Welcome back to my TBR Update!
I read 8 books from my TBR!!
I’m actually really proud of myself — I told myself I’d get through my TBR, and boy, did I! I didn’t quite stick to the list I had planned, though. I ended up picking up Carrie Soto on a whim, and the same with The Poppy War. As for The Rewrite, it had been sitting on my shelf forever (even though I bought it fully intending to read it right away), and I never got around to it.
October, on the other hand, has been off to a slow start — I haven’t read anything yet. I do have a book club pick I need to get through first, then I’ll dive back into my TBR.
As for this month’s update, I’m really intrigued by the stories I’ve picked out. I’m not sure they’re books I’m absolutely itching to read, but I’m curious enough to give them a shot and see how it goes. I’ll definitely report back!
Once again, I’ve got four books lined up in four different genres. Let me know if any of these are on your TBR too!
The Books I Read
The Books I Have Left
4 New Books!
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Historical Fiction
Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip and falling in love with rock ’n’ roll. By twenty, her voice is turning heads, and her reckless beauty is the kind that makes people lose their minds. At the same time, The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne, are on the rise. When a producer pairs Daisy and Billy, their chemistry sparks the kind of legend that changes everything.
I am firmly a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan at this point. After loving Carrie Soto, I just have to keep working through her books. She has this incredible way of pulling you completely into her characters’ worlds. I especially love her “modern historical” style — those mid-20th-century time periods that feel too recent to be historical fiction, but she makes them feel so vivid. Plus, Daisy Jones and the Six has been adapted for TV, so I’m excited to do a proper book vs. screen comparison with this one.
The Tiny Things are Heavier by Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo
Genre: Contemporary Black/Nigerian Literature
Sommy, a Nigerian woman, moves to the United States for graduate school just two weeks after her brother Mezie attempts suicide. Haunted by guilt for leaving him behind, she struggles to adjust to her new life as both a student and an immigrant. Soon she falls for Bryan, a biracial American whose Nigerian father abandoned the family before he was born. But when Sommy and Bryan visit Lagos over summer break, a shocking event forces her to confront family, identity, and the meaning of love.
One thing about me: I will always find a Nigerian literary novel. I honestly can’t remember where I came across this one (I really need to start writing that down), but I’m intrigued. The premise leans a little YA to me — even though the main character is in grad school, and I don’t usually reach for YA these days. Still, I’m curious enough to give it a try. It has an average rating on Goodreads, but I haven’t read any reviews, so I’ll be going in blind.
The Attic Child by Lola Jaye
Genre: Literary Fiction
Two children trapped in the same attic, almost a century apart, bound by a shared secret.
Early 1900s: Celestine, a twelve-year-old taken from his homeland, spends most of his time locked in the attic of a house by the sea, clinging desperately to memories of his family in Africa.
1974: Lowra, a young orphan girl born into wealth but fallen on hard times, finds herself trapped in the very same attic. Searching for hope, she discovers a message carved into the wall, written in an unrecognizable language.
This one I found through someone I actually follow on Instagram. Unlike the last pick, this one has glowing reviews, and it immediately reminded me of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, which I finally read last month. I’m not sure if this would be considered Black fiction or African fiction, but I’ll find out when I dive in. It definitely feels like a heavier read, so I’m not sure when I’ll pick it up, but I absolutely will.
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Genre: Chick Lit
Maggie is fine. She’s actually doing really well, all things considered. Sure, she’s broke, her graduate thesis on something obscure is going nowhere, and her marriage only lasted 608 days — but at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, Maggie is determined to embrace her new life as a Surprisingly Young Divorcée. Through her first year of single life, she barrels forward: dating (sometimes), waking up on the floor (occasionally), and asking herself the hard questions along the way.
Honestly, I’m not sure why this book ended up on my TBR. I think I stumbled across it on TikTok, where someone swore it was “life-changing.” I added it on impulse. But when I looked it up on Goodreads in prep for this post… the reviews were not good. So maybe I’ll regret it (lmao), but now I’m almost curious to see just how bad it is. For that reason alone, it’s staying.
And that’s it — the four new books I’m adding to my TBR! If you’ve read any of them, let me know what you thought. I’d love to hear your take. And if you want to read along with me, follow me on Goodreads and Fable to keep up with what I’m picking up next!
I hope you give some of these books a go! Thank you, as always, for joining me on this journey. See you soon!
Signed,
