Top to bottom:- Lonely Planet Kyoto City Guide - from Borders (husband's purchase, but it was sitting on the pile so you get to see it)
- Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder - YA purchased at Borders
- Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford - Borders purchase
- The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murikami - Another from Borders
- Heist Society by Ally Carter - If only we'd supported Borders so well, a few months back
- Flirting with Faith by Joan Dale - from Paperback Swap
- The Wild Life of Our Bodies by Rob Dunn - from HarperCollins for review
- The Lantern by Deborah Lawson - from HarperCollins for review
- Shadows of Childhood by Elizabeth Gille - from Paperback Swap
- Lives by Lucas Hunt - purchase via Amazon Marketplace (Lucas is a poet recommended by Simon Van Booy -- and apparently they're very close friends)
- A Public Space - a literary periodical with kind of a hodgepodge of literary entries; from Borders
- The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister by Lodding and Beaky - surprise from Flashlight Press
And, another pile . . .
Top to bottom:
- Utterly Charming by Kristine Grayson - from Sourcebooks for review
- Lord and Lady Spy by Shana Galen - from Sourcebooks for review (the one from Sourcebooks that excites me the most -- love Shana Galen's books!)
- To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell - from Sourcebooks for review (my favorite British romantic romp author)
- Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard - a Facebook contest win from The British Babes Book Brigade
- Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen - from Paperback Swap
- Sophie and the Rising Sun by Augusta Trobaugh - from Paperback Swap
- Six Modern Plagues by Mark Jerome Walters - from Paperback Swap
- The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate - surprise from Algonquin Books
- Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan - surprise from Algonquin Books
- What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murikami - Borders purchase
- Into the Forest by Jean Hegland - from Paperback Swap (recommended by a blogger, but I can't remember which one -- eeks!)
Not pictured:
Columbia Poetry Review #24 - another periodical from Borders
Is that enough? I think so. But, I've probably missed a book or two. I'm working on starting to purge from a bookshelf that hasn't been touched in a while, today, so hopefully I can offset the influx. Also, thanks be to God Almighty for Paperback Swap, through which I've passed on a lot of books I've finished, recently. Anybody want a book? Just drop by Mississippi. I have plenty to spare.
In other news (the blogging change bit):
Since my life will continue to be hectic, if not ridiculous, until at least mid-September, I am considering going to weekly posts -- you know, just a review of what I've read and/or what's in progress? The only other post easy enough to keep up with regularly is Fiona Friday (all they have to do is say "cheese" or, you know, look cute). I realize several finished books have been awaiting review for quite a while and they may sadly all end up shortchanged in such a post. But, I just don't have the time to sit at the computer, right now.
I actually have finished reading two books!!! They're not even in my sidebar. I guess I'll load images when I have a spare moment. Both were Borders purchases shown in the piles above: InsideOut by Maria V. Snyder (my first by this author, although my son is a fan of Snyder) and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murikami. I'm on the verge of completing Pillow Talk by Freya North. So, at least my reading slump seems to be over, for the moment. I wouldn't bank on that continuing, given what's going on in my life.
Many thanks for the supportive comments some of you have left. :)
What do you think about just asking me questions about the books I've recently read? As long as there are no spoilers involved, that might be an easy way to chat a little about finished books.
It looks like you have more than enough reading material to keep you busy for a while. I can relate.
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteI do, indeed. And, after I posted I discovered a few I missed. Eeks. I'll have to work a bit harder at purging.
You wrote: Into the Forest by Jean Hegland - from Paperback Swap (recommended by a blogger, but I can't remember which one -- eeks!)
ReplyDeleteI may be the one who recommended it, because it's one of my favorites. I read it pre-blogging days, but mentioned it here as a 10/10, higher than I rated the book I was discussing:
http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2008/03/life-as-we-knew-it-by-susan-beth.html
Wow, that's enough reading material to keep you going at least!
ReplyDeleteI just went and listened to Maria V Snyder talk last night. I am a big fan of her Study series - so good!
Phew, what a pile of books! Happy reading and I hope you can find time to read.
ReplyDeleteQuestion, has the Borders store in Jackson closed closed or are they still just going out of business with stuff on sale?
Ooh we've got some of the same ARCs :)
ReplyDeleteI feel like it's been hard to keep up with blogging this year and I've taken a lot of little blog breaks. They help. If a once a week post will free up more of your time then I say go for it!
Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteThat very well could be! I don't bother to keep track of where I get recommendations, unfortunately. 10/10 is high praise!
Marg,
I know! I anticipate being entertained for quite a while! :)
How cool that you got to see Maria Snyder! I'll definitely read more of her books. And, lucky me, Kiddo has plenty on his shelves!
