Monday 15 July 2019

TBRs and the library pile


I can't be the only one who loves piles of books. I regularly create them... 'books I want to read this coming month', 'some books about France', 'books for a particular challenge', 'books about walking'... 'my library pile'. I'm hopeless - but at least I know it. So here are several of my current 'piles' for your delectation (or something).

First up, the library pile:




I decided at the beginning of the year to try and keep my library borrowing to about 4 or 5 books at any one time. Ha-blummin-ha. Very funny. It worked for a few months but it's currently at nine with three books on reserve.

From the bottom:

Black Roses - Jane Thynne. A new author to me.
The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper Club - Marlena de Blasi. For the 'What's in a Name? challenge.
Sir John Magill's Last Journey - Freeman Wills Crofts. My latest book fad.
An Incomplete Revenge - Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie Dobbs of course.
The Resistance Man - Martin Walker. Bruno.
Perfume from Provence - Winifred Fortesue. France.
The Old Straight Track - Alfred Watkins. Walking.
How the Light Gets In - Louise Penny. Armand Gamache.
Desert Noir - Betty Webb. My current read... crime in Arizona.


Next, the 'I fancy reading these this month, well soon anyway, until I change my mind...' pile.



From the bottom:

Backpacks, Boots and Baguettes - Simon Calder & Mick Webb. Walking in the Pyrenees.
Beyond the Footpath - Claire Gogerty. More walking.
A Field Guide to Getting Lost - Rebecca Solnit. Yet more walking.
Thrones, Dominations - Dorothy L. Sayers & Jill Paton Walsh. Lord Peter Wimsey.
Bats in the Belfry - E.C. Lorac. Vintage crime.
Glimpes of the Moon - Edmund Crispin. Vintage crime - Gervase Fen.
Young Clementina - D.E. Stevenson. Delightful vintage fiction.
Beware of the Trains - Edmund Crispin. Vintage crime, short stories.
Death has Deep Roots - Michael Gilbert. Yet more vintage crime.


Next, my 'I love reading about France' tbr pile:


From the bottom:

Dickens on France edited by John Edmondson. What it says on the tin I assume.
Travels with Tinkerbelle - Susie Kelly. Round France in a van.
For Better, For Worse - Damian and Siobhan Horner. Round France by canal boat.
I'll Never be French - Mark Greenside. Longing to be French in Britany.
Notes from the Cévennes - Adam Thorpe. Exploring the Cévennes?
Narrow Dog to Carcassonne - Terry Darlington. More France in a canal boat. A reread.
Daughters of the House - Michéle Roberts. Fiction set in Normandy.


And last but not least, this came a day or two ago:




The Sea Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts. Probably the first of many I shall be accumulating by this author... *coughs*.

I'm wondering if I have serious book problem. Should I be worried?


~~~oOo~~~

11 comments:

Kay said...

I think this all looks very normal, Cath. We all do this in one way or another, right? Enjoyed looking at your stacks.

DesLily said...

I see you miss me! How nice to got a book about me!! Bats in the Belfry! That should fill you in on anything you don't know about me! lol.. My reading came to a screeching halt..reading one on all the indian wars and it's hard to read all that happened to them. And the same ol' , same ol', don't feel good. Ever since the surgery I have very few "decent" days... oh well... you read for both of us!!! love you.

Verlinda Henning said...

I'd be worried if you DIDN'T have piles of books! x

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I have such a hard time resisting the library and usually visit 1-2x a week. I have 5 books checked out today, 15 on hold plus 5 E/Audio downloads on hold as well.

Our library also has on ongoing booksale that they keep adding too. Paperbacks 25 cents and hardcovers 50 cents - so a double challenge in resisting adding to my shelves.

Sam said...

Nope, I agree with the others. You are a perfectly normal human being; I worry about those who don't have similar piles of books underfoot, in fact. The library stack on my desk is currently at nine (plus one audio book of their's I'm streaming on my phone)and three books waiting to be picked up (and another nine that I'm waiting on). So I sure hope people like us are the normal ones.

Cath said...

Kay: I really do love my stacks. Possibly a bit too much. Ha!

Pat: No wonder we love each other 'cos I'm a fellow bat in the belfry! LOL Here's hoping you get a few more better days than off ones. *Hugs*

Verlinda: My friend, I just knew you would say that! (Thank goodness.)

Diane: Oh, a fellow library addict. If I don't go once a week I start to get twitchy.

The ongoing booksale sounds wonderful to me!

Sam: I'm very relieved to hear I sound perfectly normal to you. I am clearly among friends. I feel very sorry for those that don't read. I probably should not think like this but I feel like people are less than they could be if they don't read.

Margaret @ BooksPlease said...

I breathed a sigh of relief when I read your post - aaah, I am not alone! The library van came here yesterday and so off I toddled and came home with yet more books - it's so easy when they are on the doorstep almost (it stops just down the road). One of the books I took out is Winspear's Journey to Munich - I'm reading them totally out of order as usual. In total I now have 9 books on loan.

Jane Thynne is a new author to me too - although I've had Black Roses on my Kindle for a few years(!) And I have read Bats in the Belfry, which I enjoyed.

Cath said...

Margaret: I'm so glad I made you feel better! I used to use the library van when we lived in Barnstaple, as well as the main library. I've never seen the van here in Tiverton so am assuming if there is one it sticks to the outlying villages.

I saw Jane Thynne mentioned on one of Elaine's (from Random Jottings) posts and thought I'd give her a try. Just what I need... another new series. LOL

Penny O'Neill said...

Oh, Cath, you are not alone. My piles are similar and wax and wane with my library due dates. We have a very large library system, from town-to-town, and my library card allows me to use it in all the libraries in the system - and, well, I pretty much do. :) Love this post.

Susan said...

Ha ha! I love all your book stacks. I've got books stacked all over, but there's no rhyme or reason to them except, "Books that I haven't read yet that I want to get to eventually." It's not a great organizational system :)

Cath said...

Penny: I didn't think I was lone somehow. I adore town to town library borrowing. We go to several different towns occasionally because it's surprising how much the books vary from place to place. Especially the kind of non-fiction travel writing I like.

Susan: I think if you're a dedicated reader you probably have stacks of books all over the place. LOL! No... organised it is not but 'fun' it is. :-)