We Are Called to Rise is set in the context of an (as far as I can tell from the blurb) unspecified war, and follows the lives of a series of apparently unconnected people who are not actively part of the war in the battlefield/front line sense but whose lives go on in the background. Apparently it's about loss, courage and resilience, and the reviews are really positive so I think I'll enjoy this even if it is a bit of a random choice. I'm not quite sure why I picked it up but it's a pretty attractive book.

The Margaret Atwood novel is one of those things I've been on the lookout for in charity shops recently, basically because I want to read some of her stuff. I didn't look too closely at it before picking it up, but it's a historical fiction about some real-life murders that happened in 1843 and one of the servants convicted of the crime. I love crime and historical fiction so hopefully this will be ideal! 

The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany

Deafening by Frances Itani

The Yacoubian Building is set in Cairo, specifically in a building where a mixture of people of different social classes live, inhabiting every floor from grand apartments to the rooftops. From the blurb I get the impression that it's a realistically-written novel, about the contradictions between modern life and tradition and generally concerning the lives of the building's inhabitants. I love books like this where the characters and places are vividly drawn and seem to leap off the pages...

Just LOOK at this book - isn't it utterly gorgeous? Deafening is set on the eve of the First World War and tells the story of a relationship between a young deaf woman and a man who is sent to the front and how they survive the separation. I don't think I've ever read anything where the main character has a disability like this so it should be interesting to see how the author writes it.

Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka

I had a sneaking feeling that I already owned Blood Red Snow White but I've had a good look and haven't come across it on my shelves so I can only conclude I must have *nearly* bought it in previous years. Anyway. As far as I can tell, it's set in the Russian revolution of 1917 and follows an Englishman abroad in Russia and his relationship with the country and his homeland. The blurb describes it as a mixture of 'fairy tale, spy thriller and love story' which sounds promising!

Elizabeth is Missing is one of those books I seem to have been hearing about for ages, so I finally bit the bullet and picked it up (I say that like it was a traumatic decision, it really wasn't lol). The main character is Maud, an elderly woman with dementia who is convinced that her best friend Elizabeth is missing, although everyone around her dismisses this notion as the confusion of an old lady. I think it's a really interesting premise and I'm excited to see how it pans out.

Fear not, I haven't suddenly developed a love of eastern European agricultural vehicles - this is merely the amusing title of a novel, A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. If I'm honest I picked it up because of the title and couldn't quite bear to part with it even though the story isn't my usual kind of thing: it's about two estranged sisters whose widowed father marries a glamorous blonde Ukrainian divorcee and their joint efforts to oust her from the family. But it definitely has potential for a quick, light-hearted read so I thought I'd add it to the stack of books I was carrying around.

And that's everything I got!