TBR 911!

Dude.

After 7 months of blogging, I finally reached meltdown mode with the pile of books taking over my living room. What once used to be a few precious winnings, gradually became boxes and piles of books won, gifted, bought (damn you Borders closing sales! *shakes fist*), or received for review. I began to fear for my sanity, as well as my marriage.

Bless his heart, the hubs hasn't mentioned the three piles of books sitting on the floor. Or the pile on the shelf. Or the mail that brings bookish things with increasing regularity. I just had a feeling it was coming.

The talk.

"Listen, honey. I know you love blogging and all, but I thought the Kindle was supposed to reduce the number of books we had laying around."

In an effort to avoid that little conversation starter, I went on a frenzy this weekend. I organized the books into a "keep" pile and a "don't need to keep" pile. The "keep" books went on a special shelf in the living room to be gazed at adoringly.

And, erm...the "don't need to keep" pile? It's, um, *whispers* it's still on the floor.

When all was said and done, I counted 67 books that I have acquired over the last seven months. It easily needs its own bookshelf. The pile is cuh-razy. And it doesn't even include ebooks! I did buy a Kindle to avoid massive piles of books. Blogging has changed that.

Now I crave real books. I want to look at the covers and feel the pages. The only problem is that it takes me forever to read them because I only take my Kindle on my commute, and that's when I get the most reading done. What's a girl to do?

I feel a little bit better now that it's organized, but it still feels overwhelming. I thought about putting myself on a book buying ban, but I know I wouldn't follow it, so what's the point? I'm not sure the best way to handle this going forward. Stay organized? Buy a new blogging-only bookcase? Never enter another contest again? (HA!)

Do you have unmanageable book/review piles? How do you handle them? Hit me with your best advice, because I need it!


Amazingly beautiful and painstakingly crafted signature courtesy of Small Review

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme devoted to sharing the new books we've received, borrowed, or bought. For more information, visit IMM's fantastic host, The Story Siren. You can visit other blogs that are participating in this week's IMM here.

Clicking on the book covers will take you to Amazon.com to pre-order or order these titles.

E-galleys for review:

Cinderella: Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan

Part of the Twisted Tales series, this book is a choose-your-own-adventure retelling of the Cinderella story, with a magical ninja twist. My review will be up within the next few weeks.

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

Summary (from Amazon.com): It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Bought:

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

The Kindle version of this title is on sale right now for $2.39. Of course it is, since I already bought my copy for $9.99. Sigh.

Summary (from Amazon.com): Would you risk everything for someone you just met? What if he had a secret worth killing for?

Welcome to a future where water is more precious than oil or gold...

Hundreds of millions of people have already died, and millions more will soon fall—victims of disease, hunger, and dehydration. It is a time of drought and war. The rivers have dried up, the polar caps have melted, and drinkable water is now in the hands of the powerful few. There are fines for wasting it and prison sentences for exceeding the quotas.

But Kai didn’t seem to care about any of this. He stood in the open road drinking water from a plastic cup, then spilled the remaining drops into the dirt. He didn’t go to school, and he traveled with armed guards. Kai claimed he knew a secret—something the government is keeping from us...

And then he was gone. Vanished in the middle of the night. Was he kidnapped? Did he flee? Is he alive or dead? There are no clues, only questions. And no one can guess the lengths to which they will go to keep him silent. We have to find him—and the truth—before it is too late for all of us.

Won:

XVI by Julia Karr

Summary (from Amazon.com): Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world - even the most predatory of men - that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past - one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.

From the library:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary (from Goodreads): the cold. Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia

Summary (from Amazon.com): Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles, the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets - secrets that can completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. This doesn't sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to her heart - literally.

In My Mailbox (1)

My first meme!  I'm so excited!  In My Mailbox is devoted to sharing the new books we've received/borrowed/bought this week.  For more information on this weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, click here.  This is the last IMM of 2010, so I'm lucky to get in under the wire.  You can visit other blogs that are participating in this week's IMM here.

Clicking on the book covers will take you to Amazon.com to pre-order these titles.

I'm particularly excited this week because the three books I have to report are my first ARCs from netgalley.com.  My first commissioned reviews!

First up is Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.  Here's the synopsis from Amazon.com:

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

It sounds like a great paranormal romance love triangle read.  Definitely my kind of thing!  This book is being released January 4, 2011, so it is first on my list to be reviewed.

Second is Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

A world without love?  Sounds pretty awful to me, which is why this book seems so fascinating.  This title is being released on February 1, 2011.

Last, but not least, I also received a copy of Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton. Here's the synopsis from Amazon.com:

First there are nightmares.

Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.

When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.

Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

I have to admit, I love strong female characters that are capable of hunting and fighting for themselves.  This book seems really intriguing and exciting and I can't wait to read it. This title releases on February 15, 2011.

Happy reading!