it can no longer be avoided...

I have knocked these piles of books over twice today (actually is was just the one pile that went tumbling to the floor. twice.)...they need to be dealt with. Some of these acquisitions go back as far as Chris's visit. (Honestly, I think that's part of why they're still here--I love reminders of his visit.) And of course, the acquisitions haven't stopped since then. And well, tomorrow is the first day of what is typically a really good library sale. *sigh* I believe I need aversion therapy or something.

Anyway, I apologize for this extensive list. I will try to keep my babbling to a minimum.

*Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Am I the only person on the planet who has never seen this movie? Could be. I'm both eager and reluctant to read it. Contradictory, I know, but life can be that way, huh?

*The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems by Billy Collins. Poetry and I have a somewhat tough relationship. Problem is, I'm lazy. I hate having to work too hard to understand what I'm reading. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm not willing to take my time with a poem. In fact, I really don't know how to deal with poems any other way. I like to take one and read it over and over. One poem an evening is usually my limit. And sometimes that one will last me weeks with nightly readings, before I'm ready to move on. But if there's not at least one little spark right from the start, I just don't seem to have it in me to spend much more time with it. Like I said, I'm lazy. So many people seem to love Billy Collins, but I've never read his work before. I sort of feel like I should hand out a point for this book, but it's no one in particular that convinced me to give him a try...it was more like the book blogging community in general. Anyway, I hope that I will find that I have another poet with whom I can click.

*The Secret History of Fantasy edited by Peter S. Beagle. Oh come on...have you seen the collection of authors in this book?!! Neil Gaiman and Stephen King and Francesca Lia Block and Ursula Le Guin and... And not only are there tons of authors I already love, but there's tons of authors I've been dying to try (Aimee Bender, Octavia Butler, Patricia McKillip, Maureen McHugh) and short stories are ideal for dipping one's toes into new waters if you ask me. So, as you can see, I really just didn't stand a chance of walking away from this one.

*Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman. Okay, so I'd already read this one. But I loved it ever so much that when I ran across it in the used book section of B&N, I just had to buy it. I'm sure Ana got a point for this back when I got it out of the library...but well, I'm afraid she's on the hook for this one, too. Sorry, Ana. :)  POINT FOR ANA.

*The Misfits by James Howe. Uhhh, Chris...did you hand me this book in the bookstore? Seriously, my mind is drawing a complete blank here! (It sucks being old...at least that's the excuse I'm using.) I'm guessing this is your fault though, Chris...because I'm pretty sure that's when I bought it, and I definitely don't think I ever heard of it before then, and there's not even a description on the cover that would have sucked me in... So yeah, I'm just blaming you. POINT FOR CHRIS.

*The Last Boy by Robert H. Lieberman. I do remember buying this one though I'd never previously heard of it. And I know absolutely *nothing* about it. But some unexplainable thing just drew me to this book. You know, I kinda like that.

*Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder by Beth Loffreda. I don't expect this to be an easy read. But I suspect it may be a very important one.

*Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan. Another I'd never heard of. But it's a book of short stories. By a Nigerian author. And each story is supposed to be, in one way or another, about "the wisdom and resilience of children." Sounds good...hope it lives up to my expectations.

*The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. I've wanted this one for a long time. Ever since Carl's review. Love it when blame is so easy to dole out. ;) POINT FOR CARL.

*Ray in Reverse by Daniel Wallace. This is one of those instances where blame is being placed upon someone even though I'm not sure if they've ever read the book. But see, it's Ana's love of Daniel Wallace that got me to pick this one up. If not for that, and my overwhelming trust in her taste, well, I'm sure this never even would have caught my attention. POINT FOR ANA.

*The House You Pass On the Way by Jacqueline Woodson. This is one of those books that I had on my paperbackswap wish list for ages...and then Hooray!, it became available one day and made me a very happy girl.

