TBR Piles

I know there is a thread already for what we're reading and asking for recommendations, but I thought I'd start one on TBR piles. We all have one. So I thought this was a good thread if people would like to talk about a book that they're excited to read, or a book that is languishing in the pile and they can't seem to drum up enthusiasm to start it.

I, myself, dangerously went to the UBS today, even though I already have quite a few to read, including Wicked Under the Covers and The Secret Pearl, as I mentioned in a previous post.

But, I came away with quite a few titles and thought I'd list a few and see if anyone has any thoughts that would cause a title to move up the list and get read sooner rather than later.

I got The Irish Devil, Lola Carlyle Reveals All, Body Check, Meet Me At Midnight, The Ruthless Charmer, Surrender to a Wicked Spy, A Greek God at the Ladies' Club, The Temptation by Claudia Dain, and Pleasuring the Prince along with a few Sabrina Jeffries and a J.R. Ward I've been meaning to read.

Quite the mix, I must say. I have been avoiding the Avon Light fare of Rachel Gibson and others but thought I'd give it a try for 50 cents. And I've never read Claudia Dain, Deirdre Martin, Jacqueline Navin, or Diane Whiteside. Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts or just wants to share their TBR pile, go ahead and post.

Hi Gracer, I don't recognize any of the ones you bought today. (That isn't unusual at all; I don't get around much.) But I did just read The Secret Pearl. It is an old-fashioned story, imo. Nothing much in the way of steam. But Balogh is a real storyteller, though. I liked it very much. (As I said on another thread, I did almost give up on the hero. He was so VERY straight-laced and duty-bound.)

Hmm...interesting. I assume it is an earlier work of hers, before the Bedwyns?

I think it is, but I'm not positive. I already returned it to the library. I hope I haven't put you off it. Try the first chapter and see if you're hooked. :) To be honest, I think it is one of her better stories. It was all very plausible, even his constant worry over appearances and doing the right thing. And the heroine's desperation was very real.

Deirdre Martin's last couple are hockey related, except for one that was about a firefighter... I liked them, but I'm a hockey fan.

Diane Whiteside is part of the cloud of authors emerging from Ellora's Cave. I liked the novella she wrote that tied in with an Angela Knight, but I haven't read anything of hers that was in paper print.

I liked Deirdre Martin's books as well. I've read them all. But a bit like romsfuulynn I generally seem to like sport stories.

Julia

I have The Ruthless Charmer in my TBR pile but it has been there forever.I literally have like 300 books in my TBR.

My TBR pile is pretty big as well. My next few library books that I have out that I need to get through are Wolfcry, Stolen, Golden (touchstone not working), Circus of the Darned, Goddess by Mistake and Secret Vampire.

My Christmas pile consists of The 5 Weather Warden books by Rachel Caine, The Dragon's Heart, Missing You which is the new 1-800-Where-R-You book, Senses working overtime, The China Garden and Light my Fire which is the third Aisling Grey novel.

Books I own but have not yet read that I bought before Christmas are Reality Chick, The Demon's Daughter, Kissed by an Angel and an anthology with a story by Laurel K. Hamilton. I might have a couple others I bought in my moment of weakness at the used book store back in October :-)

Other books I want to request from the library when I have a handle on these are The Smoke Thief, The Outlander books that Jessa recommended, the series with Blue is for Nightmares (if anyone can tell me which the first book is I would be eternally grateful!!) and Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. Oh, and the Rachel Caine books that Simon recommended.

JB, I may have your 300 beat!

I read Gracer's first post and thought, hmmm, which TBR pile? There are several, much like my piles at work...there is the standard TBR, a TBRRA (right away), a TBRY (yesterday), a TBRI! (immediately!) and a TBRWIFATR (when I finish all the rest)...oh and of course, the TBRRBLTP (recommended by Library Thing Pals). LOL

CC

CC - How about the ones - "What was I thinking when I picked these up!?"
LOL ;)

bb

BB-

Oh, yeah...those kill me. "Uh...did someone give me this? No? I PAID for it? You've got to be kidding me."

I buy a lot of books in bulk on Ebay, sometimes just to get one particular book. As a result, I have lots of books I don't really want to read, and I take them to the local library. The library doesn't necessarily put them on the shelves, in fact, most of the time they end up in the monthly book sale...which means of course that I have to remember not to buy them back!

CC

CC--

I am terrible for stuff like that, myself. As well as LibraryThing, I have DeliciousLibrary which allows me to put my library onto my iPod, so at least I no longer buy books I've already read!

:D
Laura

Haha, CC, I laughed at all the names for your piles.

I read Body Check yesterday. Quick read. I enjoyed it, but had a few complaints with it. It didn't match up to Carly Phillips' Hot Zone series, imo. Nor did it match Susan Elizabeth Phillips' for sports/comedic/contemporary. But I will probably read more by her. I, too, have discovered I have a thing for sports romance. I am even going to start tagging as such.

