Book Confessions: Too Many Books!!

Like most book bloggers, I read a lot (kind of a prerequisite!). But there are some things related to reading that I’ve kept secret – until now. This feature is my chance to confess what I’ve done or what I’ve not done related to reading.

I noticed recently that a lot of my comments on other peoples blogs & posts go along the lines of “Great review – I have this book already and you’ve really made me want to pick up soon!” or “This book has moved straight to the top of TBR pile – I’d forgotten I even owned it!”.  I suppose this isn’t at all uncommon – after all how many book bloggers don’t have a To Be Read pile? And sometimes that can get pretty big. However, I’ve also run out of room on my shelves to store these books. I have a three shelf bookcase that I use to keep all my books that I want to read on. Recently the three shelves haven’t been enough and I’ve started piling books on top…so now it looks like this:

My TBR Pile - and yes that top pile is double shelved!

Crazy, huh? And this isn’t all the books I have waiting to be read! I have a pile of YA books from the 80s and 90s I keep separate for one of my reading challenges for this year as well as a pile of books which are my must read soon pile. (Although I will be the first admit there are a couple of tomes that have sat in this pile for a very long time!). Plus all the books on my kindle. This got me thinking about the sheer number of books in my complete TBR pile, so this weekend I decided to count them all. Do you know what the grand total is?

TBR Book Shelf: 195 Books

YA of 80s & 90s Pile: 7 Books

Must Read Soon Pile: 17 Books

Unread Kindle Books: 40 ebooks

GRAND TOTAL: 259 Books

That’s a lot of books. A LOT of books.

In 2010 I managed to read over 150 throughout the year, so assuming a similar rate I have enough books to keep me going for the next 18 months – even if I didn’t buy any more in the meantime! And this is really where my confession is going…I still keep buying more books!! I’m addicted! I tried stopping myself from buying any books in August, but somehow I only managed it for two weeks before the lure of the books stores and amazon dragged my back in. I have 259 books waiting to be read at home – books for the most part I really wanted, that I handed money over for or begged friends and family to purchase for Christmas/Birthday. And I do want to read each and everyone of them – especially when I keep coming across reviews for books that I already own saying how great they are! But I still keep buying new books to add to the pile. Help!!

Is anyone else in a similar situation? Are books coming into your home at a faster rate than you read? Are you afraid of being buried alive in your unread books? Or are you the opposite? Do you only buy books when you need something to read? Does anyone have any idea how to shrink this massive TBR pile? (And don’t say, stop buying more books – can you stop breathing?!). Lets get our collective heads together and figure something out… J

Nothing But Trouble Review

Nothing But Trouble

-       Rachel Gibson

Publisher: UK – Corgi

Chelsea Ross knows she's a great actress. Which is lucky, as she's just got the toughest role of her life! Washed up from Hollywood and in serious need of some cash, Chelsea jumps at the $10,000 opportunity to act as 'carer' to famous hockey player Mark Bressler, currently injured after a car crash. After all, how hard can it be to play nice and pick up after an incredibly hot invalid in need of her tender loving care? Just three months of playing nurse and the cash is hers. But Mark Bressler doesn't need help. The moody hockey player's glory days may be over, but he has no intention of letting anyone aid his recovery, least of all the maddeningly cheerful Chelsea. He's determined to get her to quit – and Mark isn't the type to give in. But then again, neither is Chelsea...

I don’t read many contemporary romances. I like a little paranormal usually with my romance, or else I read chick-lit which has the focus on the funny side and the romance a little more PG. So I was very surprised when this turned out to be the fifth book in a romance series based on the Chinooks Hockey team. (I think the cover fooled me into thinking it was chick-lit!). Plus I’m British – I have no idea about hockey!! Luckily, the male lead here is actually a former hockey player who survived a serious car crash so the hockey side was minimal.

The writing was easy to get into, but I’m afraid I struggled to connect to either of the characters. Chelsea was independent and her personality shone through, but I never understood her need to be an actress... it never struck me why she wanted it so badly. Mark was a miserable, grumpy guy – understandably after what he’s been through. But his sudden switch to nice guy didn’t seem to be driven by anything more than lust. In fact, I could see the lust between Chelsea and Mark, but for me it never developed into a love I could believe in.

