As you can see in this picture, even Cybermen throw their hands in the air with frustration at how long some of these books have been languishing in the pile. I don't need to point out the ones that I should have read long before now but I will hang my head in shame (as a Malazan fan) and say that I should have read 'Toll the Hounds' and 'Return of the Crimson Guard' long before now. There are two books by Glen Cook that are also giving me reproachful looks...
Here are some more books that I couldn't fit into the first picture...
So, what's going on here? The main reason is that commuting to work in London makes it very difficult to read one of the big fat hardbacks on the tube. Not only is it difficult to make space to read a hardback but I would also be tempted to beat annoying commuters to death with my books! ('The Temporal Void' is a good size for this...)
The plan, this year, is to significantly reduce the size of the reading pile by reading some of the hardbacks that have spent the last year (or two) holding the rest of the pile up. Which one(s) should I read first? Why don't you leave a comment telling me what you think? ;o)
P.S I took these pictures on my (not very good) camera phone so apologies for the quality...
12 comments:
*Sigh* I can so relate. The floor of my guest-room is covered with books that I haven't had time to get to. The hard-bounds are harder to get to since they're not as portable. I don't know if I'll ever catch up.
As a malazan fan you must read the two books ASAP! Start with Return and then Toll... you won't regret it. But I and probably everyone who stops by here knows what you mean - so little time, too many good books....
Hmmm, wish my to-be-read pile were that small. I think I have at least 200 waiting for me thanks to eBay, Half.com, Amazon Market, Abes. They have made finding and buying older books way too easy. Also, since making the blog rounds I have discovered so many outstanding authors.
I never count unsolicited review copies in my TBR. Because if I did, the total would be about 150 or so, rather than the 30-40 books I actually plan on reading sometime.
But out of the books pictured, I think you should start with the D.M. Cornish one, Foundling. Great, great book and very imaginative. Plus it's one of the few non-doorstoppers in those two photos. Seems you get many more multi-volume works than I do from publishers!
Hey Graeme, I vote Gears of War, just to be different. :-) Also, it'll be cool to get your take on Karen Traviss' latest franchise project, and since we both liked the Republic Commando books I think it's a good choice. :-) I'm jealous, man, wouldn't mind having a to-be-read pile like that, especially Return of the Crimson Guard and Toll the Hounds!
Hee hee - I am liking this. I'll haul out the camera tonight and start taking snaps.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, that looks so familiar.
Let me anser with a quote:
"Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them."
- Arnold Lobel
Holy book list Batman! You need a library just for the books you haven't read yet.
But one good thing has come out of this. I feel less guilty about my much smaller pile.
My stack is nowhere near that size, but I think publishers know by now to only send me debuts. Still, there's a lot of debuts to be read! And I now seem to be getting a good percentage of them in the mail every week.
A HA! At least I am not the only one with a pile of books reaching to the ceiling, shoved in boxes under the bed and and neatly stacked in boxes in the attic.
Mind you as vices go book buying must be among the best.
Read Lion of Macedon, or is it Dark Prince? As with all Gemmell it is hugely enjoyable.
SQT - I'm not allowed to buy any more books until I've read the ones that I've got (fair enough really). That doesn't stop them coming through the post though...
Marduk - I'm going to be away for a couple of weekends, soon, and that's when I'm planning to make a big dent in my Malazan reading. We'll see how it goes...
Larry - That's a good point about unsolicited copies and I'll move 'Foundling' up the pile on your recommendation ;o)
I am getting a lot of doorstopper books at the moment. As much as I love big thick books they're just not practical for the commute...
Dave - 'Gears of War' is a commuter sized book and was going to be read soon anyway, I'll bump it up the pile though ;o)
KP - The internet is such a trap for people who like buying books isn't it? :o)
Liz - I think you must have more books than me! Looking forward to seeing your pictures...
ediFanoB - Nice poem. Cheers! :o)
TK42ONE - I've glad you're feeling less guilty, go and buy some more books! ;o)
Iain - I can't remember which one it is and the picture isn't exactly clear. It's a commuter sized book though so up the pile it goes! ;o)
Tia - How many debuts would you say are coming out on a weekly basis?
What's the title of the book third from above, upper left. Appears to be from Tor.
Pretty cool you have lots of to be released books as well.
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