So many books, so little time

I have the worst habit of buying books to read when I already have stacks and stacks and stacks at home waiting to be read. The problem is that the books I already own aren't necessarily the ones I feel like reading when I'm ready to start a new book - they're just the ones I felt like buying when I bought them! Basically I know that I'll read a book eventually & I don't want to forget about it or have it (yikes)go out of print so I buy it. Or put it on my list and buy it eventually (often when it's in paperback). I read book reviews pretty much daily so I'm constantly finding out about new books that interest me. I think my wishlist at indigo.ca must be worth thousands of dollars (they used to list a $total$ which I liked...)

So today I rec'd a package in the mail - books I've ordered and HAD to have. When will I read them? Who knows? Will they show up in the bargain books at Indigo for $4.99 before I've even cracked the spine? Perhaps. But its about the integrity of my shelves (we used to use that phrase at Indigo - the integrity of the section)...certain books need to be represented whether or not I'm going to read them in the near future.

So I end up with piles of books. When I'm done a book (I finish one every couple of days on average) I love that feeling of "What's next?"...then I usually walk around my apartment & think about what I'm in the mood for: petticoats?post-apocolypse? modern teens? fantasy? non-fiction? Then I grab 4 or so and start reading first lines. Whenever the urge to carry on past that first sentence grabs me, my book is chosen. So I never know what I'm going to want to read when.

I do, however, notice in myself a certain type of book that I prefer: books about people who are struggling against something - either oppression, being different, whatever. The Holocaust, Slavery, being a conjoined twin - these types of books - fiction or non-fiction, where I can put myself in their shoes (or lack of) and say "how would I survive this situation?" and often I realize that I would be useless in the same situation - I said if I were Susanna Moodie or Catherine Parr Traill I'd have curled up in a snow bank to die- so its all the more fascinating reading how others find strength & carry on. Boy, I'm rambling.

Right now I'm in the throes (spelling?) of sales conference reading - trying to read as many books as I can from our upcoming Winter list so that I can present them to the sales reps and ultimately to my customers. I really don't like selling books I haven't read. Or I need someone who's opinion I trust to read them. Ick to some books that just aren't my style - but I do what I can and therefore end up reading pretty silly looking stuff on the subway. Right now I'm reading a great book called "The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy" but once again I'm sure people who see me reading it think I'm a little simple. The cover is pretty child like. But then again so am I in some ways!