my TBR mystery pile, in a photo

   I thought you would enjoy seeing what my TBR mystery pile looks like:

 Yes, it's true, I have had these and haven't read them yet, and they are all ones I really want to read, which is why they are pulled into these stacks.

If you look at my blog header, I have added a new one for reading 50 mysteries for this year.  I updated 2013 so you can see I only read 32, far short of my goal.  This year I will!  And I will get these stacks read!

If you want some more good crime writing to read:

Of course, all this was triggered by the announcement of the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Writing List:  Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year has announced the longlist for 2014.  Look at this list and see if your mouth doesn't water:

• Rubbernecker, by Belinda Bauer (Bantam Press)
• The Shining Girls, by Lauren Beukes (HarperCollins)
• The Dying Hours, by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown)
• Like This, For Ever, by Sharon Bolton (Bantam Press)
• A Wanted Man, by Lee Child (Bantam Press)
• The Honey Guide, by Richard Crompton (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
• The Cry, by Helen Fitzgerald (Faber & Faber)
• Dying Fall, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Until You’re Mine, by Samantha Hayes (Century)
• The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, by Malcolm Mackay (Mantle)
• The Chessmen, by Peter May (Quercus)
• I Hear the Sirens in the Street, by Adrian McKinty (Serpent’s Tail)
• The Red Road, by Denise Mina (Orion)
• Ratlines, by Stuart Neville (Harvill Secker)
• Standing in Another Man’s Grave, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• Children of the Revolution, by Peter Robinson (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Eleven Days, by Stav Sherez (Faber & Faber)
• Weirdo, by Cathi Unsworth (Serpent’s Tail)

I've linked you to the original site, so you can drool like I do over the dream of one day attending this festival.  It honours the best in crime writing published in softcover in the UK and Ireland the year before.  

I am happy to say I have already read three books on the list!  Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin, Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths, and The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes.  I see I haven't reveiwed 2 of them yet, my bad.  I will by the weekend, as they are both very good and I should have reviewed them last year when I read them. Certainly they both return in my thoughts frequently, always a sign that books are working away inside me, especially The Shining Girls, and all of Elly Griffith's books.  Rebus I just plain love.....

Although, this means I have many good books to catch up with.  Several are already on my to-get list as soon as we get them in softcover over here:  Ratlines by Stuart Neville, Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson, and Like This, Forever by Sharon Bolton.  I already own The Chessmen by Peter May, although I'd like to read the one before it, first (you can see it in the photos - The Lewis Man).  I also own the first in the Adrian McKinty books, The Cold Cold Ground, and it's on my TBR pile too...

I really want to read some of the Theakston's list.  And I haven't even got started on wanting to read this year's Edgar Award winner, Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. I first heard about it earlier this week on Praire Horizons, here.  Now of course I want to read it as soon as possible!  

I do believe that I will always have stacks like that of books to read, it's just the titles that will change as I read one and replace it with another.  I am so very rich, even I am not wealthy with money, with the abundance of books I have to read (and want to read). For this I am very thankful, on this sunny Wednesday afternoon.  I am recovering from visiting the dentist yesterday and having 2 crowns and 6 fillings added.  I think a new book and some reading time is just the thing to heal with, don't you?

What's on your book stacks that you have been wanting to read for a while?

Nick Hornby has a blog!

Ok, I know I'm probably the last person on earth to know this, but how could I have not realized that *Nick* would have his own blog? So, for those of us pining away for more words about books - and music, and life - from him, here's a link to his blog, here.

And of course I had to read some of his latest posts, just to catch up, and of course I've added one book to my list already : 500 Days of Summer. And.....he has made a list of books he filled a table at Waterstone's with, "My Waterstone's Writers Table" (linked for you, dear Reader!), in which he lists the books he chose to fill a table at Waterstone's with, and why he chose them. Some titles will be very familiar to readers of Polysyllabic Spree, etc - and I've added two books from the first 10 he listed, already: Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert, and Brilliant Orange, by David Winner. That's three books added already today to my To Get list.

So my question to you is, my Gentle Readers: if you could fill a table at a bookstore of books you think other people might enjoy reading, that you really liked if not loved, what books would you choose?