There are some sex scenes that are a little raunchy and I have to admit I did enjoy some of the early banter between Mark and Chelsea – the rapid squirrel had me chuckling out loud and his comments about her driving her very amusing. I guess it was when the characters got together that I lost interest in the story. There wasn’t anything that drove the story at that point. If you want a quick, smexy read though, then this is for you!

Recommended for fans of Jilly Cooper and Susan Donovan. 5 out of 10

I'm a Transworld Book Group Member!

My Book Haul/ In My Mailbox

The Story Siren hosts a weekly meme where bloggers can share what goodies they've purchased/received this week. If you get a chance head over to The Story Siren and check out what everyone is up to!

This week was quite a quiet week for me bookwise - I got one book for review and one bargain book.

Nothing But Trouble - Rachel Gibson

Publisher: Corgi

TROUBLE...
Chelsea Ross's acting career has been a total bust. The closest she ever came to stardom was her brilliant performance as "Pretty Dead Girl #1." But leaving Hollywood to become the personal assistant to a famous hockey player could be her stupidest career move ever.
MORE TROUBLE...
Injured superstar Mark Bressler's glory days are over. The one time bad boy jock could at least be civil to the pint-sized, pink-haired bombshell who the Seattle Chinooks hired to be his P.A. If Chelsea didn't need the money, she'd be skating away from the world's biggest jerk-on-ice as fast as her feet could carry her.
BIG TROUBLE!
Chelsea can deal with Mark's rotten attitude and dark moods. The problem is those biceps and that red-hot hockey-toned bod! And when the bad boy starts to put the moves on her, Chelsea knows it's time she banished him to the penalty box...if only she could resist the kind of trouble he has in mind.

This is the second book I've received from the Transworld Book Review Challenge - and it's very different from the first one! Some romance in store here I think... :)

Undead and Unworthy (Undead 7) - MaryJanice Davidson

Publisher: Piatkus

Nobody reigns over the undead with more savvy than her heroine Betsy Taylor, back to rule the nights as Vampire Queen and survive the days as a new suburban bride. But it's not all marital bliss. Betsy's husband, Sinclair, has been perusing The Book of the Dead, Betsy's being hounded by a ghost who's even more insufferable in death than in life, and a pack of formerly feral vampires has decided to pay an unwelcome visit.

I read the first 6 Betsy books ages ago...I liked the first few but then found the story a little repetitive. However, I spotted this in the bargain box of my local WHSmith for 99p so thought I wouldn't really be loosing anything if I picked it up! :)

Bright, Young Things - Anna Godbersen

Publisher: HarperCollins

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties. Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star…

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will. The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

I have to confess I picked this up on Amazon as it was a free download! It looks like a fun YA book set in a period I can remember studying in history (one of our modules was 20th Century America) - there just aren't enough flapper books out there! :-)

SO what have you picked up this week? 

On My Wishlist #55

This is a meme from Book Chick City. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! This week I'm thinking my YA pile isn't quite big enough!

Rampant - Diana Peterfreund

Publisher: Harper Teen

Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years. Or not.
Astrid had always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend—thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom—Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries. However, at the cloisters all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from the crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to—perhaps most dangerously of all—her growing attraction to a handsome art student ... an attraction that could jeopardize everything.

Killer unicorns? A great twist on the usual unicorn myths - but it looks like a great combination of ancient and modern. I want this book!

Zombie Queen of Newbury High - Amanda Ashby

Publisher: Puffin

Quiet, unpopular, non-cheerleading Mia is blissfully happy. She is dating super hot football god Rob, and he actually likes her and asked her to prom! Enter Samantha - cheerleading goddess and miss popularity - who starts making a move for Rob. With prom in a few days, Mia needs to act fast. So she turns to her best friend, Candice, and decides to do a love spell on Rob. Unfortunately, she ends up inflicting a zombie virus onto her whole class, making herself their leader! At first she is flattered that everyone is treating her like a queen. But then zombie hunter hottie Chase explains they are actually fattening her up, because in a few days, Mia will be the first course in their new diet. She's sure she and Chase can figure something out, but she suggests that no one wear white to prom, because things could get very messy.

