Saturday, March 31, 2012

Book Addict

Actually, I was going to title this post Book Whore, but didn't want you to get the wrong idea. Honestly, though, when it comes to buying books, I'm incorrigible, and getting a Kindle has made it worse, because now no one can see the stacks that are coming into the house. 
You think I'm kidding? In the last week - since 3/24/12 - I've downloaded samples for the following books:
This Brilliant Darkness     by     Red Tash
The Alchemist of Souls    by    Anne Lyle
Caught (Gemini Men)      by    Jami Alden
Wicked As They Come    by    Delilah S. Dawson
The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe by Jeff Bennington
Midnight's Sweet Kiss      by    Ann Cory
And those are just the samples. They're more like bookmarks, things that caught my eye, reminders of what I want to take a closer look at. And I will take a closer look. 

I also downloaded Her Heart's Desire by Adriana Ryan, and the short story Witch Upon A Star by Deborah Blake, which is a follow-up to her novel Witch Ever Way You Can (a book that totally rocked).

And then, because life is always better when you go to a bookstore, on Thursday night I picked up the following titles at Elliot Bay Books:
Tales of the City                by     Armistead Maupin (because it's a great book and I haven't read it in years)
The Once & Future King      by     TH White (because I've never read it and feel like I should, and I love the King Arthur myth)
The Maltese Falcon             by     Dashiel Hammett (because it's such a great example of a mystery, worth studying, and I've never read it)
The Virgin's Lover              by     Phillipa Gregory (because I recently tried my hand at writing a historical short story and thought I might learn from someone who's really good at it - this is a novel not a short story, so I'll be looking for how she handled the time period)
Discount Armageddon         by     Seanan McGuire (because I love the author's October Daye series and hadn't seen this one before)

Clearly I have a bias towards fantasy & paranormal. I figure if I want real-life drama, I'll go to work. When I read, I want something fun, something that takes me out of the real world.  And if you follow me on twitter, you'll know I frequently tweet that it's raining in Seattle, so I should have plenty of time to lounge around with a book or my Kindle in my hands.

Not exactly

The problem is I'd need about 37 hours in a day to get to all the books I want to read. But I will get to as many of these as I can - along with the 60 or so other books on my Kindle, and the stacks of books around the nightstand in my bedroom. Because there was something about each one that intrigued me. I know how much time and effort went into the creation of every last one, and I may not end up liking all of them, but I appreciate the fact that someone had something to say, and they put it down on paper. Or, e-paper, for us modern kids.
Peace,
Liv

(photo from Cavalier)

21 comments:

  1. Same problem here, Liv...but at least with the kindle (or in my case, Nook) the bookshelves are not overflowing...lol. So...shhhhh! No one knows the extent of my book hoarding problem.

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  2. I'm glad you didn't call it book whore. Honestly, that's too derogatory, especially when it involves women -- even used for fun.

    Right now, I'm not doing as much reading as I usually do. I'm doing a lot of writing or writing-related things. I'd probably buy more ebooks, but I'm not always happy with the pricing. I fundamentally object to paying $7.99 or more for an eBook. There may be a lot of hidden cost behind the book, but the impression of what I'm getting is what counts with this customer. The eBook is going to stay out there forever, while the paper version will disappear from the shelves. There is no reason the publishers couldn't bring down the price a few dollars.

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  3. I have the same problem, Liv. Book hoarding is my one real vice and as I'm in the last stages before releasing my first two titles, I'm completely frustrated with my lack of reading time. I have a sony e-reader, Kindle for android, and an mp3 player for audio books. Between them all I have more than 100 books waiting for me, but with so many great titles coming out every day, I can't seem to help myself. I think I may need an intervention!

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  4. Ah, Liv. I'd need way more than 37 hours a day to read the "To Be Read List" - TBR list of books. and that's for print and E.

    At least with the E, I don't need more shelves.

    I'm still reading with the kindle app on my computer, since I have not decided which reader to buy. But, once the taxes are done, I'll be buying a reader. Must decide on one.

    Maybe, the massive TBR is just part of today's new reading world. We take comfort in knowing the books are there, waiting for us. And all those electrons really don't take much space.

