Where I give in to new books, for St Patrick's Day

    So, this was it.  The day I officially said, "I've had enough of the Double Dog Dare Challenge! There are some new books I need to buy!"  Look below for what tempted me:

                                                           

It felt darn good to buy new books again.  And let myself start  reading one right away.  I know I bought the other ones for my surgery, but I ended up only reading one of them.  So I was going on the
'I read all my own books but one, that I bought after Dec 31' idea, for the challenge.  This is my  official surrender.  I love shiny new books! I am a proud bookaholic.  I love my new books!!

The Peter Lovesey was the first time I saw it in paperback, today, so I grabbed it.  The Agency series looks fabulous, A Spy in the House is book one.  I mean, a spy agency filled with top secret female investigators, set in Victorian England? I'm not sure why I haven't paid attention to it before.  I know it's been mentioned here and there on blogs. I can't remember who was writing about it this past week, that made me put it in stars in my 'to get' journal I carry with me.  And A Monster Calls - I've been waiting for AGES for it to come out in softcover, and finally, it's here.  *happy dance*!

St Patrick's Day Reading
I also have just realized there are only 3 days left until St Patrick's Day.  Part of the reason I gave in to the books above, was because Lesa at Lesa's Book Critiques had this wonderful post on Irish books to read.  Her  review in the same post of Buried in A Bog made me want to.read. the. book. right. now.  This is what prompted me to run to the bookstore on my way home from work, tonight.  Buried in A Bog is the book I've started reading right away. It's been ages since I read a cosy mystery, and I am really enjoying it. Set in a tiny village in Cork, it's a lot of fun so far. Below, are the rest of the books I pulled from my shelves for reading for St Patrick's Day, and to celebrate being part Irish myself.
                                                             

I'm sorry the photo is sideways.  It won't load onto the post properly.  Grr.  I know I won't get them all read by Sunday.  But I get to choose, and that's part of the fun.

What are you reading for St Patrick's Day?

Sunday Salon - So have you read any of the books you said you would this year?

Bart at Bart's Bookshelf has a lovely post on his book-buying ban, here. It got me to thinking.......how many of you put a ban on your book buying for the first part of this year? And more importantly, because that ban was most likely put into place because your TBR Mountain of Books is likely as big as mine (over 100 books, like Bart's), have you succeeded in reading any books that were on your TBR mountain yet?

I am happy to say - YES! However, I have to modify this by adding: I didn't give myself a book-buying ban. I know myself well, and I walk past Chapters after work, on my way home through downtown, every night. There is no way I can resist the lure of shiny new books!!! So, I confess that actually, my TBR might have ..........increased since New Year's Day. However, in my defense, I did read some books that were on the mountain already! Here is my somewhat sad total, since I should be at 16 books read today, and I'm only at 10:

Books read since Jan 1
taken off the TBR pile:
The Serpent's Tale - Ariana Franklin
The Face in the Frost - John Bellairs
Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich
Arctic Chill - Artur Indridason
Farthing - Jo Walton
currently reading : The Red Breast - Jo Nesbo

Books added to the TBR Mountain since Jan 1 (ie books bought.....)
Late Nights on Air - Elizabeth Hay
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
Magic for Beginners - Kelly Link
Lethal Legacy - Linda Fairstein
Grave Goods - Ariana Franklin
A Cure For All Diseases - Reginald Hill

***this never made it onto the pile, I bought it and started reading it the next day.
The Godstalker Chronicles - PC Hodgell *****Counts as 2 books

That's a difference of 0 to my TBR Mountain! I'm really thrilled with that!! It could have been much higher.....but I am making a point of reading what is on my TBR Mountain this year, and letting myself read (and buy) whatever catches my fancy. No rules. Just reading. So if my TBR Mountain looks the same size next winter as it does now, at least the books formerly on it will have been read and replaced by new books to read! This I think is my ultimate goal this year.

So how are you doing with your reading resolutions? Since my goal is 100 books read, I'm falling behind and for March, is my goal to catch up. Luckily for me, Carl's annual spring challenge Once Upon a Time IV (Yaaay Spring! Hurray Carl's Challenge)!!! is going to start on March 21, and I have some books on my TBR mountain I've been saving just for this:
The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
Little, Big - John Crowley
Magic for Beginners - Kelly Link
The Naming - Alison Croggon
The Sea of Trolls - Nancy Farmer
Cry Wolf - Patricia Briggs
Urban Shaman - C. E. Murphy
Greywalker - Kat Richardson

and, I also confess that Patricia Brigg's latest paperback in the Mercy Thompson series is finally out, Bone Crossed, which I will be buying. Very soon.

There, they say confession is good for the soul.

So, how is your TBR mountain?

Oh, and what started all this? I opened my email this morning to find one from Amazon.ca, saying that finally, The Coffin Trail was sent to me on Friday, and I can expect early this week in my mailbox! Since I bought it in December, it doesn't really count for the new year slow-down, and I plan on reading it as well as Bone-Crossed as soon as I get my hands on them, so they shouldn't make my TBR Mountain fall over. Yes, confession is good for the soul!

Happy Sunday reading, my Gentle Readers!!