It is a sad truth that I have a finite lifespan (and budget) yet a desire to read all the books. The books on my Reading Schedule (click the link to view) largely represent those I’ve been privileged to select from offerings by a range of generous publishers, and therefore are my priority, but they don’t embody my every bookish desire or interest.

I’ve noticed a trend for limiting to-be-read (TBR) and/or want-to-read (WTR) lists (the distinction for me being those already on my physical or digital shelves vs those that aren’t), but I’ve never felt the need to temper my book lust. If I see a book that interests me, I add it to my WTR without a skerrick of guilt, at the moment my WTR shelf at Goodreads has around four thousand books on it.

As I currently feature my TBR in my monthly Bookshelf Bounty post, Book Lust will be a monthly post featuring a handful of published books I’ve recently added to my WTR.

What books are you lusting after? Do you have any of these on your TBR/WTR list? And please feel free to share your links in the comments if you have reviewed them.

(Covers are linked to Goodreads)

Greta Helsing inherited the family’s highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. In her consulting rooms, Dr. Helsing treats the undead for a host of ills – vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. Although barely making ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta’s been groomed for since childhood.
Until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life.

For years, Clementine Crane has been the invisible force holding her Byrock, Massachusetts, home together—juggling three demanding kids, a husband who’s more hindrance than help, a soul-crushing boss at the local library, and a mountain of invisible tasks reserved for women. But when her first hot flash hits, marking the onset of perimenopause, Clementine starts to wonder: When is enough, enough?
As the pressures mount and mysterious, almost mythic signs of the extraordinary punctuate her days, she takes a stand—one small refusal at a time. With a defiant “I prefer not to,” she embarks on a journey to reclaim her voice and identity.
Overwhelmed and fed up, Clementine goes on strike, ditching obligations, setting boundaries, and venting her frustrations on social media. When her raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly poignant videos go viral, Clementine finds herself at the center of a movement she never saw coming. With her irreverent best friend by her side, Clementine isn’t just pushing back—she’s rewriting the rules.
This laugh-out-loud, heart-on-sleeve adventure is a battle cry for every woman ready to live life on her own terms.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness. Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime. Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever find.

The extraordinary novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life? In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register the birth of her son. Her husband, Gordon, respected in the community but a controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and name the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates…. Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of their lives, shaped by Cora’s last-minute choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities for autonomy and healing. Through a prism of what-ifs, Florence Knapp invites us to consider the “one … precious life” we are given. Full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.

This debut novel by beloved rare bookseller and memoirist Oliver Darkshire reimagines the Decameron heroine Isabella (with her creepy pot of basil) in a world of sentient animals, talking plants, and shape-shifting wizards. In a tiny farm on the edge of the miserable village of East Grasby, Isabella Nagg is just trying to get on with her tiny, miserable existence. Dividing her time between tolerating a feckless husband, fending off snide neighbors, and cooking up “scrunge,” Isabella can’t help but think that there might be something more to life. When Mr. Nagg returns home with a spell book purloined from the local wizard, she thinks: What harm could a little magic do? As Isabella embarks on a journey of self-discovery with a grouchy cat-like companion, Darkshire’s imagination runs wild, plunging readers into a delightfully deranged world full of enchantment and folklore—as well as goblins, capitalism, and sorcery.

Book Lust is a monthly post featuring a handful of published books I’ve recently added to my WTR. #read #books #BookLust #TBR #WTR #lovereading #bibliophile #fiction #TheCorrespondent #TheNames #IsabellaNaggandthePotofBasil #ClementineCranePrefersNotTo #StrangePractice Learn more at Book’d Out