I Have a Book Problem

I read a lot. I have a running list of books that I want to read that always gets longer faster than I can actually read. When I browse at bookstores, I generally have a pen and a pad so that I can write down authors and titles as I go. Tonight, Cute W and I had a date, and along with dinner and a movie (Don Jon, which we both really liked, but there are many snips of porn, so if that’s a no-go for you, then you’ll have to pass), there was some bookstore browsing. And I had no pen and paper. So I took pictures. Now, it was strongly suggested that there’s likely to be a gift card to a bookstore in my immediate future. But there are so many choices! So I thought I’d share some with you, and maybe you’ve read some of these and can help me decide?

Okay, first, I’m a sucker for history. And how have I still not managed to read Madeleine Albright’s memoir yet? Also Franklin Roosevelt and Catherine the Great are two of my favorite historical figures. Although my attention span has not been excellent lately. . . .

I’ve been YA obsessed lately. I’ve heard The Maze Runner is good and honestly I love me some dystopian societies. Why, I don’t know. Maybe because the goals are so damn easy in spite of the complications? Everyone just wants love and freedom. Anyway, these others looked good, too.

 

And more YA! The Spectacular Now was a movie I wanted to see, but since we don’t get out much, I’ll have to wait until it’s on Netflix. I totally want to read Code Name Verity. Did M order it on that last Scholastic order form? I think so. I hope so.

This one’s totally out of character for my reading habits, but the guy goes from humanitarian aid worker to a Navy SEAL? That sounds interesting. Talk about motivated.

Okay, this bookshelf killed me, because I’d read and enjoyed so many of the books here (Really enjoyed: Practical Magic, People of the Book, Year of Wonder, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Red Tent; liked okay: March, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, A Reliable Wife). So it seemed obvious that I should probably read just about every other book that was grouped here.

Upon closer examination I think these are the most pressing on my “to do” list (some of these might have been on lower shelves than those above):

Okay, meanwhile, do you know what’s killing me? Like, killing me? The Fault in Our Stars. Everyone says it’s really good. It’s freaking everywhere. But I don’t buy hardcovers. First, I actually prefer paperbacks, and second they’re so freaking expensive. Or maybe first they’re too expensive and second I prefer paper. Whatever. I hardly ever buy them. Plus there are a million copies at the library. But they’re all out. I’ve put the book on request. But then you go to a big bookstore and there are roughly a ga-jillion copies of the book, plus every other book John Green’s ever written, plus a gift set of a bunch of his books in hardback. And I keep thinking, “Holy shit, this book must be so good!” And then I want to read it desperately. But now my expectations have been raised. Am I going to be, as Cute W and I say, Forrest Gumped? Because if I break down and pay for a hard copy and then it doesn’t live up to the ever-climbing expectations, I will just be so pissed. So I have to wait.

At a certain point I just became overwhelmed and was ready to leave, and I couldn’t find Cute W, and I saw what seems to be the perfect college graduation present: a guide with 468 tips on to how to be an adult.

It included all sorts of gems like that you’re not actually the center of the universe and that just because you broke up doesn’t mean your ex is necessarily evil as well as tips like how to cook a potato or wash your bathroom. I didn’t look that carefully, really, but it seemed both amusing and informative.

Okay! So, are any of the above-pictured books ones that you’ve read and loved? Or do I need to acknowledge the Nobel and get some Alice Munro?