I also read London's Perfect Scoundrel. It was my first by Suzanne Enoch and I've been meaning to read it for a long time. I LOVED IT. It meets my qualifications for a favorite for sure. I will have to go read more of her books now.

And CC, I started Wicked Under the Covers. I am not too impressed at first. If you read the first few pages I think you'll know what I mean, but I am going to keep on reading it. I know it's a double standard but I was a bit put off by Fayre's giving up of her virginity and ruination. It just seemed out of character without more development leading up to it. But I am curious about Maccus' character so I'll let you know how it goes.

gracer, isn't St. Aubyn to die for. You definately have to try out her other books.

Julia, who is just swooning at work ;)

Has anyone read Date Me Baby, One More Time? It was on my recommended list on Amazon and looks very cute. I was just curious if anyone had read it.

DL, I haven't read that book but I'm about halfway through Must Love Dragons as i picked it up before I received Outlander. It's the first book I read by Stephanie Rowe and so far she writes alot like Katie MacAlister so pretty fluffy but fun. Brain candy : )

I am swooning, too, Julia. In fact, St. Aubyn may have ruined me for other men. Haha.

Demonlover - I just finished The Smoke Thief and thought it was wonderful. I just got the second in the series The Dream Thief and am looking forward to it.

I am also getting ready to read The Crystal Rose by Rebecca Brandewyne, Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James, Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and To Distraction by Stephanie Laurens, just to name a few!

I am just starting The Secret Pearl by {Mary Balogh, I haven't read anything by her yet that I didn't like.

I read both Date Me Baby One More Time and Must Love Dragons last week. I love to read series of books and try to read them together.

I have to agree with CJ about the fluff comment, but I found the dynamic between the hero and heroine to be compelling in both books. And an interesting twist in the paranormal universe - tramping through hell with Satan.

Brendelicious- Now I really want to read the rest of Must Love Dragons :) Unfortunately, it's going to have to wait until I get through the Gabaldon books. (which will take forEVErrr, but worth it)

officially added Date me Baby One More time to my TBR pile since I picked it up at the used book store today.

I think I've developed a case of tbr add. I have started and stopped Surrender to a Wicked Spy, Wicked Under the Covers, and The Woman Most Likely To.

But I have managed to plow through quite a few books in the last few days. I've read Seduced by Pamela Britton which I enjoyed thoroughly although the end was a little contrived and required some major suspension of belief. I also tried out the Rogues of Regent Street with The Ruthless Charmer by Julia London. It was quite good, but imo, the h/h were a little TSTL at times. Meet Me at Midnight by Jacqueline Navin was very good but some readers might be put off by Raphael's cruelty. I, however, am a sucker for a rake redemption story. And then I read Dark Lover out of order since I've already read Zsadist's story. I enjoy J.R. Ward but it gets a little cheesy for me.

And for those of you wondering, I am a pretty fast and devoted reader. I tend to devour books with most historicals coming in at about 3-4 hours. And I'm 20 years old and only work part time so I have a lot of free time on my hands.

My whole TBR pile is a terrifying thing -- this is mostly just new stuff just bought or arrived

Books waiting in the TBR mountain:
Bought or entered since 1/1/07 - paper
0765354020 2007-01-02 Howling Moon: A Tale of the Sazi (Paranormal Romance) Adams, C. T. Tor Books
0821779508 2007-01-02 You Had Me At Goodbye Blackwood, Jane Zebra
0446616400 2007-01-04 A Kiss in Winter (won't touchstone) Crandall, Susan Warner Forever
0373514336 2007-01-02 The Phoenix Law (Silhouette Bombshell) Dermody, Cate Silhouette
0758212852 2007-01-04 Valentine's Day Is Killing Me Esdaile, Leslie Brava
0425212548 2007-01-02 Witchling Galenorn, Yasmine Berkley
0425213455 2007-01-02 The Perfect Kiss (Berkley Sensation) Gracie, Anne Berkley
0441014607 2007-01-02 Hell to Pay: A Novel of The Nightside Green, Simon R. Ace
0446618470 2007-01-02 The Raven Prince Hoyt, Elizabeth Warner Forever
0425213439 2007-01-04 Over The Moon (Berkley Sensation) Knight, Angela Berkley
0843957654 2007-01-02 Eye of Heaven: A Dirk & Steele Adventure (Paranormal Romance) Liu, Marjorie M. Leisure
045121921X 2007-01-02 Lady Katherne's Wild Ride (Signet Eclipse) Westin, Jeane Signet

Ebooks queued up to be read
The Seventh Key by Evelyn Vaughn
A Babe in Ghostland by Lisa Cach

ARCs waiting in the pile:
THE ALCHEMIST'S APPRENTICE by Dave Duncan
FENZIG'S FORTUNE by Jean Rabe
SWORD OF THE DECEIVER by Sarah Zettel
THE SUMMONER by Gail Martin

Other book waiting to be read: The Spriggan Mirror Lawrence Watt-Evans -- this is sort of a reread since I read the original chapter by chapter version posted on the web, but since it has received a thorough edit I'm looking forward to a reread, although I'm debating a complete Ethshar reread at some point when the Vondish Ambassador is close to being done, and I may save it for that.

