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Peek Over Our Shoulders: What Rioters Are Reading On February 12, 2015

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Wallace Yovetich

Staff Writer

Wallace Yovetich grew up in a home where reading was preferred to TV, playing outside was actually fun, and she was thrilled when her older brothers weren’t home so she could have a turn on the Atari. Now-a-days she watches a bit more TV, and considers sitting on the porch swing (with her laptop) “playing outside”. She still thinks reading is preferable to most things, though she’d really like to find out where her mom put that old Atari (Frogger addicts die hard). She runs a series of Read-a-Longs throughout the year (as well as posting fun bookish tidbits throughout the week) on her blog, Unputdownables. After teaching for seven years, Wallace is now an aspiring writer. Blog: Unputdownables Twitter: @WallaceYovetich

In this feature at Book Riot, we give you a glimpse of what we are reading this very moment.

Here is what the Rioters are reading today (as in literally today). This is what’s on their bedside table (or the floor, work bag, desk, whatevskis). See a Rioter who is reading your favorite book? I’ve included the link that will take you to their author archives (meaning, that magical place that organizes what they’ve written for the site). Gird your loins – this list combined with all of those archived posts will make your TBR list EXPLODE.

We’ve shown you ours, now show us yours; let us know what you’re reading (right this very moment) in the comment section below!

Rachel Smalter Hall

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore: because a friend heard a pitch for it and thought it would be right in my wheelhouse. (Hardcover, library)

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim: not something I would have usually picked up, but I heard it was good on audio and am giving it a spin! (Audio)

Rachel Manwill

Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson (Feb. 17, 2015, William Morrow): The description alone was enough for me. But add in the great cover and the fact that there’s already been buzz? Count me in. (eGalley)

The Distance by Helen Gitrow: Over the holidays, I asked other Rioters for recommendations to get for my dad for Christmas. I liked this suggestion so much, I bought it for myself too. (Audio)

Chris Arnone

Small Favor by Jim Butcher: The Dresden Files are my happy place, the book series I’ve grown to adore after the rocky first book. They’re always good for a fun read. (library ebook)

Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood: Hello, Read Harder Challenge! I’m doing a read-along of this book with my wife, best friend, and his wife. (hardcover)

Liberty Hardy

The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker: Hello, darkness, my old friend: After years of its rumored existence, it’s finally here. (Galley)

Mosquitoland by David Arnold: This book has been getting great buzz, and it’s one of the Indies Introduce titles, which I wholly support. (eGalley)

The Small Backs of Children by Lidia Yuknavitch: Big fan of her previous books. (Readthemrightnow.) She’s pretty kick-ass. (eGalley)

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Rebecca loved this one, which is all the recommendation I need. (Paperback)

David Abrams

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie: Because it’s part of my Five-Year Reading Plan of the Essentials, and because it’s on my shelf of beloved Penguin Classics, and because I believe in fairies (claps hands).  (Paperback)

Nicole Perrin

Runaway Horses by Yukio Mishima: It took me over a decade to read beyond Spring Snow, the first volume of Mishima’s Sea of Fertility Tetralogy, but I don’t think finishing it will take nearly as long. Runaway Horses is a completely fascinating continuation of the story, and with two more books remaining I expect Mishima will demonstrate his mastery not just of the novel, but of this longer, epic form.

Jeremy Anderberg

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: Because it was damn time. (Kindle; it’s far too big to lug around)

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson: I’ve enjoyed every other book of his, so my wife smartly bought this for me for Christmas. Slow going, but excellent. (Hardcover)

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers: For BR’s Read Harder Challenge; she was under 25 when this was published. (Oyster)

Amanda Nelson

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James: One of my New Year’s reading resolutions was to read lots more romance, and I’ve read (and loved) James’s work before. So when I saw this on Oyster, I immediately started it! (ebook, Oyster)

A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara: People I trust won’t stop raving about it, so I’m gettin’ while the gettin’ is good. (ARC)

Re Jane by Patricia Park: A modern-day re-telling of Jane Eyre set in Queens, with a Korean protagonist? I’m on it like a bonnet. (ARC)

Marty Cahill

The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham: The last book of the Long Price Quartet, I’m rereading this for a series of essays for Tor.com. Heartbreak! Magic! Ideas of Mass Destruction! Forgot how devastating this series was. (Hardcover)

Gemini Cell by Myke Cole: Myke’s fourth book, taking place in the early days of his Shadow Ops series, this lean, mean, writing machine just gets better and better with each novel. So far, Gemini Cell is no exception! (Mass market)

Get In Trouble by Kelly Link: I mean, it’s Kelly Link. It should be a war crime to not read her work. (galley)

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie: Been chipping away at this for a few months now, but hoping to devour it and finish it up. Sentient ships with feeeeeeeelings, yay! (paperback).

