Last year I vowed to read all of the Waterstones 11, a list of eleven debut titles picked by our last national bookseller. In the end I read only three (The Snow Child, The Age of Miracles and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) and have another four still languishing on the TBR. So this year I’m not going to be over ambitious and declare I’m reading them all.

There’s four titles on the list that definitely appeal to me and have been added to my wishlist:


Carlos Acosta: talented ballet dancer AND writer. Even if the blurb didn’t appeal to me I’d probably be inclined to pick up this Cuban tale. You may also be interested to know it’s a translation (from Spanish by Frank Wynne). I like the sound of the journey through a forest fire mentioned in Ballistics, The Son sounds incredibly moving (and Headline have a track-record with books I love) and Idiopathy, well it just sounds a bit odd. I like odd, plus cows… I’m intrigued.

I will wait for trustworthy verdicts on the other titles (especially as I should read the rest of last year’s first). You can read sample chapters on the Waterstones website (follow links below). Which books tickle your fancy?

Release dates:
Y by Marjorie Celona 03/01/2013 (Faber and Faber)
The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence 31/01/2013 (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Fields by Kevin Maher 07/03/2013 (Little Brown)
Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi 04/04/2013 (Viking)
Idiopathy by Sam Byers 25/04/2013 (Fourth Estate)
The Son by Michel Rostain 23/05/2013 (Tinder Press)
The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan 27/06/2013 (Doubleday Ireland)
Ballistics by D. W. Wilson 01/08/2013 (Bloomsbury)
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 29/08/2013 (Picador)
Marriage Material by Sathnam Sanghera 26/09/2013 (William Heinemann)
Pig’s Foot by Carlos Acosta 30/10/2013 (Bloomsbury)