Hello, hi! How are you feeling this week? Having been recently attacked by The Seasonal Allergies (or a cold? Whatever this is), I can tell you I feel less than peachy as I write this. Still, I love spring. I love the way spirits lift as soon as the sun comes up, I love the flowers that adorn the city this time of year, I love not falling on my ass every time I walk down slippery streets (which, granted, still happens all year round) and more than anything, I love reading in the park, on terraces, at the beach. Even though I very rarely get any real reading done in those conditions, I’m a big fan of outdoor reading.
For that reason alone, I’m always excited to curate the spring TBR I will inevitably disregard, if not downright avoid like the plague. Here goes nothing!
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
Bunnies are very spring-coded creatures, so I’ve been saving this collection of weird (perhaps disturbing? We shall see) short stories for warmer days. There’s also something about short stories that feels more appealing to me during spring/summer weather; maybe my attention span decreases as temperatures rise? If that’s the case, meet me again in ten years; I’ll be reading billboards.
Cursed Bunny is unique and imaginative, blending horror, sci-fi, fairy tales, and speculative fiction into stories that defy categorization. By turns thought-provoking and stomach-turning, here monsters take the shapes of furry woodland creatures and danger lurks in unexpected corners of everyday apartment buildings.
No two stories are alike, and readers will be torn whether to race through them or savor Chung’s wit and frenetic energy on every page. Cursed Bunny is a book that screams to be read late into the night and passed on to the nearest set of hands the very next day.
Sounds like spring reading material to me!
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
This one has been on my list for years now (it’s a big book!). Despite my reluctance to follow my own TBRs, 2024 has been a pretty successful year when it comes to tackling the dusty titles that have been populating my shelves the longest, so maybe it’s time I give Caramelo the chance it so definitely deserves. Not only was the cover made for spring (I paid an embarrassing amount for this edition), I tend to read more historical fiction in the warmer seasons, too.
Every year, Ceyala “Lala” Reyes' family—aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, and Lala's six older brothers—packs up three cars and, in a wild ride, drive from Chicago to the Little Grandfather and Awful Grandmother's house in Mexico City for the summer.
A multigenerational family narrative turns into a whirlwind exploration of storytelling, lies, and life. Like the cherished rebozo, or shawl, that has been passed down through generations of Reyes women, Caramelo is alive with the vibrations of history, family, and love.
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
Strange books and unlikeable characters bring me insurmountable joy, which might explain why fellow readers keep telling me to read Boy Parts. This copy has been on my shelves for almost a year now, but I keep avoiding it because… very popular books tend to give me the ick.😬 Maybe I’ll get to it this season? Maybe maybe?
Irina obsessively takes explicit photographs of the average-looking men she persuades to model for her, scouted from the streets of Newcastle.
Placed on sabbatical from her dead-end bar job, she is offered an exhibition at a fashionable London gallery, promising to revive her career in the art world and offering an escape from her rut of drugs, alcohol, and extreme cinema. The news triggers a self-destructive tailspin, centred around Irina’s relationship with her obsessive best friend, and a shy young man from her local supermarket who has attracted her attention…
No Judgment by Lauren Oyler
This will be my first Lauren Oyler read and the only non-fiction book on this list, as I can’t read more than one of those per season. Not only do I have a feeling it’ll be right up my alley, I am also intrigued by the polarizing reviews it has received since it came out in March. Book critics critiquing a book critic’s book about critiquing!
Lauren Oyler has emerged as one of the most trenchant and influential critics of her generation, a talent whose judgments on works of literature—whether celebratory or scarily harsh—have become notorious. But what is the significance of being a critic and consumer of media in today’s fraught environment? How do we understand ourselves, and each other, as space between the individual and the world seems to get smaller and smaller, and our opinions on books and movies seem to represent something essential about our souls? And to put it bluntly, why should you care what she—or anyone—thinks?
In this, her first collection of essays, Oyler writes with about topics like the role of gossip in our exponentially communicative society, the rise and proliferation of autofiction, why we’re all so “vulnerable” these days, and her own anxiety. In her singular prose—sharp yet addictive, expansive yet personal—she encapsulates the world we live and think in with precision and care, delivering a work of cultural criticism as only she can.
The Giant Dark by Sarvat Hasin
First of all, can we take a moment to appreciate this cover? Isn’t it just a stunning masterpiece of a cover? But wait till you hear about the premise: this is a loose retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, except one of the characters is a rock star and the other is the muse. Daisy Jones who?!
Aida is a rock star at her peak with a devoted cultish fanbase who follow her every move. When she disappears into a complicated love affair with an ex, they are determined to uncover her truths.
After a decade of silence, Aida and Ehsan reconnect, hoping to recreate the love they shared in their youth. When Ehsan's life unravels, he follows Aida on tour, but it becomes clear that their connection is strained by secrets and jealousies. The past blurs with their present as they follow in the footsteps of mythic lovers before them.
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
I also only read one classic per season (if that), and I’m hoping it will finally be The Leopard’s turn this spring. It’s the next best thing after actual plane tickets to Sicily (✨I’m manifesting!✨).
It is the spring of 1869 and there is talk of revolution in Sicily.
Fabrizio, the charismatic Prince of Salina, still rules over thousands of acres and hundreds of people, including his own numerous family, in mingled splendour and squalor.
But then comes Garibaldi's landing on the Scicilian coast.
As Garibaldi's forces press inland, the Prince must decide whether to resist the forces of change or come to terms with them.
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