Book Challenge?

Demon, I noticed you and a couple of others are also in the 50 Book Challenge Group. I think that would be a great thing to do here, too. But, that challenge is 50 books a year. Since I read about 50 books a month, that is no challenge for me, but what do you all think of each of us setting our own goal?

CC

>Since I read about 50 books a month

*blinks*

I hate you!

*has a hissy-fit because she doesn't have that type of TIME anymore*

Hey, I work full time and have a husband! LOL

I've always been a voracious reader, but I probably do have more time than some of you. I also don't have any children nagging me about being fed and clothed and driven somewhere. My husband is a farmer and a timber buyer. He's up and out of the house by 4:30 a.m. most mornings, and asleep by 9:00 most nights, so I have a lot of time to myself.

CC

Twenty years ago I used to read the same amount - if not more, but as I get older, I seem to have less time. I don't have kids either or else I'd NEVER get anything read! And I read fast - on average about 100 pages an hour.

But add a husband, a full time job, a disability, two dogs, college, an eating disorder, blah blah blah...

*sigh*

Anyway, I get about 15 - 17 books a month read on average.

You ladies! I am the slowest reader in the known universe! Simon suggested a book to me not long ago and I spent almost three weeks with it, reading, making notes, re-reading, looking up references. It was the most fun I'd had with a book in years. (Thanks again, Simon!) Sometimes I wish I read more quickly, though, when I see everything on your lists. But to be honest, I don't really mind. I tell myself I read for fun and I've never been one to hurry fun along! :)

I set a goal for myself last year of 10 books per month (some books are longer than others, and I tend to read a lot of those 600+ page ones.)

I read 173 last year, so I kind of overdid it ;)

I'm trying to do the same thing this year. So far, I've read 12.

CC-sounds like a good idea to me :-) Right now I think I'll stick with the 50 book goal and then up it if and when I reach it. I am ahead for this month but that's because some of the books I've read were pretty short YA novels.

Sounds like a good idea to me too. So should we start from January first? Or Today?

morphidae: And I read fast - on average about 100 pages an hour.

*thud*

I am a slow reader in even when I read in German but my average in English is 30 pages an hour.

But a book challenge is a great idea. I think we should start Jan, 1st.

My challenge for this year is 100 books.

Julia

I would say Jan. 1 as well.

I've been keeping track and so far I have 15 books, but most of those were Rex Stout ( Nero Wolfe ) which tend to be short. I think my goal will be to add enough non-fiction to the mix to read at least one non-fiction book every month starting in February. And of course read a romance or romantic suspense most weeks!

(This doesn't count the many picture books I read at work or the somewhat more advanced books I skim thru there. However I did count the Harry Potter book since it's long and I was reading it more for myself than for any work purpose.)

Oh, goody. Let's do it then, starting from January 1!

My challenge is 500 books.

Demon, where do you get the little thingy that tracks your stats? I saw a couple on the 50 book challenge site.

CC

I read a lot but it's mostly books for school (as a double English and History major I tend to read a LOT). I will put my goal at 80 books (including school) because this is my last semester so perhaps I'll have more time during the year (wishful thinking) and I read about 65 last year according to my count.

I've read about 7 already I think.

I just thought of something. I re-read a lot of books, like Devil in Winter. So if I re-read it more than once this year, I'm only going to count it once toward my goal.

CC

That's a good idea CC. Two of mine so far were rereads and you're right; they should only count once in a year's time. So where do we want to put our challege info?

Haile, I'm keeping a book journal in Word format, but I noticed on the 50BC group site, some people are posting the books they read. There's also a meter to gauge your progress in percentages. I'll try to find out where they got it.

This is going to be fun!

CC

I don't set a goal for fiction books in a year, but I do set a goal for nonfiction. I try to read at least 100 every year. I average about 40 books a month, so making between 8 and 10 of them nonfiction helps me balance out a bit. I really don't make a goal for total books in a year.

I'm brand new to LT, and fairly new to romance reading, but I'm definitely trying to do an "x books for the year" thing. I joined the 50 book challenge, but the way I've been plowing through books lately, I think I'll be beating that one. I should make a goal to try to read more non-fiction though. That's a really good idea!

CC-I'm not sure where they get the little stat bars from. I'll post the question on there and see what they say. I've just been posting the books as I've been reading as I go along. It's easier for me to do it that way.

Here is where you can get the meter:

http://www.zokutou.co.uk/wordmeter/

Thanks! I think you answered my question over on the other board too :-)

I found the word thingy. January is over and I'm 10.6% there!

