Ten Most Recent Additions To My Bookshelf

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday—the weekly challenge from That Artsy Reader Girl! This week’s topic is Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf. I acquired most of these books in November and December, so I can’t give Santa credit for increasing my book stash.

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Top Ten Recent Additions

1 – Mansfield Park by Jane Mansfield

Set at Mansfield Park, this novel tells the story of Fanny Price, a quiet and principled young woman living in Regency England, as Fanny learns to respect herself and her heart and do what is right.

2 – Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield

A small child was carried to an inn by a wounded stranger. Hours later, the child mysteriously returns to life, leaving the local community desperate for answers. Three families come forward to claim her, but the girl cannot remember her past. Each family harbors its own secrets, and many mysteries must be unraveled before the girl’s true identity is revealed.

3 – Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

Winifred Notty becomes governess at Ensor House, planning to teach and care for Drusilla and Andrew. The Pounds family is strange: Mr. Pounds acts inappropriately, Mrs. Pounds punishes Winifred, and the children are spoiled. Winifred struggles with her own dark impulses while passing time and waiting for Christmas, when she plans her revenge. Victorian Psycho is a dark, witty story about a chilling new antihero.

4 – The Best American Short Stories 2025 by Celeste Ng

Guest editor Celeste Ng says, Short stories help us see what matters. The Best American Short Stories 2025 includes twenty stories that challenge our beliefs and expectations. The book features a grieving actress, people affected by a strange illness, residents of a wildlife estate, and a mother who pretends to be a celebrity. Each story takes readers to new places and shows different sides of life.

5 – Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser

When Mona suddenly loses her vision, doctors are baffled and warn that it may never return. Her grandfather Henry, unable to halt her decline, decides to enrich her world with art. For a year, they journey each Wednesday to see a new masterpiece in Paris’s museums. Through these visits, Mona experiences the power of artists like Botticelli and Basquiat, and her outlook is profoundly altered. With Henry’s kind encouragement, she discovers the depths of emotion and meaning art can offer, forever changing how she sees the world.

6 – The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

Sometimes, serving the divine demands unholy acts. Brother Diaz is called to the Sacred City, expecting honor and a holy purpose. Instead, he finds himself leading a congregation of killers, dark sorcerers, and monsters. To fulfill his mission, he and his flock must commit brutal acts in pursuit of a higher cause. Elves prowl the borders, eager for human prey, while selfish princes are lost in their own ambitions. Facing a perilous journey, Brother Diaz can only be grateful that the devils are with him.

7 – The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

It’s been four years since Jade Daniels last saw her hometown of Proofrock, Idaho—the day she took the fall and went to prison to protect her friend Letha and her family. In her absence, both her reputation and the town have changed dramatically. Proofrock has unfinished business: serial killer cultists still linger, and the wealthy continue their attempts to buy Western authenticity. Yet there’s one aspect of Proofrock no one dares to confront—until Jade returns. The curse of the Lake Witch awaits, and now is the time for the final stand.

8 – Relieve Us of This Burthen by Carl P. Borick

Relieve Us of This Burthen is the first in-depth book to examine Continental soldiers, officers, and militiamen captured by the British in the South during the American Revolution. Drawing extensively on Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application files—sources rarely used for this topic—Borick uncovers new insights into the experiences and hardships these men faced in captivity.

9 – Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was born in 1835. He started out as a steamboat pilot, but after the Civil War, he moved west. There, his sharp newspaper writing made him famous under his pen name. In his biography, Ron Chernow looks at Twain’s rise as a journalist and author, his major works written in Hartford, and his struggles with money and personal loss. Using Twain’s archives, Chernow shows Twain as a complex person whose life reflected America’s growth. Twain also faced the nation’s history of slavery, leaving behind a literary legacy that people still discuss today.

10 – Mythos by Stephen Fry

Experience the excitement and majesty of Greek mythology, vividly reimagined by Stephen Fry. The acclaimed writer, actor, and comedian brings ancient stories—from Pandora’s box to Prometheus’s fire—to life, infusing the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians with humor and emotional depth while preserving their sense of wonder. Classical artwork and Fry’s insightful notes provide rich cultural background throughout.