Books of the (First) Year

Do you know what today is? It's National Book Lover's Day - and it also happens to be the day I'm celebrating a full year of this blog. Coincidence? I think not.
In honor of this day, we're supposed to tell everyone what books we're reading. So I thought I'd show you my to-be-read stack. The funny thing is, at this moment I'm not reading. I'm enjoying the anticipation of these great books. And I'm trying to decide which one to start reading first. That's a good place to be.
This year has been full of fantastic books, many of which you can find here. Over the last few weeks, I've read another big stack of books. Filling up the tank, so to speak, in order to tell you about more good reads.
Thanks for reading this blog, and for following along on my book adventures. I'll bring you more reviews, recipes, and things to think about in the weeks to come. In the meantime, I think I'll start with Broken Harbour by Tana French.
Now go read a book!

Summer Anticipation

It's a rainy grey day here today, so I am looking forward to warmer days. Summer isn't actually my favorite season, but it is a fabulous time to find new books.

I just received early news about some terrific titles coming out in the summer and I thought I'd share the sneak peek with you:

• Broken Harbour, by Tana French
  An expert in suspense writing, French takes another track with the Dublin Murder Squad in this fourth book of the series. Each one offers a different look at the same group of investigators, which is a refreshingly unique way of writing a series. (In July from Viking)
• Buddhaland Brooklyn, by Richard Morais
  I loved Morais' book The Hundred-Foot Journey, so I've been looking forward to this new title for a while. Buddhaland Brooklyn is the story of Seido Oda, sent from his serene life in Japan to open a Buddhist temple in the frenetic New York borough. (In July from Scribner)
• The Painted Bridge, by Wendy Wallace
  A young Victorian woman is sent to a London asylum against her will, where she discovers that the line between sanity and madness is very thin.
  (In July from Scribner)
• Under the Banyan Tree, by Vaddey Ratner
  A fictionalized version of the author's own childhood, Banyan tells the story of a young girl and her family who are caught up in the bloody Cambodian revolution in the 1970s. (In July from Simon & Schuster)
• The Man Who Would Be Jack, by David Bullock
  A new look at the mystery of Jack the Ripper's identity, the author makes a strong case that the murderer was Thomas Cutback, who lived in Whitechapel. He fit the description, he had the means and opportunity, and the murders ceased when he died. So is he the Ripper? (In August from Biteback)