53 / 500
(10.6%)

500? Nifty! There are people on that group going for 60, 75, 150 or whatever, so you shouldn't let that stop you. :)

They didn't kick me out for mentioning I'd like to try for 300.

The Zokutou word meter people are apparently out of business. Does anyone know of another meter I can use?

Thanks!

CC

The Zokutou people are back. How is everyone else doing with their challenge?

CC

105 / 500
(21.0%)

CC- you're an inspiration! 105 books already!

I've read 26 books so far so I'm guessing it won't be too hard to get to 50. I might have to do a goal increase.

Anybody know where I can get a speedy lesson in speed reading? :D

I'm up to

13 / 100
(13.0%)

I'm three books behind, but then I haven't had a vacation this year where I would be able to read more.
Julia

Well another month has past and here is an update on my progress

28 / 100
(28.0%)

Julia

I read more in March than I did in February. The best of the "first-run" books I read in March were two Carla Kelly's, The Wedding Journey and One Good Turn, and Claire Thornton's The Vagabond Duchess. All of them were superb.

163 / 500
(32.6%)

CC

I have increase my challenge from 50 to 100. I've already read 45 books this year so I'm pretty sure I'll get to 50 without any problem.

I've read 103 Books so far this year, I'm reading Closer than She thinks now. :)

The best of the books I read in April were two superb historicals, A Most Unsuitable Groom by Kasey Michaels and The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt; and an excellent contemporary set in midwest America, Nick All Night by Cheryl St. John. St. John's book, a quick Silhouette read, was a gem! It features a wonderfully moving romance and a very accurate portrayal of life in a small town.

CC

205 / 500
(41.0%)

I'm up to sixty books now (will eventually get the cute little meter thingy). I think my faves of April were Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas and the YA novel The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine.

I'm really looking forward to reading Suddenly You in May!!

Wow!! Didn't realize I read so much slower than everyone else! :)

40 / 500
(8.0%)

My new count is

43 / 100
(43.0%)

Next year I'm choosing an odd number, like 107, just to make it more interesting.

Julia

Julia, I think I need to do what you've done & make mine a 100 book count. I'll never read 500 books in a year :D

40 / 100
(40.0%)

book, only if you read as fast as CC. If you read 40 so far, you shouldn't have a problem with 100.

Julia

I was a slower reader than usual again this month and I know I won't get another one finished today, so here's my May total. The best book I read this month was The Secret Passion Of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James. It was excellent, the best thing she has written in ages.

CC

246 / 500
(49.2%)

Dito, I'm working to much lately and don't have as much time for reading as I would like to.

50 / 100
(50.0%)

Julia

Trying to keep up here :)

48 / 100
(48.0%)

I checked back and for the month of May I read 18 books. However, some of the books were quite short like Of Mice and Men and I read a lot of YA which I can go through fairly fast. I finished the entire book of Tantalize last night.

My favorite book for May was, without a doubt, Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward. I just adored the story and am so looking forward to her next Black Dagger Brotherhood book!

290 / 500
(58.0%)

June was an excellent month for reading. I read 44 books, and the very best of the bunch were A Perfect Bride by Samantha James, Angel In My Bed and Wild And Wicked in Scotland by Melody Thomas, Lady Beware by Jo Beverley, Into The Dark by Cindy Gerard, Untamed Cowboy by Pam Crooks, Mr. Family by Margot Early, The Viscount In Her Bedroom by Gayle Callen, and The Marcelli Bride by Susan Mallery. I gave them all a superb or excellent rating. Mr. Hawaii and Untamed Cowboy were very pleasant surprises.

CC

My current stats are

60 / 100
(60.0%)

Julia

In June I read 17 books, which appears to be about my average. My favorite book which was actually a non-romance was the young adult book Wide Awake by David Levithan.

For romances I have four I really, really enjoyed very, very much. Gabriel's Ghost by Leanna Sinclair, Mona Lisa Awakening by Sunny, Dark Defender by Alexis Morgan and our book of the month, Where Dreams Begin by Lisa Kleypas. It was a really great month for romances!!

re #26

Does anybody know where I can get a lesson in speed reading?

It's possible to teach yourself.

Don't vocalize or sub-vocalize.

Learn to read in groups of words, rather than word by word.

Time yourself per page.

Fit your speed to your purpose. If you must remember content, do an overview and make quick notes for each chapter or topic.

If you are reading for fun, entering another world, seeing new things, and meeting new people, you’re on a down-hill run. Speed things up and enjoy the ride.