Jeanette Solomon

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi: I really love the voice in this trilogy. (Oyster)

The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman: Sarah Waters/The Crimson Petal & the White/Fight Club; so badass. (egalley)

Nikki Steele

Hieroglyph: Stories & Visions for a Better Future edited by Ed Finn and Kathryn Cramer: I am getting all the mental juice going with this collection of fantastic “techno-optimisic” science fiction stories, from authors like Elizabeth Bear, Neal Stephenson, Vandana Singh, and Cory Doctorow. (hardcover)

Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell: I just finished this audiobook and it was a great read–well-researched, entertaining, and so interesting. (audiobook)

Jessica Woodbury

Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans. I have a ballet book problem. I heard this was the only real definitive history of ballet and I’m hooked. Fascinating. (audiobook)

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. I’ve read the Fug Girls for YEARS but this is my first foray into their fiction. So far it’s fluffy and witty and a great diversion. (e-galley)

Jessi Lewis

A Guide To Being Born by Ramona Ausubel. I just can’t seem to turn down collections of magical realism these days and Ausubel was a new contender. And, I like to take on fresh, new collections like this one– something that takes the genre in a different direction. There’s a story here about grandmothers on a boat awaiting death that’s so interesting to pause and muse over. (e-book)

Between Wrecks by George Singleton. He came to the local university to speak and I missed him. I can believe I missed him. So I’m catching up and wishing more and more that I didn’t let this speaker get past me. The book begins bizarrely with a dream and junkyard, which is exactly how it should be. (paperback)

EH Kern

Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions by Lisa Randall. This book is amazing. The latest research in theoretical physics explained in a way that someone like me with a liberal arts education can understand. Reading this book, I wouldn’t be surprised if it one day will be revealed that some theoretical physicists dabble in other things than science to reach their results. Because this is far out, man. (Paperback)

Kim Ukura

Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter by Nina MacLaughlin: A couple of other Rioters raved about this memoir, the story of a journalist turned carpenter that’s also a lovely meditation on the idea of work. (Galley)

Dana Staves

Bon Appetempt by Amelia Morris:  Food memoirs are my genre kryptonite, and I’ve been excited for Amelia Morris’s coming of age story (told through food) for awhile now. She opens the first chapter with toasted oat cereal, and I was like, I need to eat that. (eGalley)

Imagine This:  Creating the Work You Love by Maxine Clair:  I heard Tayari Jones sing this book’s praises on Facebook and on the Reading Lives podcast, so I had to check it out, and I’m glad I have. This book approaches creativity (and the creative endeavor) with love, gentleness, and an eye towards the spiritual. In this, Maxine Clair is giving me much more than I expected, and I’m having to take it slowly and let her words sink in fully. (Paperback)

Tasha Brandstatter

The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen: For a blog tour. (eGalley)

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Every year I like to read, or reread, at least one novel by Austen. (audiobook)

Greg Zimmerman

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, ‘cause I work in a bookstore now. Holla! (hardcover, library)

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. If you have to ask, you’ll never know. (ebook)

Derek Attig

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson: Because Life After Life is one of my favorites, and this is a “companion” book–a definite no-brainer. (ARC)

Emily Gatlin

Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile: I think at least 14 people recommended it to me, and I tend to listen. It’s as wonderful as everyone said, if not more. (Paperback)

Christy Childers

This Side of Home by Renee Watson: I’m reading this on the recommendation of my sister, who has excellent taste in books. (Galley)

Eric Smith

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga: This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2015, and I picked it up the day it came out. As of this post, I’m halfway through, and adoring every minute of this book so far. There…there are going to be some tears, you guys. I can feel it. (Hardcover)

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Gray: Another book I was really excited for, I was thrilled to find a galley in the mail the other day. A YA fantasy about an ancient race of people living under the streets of New York City, full of magic and danger. Aw. Yes. (Galley)

James Crossley

The Sasquatch Hunter’s Almanac by Sharma Shields: My native Northwest is always real to me, but not always magical. Shields’s new slipstream novel makes it both. (paperback)

Edd McCracken

The First Bad Man by Miranda July: With commendations from Dave Eggers and Lena Dunham dripping off its pared back cover, this could easily sink beneath the weight of its hipsterdom. Luckily it’s shaping up to be that rarest of things: a comedy novel that is actually funny. I seldom laugh out loud while reading. Fifty pages in and a few guffaws have already snuck out. (ARC)

Jessica Pryde

Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West by Hampton Sides. I’ve been on a serious run of the Westward Expansion period of history, and this one is well spoken of. (audiobook)

As for Me

Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James: Because I’ve tried three times and failed, and I’m determined to finish before the movie comes out. This is a pop culture phenomenon and I’d like to know what the big deal is and have read it so I can have a valid opinion about it.

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