I try to spend a fair chunk of time each day reading. Partly to have some reviews of upcoming or recently published Canadian mysteries but mainly for the pure pleasure of entering new worlds, visiting new places and meeting new people.
I like to think of my To Be Read (TBR) piles as decorating accessories. What else do you do with stacks of books? I have them in every room of my house, except for the kitchen where cookbooks (a real necessity) are housed. You can't do that with an e-book, I might point out. I love the look of books, the ability to just grab one off the pile and sit down to read or just thumb through it, the reassurance that with that big a TBR, I'll never run out.
However, I obviously haven't been keeping up as I should. What with the steady stream of advance reading copies from publishers, and my own choices for either research or a total change of pace, there are now often two stacks right next to each other, where only last week there was one.
Bloody Words contributed to that growth in very positive ways, except when it came to getting the books home. The book bags that attendees were handed proved that publishers are getting far more generous these days. I hear the siren call of William Deverell's latest, Arthur Ellis nominated novel, I'll See You in My Dreams. Robert Rotenberg's The Guilty Plea is there, too along with Boston Cream by Howard Shrier! How can a gal choose where to begin?
I've just finished the wonderful Gail Bowen's newest, Kaleidoscope, which I'll review next weekend. C.B. Forrest will review Deryn Collier's Confined Space this weekend (it was next on my list, but he beat me to it!). ALso coming up are Gold Mountain by Vicki Delany (I am behind in my reviews, I admit it!), Spoiled Rotten by Mary Jackman, Bloodman by Robert Pobi and Whiskey Creek by Dave Hugelschaffer. Then, low and behold, in my mailbox yesterday -- Brad Smith's September release, Crow's Landing (and you might remember how I do look forward to his books!)
What's a girl to do? So many books, so little time! And all those bookish cliches. It's going to be a bookfest summer. Happy reading to us all!
Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com
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