Hope this helps.

Doré

My current count is

59 / 100
(59.0%)

I'm so proud of us! We're all around the 60% mark. That's great!

CC

I am not going to get another book in before midnight tomorrow. I read 50 books this month. I gave 6 a Superb rating: Mrs. McVinnie's London Season by Carla Kelly, The Duke's Indiscretion by Adele Ashworth (my new favorite author), Whirlwind Baby (no touchstone?) by Debra Cowan, In My Heart and Must Have Been The Moonlight by Melody Thomas, and Never Lie To A Lady by Liz Carlyle. I also gave 1 an Excellent rating: The Unexpected Millionaire by susan Mallery.

340 / 500
(68.0%)

According to the little graph on my "fun statistics" page I read/reviewed 19 books this month. That is a couple more than normal, but two of the books only took about an hour to read. Once again my fave book of the month was a YA book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Two other YA books I really loved this month were Dairy Queen and the manga, Her Majesty's Dog.

For romances I really, really enjoyed Out of the Night and Seduced by the Night the first two of the Night Slayer paranormal romance series by Robin Popp.

Someday I'll have to work on getting a little graph for myself too!

Wow CC - 50 books! I read 10 in July. My favorites were High Noon by Nora Roberts, Sleeping With Fear by Kay Hooper & Scoop & Dead Copy A Cauley MacKinnon Novel by Kit Frazier.

69 / 100
(69.0%)

My total is

68 / 100
(68.0%)

Julia

Julia,
I am still trying to get a hold on how to do all of this. I will ad my stats once I learn how.
Sue

Sue, just have to click on the diagram and it will forward you to the Zokutou page where you can enter your challenge.

Otherwise just write them down.

Julia

also 50 books a month! how is this possible? you must have the best job ever. man, i am down to like 1 or 2 a month.

Hey, Lauren. Nope, I just read very fast, always have. :)

CC

CC is more machine than woman:)

She throws off the curve for the rest of us!

that's awesome. you're an inspiration!

an inspiration that makes the rest of us feel very very bad. ;)

CC, what's your rating system? Is excellent better than superb?

Lauren, maybe just think of reading as analogous to track and field. Everyone is PR'ing.

Thanks, Lauren! And my Momma never thought I'd amount to anything! :) Just kidding Ma.

If it makes you feel any better, this month I'm going to be way down..."Lifus Interruptus".

Gracer, have you been sneaking a peek at my library? LOL Superb is the best rating I give, but Excellent is awfully close. My biggest pet peeve with authors is the tendency to include meaningless conflict. I think that accounts for the difference in the rating most of the time.

CC

CC, ha, not recently. I was referring to your best reads for the month in #48.

I also cannot abide meaningless conflict in a novel. A close second would be a rushed or illogical conclusion.

Gracer, DUH! :) I am a ninny, should have read the previous posts.

A close second pet peeve for me is the deception angle, you know where the heroine pretends to be a man, or when the H/H masquerade as someone else. I can't stand that!

CC

CC, I can't beleive you read that much/so fast! That is awesome, I'm jealous!

I was way down this month with 38 books read. I gave a few very good to excellent ratings: Megan Hart's Broken, Rachel Gibson's Tangled Up In You (A MUCH better book than I'm In No Mood For Love!), Deborah Simmons' The Last Rogue, Elizabeth Rolls' A Compromised Lady, Kate Bridges' Klondike Wedding, Maureen McKade's To Find You Again. I gave one a superb rating: Elizabeth Hoyt's The Serpent Prince.

378 / 500
(75.6%)

CC

I think it's so funny that we are alway on a par.

My count this month is:

76 / 100
(76.0%)

Julia

Looking back it appears I've read 23 books this month, but 5 of them were manga which are pretty short reads.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas would be my top romance pick, Fool Moon by Jim Butcher my top fantasy, Getting Lost with Boys by Hailey Abbott is my top YA pick for the month, but my overall fave are the Her Majesty's Dog manga that I'm pretty sure people must be getting sick of me talking about. I just love those books!

I got in 12 books this month - up from 10 last month!

81 / 100
(81.0%)

I'll post today since I won't finish another book this month.

85 / 100
(85.0%)

The ones I liked best were the 4 books by Kate Angell. I can highly reccomend her.

Julia

433 / 500
(86.6%)

I won't get another one finished today, either. I read 56 books in September, a very good month for reading. I gave four books an excellent or superb rating: Madame's Deception by Renee Bernard and Claiming The Courtesan by Anna Campbell, Just Wicked Enough by Lorraine Heath and His Secret Duchess by Gayle Wilson.

