting new releases that I've got my eye on later in the summer. Also, in other news, I have pretty much run out of storage space in my bedroom for my read books, so I desperately need quarantine to lift so I can go to IKEA and get some bookcases.

This is also an eclectic month - I want to finish the second Dorothy Dunnett series I tackled this year, The Lymond Chronicles; I've got a twenty-first century, Gothic-in-the-Deep-American-South vampire horror novel (look, it's proving surprisingly difficult to get ahold of this book during lockdown, and I still refuse to switch to e-readers. I'm not going to do it for the sake of a horror novel, NO MATTER HOW BADLY I WANT TO READ IT.); some non-Dorothy-Dunnett historical fiction; a few thrillers; a cutesy, kitschy office romance (a palate cleanser, if you will); and, of course, some nonfictions on Shakespeare and the history of literature (my love languages). And, lastly, Leïla Slimani's most recent novel - Slimani is a brilliant contemporary French author. This is only her third novel, but her first two were spectacular offerings of twisted, intense, dramatic, beautiful writing and as soon as I saw her third had released I immediately purchased it even though I'd already exceeded my monthly shopping budget. I cannot adequately express how excited I am to read this book.

Here's my May TBR:

Pawn in Frankincense, by Dorothy Dunnett

The Ringed Castle, by Dorothy Dunnett

Checkmate, by Dorothy Dunnett

Civlizations, by Laurent Binet

My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Keeper, by Jessica Moor

Au Bon Roman, by Laurence Cossé

If I Never Met You, by Mhairi McFarlane

Adults, by Emma Jane Unsworth

Shakespeare in a Divided America, by James Shapiro

Lord James, by Catherine Hermary-Vielle

Soif, by Amélie Nothomb

Une autre histoire de la littérature française I et II, by Jean d'Ormesson

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, by Grady Hendrix

Le pays des autres, by Leïla Slimani

Let me know if you've read any of these or if you're tempted!

Until then - everyone stay safe, stay healthy, stay at home, and wash your hands. (Please, everyone, stay home - that way lockdown will end faster and we can all leave our houses again.)

Happy reading,

Amélie xx