Another month, another TBR list! This month, I really want to get to some big books. I tend to categorize a book as big for a couple of reasons:
- Page length – Obviously, this is the major factor that determines whether a book is big.
- Font size – Some books like to get real fancy with people and flaunt around some of the tiniest writing. Going into a book with tiny writing is super intimidating but finishing it is so satisfying.
Unsurprisingly, many of the books with the bigger page counts are hardcover books. So I scavenged my shelves for some unread hard cover books and found my reads this month.
The Cartographer
What is the purpose of a map?
Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn’t seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map.
This book is one that I hauled a couple of months ago and one that I’m constantly drawn to. If there’s a book on this list that I want to get to without a doubt, it’s going to be this one. This book is a literary mystery book that follows cartographers and involves a dead mentor. The summary of this book gives me Lara Croft and National Treasure vibes and I can’t say I’m complaining.
Beasts of a Little Land
In 1917, deep in the snowy mountains of occupied Korea, an impoverished local hunter on the brink of starvation saves a young Japanese officer from an attacking tiger. In an instant, their fates are connected—and from this encounter unfolds a saga that spans half a century.
First of all, can we just look at this cover? It’s absolutely gorgeous. I saw this book in the bookstore and I needed it to be showcased further up front in the store because it’s a literal work of art. And trust me, the book is even more beautiful in person.
As for content, this book is right up my alley. I love historical fiction and I especially love historical fiction that involves a multigenerational plot. All in all, this book appears to be a huge bundle of all my favorite tropes. I wanted to pick this book up earlier but I actually had set it aside for a while because I read a goodreads review that kind of spoiled a major aspect of this book so if you don’t want to get spoiled, I suggest avoiding the reviews. It makes me so mad when people don’t mark certain discussions as spoilers, it ruins the whole experience for some people, it’s just such an inconsiderate thing to do.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The beloved American classic about a young girl’s coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness — in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.”
If you’ve read my Springs Classics TBR post, then you’ll know that one of the books that I want to get to this month is “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”. I don’t know much about this book other than the fact that it’s a coming of age novel of a girl from Brooklyn. I’ve heard from reviews that this book is going to be a heavy hitting book and it’s going to be one full of beautiful quotes and tear jerking happenings.
The Fortune Hunter
In 1875, Sisi, the Empress of Austria is the woman that every man desires and every woman envies. Beautiful, athletic and intelligent, Sisi has everything – except happiness.
One of my quarter 2 reading goals is to read more of the books that I’ve been ignoring on my shelf. The book that I’m planning to pick up this month for this goal is “The Fortune Hunter”. I remember absolutely nothing about this book other than the fact that it was on sale in the bookstore for four dollars and it’s super heavy and it’s super big. Which guess what? It fits the theme of my April reading, big and scary!
This book feels like it’s going to be whimsical with a touch of magic and the rich heaviness of a historical setting. That’s all I need to know and that’s all I care about before going into this book.
What are you planning to read in April? Any big books on your TBR this month?