State of the TBR shelves 1 May

Inspired by my friend Ali’s book blog, where she has a regular post talking about what’s coming up in her reading for the next month, I’ve decided to post a State of the TBR post every month. So: here’s a photo of my TBR (To Be Read) shelf as of today. One shelf full at the back, half a shelf at the front, and a Pile (the pile is made up of books in series where I haven’t got there in the series yet, comforting pony books, and books in French I claim I’m going to read one day). The ideal shelf is just one shelf full and a Pile, so not doing too well so far.

Current reads (Kindle not pictured)

Here’s what I’m reading at the moment:

  • Denis Healey – “The Time of my Life” – excellent autobiography, but it’s my Downstairs Book (large tomes I can’t carry around in my handbag or comfortably read in bed) so by its very nature is being read quite slowly. I like to have a big book on the go, and the next one will be the fat collection of diary entries to the left of my TBR shelf.
  • Sinclair McKay – “The Secret Life of Bletchley Park” – a BookCrossing book passed to me by Ali. Really interesting so far, and a lively, well-researched read; I’m getting through this quite quickly.
  • Thomas Hardy – “The Hand of Ethelberta” (not pictured: on Kindle) – this is (was) the March-April read for the All The Novels of Hardy readalong I’m taking part in (that’s Ali again). I didn’t get round to starting it until yesterday and there are some annoying locals at the start, but it’s getting good now.

Coming up ...

And finally, a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to make the books look like they’re in a pile … this is the beginning of my TBR and I’m hoping to get through some of them this month. The bottom one is the big book of diary entries that will replace Mr Healey when he’s done. Then we have a Georgette Heyer, a Tove Jansson that’s been raved about on the LibraryThing Virago group, some Zora Neale Hurston and lots of Persephones – “To Bed With Grand Music”, “Making Conversation”, “It’s Hard to be Hip Over Thirty” (I’ve read some of these poems already), “Hostages to Fortune” and “The Children Who Lived in a Barn”. So it should be a grey May in a GOOD way!

With my newly added Home Worker’s Resolution to read more, hopefully you will see a number of these reviewed by the end of the month …