Having loved Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Asby last month, I really want to try some more books by her! Plus zombies - how can I resist? :)

Mastiff (Beka Cooper 3) - Tamora Pierce

Publisher: Random House (October 2011)

Beka and her friends will face their greatest and most important challenge ever when the young heir to the kingdom vanishes. They will be sent out of Corus on a trail that appears and disappears, following a twisting road throughout Tortall. It will be her greatest Hunt—if she can survive the very powerful people who do not want her to succeed in her goal.

I love Tamora Pierce's writing - she is vastly underrated in the YA genre. I've been following the Tortall books since my friend first lent Wild Magic aged 13. And the books are just as absorbing as an adult as when I was a teen. I can't wait to see what the third Beka Cooper has to offer!

So what are you wishing for this week? :)

Early Review: Wisdom's Kiss

Wisdom’s Kiss

- Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

E-Arc with thanks to netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Princess Wisdom, known as Dizzy, longs for a life of adventure far beyond the staid old kingdom of Montagne. Tips, a soldier, longs to keep his true life secret from his family. Fortitude, an orphaned maid, longs only for Tips. These three passionate souls might just attain their dreams while preserving Montagne from certain destruction, if only they can tolerate each other long enough to come up with a plan. Tough to save the world when you can't even be in the same room together.

Wisdom is an unconventional princess – she would rather run through the fields and learn to swear at the local docks than focus on her upcoming nuptials. Her grandmother, Queen Benevolence despairs of her. Meanwhile, kitchen wench and orphan, Trudy is in love with her childhood friend Tips, who is training to be a soldier in the Emperor’s retinue. And when these characters all meet up, the course of nations will change.

Fun and witty – Wisdom’s Kiss is told from various points of view – some in retrospect, some via letters and diary entries and some through encyclopaedia entries. This is a different method of telling a story from other children’s books – and reminiscent of classic tale Dracula - and I really enjoyed getting a taste of the different characters involved and seeing how their story merged together. The writing is smooth and I found myself desperately flicking through wanting to know how each character would get their happy ever after – or even if they all would! The style might not be to everyone’s taste, but I appreciated the different method of storytelling.

A fairy tale gone awry, Wisdom’s Kiss is a fast paced, amusing tale of true love, magic and a suspiciously clever cat. It was a great distraction for a few train journeys, much like an ice lolly on a hot day – tasty, light and doesn’t last long enough. This is a very modern take on the fairy tale world where magic itself has fallen out of fashion and is considered more luck and fable than real. My one disappointment was Trudy herself – her role in events is peripheral at best and she seemed a little weak – never really taking charge of her own life. But this was a minor niggle in a book full of fun.

Recommended for fans of fairy tales and the Princess Bride. 7.5 out of 10.

Back to the Books WINNER!

Thanks to everyone who took part in my Back to Books Giveaway - there were over 400 entries from all round the world! I'm so impressed that so many people stopped by! :-)

Anyway, onto the serious business of the giveaway! I offered a prize of a book of the winners choice...so that winner is ...<Drumroll please>

Shellyrae from Bookd Out

 

Congratulations! I've emailed you and you have 72 hours to respond.

 

Look out for more giveaways soon - and have a look at other cool giveaway at the side! :-) 

Throwback Thursday #22 - Twice Bitten

This is a great feature that Melissa at My World...in words and pictures has been doing for a while and I wanted to jump on board! There are plenty of books out there I desperately want...

But what about all those wonderful books that are ALREADY on my shelves?

 

Twice Bitten - Chloe Neill

 

Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire, is learning how to play well with others. Other supernaturals, that is. Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene—and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission. Merit must accept the assignment, even though she knows that she’ll probably regret it. And she’s not wrong. Someone is gunning for Gabriel Keene, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals—not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries old master vampire...

 

This is actually the third book in the Chicagoland Vampire series and I really enjoyed the first two - enough so that I bought Twice Bitten and the fourth one, Hard Bitten when they came out. But as ever, I just haven't had the time to read it yet! I'm thinking it's time to catch up Merit and see what's happening in Chicago soon though...