I tell myself not to feel guilty over buying books (especially when I get them with gift cards), but I can't help but feel just a tiny tinge of guilt. Actually it's not so much the act of buying them as knowing I am the slowest reader and wondering just when I'll actually get around to starting them. Oh well, I'll worry about that later and bask in the joy of a new stack of books instead. There's a lot to be said for the happiness a box of books brings after a long day at work (and during a long winter that seems like it will never end).
I'm determined to read all of Clare Chambers's books this year, which meant I had to get her first novel, Uncertain Terms and a more recent novel, Back Trouble. I'm equally determined to read more of Bitter Lemon Press's authors so had to get Petra Hammesfahr's The Sinner, which I've heard good things about. I have a feeling that Deanna Raybourn's The Dead Travel Fast might not be up to Lady Julia Grey standards, but it might be a fun read nonetheless. And after reading Dorothy's post on Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge I thought it was time to finally buy it (bonus that it was more than half off).
And this lovely stack of Phryne Fisher novels by Kerry Greenwood are thanks to a good friend and fellow book lover who sent them to me for my birthday! I now have: Ruddy Gore, Urn Burial, Raisins and Almonds, Death Before the Wicket, and Away with the Fairies. Yummy. I think I need to pick up the next Phryne Fisher mystery very soon. (Thanks, MB).
The sad thing is, I have more books coming. Okay, so maybe that's not sad at all. Something to look forward to!