Peek Over Our Shoulders: What Rioters Are Reading On January 14, 2016
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!
Kate Scott
Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books by Tony Reinke: Bought a few years ago. I have mixed feelings about it so far. (Paperback)
Jessica Woodbury
Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older: I’ve been waiting to read this one until the audio came out. The reader is Broadway great Anika Noni Rose and the wait was well worth it. She is spectacular and brings the rhythms of the dialogue to life. (Audiobook)
Black Apple by Joan Crate. A Blackfoot girl in Canada is taken from her family to be educated in a Catholic boarding school. Bonus: the author is an indigenous Canadian woman. (e-galley)
Swapna Krishna
The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor: Elizabeth I, Thomas Seymour, and the Making of a Virgin Queen by Elizabeth Norton: I can’t resist nonfiction about the British royals, so I dove into this book pretty much immediately upon receiving it. It’s about the seduction of Elizabeth (or attempted seduction–we’ll see what Norton concludes) of Princess Elizabeth by Thomas Seymour, and how that affected the image she portrayed of herself as the Virgin Queen during her reign. It’s well-written and never dry, so if you like reading about this period (or have Tudor frenzy), put this on your list!
Jamie Canaves
A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain: A rogue FBI agent accidentally goes back in time and finds herself in 1815 England in a castle where she pretends to be a maid. And if that didn’t sound awesome enough there’s also a serial killer so I started reading it the second it was on my ereader. Kendra’s constant missteps, forgetting that it’s a completely different society, are very entertaining. (egalley)
The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee: 3 American women living in Hong Kong, struggling in their own ways. Halfway through and I’m in love with the women, setting, and the writing. (Audiobook)
Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa: Title caught my attention and the fact that I don’t know anything about Seattle’s 1999 WTO protests made me pick it up. (egalley)
Andi Miller
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham: This has been on my shelves for ages, and in the spirit of whittling down my TBR in 2016 I chose this one because it winked at me from the shelves. No, really. It has the most gorgeous cover ever, and it called to me. I taste-tested this book along with some others, and it won the throwdown. So far, so good! (paperback)
Derek Attig
Sarong Party Girls by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan: Fellow Rioter Jessica Woodbury recommended this highly, and she was 100% right (as usual). Written in Singlish, the book is dynamic and fascinating and really, really, really fun. (egalley)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear: A historical mystery about World War One and its aftermath–with a bit of upstairs-downstairs thrown in for good measure–is just what I need right now. (ebook)
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell: This is my first audiobook in over a decade. Wish me luck! (audiobook)
Liberty Hardy
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (Hogarth Books, June 21) I absolutely adore Anne Tyler and am so excited about this book! It’s her version of The Taming of the Shrew, which was my favorite episode of Moonlighting. Oh, and a Shakespeare play. (galley)
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn (Liveright, July 19) Dennis-Benn’s marriage became the subject of national news back in 2012. Her new novel is also the story of a woman’s fight for freedom in Jamaica, in which a young woman hustles to get money to help keep her younger sister off the streets.
Eleanor by Jason Gurley (Crown, January 12) I’ve heard nothing but raves for this wibbily wobbly, timey wimey tale of twins and loss. I’ve just started this one and so far, so good. (galley)
Underground Airlines by Ben Winters (Mulholland Books, July 5) I am a huge fan of The Last Policeman trilogy, so I was delighted to get my hands on his new novel about a present-day scenario in which the Civil War hasn’t happened. (e-galley)
Susie Rodarme
The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky: I don’t remember who recommended this to me, but it’s outstanding. It’s a lot to process so I’ve been reading it in chunks, then taking breaks. (ebook)
The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell: I basically have to read everything that Two Dollar Radio puts out, so. (ebook)
Nikki Steele
The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean: Carriages! Honey! Romance! Books! I’m so in. (paperback)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: It was time for the re-read and yowza, it’s still lovely. (ebook)
Tasha Brandstatter
The Martian by Andy Weir: Enjoyed the movie and a friend loaned me the book to read. (paperback)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: Seemed like a good time to revisit my favorite book of all time. (audiobook)
Nicole Froio
On Beauty by Zadie Smith: all of the booktubers I respect have read and loved this so it’s my turn!
Living Dolls by Natasha Walker: my university book club picked this book to kick off the year.
Sarah McCarry
The Bruise by Magdalena Zurawski: Recommended by Kristen Stone, another author I just discovered through Birds of Lace Press. (paperback)
The Oblivion Seekers by Isabelle Eberhardt: Because who doesn’t want to read the memoirs of a nineteenth-century affair-having convention-chucking lady anarchist who converted to Islam and crossed Algeria and North Africa by herself dressed as a man. (paperback)
Rachel Smalter Hall
Panic in a Suitcase by Yelena Akhtiorskaya: for my return as the prodigal daughter of my book club. (Hardcover, library)
The Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik: because it will be great discussion fodder with my feminist lawyer sister, and it was free this month with my audiobook subscription service. (Audio)
S. Zainab Williams
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro: This was a whim purchase. The tone and pacing brings Ursula K. Le Guin to mind, so far. (Audiobook)
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin: Zevin’s novel had been sitting in my recommended books on Audible for a while so I thought, why not? I’m almost done and deeply moved. (Audiobook)
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho: It’s going to be difficult for any character I come across this year to captivate me the way Prunella has. This one’s a page-turner. (Hardcover)
E.H. Kern
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: A classic that has been on my TBR list for a while. (Hardcover)
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King: Four novellas collected in one book. I love it when King collects novellas like this. However, so far I’ve read two of the stories and it feels as if King is running on empty. I have two more stories to go. Hopefully they will be better. (Hardcover)
A.J. O’Connell
D-Nine: Protectors of the Crown by Magus Tor: I picked this to kickstart my self-publishing reading challenge this year, and because I’ve been hunting for positive representations of non-binary characters in sci-fi and fantasy. I’m about halfway through, and this may not be the droid I was looking for. (Ebook)
Christy Childers
The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis: I decided for 2016 I want to read all the books C.S. Lewis wrote, in the order he wrote them in… so here goes! (Paperback)
Displacement: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley: I’ll read just about anything Lucy Knisley writes/draws. Relish is my favorite, but I love these travelogues too. (Library Paperback)
Rachel Weber
Popular Crime: Reflections on the Celebration of Violence by Bill James: This seemed the perfect follow up to my recent Making Of A Murderer obsession, covering the crimes that have fascinated the public since Lizzie Borden picked up an axe. (Library hardback)
The City Of Mirrors by Justin Cronin: Squeee! Eeek! OMG etc… The final part of The Passage trilogy is here and I cannot wait to get deep into its hefty loveliness. (e-galley)
Karina Glaser
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan: My daughter read it and loved it, then read it all over again, then told me that I must read it too so we can discuss. This book just won the Newbery Honor! (Hardcover)
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (Harper Teen, 6/2016): My neighbor dropped this book off for me while I had the flu, saying it was a quick fun read. I was hooked from the first page. (Galley)
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed: I’m probably the last person in America to read this, but thought it was better late than never. (Library Hardcover)
As for Me…
The Vacationers by Emma Straub: I’m listening to this on walks because I’ve been wanting to read it for ages and I tend to have more time for audio these days. (audio)
