Drowning in Books

It's my own fault, but I'm ddrowning in books. Travis and I have a vacation planned that starts May 18, and a couple of weeks ago I found these great lists of books that deserve to be rediscovered and books that deserve public attention. I promptly went over to the Vancouver Public Library Web site and started making requests.

The Vancouver Public Library system is extremely active. The branch libaries are pretty small, and if you want to read something, you generally have to request it. There is generally a wait of some kind for your book to show up, so imagine my surprise when the library informed me that 12 of the books I had on my request list were ready for me to pick up. A thirteenth arrived while I was checking out the first 12, and of course I still had a couple at home I wasn't done with yet. I was rich! Rich, I tell you! And stupid. What did I think was going to happen when I requested a bunch of books off lists that indicate they aren't exactly flying off the shelves? Of course they were all going to show up in a hurry!

And then I realized I had a deadline -- I can't really take these books on vacation with me. They come due right in the middle of our trip, and if someone else requests them, they'll be seriously overdue by the time I get them back. So for the past week, I've dropped my other hobbies (why do they all have to be so time-consuming?) and settled down to read. It's been a terrific week! I've conquered:

Almost French: Love and A New Life in Paris, by Sarah Turnbull

Florence of Arabia: A Novel, by Christopher Buckley

The Rector's Daughter, by F.M. Mayor

Shiksa Goddess: Or, How I Spent My Forties, by Wendy Wasserstein

Under the Bridge: The True Story of the Murder of Reena Virk, by Rebecca Godfrey