What's on your 'To Be Read' shelf?

[Daniel Hatadi]

Or, as is often the case, the pile of books next to your overflowing bookshelf known as 'Mount TBR'.

Me, I just ordered Anne Frasier's GARDEN OF DARKNESS, Jen Jordan's EXPLETIVE DELETED, Charlie Huston's HALF THE BLOOD OF BROOKLYN, and a little book by Delphine Lecompte called KITTENS IN THE BOILER.

I recently finished Tana French's IN THE WOODS and really enjoyed it, so maybe I'm not as hardboiled as I thought I was. Right now, I'm powering through Steven Hall's THE RAW SHARK TEXTS, with some Cormac McCarthy (THE ROAD) and Peter Temple (IN THE EVIL DAY) waiting in the wings. But there's always others on that mountain of books that may just take my fancy once I've finished my current read.

Anyone else feel like sharing their reading past, present and future?

[Amanda Howard]

Hi Karen, Starling wrote my favourite book: Messiah. I've not read his other two, but am keen to read this one. I'll probably read it after I've finished Cross. I'll let you know what I think.

The aussie true crime ones are: Snowtown, Falconio, Knight, Folbigg and ummmm, not sure what the other one is. It comes in a pack available at Big W for $30. Was a good deal. I got it for my birthday and haven't even opened it though. :o)

[Karen from AustCrime]

Thanks Amanda - that pack sounds interesting - I've got one book on Snowtown but I can't remember which one :)

[Daniel Hatadi]

Hey, did you two see the ads about the UNDERBELLY TV series? Looks great. I can't wait to watch it.

[Karen from AustCrime]

ooh yes - intriguing enough to make me break a long-standing ban and actually watch a commercial TV station :) :) :)

[Amanda Howard]

Oh yes, I will be watching that. I'm not into the crime syndicates so much, but the cast and the books means it's going to be a top rater!

Daniel, does this mean you're an Aussie too?

[Donna Moore]

I'm currently reading Jorg Fauser's THE SNOWMAN, which is a thoroughly nasty sleazy little book and therefore totally up my dark, warped alley. I'm also waiting for a delivery of my copies of the short story anthology A HELL OF A WOMAN. I've read all the stories when it was in manuscript form, but there is nothing like holding the real book in your hands :o)

Next up, one of the following, most of which have been on Mt TBR for far too long:
HEAD GAMES - Craig McDonald
SWANSEA TERMINAL - Robert Lewis
LINGER AWHILE - Russell Hoban

Books that I am looking forward to buying in the near future and which I will read as soon as I get them:
MONEY SHOT - Christa Faust
PAYING FOR IT - Tony Black (published in June I think)

[Donna Moore]

Let me know if it's as good as HORSE'S ARSE. I'll be happy to send THE SNOWMAN off to you once I'm done if you like.

[I. J. Parker]

Reading Tim Hallinan's BONE POLISHER, and am hugely impressd with the writing and the characters. Just rejected Miyabe's CROSSFIRE. I cannot abide cheap (supernatural) pyrotechnic tricks.

[John Dishon]

Have you read All She Was Worth? And if so, what about that ending? I loved the book up until the end, but what a cheap way to go out.

[I. J. Parker]

The only other Miyabe I read was the one about the girls from the escort service getting killed (don't remember the title). I was slightly dubious about that one also, but at least it hung on precariously to a bit of realism. I did like the character of the boy.

[BrianLindenmuth]

Ah Mt. TBR. Oddly enough this is a timely post Daniel because I was just thinking about it recently.

As we all know Mt. TBR can be filled with some slippery slopes and like a hole it just gets bigger the more you take out of it.

I was assessing my own personal Mt. TBR and I made an observation. I've got a couple of titles sitting there (for no good reason) for a long time, a few months up to a year. But in the past I've had some books that just languished on The Mount for an eternity. Geoff Ryman's The Child Garden sat there for 3+ years and William T Vollmann's You Bright and Risen Angels sat there for 5+ years before I read it. Both of these books I really wanted to read but it just never seemed to happen then loved when I finally did.

So I'd like to add a question what's the longest you've had a book on the TBR pile before you finally got around to reading it. And did you like it?

My current TBR has some titles that have been there for a bit and some more recent ones. But the top ones are

-The double arc of What Burns Within & Frailty of Flesh by Sandra Ruttan
-Saturdays Child by Ray Banks
-The End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
-Mad Dog by Brian Hodge
-Marcus Sakey's new book
-The new one by James Sallis


and some others that I'm just drawing a blank on right now.

[Lourdes Fernandez]

There are some books on my TBR pile that have been there at least 7 years. I do plan to read them someday. Really.