I'm going to go spend my Friday morning musing on this question while I clean the house, and get ready to see "Monsters vs Aliens" with a crowd of 6 year olds and under this afternoon. Maybe the 50 foot tall Susan will inspire me in more ways than one!!!

bronchitis and comfort reading

Three weeks ago, my husband commented blithely one Sunday that it had been a good winter. So far, no one had really been sick. "Knock on some wood!" I shouted. I don't know what kind of wood he thought he knocked on, but since then:

- a virus has hit three members of the family
- I put my back out picking up a toy bought for one of the sick children
-I started coughing and wheezing on the weekend, and now we welcome: Bronchitis and an asthma 'excerbation' (doctor's term)

to the collection of ills hitting our family since my husband made the memorable statement. I reminded him of it last night, as he went off to the drugstore for the 5th time for medication. "It's all your fault, and you aren't even sick!" I said to him. Wheezy and gaspy, that's me. So I ended up not going to work yesterday - since I could hardly breathe - and went to the doctor's instead. I now have a new inhaler, new antibiotic, and and the Roboxecet for my back so the coughing doesn't put me back into a spasm. My husband was kind enough to buy me my secret reading pleasure, the latest edition of Vogue (which is too heavy for me to carry!) , as he continues to occasionally knock on wood when he thinks about it.

The good news is, that my back is healing enough now that with a cushion, I can kind of get comfortable enough to sit here long enough to post. Hurray! So for all of your lovely thoughts and wishes the past few days, thank you. I'm back at work on Thursday, provided this is the ending of my husband's little hex.

Since I'm not sleeping well and thus slightly brain-fogged (if you've ever had bronchitis, you will know it means endless nights coughing), here are some posts I enjoyed looking at today:

Nymeth's post here is about a very darkly funny cartoon book. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now by Andre Jordan.I put myself into a coughing fit looking at the four illustrations she provides. I must have this book!

Carl has a fabulous post about a gorgeous, one of a kind graphic novel that is a must-buy book, here, which is also all about creativity and the art of inventing one's self. Kabuki, by David Mack. For anyone who loves collage and words and wants to do something, anything, this book is a real treasure.

Mariel has a review about a book, Skellig, here, that I've seen popping up in people's blogs as a must read, which was gotten from *Nick Hornby's* Shakespeare Wrote for Money. Now I have to see if I can find this book. When she wrote: But it is the crumbling run-down garage that Michael discovers Skellig, a strange ailing creature huddled in the dark, living off scraps. Is he a man, an owl? Or something very very different? I was sold.

Staci over at Life in the Thumb,a new to me blog (but i was sold when I saw her blog id picture - Pride and Prejudice photo!) had a review here about graphic novels and manga that has me realizing that a) there is life after Watchmen, and b) maybe I can try manga after all. I've added 17 Comics to my must-buy immediately list - it's been ages since I heard that term 'crater face' and I lived through Duran Duran and Bon Jovi (why does no one do a graphic novel about Led Zeppelin days and say, Simple Minds or Tears For Fears? or REM? I hated Duran Duran and Bon Jovi. I was so uncool then that I was almost....no, I was never cool. Ever. Not even now, with my own book blog.) And, I cannot resist a graphic novel about zombies! So, The Walking Dead went on my list, and also for my son, who is 20 and into anything apopalyptic at the moment. Then her next book is a must for us both also : The Wall, by Peter Sis. I remember what we heard about life behind the wall, well, this is from someone who lived there, then. And for my son, fascinated by anything Soviet (see apopalyptic remark), this is a must. Finally, she reveiws Emma,as a manga, which I've seen also reviewed by Nymeth and I think Rhinoa, so I really must see what is being done with Jane Austen these days.

Stephanie at The Written Word has a review here about a retelling about the fairy godmother and what happened to her in a neat twist. Godmother the Secret Cinderella Story looks sweet and fun and ties in with Carl's Once Upon a Time challenge, if you are still looking for something different to add to your list.

Gosh, look at that. It's all about books I want now!

Emily has a post on comfort books, here that I just love. Her post here on why she can't post for her mystery book club that night is hilarious.

She has inspired me to do my own list of comfort books. My back is starting to ache and I have to go shortly, so I'm just giving the titles today. If you have a list of comfort authors, let me know, or please post about them too and let's see if we all share the same macaroni-and-cheese-I-wanna-be-a-kid-again-and-cuddle-books:

Susan's list of Comfort Books
1. Bridget Jone's Diary - Helen Fielding. Brain candy for when my brain isn't working and I need to laugh out loud many times.
2. Bellwether - Connie Willis. To remind me of mysterious forces, comedy, and that life in the workplace sucks EVERYWHERE.
3. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien. Magical.
4. Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - depends on which I've read, I'll read the other one. These are bi-annual reads for me.
5. mystery series - I realize that I don't reread a lot of books when I need comfort. I want to read a familiar character in a new book. Any of the mystery series I like will do, and I read a lot of mysteries. Currently Stephanie Plum for sheer zaniness and laugh-out-loudness is my go-to PI, but I find reading mysteries restores some peace in my mind and some balance for me.

