To Be Read that’s what TBR stands for and every die-hard reader has a TBR pile next to the bed or on a shelf or stacked in the corner of a room.
I go through phases where I have stacks of books to be read and then other times when I’m reading so much, so fast I have to keep returning to the bookstore every few days for more.
Right now I am in the can’t-read-until-book-is-done phase which means I’m miserable and the books I want to read keep arriving from Amazon and I won’t be diving into any of them until July. Probably second week of July at the rate I’m going.
Oh, it kills me. Lisa Kleypas’ Sugar Daddy and Blue-Eyed Devil. Emily Giffin’s Love The One You’re With. A Hollywood Ending by Robyn Sisman. Fifteen Minutes of Shame by Lisa Daily. The Millionaire’s Makeover by Lilian Darcy (I was there in San Diego with her while she researched!). An arc of Mia King’s Sweet Life. The Lottery by Patricia Wood. And the ones I’ve ordered but haven’t yet arrived by JR Ward, Marian Keyes, Jane Green, and Sophie Kinsella. Oh! And Julia Quinn’s brand new one that has a cover to die for. I’ve seen it in stores everywhere and it stops me each time and I just look at it, love it, think, yes, this is the one for me.
In Hawaii I have more novels waiting, novels that I bought on my last trip during the Book & Music Festival.
Oh, to have so many books and absolutely no time to read. Not even a little because I can’t afford to be distracted, can’t allow the writing energy and intensity to wane. When I’m in the writing groove, it’s an obsession. It takes me so long to sink into this place but once I’m here it’s like quicksand, I’m gone, sucked in and lost to the rest of the world. Even when I’m not writing now my head aches with fuzzy sound, like the slip of sand down a slope. Ssssshhhhhh. Words, words. They rush at me now, circle, try to settle and its my job to find a place for them, to make them make sense.
I hardly talk to Surfer Ty when I’m writing like this. I can barely talk to anyone because my head is so tired and I don’t have energy for anything but getting the story down.
When people used to say, “wow, you really churn those out” in reference to my books, I always thought that was funny. There’s no churning. It’s not a rapid methodical process. It’s a swirling madness. Something so strong it becomes my gravitational pull. Something so intense I practically sway with fatigue night and day.
My desk. My computer. My keyboard. My words.
I’m just now tonight finishing chapter 5 and have started chapter 6. Chapter 4 and 5 need some work but they’ll do for now. I ended up spending far too much time tweaking chapter 3 over the weekend. I was obsessed with 3 and with my luck it’ll be the chapter I end up cutting. Three chapters forward, two chapters back.
Tomorrow morning I have another radio interview and then tomorrow night I join Neely’s book club on Mercer Island. Tomorrow night I’ll be discussing books. Tragically, for the reader in me, the book will be mine.
I went back to school at the first of the year so I didn’t get to do much pleasure reading (although Odd Mom Out was what I was reading, when I found a spare moment) until the last couple of weeks. I read three whole books over the weekend, finished a fourth and am about halfway through the fifth. Of course, I bought two more over the weekend (one being Julia Quinn’s latest) so I didn’t make as much headway in my TBR pile as one might think. So, I can sympathize with wanting to read and not having time. On the other hand, we want you cranking those books out too so… 🙂
Had coffee with Neely on Saturday, Jane, and she and her book club are really looking forward to having you there to talk about “Mrs. Perfect!” 🙂
I totally get what you mean about not reading while head-down writing, Jane! I had to put myself on such a regimen with this book, as it’s the first time I have a deadline, and then I decided to do something stupid and move simultaneously. Sheesh. It’s been about 2 weeks since I last picked up fiction, and it’s nearly killing me! However, the first draft of the book will get done, which is the more important goal in the end, isn’t it? 🙂
Shannon
All I can say is HOORAY!! I miss you when you write but I get so excited because another wonderful life changing adventure is being put down on paper… another story of romance, friendship, struggle and restoration! So once again… HOORAY!!!
Right now Megan Crane is in my TBR pile and I’m having so much fun!!
I keep making those trips to Borders even though I have so many books that I still need to read! Before I read Mrs. Perfect, I was reading another book and had to force myself to finish it first! I did peek inside, but I made myself put it down! Now, I have LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH on my nightstand that I have been saving for our vacation! Oh well.
Cathy
I love those moments when the story is so strong it’s swirling around me and I have to get it down on paper now! I’m happy the book is flowing for you now since the start gave you a hard time.
Say “Hello” to Neely for me! She was so much fun to hang out with at your book party!
ah, the tbr pile! mine grows and flourishes every day thanks to having a wonderful indie bookstore a couple of blocks away and also thanks to one-click ordering at amazon! one way i do manage to squeeze in extra reading time is at the gym and with downloaded books on my ipod. that’s how i’m “reading” emily giffin’s new one…
I am lucky, or just dull, because I have been reading every evening. Summer is my prime reading time, and I am finishing a couple a week. I can’t believe some people never read a book all year!!
Thank you for going through the agony and the effort to write your “page turning” stories for readers like me that appreciate it so much! I read your 5 spot books in about two days; not because they are “simple” but simply because they are so griping and I can’t put them down. I need to know what happens to the characters so I stay up late to finish as soon as I can. You give me next day dump and baggy eyes so it is good you don’t write any faster than you do.
I also have a huge TBR pile! I recently graduated with my MBA in May. I always read a book between semesters…which I did read Odd Mom Out. I started the summer off with the new James Patterson books, ‘Sail’ and ‘Sunday at Tiffany’s’ which are both great books too! I’m currently reading Flirting with Forty. I do have The Frog Prince in my TBR pile, which I think I will read next. This blog is also a great way to pick up on recommended reading. I order from Powells.com which I find at times to be a little less expensive than Amazon or B&N…which is where I bought my latest stack of TBR books! Jane, can’t wait to read more of your books!! 🙂