30 Books I Want to Read + How I Find Them

by - June 11, 2020


Every bookworm has a "to be read" list, whether it's a pile of books on the nightstand, a bunch of samples downloaded onto an e-reader, or a handwritten list of titles you're interested in. I actually have all three at the moment, although my nightstand collection may not be big enough to be considered a "pile." My TBR list is constantly growing. I add to it almost daily, even when I tell myself I need to read through some of what I've already got. I really can't help myself, though. I'll have every intention of starting something I've had for awhile when something will catch my eye or I get sucked into some fictional world that has multiple books and/or series to explore. That's what I've been doing this past week, actually - blowing through the interconnected books of Jaxson Kidman. Seems I've got a bit of a thing for the bad boys. Anyway...

Here's a look at 30 books currently on my To Be Read list:

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover - A novel about family, first love, grief, and betrayal that will touch the hearts of mothers and daughters alike. This book has great reviews and has been on my TBR list since January.

The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg - I love period dramas, especially when they're based on real people. The wife of author Jack London is pulled on stage by Harry Houdini and suddenly finds herself torn between the two men and what she really wants.

The Night Crossing by Robert Masello - I'm kind of ashamed by how long this book has been in my TBR list, but to be perfectly honest I kind of exhausted myself with vampires for awhile. This is a tale about Bram Stoker and the supernatural adventure that led to his creation of Dracula.

The Woodcutter by Kate Danley - I'm a sucker for a good fairytale retelling, and this book has all the makings of just that.

One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker - It's been a long time since I read a frontier story, but this one definitely has my interest. Two women are brought together when one's husband kills the other for having an affair with his wife. With that man now in prison and a harsh winter ahead, the two women must come together for survival.

The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms - A social media influencer tosses her phone off a cliff when her perfectly-scripted life implodes. While she starts living real life, someone takes over her online persona, and eventually gets caught.

The Winter Sisters by Tim Westover - A doctor moves to a mountain town in Georgia where the locals prefer to get their cures from a trio of supposed witches, but when a rabid panther starts causing problems science and magic come together to save the town.

Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau - A nice little murder mystery set around New York's Coney Island in 1911 complete with a society girl falling for a starving artist.

Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop by Rebecca Raisin - After learning her husband has had an affair and is leaving her, Rosie gets drunk and buys a travel trailer, then sets out on a cross-country adventure.

Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark - A box of postcards hidden away in the attic leads a woman on a journey into the truth about her family.

The Last Magician by Jack Hunt - Not going to lie. This one got me with its comparison to the movie Now You See Me.

A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - My friend has been telling me to read this for awhile, and I just keep putting it off. Maybe because it has so much hype around it and I'm afraid I'll be disappointed? Anyway, it's supposed to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which is right up my alley.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco - A witch accidentally brings her dead brother back to life, setting her on the journey to become a Bone Witch.

This Is Not How It Ends by Rochelle B. Weinstein - Holding on or letting go? This one will probably end up making me cry at some point, but all good romance novels do, right?

When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal - A woman discovers her sister who died 15 years ago isn't really dead. Now they have the chance to reunite but long-buried secrets will make that difficult.

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold - The title is pretty much self-explanatory on this one.

Darklight by Bella Forrest - This is supposedly a series for Twilight fans, and since I enjoyed those books, I figured why not.

Five French Hens by Judy Leigh - I get serious Golden Girls vibes from this one. A group of senior ladies take a week-long trip to Paris to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of one of their own.

That Month in Tuscany by Inglath Cooper - A rock star and woman who's husband stood her up on their anniversary end up traveling together.

The Star and the Shamrock by Jean Grainger - After her husband doesn't come home from work, Ariella knows she has to get her children out of Nazi Germany, so she puts them on a train to London where they are taken in by a woman who is grieving not only the loss of her husband but also her newborn baby.

The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane - The sole survivor of a plane crash wakes up in an Irish hospital with no memory, so she creates a new identity.

Floating Twigs by Charles Tabb - A 12-year-old boy with a bad home life adopts a starving dog. In his attempts to find a job to keep the dog fed, he makes friends with an elderly woman and a homeless middle-aged man who begin to fill the role of his wayward parents.

The Price of Paradise by Susana Lopez Rubio - This your typical star-crossed lovers story except it's set in Cuba and involves mobsters.

Here Be Dragons by David P. Macpherson - I'm going to let the first line in this book's description speak for itself: "A mid-life crisis, a castle gardener, an unfaithful steed, a dastardly hero, a merciless king, and a dragon that needs saving. With heroes this bad who needs villains..."

The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey - Four immigrant women meet once a week to escape the realities of their lives as they transform their lives into the American dream.

Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy - Another book set during World War II, except this one has an Irish backdrop. Told from the perspective of a dying grandmother sharing her life's history with her granddaughter.

Veins of Gold by Charlie N. Holmberg - I'm a big fan of this author. The Paper Magician series is one of my absolute favorites. This book is set in the West at the height of the gold rush.

The Price of Time by Tim Tigner - This is a thriller/suspense book about an invention that needs to be kept hidden.

What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon - A woman spreading her grandfather's ashes in Ireland somehow travels back in time to 1921, where she discovers a life she may not be able to give up.

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah - A girl mysteriously shows up at a woman's house claiming to have come from the stars to witness five miracles.

So how do I discover new books to read?

Well, obviously I get recommendations from friends and family, but mostly it's from the Kindle storefront. They look at what I've read and what I've browsed for and share books that fit into those categories. I also will go to the pages of authors I like and check out the similar authors listed down at the bottom. I signed up with BookBub to get daily recommendations and e-book deals emailed to me. Sometimes I find something with them, sometimes I don't. It's a good way to keep up with new releases, though. Pinterest has turned me on to some stuff in the past (check out my bookworm board), and there's always WhatShouldIReadNext.com, although to be honest I find their database to be a little lacking. I know a lot of people use GoodReads, but I've just never gotten into it.

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