I've really started out 2010 with a bang when it comes to book buying. I wish I had the same sort of self control as Simon has. He's limiting his book purchases to only two a month this year. If it were me, I think I already would have met the limit. The upside is that I only actually paid for the top two and the others were purchased with gift cards. I tend not to get presents, I get bookstore gift cards. In a good year I can stretch them out for months (and I expect I might just get a few more next month for my birthday), but at the rate I'm buying this year they'll be gone long before summer! I have a few more still in the mail, but maybe after those I'll try and slow down? Or maybe not. I don't take all the blame, as a few of these came as recommendations (and you know who you are). I think my essay reading is going to increase my book piles as well (first it was M.F.K. Fisher and next it was David Foster Wallace -- his is one of the books that is on its way). And then there is just general browsing. One thing leads to another and there you go. More new books.
Their Finest Hour, Lissa Evans - This was longlisted for the Orange Prize, but it was Litlove's post that sold me on it. Set during WWII the novel is about a woman who makes propaganda films. Litlove calls it a "tragi-comedy" and it sounds like something that I'll love.
Sweet Poison, David Roberts - This is the first mystery in a series set in 1930s England. The sleuths, Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne, are a bit unusual. He's the son of a duke and she is a journalist and in the Communist Party. I'm really looking forward to this one as well.
The Artificial Silk Girl, Irmgard Keun - I came across this book whilst browsing the Other Press website one day (actually the book below was discovered the same way). It was originally published in German between the wars. The LA Times calls it a "truly charming window into a young woman's life in the early 1930s."
Cracks, Sheila Kohler - This one is set in South Africa. A young schoolgirl disappears and forty years later the other members of the missing girl's swim team gather for a reunion. I expect lots of lies, secrets and deceptions.
Maid in Waiting, John Galsworthy - This is book #7. I'm only on the first book, but I will feel better when I have the whole set (two more left to buy). It's my hope to make steady progress through the whole set this year, but if it takes longer that's okay, too. Having them all on the shelf together will hopefully spur me on to keep reading. And I am really enjoying the first book, by the way. I'm not sure the later stories as good as the earlier ones, but I guess I will find out.
Long Ago In France, M.F.K. Fisher - I really liked the essay I read by her. This is a travel narrative of her life in Dijon, France in 1929. I'm tempted to start it now as I need to jump start my nonfiction reading. I'm not doing very well so far this year and maybe a slim, quick read that this promises to be is just what I need.
The Gastronomical Me, M.F.K. Fisher - This is supposed to be her best work. These are essays, or short pieces in any case, that are autobiographical.
I don't know about you, but when I get a new stack of books I have to look through each one, read the back and maybe the first pages or preface--just generally check it out. I may not start reading right away, but I do like to know what I'm in for!