Top Ten Tuesday: Upcoming Releases I’m on the fence about reading: help me decide

With a constantly expanding TBR and an ever elapsing lifespan (there’s an optimistic thought on an early Tuesday morning) the amount of books which I spend time reading has a direct inverse correlation to the amount of time I have left to read more books. Simply put, most of these 2019 releases won’t make the cut.

Asking my readers and other Tuesday Top Tenners to weigh in on must-reads, should-avoids and even review requests if so inclined. All titles are linked to Goodreads synopses.

Top 10 Upcoming Releases I’m on the fence about reading: help me decide (puh-lease)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl since January of 2018. Jana writes,” it was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” In that spirit, link up with your list at That Artsy Reader Girl and comment with your list, link, or thoughts below.

10. Finding Dorothy: a novel by Elizabeth Letts (February 12th, Ballantine)

The Wizard of Oz is my favorite enduring cultural touchstone, so I don’t need much prodding to read about it. A novel told through the eyes of Frank Baum’s wife which traces their early days and the inspiration behind the book, and later, screenplay may hold inestimable insight. My only hesitation is that Lett’s previous books all seem to be solely about horses, not a subject or author I’d typically turn toward.

9. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (September 10th 2019, Chatto & Windus)

Dramatic cover reveal last week made this one real. Hold on to your starched bonnets friends, because this sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale has become the most anticipated novel of the year. I admired the vague but hopeful ending of Handmaid and although I’m sure I will read this follow-up set fifteen years later, I honestly don’t know if I’ll be ready for it.

8. Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram by Isha Sesay (July 9, 2019)

Moving from most hyped to likely the least anticipated on nearly all 2019 release lists comes this courageous telling. “The first definitive account of Boko Haram’s abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, their years in captivity, and why this story still matters—by celebrated international journalist Isha Sesay.” I went through a period of reading about tumultuous life in Africa, both fiction and non-fiction, but I’m a different person today. Less able to shed the traumatic imagery which this harrowing tale is bound to reveal. Yet, it’s a story that deserves to be heard.

7. The Heavens by Sandra Newman (February 12th 2019, Grove Press)

Touting an atypical premise for a historical fiction novel which could either resolve brilliantly, or be extremely unsatisfying; my curiosity’s been peaked, but is that enough?

6. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead ( July 16th 2019, Doubleday)

Reading Whitehead’s surreal Pulitzer-winning novel, The Underground Railroad, kept me on edge and off-kilter the entire time, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about reading this one. Whitehead’s thoughtful, eye-opening style of speculative fiction is unmatched in contemporary literature right now. Although, I may have to read the most brutal parts of this coming-of-age tale with my eyes closed.

5. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig ( July 9th 2019, Del Rey)

It’s been a long time since I read a post-apocalyptic epic of The Stand’s magnitude. What will the forty years since King’s iconic novel add to the collapse of society and the intrepid band of survivors dealing with it’s fallout? I kind of can’t wait to find out. My hesitation? It’s 800 pages! @_@

4. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo (Feb. 12th, Flatiron Books)

“Set in 1930s Malaysia, it follows a houseboy and an apprentice dressmaker whose paths cross while investigating rumors of mysterious deaths and men turning into tigers.” Magical realism can be a convoluted genre with inspiring highs and baffling lows, and this novel of superstitions, legends, fables and fortunes appears to be a labyrinthine example. But the cover has lured me in with it’s lustrous glow and electric shimmer–the book I most want to open based on appearance alone.

3. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar (July 16th 2019, Saga Press)

A science fiction fantasy time-travel romance isn’t my typical reading fare but it worked with The Time Traveler’s Wife (also, sort of in The Terminator) so I’m willing to give it a shot.

2. The Lost Man by Jane Harper ( February 5th 2019, Flatiron Books )

Having mixed feelings on Jane Harper’s debut, The Dry, I’m unsure if I want to return to her gritty Aussie detective stories. However, The Lost Man appears to incorporate a family saga into the mystery, I’m intrigued.

1. Inspection by Josh Malerman (April 23rd 2019, Del Rey)

Creepy cover from a writer who conceives creepy circumstances like no one else at the moment. Having written many horror novels since Bird Box, this is Malerman’s first novel since Bird Box blew up–there’s bound to be tons of buzz, should I add my voice to the din?

I live for books, memes and lists, so I’ll be sharing plenty more Top Tens in 2019. Are you on the fence for any of my picks too, or are you looking forward to reading? What’s new and noteworthy that I missed? Average lifespan be damned, I never turn down new book recommendations.