Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten (erhm, Twelve) Fall TBR List

Today's prompt -- top 10 fall tbr reads.... I cheated and picked 12!


The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters -- I am reading this one right now for the Estella Society's read-along.  I'm absolutely loving this book.  I've put it off for several years because I was waiting for the perfect time to read it.  Overcast, grey September days (despite the humidity) are perfect for this creepy psychological thrill of a book.




Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton -- I love children's literature, dragons, and Victorian novels... Apparently this is all three in one novel?!  A family drama of Dickensian proportions and borrowing heavily from Anthony Trollope, this book is about a dragon family "red in tooth and claw."



Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy -- I found this novel while searching for ILL books in our stacks.  I hadn't heard of this Hardy novel and, intrigued, I read the back of the Penguin volume. Compared to the novels of Wilkie Collins, Desperate Remedies concerns a young woman who is a lady's maid of a shady woman named Miss Aldclyffe.  The book promises a "...intrigue, blackmail, illegitimacy, adultery, false brides, horrifying revelations and murder."  YES!


The Haunted Dolls' House by MR James  -- MR James writes the scariest ghost stories EVER.  I will be reading these at night to experience the full creepiness, but I've learned not to read MR James when my husband is gone.  Poor Sam will have to grow accustomed to sleeping with my bedside lamp on. 

The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill  -- Susan Hill's latest creepy book, Dolly, won't be published until early October and I don't know when I'll be able to get it at a library.  I found this book via good reads and I realized that it is a Susan Hill ghost story I haven't read yet.  Something about rainy nights, travel, explorers, a ragged boy, and some creepy something behind a curtain (sorry, Sam, you'll have to check the curtains too). 



Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon -- I read Lady Audley's Secret last year and I really enjoyed it.  This novel is along the same vein -- a Victorian sensation novel concerning bigamy.  I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale -- I was riveted while reading The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and I look forward to reading this non-fiction book about a Victorian divorce complete with a secret diary filled with passion. 
 

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell  -- I read North and South in 2010 and haven't picked up another Gaskell since... I can't really say why.... I love Gaskell.  I'm planning on reading this chunkster on my Christmas break.



The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin -- Yes! More Victorian scandal.  I'm reading this because I can't wait for the film and my interest in Nelly Ternan was piqued by Tomalin's Dickens biography I read earlier this year.




The Solitary House by Lynn Shepard -- Normally I am hesitant of books that rewrite or borrow characters from literature, but I have to say the reviews intrigue me.  This is mystery novel centers on characters from Bleak House and especially focuses on the elusive and unlikable Mr. Tulkinghorn. 




Locke and Key,Vol. 5: Clockworks by Joe Hill -- This is the first comic series to really grab my imagination since Fables.  It is dark and creepy and wonderfully intriguing. 


The Warden by Anthony Trollope -- I've heard this isn't the best of the Barsetshire novels, but I'm eager to read them all and, of course, I must start at the beginning. 

Loads of good reading in store!  Once again, thanks to the Broke and the Bookish for hosting!

4 comments:

Rory said...

I absolutely LOVE your list. It's perfectly eclectic (and rather reminiscent of my reading habits). It's great to see someone put everyone from Thomas Hardy to Joe Hill on a singular top ten/twelve list (I'm a big fan of both!). Though I've never heard of that Thomas Hardy novel either, my favorite is Return of the Native. And thanks to you, I'm picking up The Little Stranger today! My TTT

Amanda Roper said...

I'm listening to The Return of the Native on audio right now and I'm really enjoying it. Alan Rickman is reading it *swoon*.

Linda said...

I think you'll like Tooth and Claw. I really enjoyed it. I've also been enjoying Locke & Key and looking forward to the next installment.

christina said...

I am halfway through The Little Stranger and TOTALLY loving it. I favorited your review so I can respond after I finish. Also...I have never heard of Susan Hill (going to see if anything is available on PBS) and I'm totally gonna search out The Haunted Dolls' House even though I'm not big into short stories.