So many books, so little time

I love to read. I mean, I really, really love to read. Ken knows this, and he always gets me a lot of books for Christmas. And I'll be the first to admit that I just plain buy a lot of books. (Almost always on sale, though!) But I'm finding that I don't have quite as much time to read lately as I like, and I'm finding my current book a little slow-going. It's Imperium by Robert Harris, and I'm really enjoying it--it's about Rome and Cicero and politics, and it's written as a novel--but it's just taking me a little longer to finish than something that sucks me in like a Stephen King novel. As a consequence, my pile of books is getting a little out of hand. I keep my "To Read" pile by my side of the bed, and it's on the verge of blocking my view of my alarm clock, and it's also starting to look a little teetery.

If you look closely, you can see that the pile is not just getting tall, it's also two deep. And the thing is, I've got some great books waiting for me in there, like the new Michael Crichton, the new Dean Koontz (about Odd Thomas, a really neat character), the latest John Grisham, and the one I was really wanting, Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (I loved his book Devil in the White City). It's killing me to have all those waiting for me! But I have a fairly strict rule when it comes to reading: finish the book you're on before you start a new one. I break it occasionally, when something totally does not grab my interest, or when it's not a novel and something I can go back to easily. But I really do like this book I'm on, so I'll finish it before climbing Book Mountain.

Then I have to decide which book to start next! Oh, what a wonderful dilemma. I'm leaning towards the Dean Koontz book, Brother Odd, although considering all the political brouhaha, I might have to go with The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama.

Nah, Barack can wait while I enjoy Odd Thomas. Anyone who gets visits from the ghost of Elvis is okay by me.