out of control...

Hmmm...that title could really refer to so much of my life. ;)  But in this case, we're talking about that whole book accumulation problem that I seem unable to conquer. Not that long ago, I decided to stop worrying about it. Well, ummmm...I'm thinking that may not have been a wise decision. I never thought worrying about it did me much good. But after a few weeks of not worrying...yikes.

I have upwards of thirty books sitting here since my last acquisition post. (I went and checked--that was on August 14th, less than two weeks ago. And yes, that was on my everyday-ish sort of blog. But I decided that this is the more appropriate place, so I've moved the blame game tallies over here.) Anyway, it seems quite obvious to me that *something* needs to be done! Another book buying ban...perhaps. We'll see.

In the meantime, I need to get caught up on assigning blame here. And with this many books to account for, I think I'll just break this up into three or four separate posts. And this first one, well, it's devoted entirely to Chris! I swear, I have a hard enough time resisting picking up every book he talks about on his blog...so one can imagine what it was like having him there with me in the bookstores!!! And he wasn't even subtle about it--there he was just picking up books and putting them into my greedy little hands. *sigh* It was not a pretty sight (except in the opinion of the bookstore owners, that is).

Treasure Box and Magic Street by Orson Scott Card. And yes, I admit that it gives me pause to even buy his books used. And Chris and I talked a lot about that whole separating the author and his beliefs thing. I still have incredibly mixed feelings--the man's views make me sick to my stomach, and yet his book Ender's Game meant so much to me. Such a sticky wicket. :(
 

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers. I had been perfectly content to start her books with Strong Poison. I was just going to follow Ana's lead and read the ones with Harriet Vane. Yeah, until Chris began with the meddling, that is. ;) He convinced me that I really should start at the beginning...that this was a really good book...and of course, it came home with me.

The Less-Dead by April Lurie. I've been wanting this one so badly ever since Chris reviewed it months ago. Every time I went to the library, I looked for it but it was always checked out. And then one day, Rich took Annie to the library for her volunteering instead of me...and wouldn't you know Annie managed to find it and check it out. So it was actually in our house at the time I bought it, but I snatched it up anyway for fear I wouldn't get to read it before it needed to be returned to the library.

Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser. Well, it was because of Chris that I read Millhauser's Enchanted Night. And while I genuinely enjoyed that book, it didn't automatically make me want to pick up this one. I know how lame this sounds, but something about the title of this book just failed to excite me. Chris, of course, informed me of the error of my ways...and thus, this book now resides in my home.

Come to Me by Amy Bloom. Now I fully admit that I've been wanting to try some of Bloom's fiction ever since reading and loving her non-fiction work, Normal. However, I feel no guilt whatsoever is laying the blame for the purchase squarely on Chris. This is another one of those books that he literally pulled from the shelf and stuck in my hands. (Not that I'm complaining, mind you. :D)

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima. Another one's that's been on my wish list since Chris reviewed it...and another one Chris managed to pull off the shelf in the used book store for me.

Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers. I honestly don't remember ever even hearing of this book before, despite the fact that it's a Carnegie Medal winner. Again, Chris pulled this one off the shelf for me, and I must say, it does sound amazing!

So, what do we have there? Eight books = Eight points. Good thing I love you so much, dear friend. :D