Thoughts: My TBR Pile

Every librarian has one. Most people, in fact, do, in some way, shape or form. I'm talking about the TBR pile: the stack--or stacks--of books that are waiting to be read. When life intervenes on your reading, like it's doing for me this week, I look over my TBR stack and almost long to read. Instead, I'll just have to content myself with waiting until I can pick up a book again.

If you're curious, this is what's on my pile at the moment.

Betsy and the Great World and Betsy's Wedding--the last two books in the Betsy-Tacy series. I had never read this series, and I started after I read Meg Cabot's comments about these books set in a small Minnesota town in the early twentieth century. As so many people have discovered, these are delightful, charming books. I'm both looking forward and dreading reading these last two, because that means I'll be all done, and I won't have any new Betsy-Tacy books to read.

Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic--this is partly for me and partly for my book. I've been working away on a reader's advisory guide to YA historical fiction. The deadline for the manuscript is December 31, and I really have to make that deadline. Otherwise, I'll be working on the book at the same time as the Printz, and I don't see that ending with me retaining my sanity. And this book looks particularly good: a mashup of spiritualism and family relationships, set amidst the drama of the Titanic's sinking.

The A-List: Sunset Boulevard--out of all the readalike series that came after Gossip Girl, this series has remained my favorite. I honestly think it's better-written than most, and I've enjoyed the character relationships. Now that the series has been rebooted, it's taking me a little time to get interested in the new characters, but I think this second book will do the trick. I had the same experience with the Gossip Girl: The Carlyles series, and now I really enjoy that series. So here's hoping for more lifestyles of the rich and famous!

Libyrinth: A Fabulous Adventure on a Strange World of the Future--I heard about this book somewhere, and put it on hold. When I received it and read the jacket copy, I practically cheered at the thought of a science-fiction novel concerning books and libraries. On a world far from Earth, thousands of years from now, Haly lives in the Libyrinth, a library so vast people sometimes get lost in it and never come out again. A clerk to the Libyrarian Selene, she and all the Libyrinth's residents are dedicated to protecting the books, for within them rests the sum of all human knowledge brought from Earth in the distant past.

I think you can understand why I'm so eager to get back to reading. Hope everyone's been able to keep up with their TBR pile better than me!