This topic is always a bit irrelevant for me, since I don’t celebrate Christmas and by this point of the year, all gift-giving occasions are over for me. I definitely always have books on my wishlist that I would hope to get as a gift in general, but it seems that the prompt is fairly Christmas-specific. I actually reworded the title since it was supposed to be “books that I hope Santa brings me” but I prefer a slightly more inclusive wording. I’ve also very recently bought myself a ton of books because of a great sale on Indigo so that ran through a good chunk of my existing wishlist already. I’ve already restocked it with books that haven’t been released yet that I would want, but many of those are likely to make it into an upcoming list of my most anticipated books for next year, so it doesn’t really make sense to mention them twice either. Instead, I tried to limit myself to books that I still have on my wishlist that I haven’t been able to find or buy for myself yet, since it would be really nice to get some of those as gifts!
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
1) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Uprooted by Naomi Novik
I am including these books together because I chose them both for the same reasons. Both were books that I read and loved a few years ago, but for some reason I didn’t buy them at the time. I specifically want hardcover editions of both of them and have been struggling to find them! Paperback copies are still easily available, but I’d much rather have a hardcover since they are much more durable, and I also have hardcover editions of other books by each of these authors so I’d prefer to be consistent. I really didn’t think it would be so difficult to find hardcovers of either of these given their popularity, but it seems they have gone of out print somehow. I know they were originally available since the library copies that I’d read were both hardcovers. A quick look on Amazon now shows that Uprooted is available as a used copy for about $144 and The Night Circus has several new copies available ranging from $36 all the way up to over $100. There many be some cheaper used copies available but I’d prefer not to buy them without getting to see the quality first, especially since these books are two of my favourites. I’ve even tried other secondhand sellers like AbeBooks and BetterWorldBooks, but no luck so far.
2) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
This is actually on the list for a very similar reason too. I went into this book with very low expectations when I picked it up for my 2017 reading challenge, and was pleasantly surprised that it became one of my favourites of the year! This was another book that I didn’t bother picking up at the time because I had just read it, but I’ve waited too long and hardcover copies have become very rare for some reason. New copies are very expensive, and used copies are available but most have notes on them saying they are missing dust jackets or might have highlighting/notes in them, and I’d prefer a clean copy. I find it extremely distracting to have any highlighting or notes in my book (except maybe if I put them there myself, but even then, only for textbooks), so I definitely wouldn’t want that if I can avoid it. I guess the lesson to learn from all of these so far is that if I love a book and want a specific edition of it, I shouldn’t wait! Even if I’ve just read it recently and might not pick it up again for a while, it might make more sense to just grab a copy while I can so I don’t end up in the same situation again. I have no idea why these books keep becoming so hard to find when they were so popular. I guess they just assume that everyone who wanted a copy probably bought one already!
3) The Heart Forger and The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco
I remember seeing The Bone Witch years ago every single time I went to Indigo, and every time I strongly considered getting it, in large part because of the amazing cover. Over time, I noticed that copies were no longer so easily available and even online, strangely, copies of both sequels were easily available but not copies of The Bone Witch itself. Luckily, I currently have a copy that should be on its way to me any day now from BetterWorldBooks, so it seems like it is about time that I finally pick up this whole series. I’m probably going to end up buying copies of both of these for myself as soon as possible to avoid running into the same issue with them becoming impossible to find. In this case, it’s even more confusing since I can’t see a logical reason why the first book in a series would be out of print but not the sequels. I also think these covers are absolutely stunning and I would love to finally add them to my collection. I really hope I end up loving the series after waiting so long to try it!
5) The Blame Game by Sandie Jones
To be fair, I think my reasoning behind the rest of the books on my list is mostly the same — hardcover books have just become so expensive!! I’ve been slowly collecting Sandie Jones’s books through Book Outlet up until now, but this one has not shown up yet even though it has been out since August. This book is about a woman named Naomi who is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, but after helping a man named Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, she’s worried she may have gone too far. After Jacob’s first session following his escape from his marriage, Naomi notices that a door she is sure she’d locked is somehow open, and Jacob’s file has gone missing. When another client approaches Naomi for help leaving an abusive husband, she is unable to turn away someone in need but the strange things she noticed after helping Jacob might be a sign of her own dark past coming back to put her in danger. I have only read one book by this author so far, but I’ve been meaning to try the rest. I’m especially glad I’ve been waiting until this one drops in price a bit because I’ve just noticed it is relatively short, at around 250 pages, and I don’t really want to be paying nearly $40 for that! I’m hoping this one will come up on Book Outlet soon so I can grab a more affordable copy, since I’m definitely planning to include a few of this author’s books into next year’s reading challenges.