That's it for me, time's up with my back at the computer!

The dangers of book blogs and what I learned tonight

Tonight I discovered 8 books to buy:
- over at an adventure in reading (from our own beautiful PEI!), I discovered Wine Bar Food, which normally I wouldn't be interested in. But the way Elizabeth blogs about it, I want this book! Actually, I want to go on the cruise AND buy the book to try the recipes.....

- over at Rhinoa's Ramblings, I discovered - accepted - she is the Queen of Challenges. Look how many she has almost completed! I bow to her, she is my role model. She also has the very cool 100 Things to do in 1001 days, which she is actually doing!

- Nymeth is back from her trip to Brazil, and is catching up on her book reviews. She has convinced me to read On the Road by Jack Kerouac, based on her answers to the mini-review....I quote from her post: 'I think On the Road is one of those love it or hate it books, and I stand firmly on the love it field. It has been one of my favourite books for a long time, and every time I re-read it I find new reasons to love it. I love it not so much for the story, which is a bit all over the place, but for Kerouac's writing, for the energy, for the enthusiasm, for the passion for life, for the earnestness, for the complete lack of cynicism, for the sadness, for the tenderness, for the unapologetic ways in which the characters live their lives, Doesn't that make you want to run out and buy a copy immediately and see some of that passion for yourself? And isn't this one of the main joys of blogging, discovering other people who are as passionate about a book, an author, books in general, reading, as we ourselves are? I know I am always thrilled when I come across someone who loves a book. Of course, someone who loves many books, like we all do, i think are a species unto ourselves - at least my family looks at all my shelves and books and they still gasp! after all these years! The very best books are passionate - even if dry, or witty, or sarcastic, or sweet, or funny, or loving, they are all written with love and passion. So I thank Nymeth for wanting to make me read Jack Kerouac, who I have avoided all my life because everyone was reading him in the 1980's when I first left home. That rebellion thing you know, I avoided the 'popular' books, back then.....
Also, she has made me want to read an economics book, here!
Freakonomics, an actual non-fiction book about money and people and culture.....if there were a persuasive blogger award, she'd get it.

- Chris at Stuff as Dreams are Made Of is back home. Read about his adventures during Gustav, and how he got his books read. I'm so glad he and his family made it through all right. My husband is puzzled about why I talk about my book blogging friends and care even though they are a world away. But we do, and that's what makes our book community so great, and so caring. So when a hurricane - or a snow storm, or drought, or England's record setting rains, hits close to where we know someone lives, we care, and wait, and hope they make it through. And, none of his books got wet or destroyed like they did with Katrina. And Chris has reviewed an author that everyone seems to be talking about, Lois Lowry, here, a book I've never heard about that features spirits and dreams, and yet another book is added to my TBR pile. That is the danger of book blogs!!!

- Over at Dog Ear Diary, Jeane reviewed a book about ravens, and is asking for help in finding a good book by Mercedes Lackey to try. If you know of a really good one, please let her know. This is not to put down any of Lackey's books, but to point out that those of us who commented on her blog found that in general, Mercedes has wonderful ideas and plots, but something about the writing itself doesn't measure up. In this debate, Robin McKinley's Beauty won out over Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey. It certainly does for me. And isn't that the beauty of book blogs, that as well as making connections and friends and learning about ourselves and books and people who read, we can have discussions about books, what we like, what we don't? Most of the time we are not out to hurt an author, or to weigh in against one genre versus another. I think in the book blogging community it's about discovering books, and in this particular post, if one book about the same subject (in this case Beauty and The Beast retellings) is better than another. I also love going to this blog for reviews about books on animals. If you are an animal lover, Jeane reviews at least one a week. Jeane has convinced me to try reading The Mind of the Raven, look at New Kitchen Garden (she says the photos are wonderful) and try to hunt down Notes from the Virginia Gardener, which since I collect gardening and cooking books for cooking and gardening lore, sound really interesting.

In one evening, I have found 8 books to look for!!!

So that's what I learned tonight. And if I didn't visit you tonight, or this week, I am dividing my time between blogging and reading so I can get more reading done! I am determined to read at least 60 books this year (and most bloggers put me to shame, since they are all nearing 100 books read already, but it's not a competition!!) - actually I want to read 80, but I'm trying to be realistic, so 60 is more like it - so I have to ration the hours spent blogging. Otherwise I would spend all my waking hours here.....you all are worth visiting on your blogs, Gentle Readers, and reading and spending time with.