Monday Moods is a weekly bookish meme created and hosted by Unwrapping Words (aka, me!). The premise is simple: every week, there’s a new ‘mood’, ranging from tropes to genres or actual moods (happy, sad, etc). On a Monday, feel free to post about books on your TBR, books you’d recommend, or a mix – whatever you like – that fits the ‘mood’ prompt. And of course, you can use your own if you’re not fussed on a particular one!
It might not be Shark Week quite yet, but it is Shark Awareness Day, so it felt fitting for this week’s Monday Moods to focus on this incredible creatures. I usually pull my Monday Moods lists from my currently owned and intending to read books, but for this one I ended up pulling them from a list titled “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water!” on Goodreads. Except for the first one, which is actually on my TBR as my partner owns it.
This Week, I’m in the Mood For…
Sharks!
Jaws
Peter Benchley
Genre: Horror Thriller
Age: Adult
Published: 1st January, 1974
I Want to Read This Because it’s a pretty iconic book. I enjoyed the film well enough, was traumatised by the Universal Florida ride (age 4), but I do want to see what the differences are between the book and film. Plus my partner really, really wants me to read this one – almost as much as he wants me to read his whole Star Wars collection!
Meg
Steve Alten
Genre: Horror Thriller
Age: Adult
Published: 1st July, 1997
I Want to Read This Because I haven’t actually seen the film for this, but this feels like it would be a good one to read if I end up enjoying Jaws. And it’s another one my partner actually owns, so there’s a chance I could get to it!
The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America’s Great White Sharks
Susan Casey
Genre: Nonfiction – Nature – Memoir
Age: Adult
Published: 1st January, 2005
I Want to Read This Because as fun as horror thrillers about Big Scary Sharks might be, there’s an important balance between the horror and, well, the truth. Sharks are fascinating. And this sounds like an incredibly interesting book, as Susan Casey spends an eight-week stint with two biologists in the Farallon Islands.
Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks
Juliet Eilperin
Genre: Nonfiction – Science – Nature
Age: Adult
Published: 14th June, 2011
I Want to Read This Because it sounds really intriguing, especially as it traverses the globe and looks at the different ways cultures relate to sharks. I really love the idea of exploring cultures based on their relationships to these magnificent creatures, and think I’d quite enjoy this one!
Here Beside the Rising Tide
Emily Jane
Genre: Fantasy – Romance
Age: Adult
Published: 28th January, 2025
I Want to Read This Because honestly did not expect to come across this kind of book on this kind of list, but I was intrigued from the moment I saw the cover! It sounds fascinating, and very different to the above books, most focused on a woman who returns to her hometown where her friend disappeared. Now a mother, Jenni meets a 10 year old boy from the sea as alarming events unfold along the cost, including shark attacks!
Are there any sharky books on your TBR, or ones you would recommend? Or even any other kind of sea creature based book!
Unwrapping Words 