6) The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda
This is another author whose books I’ve been slowly collecting, mostly using Book Outlet. It actually took me a really long time to find All The Missing Girls and I ended up having to go through a different seller for that (either AbeBooks or BetterWorldBooks, I can’t remember which), but most of her others have made their way onto Book Outlet eventually. This book is her 2022 release and it is about a woman named Abby who manages an inn at an upscale resort in a North Carolina mountain town that has been haunted by a series of unsolved disappearances that get put back into the spotlight when a journalist comes to stay at the inn to investigate the trail. When this journalist vanishes himself and his brother shows up looking for answers, Abby can’t help feeling that the town is closing ranks around her and as she begins to uncover incriminating evidence, she discovers how little she really knows about her coworkers and neighbours. I’ve only read two of this author’s books so far and both of them were pretty solid 4-star reads, but I’m hoping to find one that I truly love. I’m not entirely sure if this book will be that one (I’m leaning toward Such a Quiet Place), but I’m hoping that I’ll love this when I finally do read it! It’s another book that I haven’t snagged yet because it’s just been a little too expensive so far. Even when I opened my wishlist to make this post, I saw that it was on sale for about 20% off, and still cost around $30! I’m hoping that it will either drop a bit more or else show up on Book Outlet. Even if I were to get this one as a gift, I wouldn’t want someone spending that much!
7) Last Seen Alive and/or Local Girl Missing by Claire Douglas
I actually did ask for these two books recently when it was my birthday, but didn’t get them because my friend wasn’t able to find hardcover copies. I had a friend who lives in the UK offer to buy me a few books and I specifically requested some that are harder to find here in Canada, since I’d assumed that British authors should be much more accessible over there. When he checked for me, it seemed that certain books didn’t exist in hardcover at all so I ended up choosing books by another author instead. Strangely, not long afterwards I managed to find hardcover copies of a few of Claire Douglas’s books available on Indigo and decided to grab them while I could, especially while their holiday sales were on and I could get 35% off! These were two of the books that I haven’t been able to find yet, but the fact that some were makes me suspect it’s possible these might be available eventually. It was the same for Louise Candlish, and I ended up finding a couple of her books on BetterWorldBooks. I’ve occasionally been able to find Claire Douglas’s books on BookOutlet so I’ll have to keep looking for them. It also gets a little confusing since some of her titles are fairly similar (ie. involving someone going missing) so I have to be extra careful to make sure I either buy (or ask for) the correct book.
8) The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
I think I did have this book on my birthday wishlist, but I’m not surprised that I didn’t get a copy since it’s been ridiculously expensive ever since it came out! Even now while there’s a deal available on it, it’s still over $30 for the hardcover, which is more than I think any one book should ever cost, except maybe if it was some kind of special edition. This book was easily one of my most anticipated last year and I’ve been waiting for the price to go down a bit ever since it came out! It is about a group of strangers who all happened to be at the Boston Public Library at the same table in the reading room. When a woman’s terrified scream shatters the peace, everyone is asked to stay where they are until the threat is identified, and one of these four may be the one security is looking for. I’ve read a few reviews that have mentioned this book is a bit complicated and confusing because there is some kind of “story within a story” element to it, but I’m still very excited to give it a try. I absolutely love these kinds of locked room mysteries and I also love books that are set in a library, so this seems perfect for me. I hope it’s not too confusing to understand because I’ve been looking forward to trying this ever since it first came out. It’s a book that I’d love to get as a gift because it’s been too expensive for me to buy for myself, but just being realistic, I wouldn’t want someone to spend that much on me either!
9) Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
This was another book that I’d put on my birthday wishlist, but I knew it was a longshot because of the price. It’s a book that I’ve been hearing so much about lately, and I’m kicking myself a bit for forgetting to grab it when I made my recent order during Indigo’s sale! It was one of those deals where you had to spend a certain amount of money to unlock a discount of a certain percentage, so even though I’d realized soon after my order that I’d forgotten this book, I probably wouldn’t have been able to make a second cart that cost enough to unlock the deal. Or I might have, but that would involve spending a ton of money all at once, which wouldn’t have been the best idea. I’ve been hearing a lot about this book since it came out in July, and it seemed very interesting. It is about a woman named Vera who returns home to help her ailing mother, putting her back into the house where she grew up as the daughter of a serial killer along with a parasitic artist who seems to have taken an uncomfortable interest in the home. This author is on my priority list to try next year, so I would have loved to receive this book as a gift since it the one of hers that I am most excited for. It’s a little tough to get a sense of whether I will enjoy this author’s writing when all of her books seem so different from each other, but I’m excited to give at least a few of them a chance.
10) Notes on an Execution by Danya Kaukafka
I’ve been obsessed with this book ever since I first heard about it, which I believe was on the Youtube channel WithCindy. I was drawn to this one because of the unique premise, which is telling the story of a serial killer who is on death row from the perspectives of several of the women in his life, including his mother, his sister, and a detective. I liked that it sounded like a completely fresh take on a serial killer story and I’ve been waiting to try it ever since! As with most of the other books listed here, the only reason I haven’t picked it up yet is because it’s expensive. I actually did order this one from Indigo during their deal, but unfortunately they cancelled the item because it was somehow not available despite the website saying they have it. This is another book that seems to be close to $40 for a hardcover copy for some reason! I know I can get this one and most of the others from this list from my library in the meantime, but since they are all books that I’m expecting to really enjoy, I’d love to have my own copies of them. This book specifically appeals to me because I’ve always had an interest in criminal psychology although I’m too much of a coward to actually work in that field. I’ve taken a few classes about forensic psychology and loved them, so this book seems like something I’d really enjoy. I’d be so happy to get this one as a gift!
Abyssal Librarian 