I gave several others a very good rating: A Reason to Believe by Maureen McKade; Sylvia Day's story in Perfect Kisses, althoughSusan Johnson's story was surprisingly good; Dishonor and Desire by Juliet Landon, another pleasant surprise; Lord Libertine by Gail Ranstrom and Gifford's Lady by Claire Thornton, two fabulous writers; Lord Of Midnight by Beverley; and An Innocent Courtesan by new author Elizabeth Beacon. I would have given Beacon's book an excellent rating except for a teeny bit too much formulaic, meaningless conflict. I am very much looking forward to her next book.

CC

According to my stats I've reviewed 24 books this month (this is the only way I know how to keep track numbers wise). 10 of these were manga and 2 were children's books so in all actuality I've read less novels this month than my norm. For romances I really loved Jacob and also enjoyed The Raven Prince which I finished this morning.

Going by my 50 Book Challenge thread I've read 138 out of my goal of 150 novels (I do not count manga or short stories on there), so I guess I'm doing pretty good.

I think I might have to increase my reads for 2007 from 100 books to 150. I read 15 books this month - really good for me! However, October will be a very busy month at work, so I'll decide by then. For now:

96 / 100
(96.0%)

Well, the zokutou folks took down the word meter because the Nanowrite people tended to crash the server, so I'll have to guesstimate this month. I read 51 books for a total of 484 towards my goal of 500. I calculate that's about 96.6%.

I gave two books a superb rating: If His Kiss is Wicked by Jo Goodman and Entwined by Emma Jensen, my new favorite author.

I gave several others an excellent rating: Lessons of Desire by Madeline Hunter; Sin and Scandal in England by Melody Thomas; The Scottish Companion (bad touchstone) by Karen Ranney; and An Unwilling Bride by Jo Beverley, our Oct. Beverley group read.

CC

I managed to get 12 books read in October - that's 108 total so far in 2007 towards 150 books for the year. I figure around 72%.

I had honestly thought that I hadn't read many novels in the month of October, until I listed them over on myspace. Turns out I finished and/or read entirely 11 books in October which isn't too bad.

I think my present goal on my 50 book challenge was 150. I just finished It Happened One Autumn which was my 147th (I think) novel. So, I'm thinking I'll probably have no problem reading my present goal.

Hands down It Happened One Autumn was my favorite and very last book of October. I read a few other okay ones, but that was the best.

I also started a few different manga series as well that were very good.

92 / 100
(92.0%)

There were many good books this month Mine till midnight, A touch of minx and Unforgettable.

Julia

My birthday is 8 days away, my 29th, I read about a women who did something new every day until her 30th B-Day, and decided that I wanted to do something neat to mark the last year of my 20's, so I've decided to see how many books I can finish in a year. Starting on November 16, I am going to see what that number is. I will set a tentative goal of 180 (assuming an average of a book every 2 days).

celauer - That sounds like a fun goal! Good luck with it!

celauer, I've had a lot of fun with the challenge. I'm keeping a journal of what I read every month, and rate them and include a short synopsis. I had never done that before, but I think I always will now. :)

CC

535 / 500
(107.0%)

Yea! I've reached my goal! Whoopie!

Seriously, November was a very good month for romance. I read 51 books, but the only Superb rating was for a re-read, Devil In Winter, which I didn't count toward my total because I've read it before (only about 20 times). It remains the perfect romance novel, in my opinion.

I gave three books an Excellent rating, all erotic romances but one: A Passion For Him by Sylvia Day and Nauti Nights by Lora Leigh and Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty. Nauti was especially, well, naughty! Anne's Perfect Husband by Gayle Wilson, a Regency romance, is the lone non-erotic. I highly recommend it. It was a real treat, a wonderful love story.

I gave several books a Very Good rating: A Christmas Wedding Wager by Michelle Styles, Texas Princess by Jodi Thomas, A Bride Most Begruding (Christian romance, no sex but fantastic story) by Deanne Gist, The Marrying Man by Millie Criswell, and Becket's Last Stand by Kasey Michaels. It seems like I'd been waiting forever for Jodi Thomas's new book, and it didn't disappoint.

On to December! :)

CC

Edited to try and correct touchstones, but I gave up. I don't think they'll ever work correctly.

I also met my challenge.

101 / 100
(101.0%)

The books I liked best were

The greatest lover in all England
Surrender to a scoundrel
In my wildest fantasies
Once a knight

Julia

Me too - if I stay with my original challenge of 100 books.

