Top Ten Tuesday: Tops on my TBR for Fall

This week's topic for The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Books That Are On The Top Of My TBR List For Fall. If you know me at all, I'm not one to hold myself to a very strict reading plan, so really, I have no idea what I'll actually be reading as fall rolls around. That said, I thought this might be a great opportunity to give a little love to the ARCs I brought home from BEA, many of which will release this fall. Here are 10 of the ones I'm most excited about, and I certainly hope there will be time for several of them in my fall reading "plan."

1. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (Little, Brown and Co., Sept. 7) - I'm a huge baseball fan, so when I heard about this story of a would-be big leaguer playing ball at a small college where a throw goes awry and changes the lives of five people, I knew I had to check it out.

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday, Sept. 13) - I'm also a sucker for a circus story. There's just something about them. And this one's got some magic to it, too. Two magicians who have been raised to compete are dueling and...falling in love? Yes, please.

3. The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen (Mulholland Books, Sept. 28) - I advertise this author's last book like I'm getting paid to do it (I'm not, I swear!). I'm going to rein myself in this time and just talk about this book. It's about Zed, an agent from a future where there are no problems. To get to that future, though, all the crises that ever happened, must, well, happen. It's Zed's job to see to this. Sounds deliciously mind-bendy.

4. Touch and Go by Thad Nodine (Unbridled, Sept. 27) - Not that I wholeheartedly recommend it, but if you're cruising around BEA and stumble upon the booth of a publisher whose books you have failed to ever actually read but recognize from all the praises bloggers have been singing about their titles, you can, um, say that. Sure you might look like an idiot at first, but then you might actually have a decent conversation and walk away with a book about a blind guy going on a road trip with his friends to deliver a handmade casket. Sounds different, right? And good.


5. How the Dog Became the Dog by Mark Derr (Overlook, Oct. 13) - I stumbled upon what looked like the last ARC of this book on Overlook's table the first day of the show. I couldn't manage to wipe the "I want" look off my face, and I was thrilled when they offered me the copy of this book about how our canine friends evolved to be, well, our canine friends. Derr suggests that dogs being "man's best friend" was somehow evolutionarily meant to be. I'm definitely curious!

6. How To Save a Life by Sara Zarr (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Oct. 18) - Let's forget for a moment what this book is even about. This book has such a great cover that I would read it for that alone. For sure. Not enough for you? Well, then it's about a teen whose dad dies and whose mother then goes and adopts a baby, presumably to fill the hole. Plus the young birth mother of said baby looks to be the other main character. Sounds good and like it could be really profound.

7. The Future of Us by Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher (Razorbill, Nov. 21) - It's a story about a girl who, in 1996, installs AOL for the first time and stumbles upon the Facebook page of her future self. I started reading this while I was in line for signings, and I got a huge kick out of all the references to early internet. It's a super clever premise, and I can't wait to finish it.

8. You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik (Europa/Tonga, Aug 30) - I've got a growing fascination with Europa Editions books after reading two big winners this year thus far. You Deserve Nothing is the first published under Europa's new Tonga imprint that uses prominent contemporary writers as guest editors. Alice Sebold is the editor of this one. The idea of this is enough to draw my attention, but this book about a teacher in Paris who brings out the ethical sides of his students, but can't quite live up to the ideals he teaches sounds good all on its own merit.

9. Child Wonder by Ray Jacobsen (Graywolf, Sept. 27) Okay, I'll be straight with you. I'm in love with this cover, too. The book's about a kid growing up in 1960s Norway. Because I love getting my fix of books that happen in places that aren't...here.

10. Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo (Other Press, Aug. 30) - A hit man gets passionate about art and architecture which isn't a great plan because, well, he's a hit man. It's about a hit man who wants to be someone else, who's curious?

What will *you* be reading this fall?

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