I once heard it said that she who dies with the most books wins. I think my mother is definitely in the running for first place. The beauty of this is that I live near her and can benefit from her minor book addiction. (Really she can quit anytime! She just doesn’t want to!)

Remember the day when books were cheap? Not so anymore! Regular sized paperbacks are up to eight dollars and now so many books are skipping that and doing “trade paperback” and cost almost as much as a hardcover! And unfortunately there are too many books and not enough time!

I began reading at a young age. Mostly sci-fi and fantasy though I have enjoyed mysteries from time to time. Especially if they fall within the aforementioned sci-fi and fantasy realms! I’ve moved on to romancey (need I say falling with the aforementioned…) and “chick-lit”. And I’m also not ashamed to admit I read youth books! Hey, Harry Potter and his buddies rock!

I had the kids at mum’s a couple of days ago and she kept handing me new books to read. I finally had to sit down so that I could put the growing stack on my lap. She finally gave me an amazon box to hold all the books and that progressed to also a bag from the market! Of course, not too long ago she brought me a stack of books to read that I feel I’ve barely made a dent on!

With it being convention season I’m also buying books. I love meeting authors. I love finding authors that are not “mainstream.” And most of all, I adore finding, meeting, and reading local authors. I’ve three books by local authors I love in my “to be read” stack I just picked up at RavenCon. I hope to read them before Balticon. I’ve my eye on about five or six more books for then. At least. Oh the torture! How to decide? I of course get all of these books autographed!

My autographed books collection is slowly growing. I didn’t have any, but now I suddenly have a collection! A majority of my collection are from the local authors. I do have some newly autographed John Ringo books as well as Peter David, Anne McCaffrey, Margaret Weiss, and Tracy Hickman. This Monday I plan to add a few more to my collection. I just discovered Charlain Harris, author of the Southern Vampire Mystery Romance series, will be a mere hour away. I am already preparing my plans to get there!

I just keep looking at my large box of books. I’m not even sure where to put all these books my mother just loaned me! I look forward to delving into these books very soon! I of course need more bookcases to hold my books. Two just does not cut it. That’s not enough for anyone! For now I’ll enjoy looking at my stacked books and giggling. And knowing if I don’t start reading them soon I’ll find myself in trouble. My mother already has about six or seven more for me to borrow.

If you can’t find me, I’m the girl buried in the pile of unread books. Never fear, I’m sure I’m happy in my world of faeries, vampires, crazy clumsy women, dragons… well you get the picture. If you feel kind enough, there’s a whole slew of new Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, and Katie McAllister books you could purchase me and throw on the pile!

–Lady O