118 / 100
(118.0%)

But I changed it to 150, which I don't think I'll reach before the end of the year:

118 / 150
(78.7%)

I went from 50 to 150 and now am trying for 200, although if I don't reach it I won't be too upset. I really just like keeping track of the books I'm reading.

My favorite books for November were the Teen Alien Huntress books Red Handed and Blacklisted by Gena Showalter. They kind of fall into a cross-genre of young adult/romance/science fiction.

Congratulations, Julia!

Come on, BB! You can do it! :)

Hey, Demon. I like keeping track of them, too, and now I can't imagine not keeping a book journal. I've referred back to it numerous times.

CC

I'm changing my tally because I remembered 2 more books I read in Nov. that I hadn't put in my journal. Every little bit helps :D

120 / 150
(80.0%)

I'll have a houseful of company for New Year's Eve, so I know I won't get another book read this year. Zokutou wouldn't give me a total, but I'm already over my goal, so I guess it doesn't matter. I read 46 books this month, for a total on the year of 581.

I gave two books a Superb rating: Stolen Charms by Adele Ashworth and a re-read, The Improper Wife by Diane Perkins. I gave several an Excellent rating: The Vanishing Viscountess by Diane Gaston (a/k/a Diane Perkins), The Marrying Man by Kathryn June, Her Secret Fantasy by Gaelen Foley, and The Measure of A Lady by Deeanne Gist. I gave one a Very Good rating: Maverick Wild by Stacey Kayne.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2008 is the best year ever for all of us!

CC

Here is my total for 2007:

109 / 100
(109.0%)

The best December reads were

A knight to remember
Candle in the window
Take a chance on me
Public displays of affection
The kept woman

Julia

books read
130 / 150 (86.67%)

Zokutu not working for me.

I didn't set a goal. But I ended up with 168 books read, 12-15 audio books listened to, and 4 or 5 books that I started and just couldn't finish.

I didn't quite reach the 200 book goal, but I'm not too worried about it. I think I ended up with about 165ish on my 50 Book Challenge list which is plenty.

Once again most of my reading for December consisted of manga but there were a few stand out novels as well. I really enjoyed Lee Rowan's anthology Sail Away. It was a terribly thin book but I really enjoyed seeing the characters from her other stories re-visited.

My favorite YA novel was Avalon High by Meg Cabot which was an a cute story of King Arthur reincarnated as a high school student.

Another book that was pretty interesting was A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer. Although this wasn't my favorite of the books I've read by her so far, the premise was unique and the story was exciting. Certainly a worth while read for those who like the fantasy/alternate Earth type genre.

I guess for 2008 I'm going to aim for 150 novels (not including graphic novels or novelletts).

OK guys...I know I'm the stupidest person alive but I can't get that counter thing that was posted above...Anyone up to describing how it works to me?

Beret

Beret, you should be able to click on it & put your own numbers in, then copy & paste the code here, but it wasn't working the last time I tried to do mine. :(

It still isn't working, I tried again a few minutes ago.

CC

Okay, so for my 29th (Nov. 16) B-day I decided to keep track of all of the books that I read for a year and try to beat 186, I checked today to see that I am on book 259 since mid-November. So I guess I should have set a higher goal. I'm gonna go for 400 books by Nov. 16 this year. I have decided that after I finish Agnes and the Hitman I am gonna read Someone Like You for # 260!

Congratulations, CE! It is a lot of fun to keep a journal of the books you've read. I don't know why I didn't do it before 2007 when we started this.

CC

You have a point, but to be honest I don't know that it ever occured to me to keep a list of the books I've read. Paperbacks flew threw my house when I was a teenager until today. (will be 50 this sept.)

I tend to hold onto my books much to my husbands chagrin (as I now have 7 fully loaded bookshelves). I actually just started getting rid of some (I'm letting my oldest go as many of them have been read upwards of 5 times) mostly Catherine Coulter.

Ce, my husband had to convert a closet to a library for my romance novels. That was a year or so ago, and it is now full. I've got you beat by about 9 shelves; and they are full of only my keepers! LOL I can't get rid of any of them, I just can't. Problem is, we don't have any more spare closets!

CC

I'm only 25 and I have 11 bookcases jammed packed into my little one bedroom apartment, two old steamer travelling trucks full, and several stacks of books scattered around various surfaces. I haven't even read them all yet....but I will someday!