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  5. hahahah! I laughed out loud when you said "if I want real-life drama, I'll go to work." That is SO true!!!!

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  6. I think you have many kindred "sisters" in this group, Liv, who have this same strange addiction. I'm glad I'm not the only one with stacks of books around her nightstand. My stack actually fell over the other night. Sigh.

    My favorite line of this blog: "... and the stacks of books around the nightstand in my bedroom. Because there was something about each one that intrigued me." Darn. Me, too. Something intrigues me about most books. Double sigh.

    Great post!

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  7. I agree, Linda. It seems weird to pay $7.99 and not have a tangible object in hand. And apologies if my language bothered you...
    ;)

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  8. Mac & Suzanne & Jodi...you guys make me feel so much better! I really thought I was the only one with this little problem. One thing I didn't mention in the post is that when I get books for my kindle, I can't lend them out to people, which was one of my fave things to do.
    Thanks for checking in!

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  9. Melissa - I tell people that vampires are my spoon full of sugar that helps reality go down.
    ;)

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  10. I have the same problem, Liv. I have at least 10 books on my nightstand that I have intentions of reading, not including the one I'm reading now. Not to mention the ones I haven't moved to the nightstand yet, or the ones on my iPad (kindle whisper) that are waiting patiently for my attention.
    Bookstores are dangerous places for me. I stay in there for hours and hours and end up wanting to buy far too many books than my budget allows, or more than I can carry to my car!

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  11. I am requesting permission to be included in the Tribe of Book Addicts. My proof that I am worthy of memebership? Every room in my house has at least one bookshelf brimming with books and my nightstand is covered in them as well. The only thing I like to have filling the shelves in my house is books.

    I also always have at least one audio book in the car to listen to while driving. I get quite irritable if I don't have one to listen to. Just ask my kids.

    Also, even though I have a kindle, if I like a book I've read on it, I will often go and buy it. Why? Because I am a book addict.

    So, did I make it into the tribe? ;)

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  12. Oh, Tami, you are SO in. I do the same thing - buy a book for the Kindle, then if I like it buy a hard copy. Go figure...
    ;)

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  13. Jenn - bookstores ARE dangerous, because even when I vow to keep my wallet shut, I'll see something on sale (SALE!) and it's all over.
    ;)

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  14. That is a heavy TBR pile! :D Thank you sooo much for picking up a copy of Her Heart's Desire! :)

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  15. Liv, You caught us all red-handed! How did you know? What's worse is that my husband is a book hoarder, too. He does have a small book business on Amazon--that's his excuse. My excuse--I'm a writer. I have to read everything all my blogger and Twitter friends write! A your are right; it's worse when you have an e-reader.

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  16. My hold list at the library is full. Again. There's a stack of six library books on the coffee table, I just borrowed a book from a co-worker, I haven't finished the OTHER book I'm in the middle of reading, and there are now at least 30 books on my shelves unread.

    The BF says I need help. I say I need another bookshelf. And he still won't buy me a Kindle!

    I need a month away from work and everything else (yes, including writing) to get through the books. I've got some vacation time coming up...so...tempting...sitting on the couch, kitty on my feet, nothing but books books books...

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  17. I'm more than a little amazed at the response this post got. I'm SO glad I'm not alone in my obsession.
    ;)
    Thanks Adriana, Janice & Amanda for stopping by.

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  18. Oh, yeah, I'm a member of the book hoarder club. It was such a problem my family made me weed out many of my treasures. I must have gotten rid of dozens of boxes of books so now I'm down to, well we won't go there--still a lot. I keep working at getting rid of books I've read but they keep multiplying faster than I can get rid of them. Now I've started adding books to my Nook so they won't have to be stored on shelves.

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  19. Yes and yes and yes. Especially what Tami says re audio and kindle books (minus the kids).

    When I think about all the books in my shelves (and on my kindle) that I haven't read yet, I either a) want to weep, because I will NEVER get through them all, since I add to the pile about 5 X faster than I can read them... or b) decide that I'll give up writing all together and just read. Much easier.

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  20. Don't you dare give up writing, Ellen. I need your book to add to my stack.
    ;)
    And Cora, I like "but they keep multiplying faster than I can get rid of them." They're like rabbits that way.
    Thanks to you both!

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