Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Recent Additions to My TBR Shelves

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

First off, let's start this return to the Top Ten Tuesday format with a little honesty: these are not, technically, the most recent ten additions to my bookshelf. 

That honor belongs to my most recent Book Outlet order, completed just two weeks after the year had started out in earnest; however, this being the nature of the Internet's delivery systems, despite the fact that I have paid for them and that they are on my way, I don't actually have them physically placed on my TBR shelves as of yet.

So. Am I stretching this particular piece of information out to mean that I plan on doing two haul posts within the month of January... kicking off a year where, once again, I have vowed to attempt to read more of my own previously purchased material before going out and picking up more? Yes, yes I do.

(Oh, and spoiler alert: nine out of ten of these books were picked up while on vacation - in a quiet island town, where my family rang in the new year at midnight with the ominous snapping of dead tree branches, while the wind swept through the dark forests ringing our cozy log cabin - so get excited to hear more about that particular bookish destination later this month!)

Bookstore #1 - New

1. At Bertram's Hotel, Agatha Christie
My first of four - four! - Agatha Christies purchased on this vacation. I have no excuse, other than the fact that I was clearly in the mood for a good mystery, and the cover was not only a brilliant shade of mustard, but also, decked with a stocked three-level tea tray, which is always a welcome sight, in my life. I've finished this one already!

2. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Natasha Pulley
Okay, also a choice based on cover: it's stunning in all of its antique-y, enticing jade-colored glory. Also, I recognized the name as one I'd been meaning to read for a while. Sometimes, that's all you really need, to have a good day in a bookstore.

Bookstore #2 - Used

3. They Came to Baghdad, Agatha Christie
What do you want me to say? They were a little over two bucks, and I've collected Agatha Christie novels since middle school. Clearly my subconscious wants me back in the game; coincidentally, I've started chowing down Hot Tamale candies again, which was another hallmark of my sixth grade year. What is twelve-year-old Savannah trying to tell me??

4. A Murder is Announced, Agatha Christie
Obviously the most beautiful cover out of all three of the used copies... so foreboding.

5. Death in the Clouds, Agatha Christie
Two bucks, you guys! I bought three at the used bookstore, for still less than the price of one at the new place! I had to! Leave me alone!

6. The Bone Season, Samantha Shannon
Again, a brilliant cover - such a gorgeous shade of true blue, with a really nice texture to the physical copy - accompanying a title I recognized as one I've been meaning to pick up. My system may be flawed, but it's rarely failed me!

7. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
So, as those who know me well are already aware of, I had my first-ever real, true garden last year, and it was one of the greatest projects of my life thus far. I enjoyed a summer of long, impressive Japanese cucumbers, substantial yellow squash, verdant basil, and entirely too many cherry tomatoes for us to actually eat on time, and I'm already gearing up for planting again this Spring. Kingsolver, on the other hand, makes my little kitchen garden look like kindergarten macaroni art, as she and her family vow to only eat fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat produced from her own neighborhood for a year.

8. My Antonia, Willa Cather
After enjoying Trials of the Earth, by Mary Mann Hamilton, this past summer, I knew that at some point, my 2020 would have to contain another really great pioneer-woman angle to read. I figured, why not try out a classic?

9. Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, Mary Norris
As an ardent admirer of those who routinely solve the punctuation and grammar issues of others, I'm not only excited to read this one, but also, when I'm finished, pass it along to my comma-lacking Dad.

Not a Bookstore - On Lend from the Local Library

10. Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life, Ali Wong
Just days after I returned from our family vacation, I checked my email to find that a library hold for an ebook I'd placed - back when I ranked over #20 in line - had finally become available. I finished it by the following day!

What's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!