Pat Conroy Coming to My TBR List Next Week

I remember what it was like a few years ago when I struggled to keep one book on my TBR list at a time. You know, the days before the internet and the big box book stores moved into towns all across the country. I would actually start to panic if I reached the last 50 pages of a book without having another one in-house ready to grab. And that happened a lot.

Times have certainly changed for the better since then. Now, my TBR list of in-house books is usually in the dozens and I struggle to make even a dent in it. Even a "good thing," like having too many books to read, can become a little stressful, but I'll take today's TBR list over yesterday's any time.

For example, on my "short list" (books I've either started or promised to consider for review) right now are these books:

1. As Long as He Needs Me by Mary Verdick - novel

2. The Sky Rained Heroes by Frederick E. LaCroix - nonfiction account of his father's WWII experiences fighting Japan

3. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - novel through the eyes of a dog

4. Wait Until Twilight by Sang Park - a horror novel, of sorts

5. The Man Who Loved Books too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett - nonfiction account of a major book thief and the book detective determined to catch him

6. Selling Light by Effie Gray - one of the novellas in the "Great Little Reads" series

7. A Cold Blooded Business by Marek Fuchs - a "true crime thriller"

8. Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan - fictional thriller

9. In My Heart by Ursula Hanks - memoir

10. Doubleback by Libby Fischer Hellmann - suspense novel

11. The Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault - a new translation by Christopher Betts

12. The Profit by John Karter - another novella in the "Great Little Reads" series

13. Photographing Democracy by Joseph Sohm - a huge, 7-pound book of pictures and essays on Mr. Sohm's project to take pictures that represent each of the 50 states - over a 30-year period

I'm also reading these two books:

14. Stone's Fall by Ian Pears - an almost 600-page historical mystery that I finally got from the library Friday - as recommended by my friend the Class Factotum who comments here every so often

15. Glenn Beck's Common Sense by Glenn Beck - bought this one at B&N yesterday and I'm intrigued (and bothered) by what Beck has to say

So there you have it - 15 books on the list that will be getting my attention in the next few weeks.

If things were static, the list would not be all that intimidating and could be handled in about seven weeks. But the list is alive, folks, and it is multiplying. I got some great news Thursday that I have snagged review copies of the latest novels of two of my favorite writers, James Lee Burke and (or you ready for this?) Pat Conroy. I should have both books around July 31 and I'm sure that I will be able to resist neither of them, requiring me to adjust my reading schedule again because I cannot wait to get my hands on those two, especially the Conroy novel after a 14-year wait between new ones.

And, of course, the rest of my TBR list, consisting of at least 200 books is waiting out there, too. Ah, but life is good!

(Speaking of life, I just want to mention that my 10-year-old granddaughter broke her shoulder yesterday. She's the one whose picture I used to illustrate a post here a week or so ago (her on a lounger, pencil in hand). She decided it would be fun to "surf" down a 10-foot plastic slide while her brother and cousin sprayed water on it...not so much. Now she has six weeks of almost no activity ahead of her because the break is not in a place that a cast is easily placed. Thank goodness she's a reader. She is in a fancy sling that requires her to keep the arm protected and immobile while it heals. Lesson learned - I hope.)