*Love by Toni Morrison. Oh my, I can't tell you how much I wanted this book after reading Ana's review of it. I was so excited because our library website said they had the book...but it turns out it was nowhere to be found. Paperbackswap came through for me though. And you know, I have a feeling it's going to one of those books that I'm very happy to own anyway. POINT FOR ANA.

*The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It was NPR who first alerted me to this book when it came out. I'd sort of forgotten that I'd put this one on my paperbackswap wish list, but when it became available, I decided that yeah, I still wanted to give it a shot someday. POINT FOR NPR.

*Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water by Maude Barlow and Tony Clark.  Came across this one when I was researching books to read for our envi sci class last year. Another that just recently became available from paperbackswap.

*The October Country by Ray Bradbury. It's Ray Bradbury--need I say more?

*Long After Midnight by Ray Bradbury. See above.

*Just An Ordinary Day by Shirley Jackson. Different author, same excuse.

*This is What I Did: by Ann Dee Ellis. No question, the blame for this one falls at Chris's feet. We were sitting, drinking our coffee in B&N, talking books. And Chris said I absolutely *had* to read this book. Rich immediately added to the wish list on his phone. And then just last week, it arrived in the mail. Not sure if he bought it for me because I miss Chris so much, or just because it's one of those incredibly sweet things he's always doing for me. Either way, I love him for it. But Chris can't escape the blame. POINT FOR CHRIS.

*Singled Out: How Two Million British Women Survived Without Men after the First World War by Virginia Nicholson. Another one of those books I just wanted so badly after reading Ana's review. But I couldn't find a copy at a good price, so I added to my paperbackswap wish list...and hoped. Well, it wasn't paperbackswap that came through, but Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers. (I'd really be curious to know just how many books this family has bought from this awesome discount bookseller over the past who-knows-how-many years.) Anyway, there it was, popping out at me from one of their recent catalogues. :D And of course, for a very good price. POINT FOR ANA.

*Polio: An American Story: The Crusade that Mobilized the Nation Against the 20th Century's Most Feared Disease by David M. Oshinsky. Just a book I picked up for school...we're hoping to do a U.S. history since 1950 course next year.

*Being Dead by Jim Crace. Is it okay to say how much I still miss you, Dewey? How often I think about you? How often I wish you were here to talk to about this or that, big or little? Well, I know you're still here in my heart. And you're certainly still here in my bookshelves, too. The blame for this one goes entirely to you. (The title of this one now gives me pause, but somehow I know you'd only come up with something clever and funny to say about it.) I hope like hell that I never run out of books to blame on you. And you know, you were one amazing friend, but you were hell on the wish list...so I'm thinking it's a safe bet that you're going to be acquiring blame for many more years to come. POINT FOR DEWEY.

*Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaahumanu. I swear the social/cultural studies table in the B&N used section always has something I can't resist. Yeah, perhaps I should avoid it for a while until I actually get some of these read, huh? :P

*Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. After reading his non-fiction Eating Animals, I really, really, really wanted to try out some of Foer's fiction. But for some reason, I was still just a teensy bit intimidated. I've no idea where that intimidation came from. I adored his writing in Eating Animals. Still it took Carl's review of this book to finally push me over the edge. POINT FOR CARL.

*Sold by Patrician McCormick. I've wanted to read this one for quite some time. Ever since Annie read it, in fact. Now normally, I wouldn't worry about it...I'd figure I could go borrow it off of her shelves anytime I wanted. Problem here being that this was one she got from the library. Which I suppose I could have done as well...but it cost next to nothing at the used book store so it ended up coming home with me. POINT FOR ANNIE.

*Exit Here. by Jason Myers. Just one of those total impulse buys from the YA table in the used book section.

*Kindred by Octavia Butler. It took a lot of effort to get this book into my home. I'd explain that statement, but it's sort of a long story...and uhhh, I do think I've babbled on long enough. Despite my promises not to. Anyway, I know, thanks to Ana's review, that it will be worth those three separate trips to the bookstore to get it. :P POINT FOR ANA.

And yes!!!! I am finally done. Until tomorrow's trip to the library sale anyway...