And the ARC I am very eagerly awaiting -- Sharing Knife: Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold. Everything else will stop when it arrives so I can read it at least twice.

Roms, I loved The Raven Prince, and immediately put The Leopard Prince on pre-order. I really enjoyed Hoyt's writing style, very edgy and evocative.

CC

Gracer what does?

It was quite good, but imo, the h/h were a little TSTL at times

mean?

Simon

Too Stupid To Live

heh heh "TSTL" ~ love it! :D

TBR pile? Mine looks more like a mountain that equals the Zugspitze.

128 books in my tbr mountain

I would take a picture to show it to you but I forgot my camera at my parents home at Christmas, well mabey later.

Though I'm interested what your bookshelfes look like.

I'm thinking of getting rid of at least the Jane Feather ones, since I lost interest in reading them. Just bought them because they were part of a series which I started.

The next dent I'm going to make are the Victoria Alexander books since she has two new ones coming out back to back. I'm looking forward to it since I like the Effington's very much. It's also I while since I read my last Regency/Victorian.

Julia

I, too, have lost interest in Jane Feather for some reason. I wonder why.

Also, what is a Zugspitze? (completely ignorant of all things German)

And Simon, it means the hero and heroine were at times too stupid to live. Haha. I wish I had come up with that term because it is so good and so true sometimes.

gracer, the Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany and part of the German alps.

Julia

Interesting. I get confused when people start talking about Swiss Alps, Italian Alps, German Alps. I need to brush up on my geography!

gracer, better yet. Read all of Enochs books they are worth it. Every single on of them. :D

Julia

My TBR pile has about 15 books by Johanna Lindsey in it. After I read the Malory novels, I wanted to read everything else by her. The genre-hopping keeps me on my toes (she does westerns, russian settings, medieval, regency).

I am definitely planning on glomming Suzanne Enoch! Already with London's Perfect Scoundrel she is one of my favorites and that is saying something.

I haven't read any of those tbrs, ncflyer, but I also have A Kiss in the Dark in my tbr. I read a review on allaboutromance and they seemed lukewarm about it, like it was good but nothing special.

Katybear, I didn't like all of Johanna Lindsey's books but besides the Malorys I did enjoy Once a Princess and You Belong to Me in particular, which are part of a set.

NC ~ Only one of your list I've read is More Than a Mistress by Mary Balough. I thought it was really good ~ 4 stars at least.

Well I don't think I'll list my entire pile but as soon as I get finished with the Gabaldon books. I have pile that may start with Every Which Way But Dead and A Fistful of Charms, The Raven Prince, Moon Called. A Little Bit Wicked, The Vampire Who Loved Me, Ain't She Sweet, A Knight In Shining Armor, and Sunshine and Shadow just to name a few.

I have a stack of romances a mile high, but I can't start them until I finish several other books that I have to get back to the library (3 nonfiction and 2 fiction.) But my tbr stack includes many recommendations from here: Flowers from the Storm finally came in; still haven't gotten around to By Design or The Rules of Seduction, but they're ready when I am; and, cc, I checked out The shattered rose and Magnolia Creek. If you don't hear from me again for a while, you'll know there's been an avalanche!

A Knight in Shining Armor is really good. I haven't read it in a long time, but the hero is delicious and it's one of the few time travels I've enjoyed.

I checked out The Raven Prince and had to chuckle. It sounds like my last boss and my current one. Both of them had horrible reputations for not being able to hold on to assistants because of being just about impossible to work for and I've enjoyed working for both of them. But, there was/is definately NOT, NOT NOT any romance involved!

I might have to request this book from the library after I've finished with my TBR resolution.

DL- ; ) I love those romances where there's just a little taboo. Boss/secretary, abductor/abductee and so on.

my TBR pile is just plain scary but the working pile is:

Oxford book of Humurous Prose a book I've been dipping into on and off.
Passage
Household Gods
Children of God
Throne of Jade
Harrowing the Dragon
Code Blue - Emergency
Convergence
The Hob's Bargain
The Miniature Man
Hard Choices
The Boy I love
Handbags and Halos
The Innocent
Calendar Girl
Raffy's Shapes
Lions of al-rassan
Challenge
The Silver Wolf
Celtic Ring
Time Travellers, Ghosts
Humility Garden
Under Camelot's Banner
Goodnight Sisters
Fool's Errand
Working Wonders
Storm Season
Ghost Horse
A Rose at Midnight
Farnham's Freehold
Fasting Girls

Looks like you'll be reading for awhile. lol What fun!!!

