5.27.2021 | Thursday

thursday 13: book FOMO vs. non-FOMO

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I am a lover of books since practically in utero. I read a lot, and my reading tastes are very eclectic. I’m also an editor and a published author. So, yeah, books are my thing. And part of being in the book world is belonging to book groups, following bookish social media, bookish newsletters, etc. Lots and lots of books coming at me all the time. And sometimes you notice that there are certain books that you see EVERYWHERE! Apparently, I’m a rebel through and through, because there are a lot of those books that everyone is gushing about that I’ve never read. Some of these I have book FOMO for, and others I don’t. Here are thirteen of those books, in no particular order.

1. the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James

FOMO level: 0

“When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

I love that, on Amazon, this series is listed as “Holiday Romance.” This one has never been a book FOMO for me.


2. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

FOMO level: 5

“After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

I’ve seen this recommended over and over again as a gripping read.


3. Untamed by Glennan Doyle

FOMO level: 0

“It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. “

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

I still see this one on a daily basis somewhere.


4. The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

FOMO level: 8

“Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

I have this one, and even started it. But I am a hardcore mood reader, and it just wasn’t the time. I’ll go back when the time is right!


5. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

FOMO level: 7

“Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

This is a book about books, at least in part. I will get to it eventually!


6. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

FOMO level: 8

“For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

This wasn’t one that was high on my FOMO scale at first, but the more I read about it, the more it’s rising.


7. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

FOMO level: 3

“In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned–from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

I know lots of people love this book, but it’s just not something that really captured my interest enough to pick it up.


8. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

FOMO level: 0

“Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

My reasons for not reading this really have nothing to do with the book. I’ve read a few by this author, and I always end up feeling emotionally manipulated.


9. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

FOMO level: 6

“Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older black couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. “

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

I own this one, and even started it. But the whole “mood reader” thing got in the way, I think. That and the writing just didn’t appeal to me. It felt pretentious, as if the author was determined to make sure readers knew without a doubt just how intelligent he was.


10. The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

FOMO level: 3

“When the renowned poet Fiona Skinner is asked about the inspiration behind her iconic work, The Love Poem, she tells her audience a story about her family and a betrayal that reverberates through time.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

Lots of chatter about this one, but it just didn’t sound remotely interesting to me. Maybe someday.


11. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

FOMO level: 10

“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

Another book about books! I love magical realism and this book is high on my TBR. The problem is… there are a lot of books on my TBR!!


12. Beach Read by Emily Henry

FOMO level: 5

“Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.”

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

A book about books, which definitely appeals to me. I’m just gun-shy about romance novels. I don’t love them. But this one feels like one that I might have to try.


13. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

FOMO level: 8

“fter receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. “

a snippet from the Amazon blurb

The cover alone is gorgeous on this one. I own it, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

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2 responses to “thursday 13: book FOMO vs. non-FOMO

  1. I haven’t read any of your 13! I will look up The Midnight Library though, some books about books are right up my alley. My alley being, not editor/writer like you (other than a poetry blog), but library science. EVERYONE is talking, or writing, about Where the Crawdads Sing, but I don’t think so, if only because everyone is pushing it! Besides, we all know it’s crayfish, not crawdad!

     

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