OK, so here is the full TBR as of 1 September 2014. Please note that there are no books in front, that’s just one shelf from left to … well, towards the right. And a pile of books which don’t quite fit in the “read them in order of acquisition” thing that I do, because I’m supposed to be picking over the sagas and war poems this year, I have a large borrowed book I’d like to read by the end of the month (so I can return it) and I have those language books that I want to get read … but you know what? I think I will read some of those this month, and maybe something off my Kindle, too … because … this:
Yup. I have a Gap. I just looked back, thinking maybe it was a time-of-year type thing, but no, September 2013 was truly terrifying. I do know that I really haven’t acquired many books recently. I don’t know why: I certainly haven’t lost my reading mojo, with 10 books completed last month, but all that seems to have come in in September is that Nick Hornby on the end. Wow.
I do get a bit panicky at this stage, with thoughts of “What if I run out of books?” although with over 2,000 in the house and 10 charity shops on the high street, plus the 50-odd on my Kindle, I’m doing OK, and shouldn’t really run out. This is what I’m reading at the moment – I might well take the Sartre book to the Iris Murdoch conference to see if the atmosphere will help me get through it. “The Last King of Sark” is a quick coming-of-age read that I’ve nearly finished already, and “Wartime Women”, the book that I thought was a Virago but turned out not to be, is a bit more substantial, but enjoyable.
Once these are done, I have these lovelies coming up – one Christmas one, one birthday one and then various charity shop acquisitions, which all look fun. I’ve got no more challenges until a Month of Re-Reading in January, although there’s talk of a book group starting in my Project 365 photo-a-day group on Facebook …
I’m also getting on well with Reading a Century of Books, with 29 read and 2 on the go, plus a couple of the upcoming batch fit into it. It’s nice doing that without a time limit, although I will have to start actively looking for some soon, I think, to fill in those weird gaps.
What are you planning to read for September? Has your TBR got smaller, too?
Sep 01, 2014 @ 13:33:15
What an interesting TBR! I enjoyed the Newby very much when I read, but I always find him amusing. My TBR is a mountain, as usual, and doesn’t bear thinking about – especially as I have several library books to get through!!
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Sep 01, 2014 @ 13:44:31
Ooh you’ve been having a good hard stare at that picture to make Newby out! I must have read that one before, but not owned it. I can’t wait to get my teeth into some of these but I must do some Kindling too, I think!
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Sep 01, 2014 @ 14:00:20
I made the picture bigger! I’m terrible at wanting to see what books other people have – first thing I do when going into someone’s house for the first time is eye up the bookshelves. If they don’t have any, I know it’s going to be a case of wanting to leave early….. 😉
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Sep 01, 2014 @ 17:44:44
Oh yes, of course, and that was hidden back in the depths for a while. There are some tempting ones on there; I’d better get on with the three in hand, hadn’t I!
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Sep 01, 2014 @ 16:17:30
Ha ha! Don’t think you will ever run out of books. Hope you enjoy The Last Kings of Sark; )
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Sep 01, 2014 @ 17:17:31
There’s always that worry … I am enjoying it, but the second half has got a bit disjointed. I’ll go back and find your review when I’m finished. It’s a quick read, anyway!
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Sep 01, 2014 @ 17:21:54
Yes, the first half was better. In the end I liked the second section too but maybe only when I got to the end and looked back on it.
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Sep 01, 2014 @ 17:36:24
I’m hoping that will happen. I’ll rush to your review again and link to it on mine if I remember!
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Sep 02, 2014 @ 09:38:02
I have that Liberty Sewing book as well 🙂
I’m going to read Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House in September and am thinking of some more Julian Barnes as I’ve just finished The Sense of An Ending.
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Sep 02, 2014 @ 10:02:36
Ooh, isn’t that the scariest book every TM or something? I haven’t read any Barnes for ages, might add him in to my Month of Re-Reading in January. Have you read the Liberty book; is it good?
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Sep 02, 2014 @ 10:54:30
The Sense of an Ending was my first Barnes, but I have a couple more to read. I’ve read the Liberty book, but I haven’t sewn anything out of it, but it is a lovely book to look at!
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Sep 03, 2014 @ 08:51:07
It sounds as if you have an interesting reading time ahead. I have somewhat lost my reading mojo as I rather overdid listening to the Victorian writers and am now looking for more contemporary books ..fiction or non fiction. Any suggestions?
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Sep 03, 2014 @ 11:53:21
How many Victorians counts as over-doing it?? I don’t read much super-modern stuff, but I can recommend “International Bank of Bob” about Kiva loans, if that’s available on audiobook. I’ve been in the 1920s-50s last month with Virago, really, myself.
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Sep 03, 2014 @ 11:47:45
I love that note of panic re “the gap” — I feel comforted that I am unable to relate to this (and probably never will!). 😉
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Sep 03, 2014 @ 11:54:41
It doesn’t happen THAT often; in fact, although I do recall tucking my “Three Investigators” pile into The Gap once, skimming back through my State of the TBR posts, it doesn’t appear to have happened for a very long time. I might go clicky-clicky in The Hive soon, and I wish I’d had time to explore the charity shops of Bournemouth now …
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Sep 07, 2014 @ 07:38:08
I love the Three Investigators – worthy of addition to any good reading pile!
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State of the TBR – October 2014 | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
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