2014 book releases

My real life book shelf.

There is so much to read. There are wonderful new articles on the internet every day that stretch my mind and teach me new ways to think about things. There is a never-ending supply of celebrity outfits to critique with the Fug Girls. There are already too many fantastic classic books out there. I feel like I spend most of my time trying to catch up on reading one thing or another–a book everyone says I should read, a classic I haven’t picked up yet, or an article making the rounds on the internet.

But one of my goals this year is to read more new releases. Part of the fun of reading is talking with people about what you read, and it’s a little easier to do that if everyone is discovering it for the first time at the same time. Here’s what I’m looking forward to coming out this year:

March 6: Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (Kindle here). I read Oyeyemi’s Mr. Fox (Kindle) last year for book club, and it was an interesting, fun read. It’s magical realism with some folk tales mixed in, and it told of Mr. Fox’s relationships with his girlfriend and wife by weaving different tales of their interactions. Boy, Snow, Bird is based on Snow White. But like Mr. Fox, I’m sure there will be crazy twists in the story–and in reality.

May 13: To Rise Again At A Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris (Kindle). I love, love, loved both Then We Came To The End (Kindle) and The Unnamed (Kindle). Ferris writes beautifully, finding the humanity and beauty of life in stories that are unexpected, funny, dark, and heartwarming. Then We Came to the End is one of my favorite books–I hope to write more about it here at some point. To Rise Again at a Decent Hour is about a man whose identity is stolen online. Not just credit cards, but Twitter and Facebook. And he faces the possibility this impostor is living his life better than he is. Everyone should jump on board the Ferris train, as far as I’m concerned.

June 3: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (Kindle). A Stephen King book? About a high stakes mystery with a retired cop trying to stop a disaster? I’m in.

Aug. 5: The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (Kindle). I’ve read the first two books in this series about a boy who goes to magic school. But this is no Harry Potter. Quintin and his friends live in a harsh, modern world with drugs, dead end jobs, and big mistakes. This is the last book in the trilogy, and I’m excited to see where everyone ends up. [First two books are The Magicians (Kindle) and The Magician King (Kindle)]

All of these are new this year, but they are all authors I have read before. Does anyone have suggestions for other books I should be looking forward to? Holler at me in the comments or on Twitter.

(I picked these books on my own and am not being paid to write about them. These are affiliate links though, so if you buy through my links I’ll receive a little bit of money.)