Top Ten Tuesday Freebie--2014 Releases I Meant to Read But Didn't Get to

I am so happy a freebie came along!  I really meant to and wanted to write on this topic last week, but I was camped out on the couch watching NCIS, doing my best impression of a foghorn (thank you, annual sinus infection!).  I had a wonderful time going around my room pulling books for this list.  So much great writing has come out lately that I could literally take a bath in it!  Or something like that.  There is a lot for me to look forward to reading...the trick is picking one to settle down with!

1.  Bohemians, Bootleggers, Flappers & Swells:  The Best of Early Vanity Fair, edited by Graydon Carter  I am really excited about this collection of articles from Vanity Fair that span the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s.  So much excellent writing and so many excellent topics to write about during that time!

2.  The Georgetown Set:  The Establishment Elite Who Waged--and Won--the Cold War by Gregg Herken  I love learning more about Washington at the height of the Cold War.  I think that there was a lot of interesting intrigue surrounding a group of extremely smart and rather glamorous people.  OK.  I admit it--I love the Kennedys.  Whatever.

3.  Jet Set:  The People, the Planes, the Glamour, and the Romance in Aviation's Glory Years by William Stadiem  I'll admit, on the surface this one really doesn't sound like me.  I'm not super into aviation.  Yes, flying is my preferred mode of transportation and I would love to jet on over to Europe.  It was seeing Sinatra's involvement with this movement that really kind of sealed the deal.

4.  The 40s:  The Story of a Decade by The New Yorker  I love The New Yorker.  It's my favorite magazine, though my track record with actually finishing them in the week that they came out is not so hot.  But I am really looking forward to this collection of article about the 40s.  It covers a wide variety.  However, unlike the first book on this list, this one is arranged topically, as opposed to chronologically.  I like seeing how different forms of organization work or don't.

5.  Lucky Us by Amy Bloom  This novel is about the quest for fame and fortune that takes the readers around 1940s America and Europe, but not so much to the war bits.  Two sisters, jetting around.  I think it sounds like a lot of fun.

6.  The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis  This one just sounds really interesting.  Seeing all of your flaws displayed very starkly before you, how do you react?

7.  The Unwitting by Ellen Feldman  This novel is about the intellectual set of 1950s Manhattan.  It reminds me a lot of The Georgetown Set, except fiction.  I have really started to embrace my love of thrillers, even though I haven't actually read very many.  I love that "WTF?!" moment when the big twist comes that sets your understanding the story so far on its head, but also makes the story make complete sense.

8.  Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique  My explanation of why I am looking forward to this novel is going to make little sense:  the description of the setting reminds me of a hotel in Orlando that I absolutely love.  A family in the Caribbean in the early 1900s that must make its own way.  It sounds fantastic and I've heard wonderful things.

9.  Yes Please by Amy Poehler  I love reading books like this.  Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Lena Dunham (all of which Poehler references in her introduction, FYI) wrote books about their journeys and struggles with being females in the business.  I love reading about their badassery and hard work.  It inspires me.

10.  Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar  I recently picked this up on an impulse when I went into the store to buy something else.  I don't know much about Virginia Woolf (the more I think about it, the more I should have put Mrs. Dalloway on my 2015 TBR Pile Challenge list), but I am really excited to learn more about her through the life of her sister.


There were almost as many books I picked up with the idea of adding them to this list only to realize that they came out in 2013.  Where is all of the time going?  Things need to slow down so I can get to all of the new releases, plus all of the old stuff, that I want to read.  Maybe for the next freebie, I'll do a list of the 2013 books.  :)

Have a great Tuesday!