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell? If so, I read that and loved it, though not quite as much as I loved The Sparrow, which is the first book of the two-book series. I'd give Children 4-1/2 stars and Sparrow 5. Other than that, I don't recognize any of your TBR books.

#45
indeed it's the one by Mary Doria Russell, I liked The Sparrow and started Children of God but didn't quite get into it.

I read a lot of Fantasy as well as some romances, most of what's there is fantasy at the moment, some non-fiction, a few Mills & Boon (Harlequin's UK variant) and a few I picked up because they were E1.50 each in Waterstones one day!

I finally cataloged my home library (as opposed to simply putting in books I'm reading as I go along from the library) and found a large number of Harlequin Intrigue books that I know I've never read. I was checking out the descriptions on all of them as I was going along and they all sounded very interesting. I guess I know where all my tag sale money went from the summer before last! It had to be then because I didn't go tag saleing at all this past summer.

My TBR pile currently has 56 books in it... wait, no, 55. Forgot I finished a book last night. This is actually bigger than I thought it was - after putting almost all the books I own into LT (I've got a shelf of books from my childhood that haven't made it in yet), I realized there are quite a few books I bought because they were supposed to be good, and I just never tried to read them. I'm trying to not accumulate any more books, but that's easier said than done, especially with a stash of credits at paperbackswap after getting rid of books I knew I'd never read again. I'm doing my best to stay out of bookstores right now, since that seems to be my major downfall. I can't just go in and browse. Have to buy multiple books.

I'm with you piper. I have 61 books in my TBR pile from recommendations and just my own interests. Amazon is my downfall, because, well if I'm going to buy one why not buy four? And that recommendation list they put on there weakens my will every time :) And by gosh that book on my rec list got five stars!! Must..buy....it!

Current TBR Pile
Oxford book of Humurous Prose a book I've been dipping into on and off.
Household Gods
Throne of Jade
Handbags and Halos
Raffy's Shapes
The Lions of Al-Rassan
The Challenge
Silver Wolf
Celtic Ring
Time Travellers, Ghosts and other Visitors
Humility Garden
Under Camelot's Banner
Goodnight Sisters
Working Wonders
Storm Season
Rose at Midnight
Farnham's Freehold
Cusp
Equinox
Company of Glass
Wanderers and Islanders
Spanish Bride
Arabesques II
Cravings
Mythic Beasts
Shadows of Sanctuary
Dragon-lovers treasury of the Fantastic
Legends II
Witches of Karres
Wizard of Karres
Stolen Village

Wyvern, be sure to read Witches of Karres before Wizard. With some books, it doesn't matter. With these, you'll be REALLY lost otherwise.

Yeah, I had Wizard before Witches (sad Mercedes Lackey fangirl moment) and realised that I needed the prequel first. It only made it into the proper tbr pile because I got the prequel.

Yes I have more than one tbr pile I'm trying very hard to read books in a kind of FIFO order (doesn't always work but keeping them in sequence on listsofbests is making sure that I at least contemplate the older before launching into the new!)
At the moment I have about 4 TBR lists. There's my librarylist, the current TBR pile, the FIFO TBR list and then there's the TBR's left in the mountain of boxes in the shed in the house. Many of them actually need shelves before I can organise things but at least it's a start.

Today I bought three more books for my TBR pile. I couldn't resist! At the book store I picked up The Dark One by Rhonda Thompson which has been on my amazon wish list. At the used book store I picked up Prince of Ice by Emma Holly and a book called Fallen from Grace by Laura Leone which was in the dollar box. It sounded pretty good. I did pick up one other book from the dollar box that I've already read and couldn't resist, Gone with the Nerd by Vicki Lewis Thompson.

Fallen from Grace by Laura Leone is excellent, although I had some reservations about the idea of a male courtesan/gigolo in a contemp, she pulled it off. Prince of Ice didn't work as well for me as Emma Holly's first book in that world, The Demon's Daughter but it is still very good.

I think I liked Prince of Ice a little better than The Demon's Daughter, I'm not sure why. Maybe because I was looking for a story that involved people who were friends before they became lovers and Prince of Ice kind of fit that.

Today I have completely wrecked my resolution on not making library requests. Call me weak, but I couldn't stand it. There are sooo many books that look good I can't wait until I'm done with my TBR pile. I made requests for a number of books on my wishlist, at least this way I'm saving money LOL

I requested:
Must Love Dragons
Playing with Fire
Looking for Alaska
Too Much Temptation
Devil's Bargin by Rachel Caine
and the first Midnighters book by Scott Westerfeld