A teeny tiny obsession with books, or, how I cope with life's stresses

I'm the first to admit that I like books. I'd expand that to LOVE books ( I can hear my family laughing hysterically in the background). There's no problem with that, at least between you and me, my dear Gentle Reader. However, this is turning into the year of Stress for me, and as I am beginning to understand in myself, when I am stressed, I turn to books. I visited Ottawa's best independent crime bookstore, Prime Crime, today, with my mother who is in town for a quick visit this weekend, and I thought I would buy a few books. This is what I actually came home with:

The Price of Darkness ((book 8 in Joe Faraday series) - Graham Hurley
The White Lioness - Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallander series)
Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series) * Ranger! Morelli! Laughs a minute!!
Deadly Web - Barbara Nadel *is it good that this is my free book because I filled up the first whole row in my new card at the bookstore? I think it is, but my husband didn't look very cheery when I mentioned it, as in, "I bought (mumble mumble) books today and ONE WAS FREE!!"
Damage Control - J.A. Jance (Joanna Brady mystery)
This Night's Foul Work - Fred Vargas
A Beautiful Blue Death - Charles Finch *Bride of the Book God! this is because of you!
Deadlight - Graham Hurley (book 4 Joe Faraday series)
Death's Half Acre - Margaret Maron (Judge Deborah Knott series)
Lie Down With the Devil - Linda Barnes (the VERY LAST Carlotta Carlyle mystery!!! Both my mother and I bought a copy of this one.)
Maisie Dobbs - Jacqueline Winspear *somewhere out there is a blogger who reviewed Maisie Dobbs recently - Gentle Reader at Shelf LIfe? Molly at Molly's Book Nook? - and brought this to my attention. And it does look good.
The Grave Tattoo - Val McDermid
and the only non-mystery book :
The Daily Writer - Fred White (366 meditations for a writing life)

That's 13 books! And I put some back. And I ordered one, Raven Black by Ann Cleeves, the first in a series, and I asked about The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards, which they don't have listed so is possibly out of print. And while I am very very happy with my purchases, I know it's not over.

Tomorrow my mother and I are going to try and see the new movie Julie and Julia, which features among many other fun things, one of which is Meryl Streep being Julia Child, a cookbook : Julia Child's first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I don't have it. And I completely, utterly expect that when I walk out of the theater tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to want to buy it.

So.......do you think I have a teeny obsession with books? I myself prefer to think I am just completely in love with them, and they make a wonderful shelter when life throws its challenges.

Happy reading!

Thursday update - and new books!!

Middlemarch - p 134, still Chapter 16.

Missed one bus doing last minute decision this morning on when to meet teachers for both parent-teacher interviews next week.

Missed next bus because forgot purse at home.

Read five pages while waiting for bus at Chaudiere, 15 minutes before anything showed up. Because 50 mins late for work, had to work through lunchtime.

Made birthday cards for daughter's upcoming birthday party after children finally asleep.

pages read: 5. Time to read: priceless!

On the guilty book-shopping before Christmas front, I went to an author signing tonight! Mary Jane Maffini was signing her books. She is a local mystery writer, has published several books, and was part-owner of Prime Crime Books, which readers will know is Ottawa's primary mystery bookstore. I went to the signing with two friends who know Mary Jane through their book club. While we were standing there talking, Mary Jane looked at me and said she had seen me before. I told her in Prime Crime, and then she knew! It is so fun to be recognized by an author!! I bought books for my mother and myself, and they are each signed. The Cluttered Corpse is the second book in her second mystery series, starring Charlotte Adams, a professional organizer. Mom gets the first book in the series. It looks intriguing!



I also bought the latest collection of mystery stories collected by The Ladies Killing Circle, a group of local mystery authors. These stories are from authors around Canada. Going Out With A Bang is a crime and mystery collection.



This looks like a good introduction to new Canadian mystery writers.

I also found two very special books - The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries by Zsuzsanna E Budapest,



best described as a women's spirituality book on paganism and the Goddess, and I thought it had gone out of print, so I wasn't even looking any more!

And the last book is one that long ago, Nymeth picked for me when a meme went around asking the blogger to choose a book that would best describe what the blogging friend was most like. She had chosen Transformations by Anne Sexton for me, which funnily enough was a book I had long been looking for. Well,tonight, The Complete Poems Anne Sexton was on the shelf!



I am going to go spend a little time leafing through my lovely books now.