More 2010 books I’m desperate to read
July 7, 2010
I feel so much more accomplished with these shorter lists! I’ve read nearly all the novels that were on my first list for 2010, something I can’t say about my previous lists.
Anyway, now that the year is more than half over, here are the books from the second half of the year that I absolutely have to read. Once again, while there are many upcoming books that sound interesting, I’m limiting myself here to those books I am *most* looking forward to.
Sequels
- Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (follows Leviathan)
- Invisible Things by Jenny Davidson (follows The Explosionist)
- A Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee (follows A Spy in the House)
Asian-Americans!
- Bitter Melon by Cara Chow. Even though I have never acquired a taste for bitter melon. No idea what it’s about, but with a title like this, it’s got to be Asian-American, right?
Other Novels
- You by Charles Benoit, because everyone is raving about it.
- Rosebush by Michele Jaffe, because of how much I enjoyed Kitty Kitty.
- Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber, because I get a Billie Standish Was Here vibe from what I’ve read about it, and I LOVE Billie Standish Was Here.
Non-Fiction
- Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos, because I love me a good microhistory. Also, because my mother grew up on a sugar plantation.
So few books. So sad! 
To make up for it, here are a couple of books from 2011 as a bonus.
- You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin. I haven’t read either of Beaudoin’s previous books, but this just sounds all kinds of awesome. It’s a noir-ish mystery set in high school, and there’s no way I can resist something like that.
- Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang, because it’s set in Mongolia!!!
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Can I add to your list? Jeannie Lin has a book coming out in October with Mills-Boon set in 8th century China called ‘Butterfly Swords’. It is fascinating!
Butterfly Swords is definitely on my 2010 Romances to Read list (along with Zoe Archer’s new series — again, Mongolia!!! — Meljean Brook’s new steampunk series, the next book in Jessica Andersen Final Prophecy series, and others).
Then there’s also my 2010 Mysteries to Read list (top of this list: Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason, Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer, Villain by Shuichi Yoshida, Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Colin Cotterill).
Um, holy cats, I didn’t realize that INVISIBLE THINGS was a sequel to THE EXPLOSIONIST! I was in a line right next to Jenny Davidson’s at BEA, but I don’t think I grabbed it. *kicks self* I loved THE EXPLOSIONIST!
I need to read Leviathan. I bet I’m going to love it! And, then I can lust after the sequel along with you. Thanks for the list!
Another suggestion is The Familiars which is coming out in September. I would say the target audience is somewhere between 10 and 13 but even as a 19 year old I enjoyed it a lot. It’s about the animal companions to three young wizards who have gone missing.