Into the Hype

This week’s musing asks:

Are there any “raved reads” –books that everyone seems to be talking about– that you’re hoping to get read this year, yourself? What books are they, and why are you hoping to read them? Is it because you want to say you’ve read it? Or, would you have chosen to read it, even if you’d discovered it yourself, and no one was raving about it?

I’m usually not into “hype” or anything that is the talk of town and all over the critics’ radar—until I take seriously bloggers’ recommendations. Over the years You’ve Gotta Read This!, Lakeside Musing, The Boston Bibliophile Book Chatter and several other blogs have become my consumer index for what books to acquire. If they rave about a book, it will go into my list and I won’t question their judgment. Some of these books include:

Travels with Charley John Steinbeck
The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes
A Visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan
Wish You Were Here Stewart O’Nan
Emily Alone Stewart O’Nan
The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus Sonya Sones (you can tell this one needs a little push)
This Is Where I Leave You Jonathan Tropper
The Last Time I Saw Paris Lynn Sheene
The House of Tomorrow Peter Bognanni
The Year We Left Home Jean Thompson
The Upright Piano Player David Abbott

As you see, I’ve got a big haul to begin the new year. I’ll have to scale down the blogging time in order to achieve the 100-book goal. I’ll be busy reading wonderful books.