The stack of books...

for one reason or another, did not dwindle much during my stay-cation the week after Christmas.  As much as I love my Kindle, its portability, compact storage capacity (3,500 books!) and all the great freebies associated with it, there are still some authors' books that I like to hold in my hands.  I savor every page and then lovingly put them with their friends on my bookshelves.  When I moved from my house, I let go of literally hundreds of books by authors I've enjoyed over the years: Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, Anne Rice, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, Ken Follett, Maeve Binchy - I knew I really didn't have room for them and I was never going to read them again.  I boxed up the pile I hadn't read yet and spend the year of the first, small apartment with no cable reading myself to sleep every night.  I passed the books along to my friend Richard who enjoyed them and then passed them along to our mutual friend Neil.  Yes, I know, it seems like all my friends are men - I'm not sure why that is.  But I digress...  One of the authors who made the I-have-to-keep-the-books cut is Alexander McCall Smith.  I loved the detective agency series and I adore the Isabel Dalhousie series.  I am reading his latest installment of the Corduroy Mansions series - still not finished!- and I have his 44 Scotland Street series waiting in my book basket.  I also have Allen Bradley's latest Flavia deLuce mystery to read - I love that kid.  So precocious - but in a good way.  Bradley's books are definitely keepers.  Not long ago, I read a newspaper article about a local author I had to check out.  His name is Ransom Riggs and he's written a book with a most interesting title: Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children.  I can't wait to read it - as well as his Sherlock Holmes Handbook.  I'm also looking forward to reading three books by Jenny Cote.  They are young adult fiction featuring a scotty dog and a cat: The Ark, the Reed and the Fire Cloud; The Dreamer, the Schemer and the Robe; and The Prophet, the Shepherd and the Star.  I'm sure you can guess what the books are about based on their titles.  I may not have gotten much reading done during my alleged week off, but at least I have something to read while I wind down at night during tax season.  Stayed tuned for some book reviews...