I rarely get rid of any of them and I buy more so fast and sometimes I buy them in bulk. I think I need to be medicated for OCD!!

I keep waiting for friends and family to have a reading intervention for me, not only for how many I have but for the amount of time I spend reading. There is not much that I enjoy more than the feel of a book in my hands, and being swept away to somewhere else...

I would love to see some pictures of everyone's library. Take a look at these and drool...

http://winewriter.wordpress.com/2007/10/11/some-exquisite-home-libraries-in-pict...

I'm new to this group but not new to romance novels. I too read way beyond the 50-book challenge level: about 30 a month now. I enjoy light romances and many of those move a little faster. I log the month read in my tags; this way when I want to visit an old friend, I look for those read further in the past. I have just pledged writing a review on every book read since previously I starred only.

I'm going to try this meter. Looks nifty!


95 / 350
(27.1%)

>103 gracer: gracer, I need a bib! :D Envy heaven!!

OMG! I want the Professor's library! I'm going to show that pic to my husband right away.

CC

Haha, I like the professor's library, too! I thought you all might enjoy this blog that showcases people's libraries. It's a bit more realistic...

http://yourhomelibrary.wordpress.com/

I am in the midst of a big book purge, I simply don't have the room for all those Sandra Browns, Coulters, and Krentz's that I won't read again. Sigh...

I just emailed that link to my husband, we have been talking about taking one wall of my house to dedicate to just that purpose. I just know he will get some true inspiration from that link.
Thanks very much!

I told my husband I wanted the first library, and he told me as soon as the condo association agrees we can add an addition...lol...

Check out this cute thread from another group that I belong too...

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=874

It's called "Photos of Happily-Filed Bookcases", and most of them are real peoples homes. You might get some great ideas from this thread and from the group itself!

I haven't posted my own pictures just yet. But I just got a digital camera so I might soon (when they're a little more organized)....

I read 7 books in May - my favorites were Scream For Me and Not Another Bad Date.

I do have a question for ya'll - when you start a book near the end of the month & finish it like on the 1st of the next month - how do you count that in your total? For instance, I started a book on May 30 & finished the morning of June 1. I have been counting the books I read by the date I finish reading it. What do the rest of you do?

37 / 120
(30.8%)

I usually go by the date I finish a book.

Me too. I count it for the next month.

Julia

Slightly off topic, but remember all those pictures of books? I thought I'd start showing my humble shelves. I am doing an inventory of everything I have at the moment and probably purging a lot more. So here are some photos of my historicals and some of my best thrift store finds.

http://s311.photobucket.com/albums/kk473/geewhizpc/

Very nice, gracer.

Wow! So organized, I'm jealous! My shelves are pretty pitiful, double stacked and all over my house *sigh*

gracer - I was talking about my bookshelves in another thread, so I decided to put up a link to the romance section of my "home library." You can see that the romance takes up the whole left-hand side and is running over into our sci-fi/fantasy section. I'm probably going to have to re-organize these sooner or later when the burgeoning romance collection starts crowding out the other books! :D

http://katy-bear.blogspot.com/2008/07/home-library-romance-and-sci-fi.html

*edited to add: My husband was reading over my shoulder as I posted this and he thinks I posted a photo of my romance library in order to "compete with" gracer's fabulous library photos. Everything is a competition with him ;) Anyway, just to clarify, that was not my intention. I just thought it would be kind of fun! :D

No problem, katybear! I like seeing people's libraries. I don't need any competition to help fuel my book buying. LOL. Anyway, I was hoping my posting would be an impetus for others to post their libraries. Hint, hint.

Edited to add: You have way nicer bookcases than I do! And is it me, or do you put all your anthologies at the end?

That's nice of you to say, gracer. They are actually from IKEA - that was the best we could afford! *LOL* Yes, I put the anthologies at the end. I also have put the hardcovers at the end because the shelves there are higher. I'm slowly trying to change out my hardcovers/trade sized books for the smaller mass market paperback size to help save space.

And I too would love to see pictures of other folks' romance libraries from this group!

Gracer, Can I just say that I am veeeeery jealous of you? My books that I own do not even come close to your number (I'm running around 760 total right now) and there is no way I could ever have them that organized! I wish I could. I also wish I had that many nice, big shelves instead of the three or four small, squatty and well worn bookcases I own. But wow, way to go! Just had to say I kind of 'dislike' you for a moment until I get over the book shock. Also, those are some great books that you have there! Jealous yet again! Lol. But one day.. yes, one day, I will have one that big and nice and organized. That is my only requirment for my future home. :D