BiblioAddict The First Step on the Road to Recovery

On missing out, get-well medicine, and being pleasantly overwhelmed:

Unbelievably, I managed to miss TWO bookish events this weekend.  The first was Book Expo America (BEA) which was in New York city and ends today.  I knew weeks ahead of time that I wouldn’t be able to attend this event.  Work, and the fact that I’m trying to save for the Big Move to New York this fall made attendance impossible.  But you can bet that I was jealous!  It seemed as if everyone interested in books toured the Javits building at some point this weekend.  Everyone, that is, except me.

Only, that wasn’t the case!  Apparently, there were a lot of left-behind folks looking at the BEA attendees with envious eyes.  But, instead of reading about author sightings, and galley coups, and exciting panels with tears in their eyes, Rebecca at The Book Lady’s Blog was nice enough to host the BEA Twitter Party, a virtual party where all the book lovers left out of BEA logged onto Twitter at the same time and talked about their favorite subject: books.  There was rousing conversation and book giveaways. (!)  Softdrink at Fizzy Thoughts even wrote songs.  And, guess what – I missed it.  Not only did I forget, but I ended up going out to dinner with BiblioGuy and not getting back until the only thing left to do was to catch the basketball scores before going to bed.

So yesterday I was kicking myself up one side and down the other.  I needed a treat, and fast.  So after taking myself to see “Drag Me to Hell” (which was great, and if you’re into cheesy horror movies you’ll like it too), I went to Borders and bought a little get-well medicine:

The Sandman Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman.  Finally, I have my hands on a copy of “the most acclaimed and award-winning comics series of the 1990s.”  I’ve been meaning to buy this book since… forever.  What’s funny is that despite how much I’ve wanted to read this book, I really don’t know all that much about it, except that it’s about The Sandman, The Master of Dreams, it’s a comic book series, and it’s by Neil Gaiman.  And that’s all I need to know, really.  Plus, nearly everyone who’s read it raves about it.

The Dark Side by Jane Mayer.  The Dark Side is the “dramatic, riveting, and definitive narrative account of how the United States made terrible decisions in the pursuit of terrorists around the world – decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda.”  I was going to wait until after I read The Forever War by David Filkins before I bought this, but The Dark Side was 1/2 off and I’m unable to resist discounts.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible! by Jonathan Goldstein.  This collection of short stories reimagines popular Bible stories and answers such pressing questions as: “Wouldn’t a person get bored living in a whale? How did Joseph explain Mary’s pregnancy to the guys at work? And what was Cain’s problem anyway?”  I read the first two stories last night, “Adam and Eve” and “Cain and Abel,” and so far it’s lived up its promise.  The stories were funny and poignant, and I can’t wait to get to the rest of this collection.

Beginner’s Greek by James Collins.  It’s often been called a modern Jane Austen-style comedy of manners.  I don’t know what originally put this book in my radar, but, I tell you, I read the Prelude chapter last night and I really did not want to put it down.  That chapter had all the makings of a great love story and a wonderful satire.  I’m hoping to get to this one really soon.

Don’t Bargain With the Devil by Sabrina Jeffries.  This is the second-to-last book in the School for Heiresses series.  I will be sad to see this series end because it has produced some very entertaining novels.  Jeffries is such a good writer, however, I’m sure I’ll like whatever she comes up with next.  I don’t think I’ve been disappointed by a Sabrina Jeffries book yet, and I don’t expect to be anytime soon.

Needless to say, when I walked out the bookstore with my catch of books, I felt a whole lot better about my busted bookish weekend.  And I was feeling pretty good with myself until I got my new books home and put them next to the books I’d bought last weekend:

Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer.  Now that I’ve not only enjoyed Jane Austen novels but also a Jane Austen spin-off, I’m finally ready to tackle my first Georgette Heyer.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about Heyer’s novels, and the good news is that if I like Cousin Kate there are plenty more books to read by this prolific author.

The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon.  This novel of “100 years’ worth of immigrant disillusion, displacement and desperation” has gotten rave reviews from the critics. I haven’t heard much about it on the blogs, but David Sedaris liked it and his recommendation is as good as any.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.  I was supposed to have gotten this book weeks ago – the day it came out, as a matter of fact – but other things got in the way (mostly other books).  The reviews have been pretty mixed, but I’m still very excited about it this. I’m a fan of both Austen and zombies – what more could a girl want?

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morten.  I read an excellent review of this on Violet Crush a few weeks ago and I just had to have this book.  She described it as “ a mystery that spans 2 continents and 2 centuries, a mystery that will lead 2 women, Nell and Cassandra, to Cornish coast, Blackhurst Manor and ultimately to a cottage on a cliff and a forgotten garden. A garden that lives and breathes, a garden where fairy tales were written and secrets kept safe.”  How could I not want to read this after that?

Guardian by Angela Knight.  I like Knight’s Master series more, but since I’ll read anything Knight writes, I had to have this newest installment to her Time Hunters series. Knight says she fell in love with the characters in this novel so fast that she ended up writing their story out of order.  That usually means I’m in for a pretty good read.

Then I thought about what I’ve been reading this week: Drood by Dan Simmons, which is just as excellent as I expected it to be; Serena by Ron Rash, which is compelling, dark, and mysterious, and Creation in Death by J.D. Robb, which is Robb at her best, amoung serveral others which I didn’t even get to this week – The Hunger Games, I’m looking at you – and I started to panic again.  When in the world am I going to find the time to read all of this?

Sigh… I guess it’s a good thing being buried in books is exactly where I like to be.

Hope you’ve had a good weekend, folks.

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