Amy,
That would be the problem - finding the time to read them all.
Borders in Jackson is still open. They're at 25% off, minimum, now. I've had a bit too much fun. Want to meet there?
Iliana,
Do we? Cool! We must discuss when we get to them!
Yes, same here. I think it's partly a shifting of priorities, in my case. I've taken quite a few breaks. Thanks. I am definitely leaning toward once-a-week posts, two if I keep up Fiona Friday. :)
Oh la la. Sounds dangerous and awesome. I'm in ;) LOL
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteWoot! Danger, here we come!
OOooooo, THe Lantern! I recognize a few others, too, but not many. Do whatever you want. 'K?
ReplyDeleteI know what it's like to be behind, so I can relate to how you feel. I think that the once a week posts would be great, as they would allow us to still have some news from you, but give you the time to do other things that aren't getting done when you sit in front of the blog all day. Sometimes it all just gets overwhelming, you know?
ReplyDeleteand here I thought when you said 'possible blog change' you were going to change your template. Like me. Every week. ;)
ReplyDeleteI will have to post less with the arrival of school, myself. Still, looking forward to Fiona smiles as always.
I have The Lantern too, which I'm currently reading. That will be fun to talk about.
Finally, I hope you liked What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. You know Haruki Murakami is one of my favorites, and I've heard wonderful things about this even though I don't feel wonderful about running. I understand he grabbed this title as a play off of one of his favorite authors, Raymond Carver, whose story was What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
Care,
ReplyDeleteYes, The Lantern! Must get started on that one. I'm hearing ooohing and aaahing about that title. I shall definitely do what I want. ;)
Zibilee,
Yay, great! I'm glad to know you think that would be good. I don't want to give up the blog completely but it's so frustrating not having the time to write (or the inclination) that something's gotta give.
Bellezza,
Well, I'd like to change my template but Blogger is all pissy about that. Unless I change the entire thing, I'm stuck with the same background color -- and I'm very, very tired of it.
I'll keep posting Fiona Friday, for sure.
Wahoo! So glad you're reading The Lantern! I think I'll start on that, today. Hope it clicks for me. I've been a very moody reader - even more than usual.
I liked What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and I think it's interesting for the sake of reading about his dedication to running and whatever he does (he's a bit on the OCD side, I'd say), but there's a lot that I think only people who love to run could possibly understand. I can't run, anymore, but I still have the desire, so I really enjoyed reading his thoughts. Yes, he did play off the Raymond Carver title. He asked Carver's widow for permission to do so. He talked about that a little at the end of the book.
Hang in there during the madness! Weekly posts sounds like a really good idea, in fact. Wish I'd thought of that. :D
ReplyDeleteThe books look great. I'm excited to know what you think of A Public Space. I submitted a short story to them once. Didn't get accepted (bastards!) but that's OK. I like their stuff.
I like the idea of you asking questions and just sharing about what you've been reading. I love reading your reviews as well but hey, life gets in the way sometimes :)
ReplyDeleteAndi,
ReplyDeleteIt's not too late to borrow the idea of once-a-week posts. Feel free. Hopefully, it will help me feel a little better about blogging whilst overwhelmed.
You submitted to A Public Space? Cool! I'd never even heard of it. I grabbed that one in Colorado. Our bookstores are not so high on literary periodicals, so I've always bought mine in other states. You should try, again. Don't let the bastards get you down.
Samantha,
Thanks. Yes, life does have a tendency to occasionally interfere with blogging.
The question thing always works well for me...when I actually remember to answer the questions! ;-)
ReplyDeleteJill,
ReplyDeleteI always love reading your answers. I think I'll give that a go. Maybe write a little blurb about each book I've read, in my own words, and then offer to answer questions about them.
I'd LOVE to read The Lantern. I'm also curious about The Taste of Salt. Great reads!
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteI read a little of The Lantern, yesterday, and the writing is really lovely. Not sure I'll stick with it right now -- I have some other books I really want and need to get to first -- but so far it looks like a good one. I was curious about The Taste of Salt when I flipped through the new Algonquin catalog, so very excited to get that one in the mail as a surprise!! I feel very blessed. :)
The plague book looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteBlog when you have a chance! Google Readers and their like makes sure that as long as they're subscribed to your feed, they'll be notified when you have a new post. Life is too short.
Carrie,
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it? I love reading things like that - about new diseases or potential plagues, etc. I'm not sure, but I think maybe SuziQ of Whimpulsive recommended it.
Thanks, I will. I'm thinking maybe Wednesday will be update day and Friday still cat day. I haven't chosen pics to post of kitties, yet, but I did follow them around and annoy the heck out of both animals, today. LOL