Nothing like a shiny new year to inspire!

I'll play! I estimate that I have at least 50 books sitting unread on my shelves at home right now, and some of them have been unread for a while. I'd like to shrink my 'Owned but Unread' category in 2013.

To Be Read:

The Spell of Yorkshire by J. Cuming Walters
The Face of Britain: North Country by Edmund Vale
The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh
The Wanton Green: Contemporary Pagan Writings on Place by Gordon MacLellan
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Persephone Book of Short Stories
Singing the Soul Back Home: Shamanism in Daily Life by Caitlin Matthews
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
Monsters: An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings by John Michael Greer
Julian Grenfell by Nicholas Mosley
The World that was Ours by Hilda Bernstein
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue
Embracing the Moon: A Witch's Guide to Rituals, Spellcraft and Shadow Work by Yasmine Galenorn
Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual by Alexei Kondratiev
Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain by Ronald Hutton
The Countryside Explained by John Seymour
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
Secret Wisdom: the Occult Universe Revealed by David Conway
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The English Civil War by Maurice Ashley
Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation and Other Devices by Christopher Hyatt
The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom by Caitlin and John Matthews
Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom by Erynn Rowan Laurie
Comparative Mythology by Jaan Puhvel
Mind Hacks: Tips and Tools for Using Your Brain by Tom Stafford
The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales by Patrick Ford
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton
Elves, Wights, and Trolls: Studies towards the Practice of Germanic Heathenry by Stephan Grundy
The Middle Pillar by Israel Regardie
A History of Wales by John Davies
An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present by Doreen Valiente
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
The Steampunk Bible by Jeff VanderMeer
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Wessex Tales by Thomas Hardy
The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion
The Complete Stories of Zora Neale Hurston
How Proust Can Change Your Life
Mesopotamia by Gwendolyn Leick
The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
Belle de Jour: The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
The Complete Magic Primer by David Conway
Visions and Longings: Medieval Women Mystics by Monica Furlong
The Earth Will Shake by Robert Anton Wilson
The Celtic Twilight by W.B. Yeats
Merton: A Biography by Monica Furlong
The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane, various
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes
Phoenix from the Flame by Vivianne Crowley
Over Nine Waves by Marie Heaney
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
Elementals by A.S. Byatt
Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente
Hedgewitch by Silver Ravenwolf
Fairy Spells by Claire Nahmad
Cat Spells by Claire Nahmad
Earth Magic by Claire Nahmad
The Sacred Round by Elen Hawke
Witch Crafting by Phyllis Curott
Celtic Traditions by Sirona Knight
Stealing the Fire from Heaven by Stephen Mace
Green Magic by Ann Moura
Traditional Witchcraft for the Woods and Forests by Melusine Draco
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
Above Ker-Is and Other Stories by Evangeline Walton
In Sunlight and in Shadow by Mark Helprin
Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas by Tom Jones
The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene
Gertrude by Herman Hesse
The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne du Maurier
I Can't Stay Long by Laurie Lee
The Bell by Iris Murdoch
A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch
Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald
Collected short stories of Guy de Maupassant
The English Gentleman by Douglas Sutherland
Weddings and Funerals by Aileen La Tourette and Sara Maitland
The Whole Woman by Germaine Greer
Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan
Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane edited by Jonathan Oliver
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Miss Garnet's Angel by Sally Vickers
Collected Stories of Dylan Thomas
Cheri and the Last of Cheri by Colette
Midsummer Nights edited by Jeannette Winterson
This Side of Paradise & The Beautiful and Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald
Eternal Echoes by John O'Donohue
Lost Christianity by Jacob Needleman
Sea Magic by Sandra Kynes
The Fragrant Pharmacy by Valerie Ann Worwood
Subtle Aromatherapy by Patricia Davis
Astrological Aromatherapy by Patricia Davis
Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening by Cynthia Bourgeault
A Condition of Complete Simplicity by Rowan Clare Williams
Living Faith Day by Day by Debra K Farrington
Rituals of Celebration by Jane Meredith
Journey to the Dark Goddess by Jane Meredith

Already Read:

Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Unlucky Lottery by Hakan Nesser
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
The Book of Creation by J Philip Newell
***
The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith
Good Behaviour by Molly Keane
Fair Play by Tove Jansson
I'd Change My Life if I Had More Time by Doreen Virtue
Spirit of the Witch by Raven Grimassi
***
How to Find Your Inner Priestess by Kala Trobe
Hedge Witch by Rae Beth

Well, I've made a start on listing my unread books. Close to fifty and I know there are still some that I haven't entered into my Librarything lists. I'll have to take a closer look at the shelves when I get a chance and see what else there is.

You go, E_C, good luck to you.

I loved Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day! The movie is also adorable, although some things are (of course) changed from the book. Good luck with your challenge!

Thanks connie :) I'm looking forward to it!

christina_reads, I'm going to read that book next I think. I've heard nothing but glowing praise about it; really looking forward to it.

Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur by Francesca Lia Block

A mythological dating guide... yes, it's complete and utter fluff, but what a fun read! WNSC presents one of those systems, found everywhere from astrology to Myers-Briggs, that divides men and women into a dozen distinct types based on personality. The cute twist is that these types are all based on fantasy creatures from mythology and fairy tales - so as you read you can decide if you're more of a Fairy or an Urban Elf and whether a Vampire would make a good match for you. (My husband the Giant was an easy match, but it took a little time to find the right combination for me - the 'extremely feminine and creative, rather moody, and always alluring' Night Fairy.)

While there aren't any profound or earth-shattering insights in this book, it might make you notice a few traits in your friends, partner, or even yourself that you had previously overlooked. There are quite a few anecdotes from Francesca Lia Block's personal life, which her fans will find interesting, but sadly it does seem as if Block (the sensitive Wood Nymph) has had some less than stellar experiences with a few of the other 'creatures' and this makes her a far from impartial judge - Satyrs and Weregirls in particular come off rather badly!

I'm not generally a fan of 'what's your type?' books, but for fantasy or fairytale fans who like a generous sprinkling of pink sugar stars from time to time, this will be a delight. See if you can get at least one friend to read it with you as it will generate a lot of hilarious conversation.

It's Hard to be Hip Over Thirty by Judith Viorst

I've had half a dozen Persephone books on my to-read shelf for, well, I don't want to say how long. Joining the ROOT (Read Our Own Tomes) challenge was the kick I needed to take down one of the smart grey dust-covered volumes and risk having it look slightly less perfect after I read it. I'm really glad I did, because Viorst's poetry puts a rueful smile on my face when it isn't making me laugh out loud.

Basically it's about the collision of youthful idealism with 'mature' materialism and married life ('The woman in my head is young and perfect. / The real one has to buy supportive hose.') Does every woman at some point look around at her life and despair at the gap between youthful imaginings and present circumstances? I know I have (and I'm not even over thirty for another nine months). Viorst's poetry won't tell you how to be 'Heathcliff's Cathy, Lady Brett, / Nicole or Dominique or Scarlett O'Hara' but it does teach us to look at ourselves with gentle humour - a great antidote for the almost-midlife-crisis.

Who else is failing badly at not buying any more books?!

I need to get in the habit of 'shopping' the to-read list in this thread and NOT my wish list at Amazon ;)

Your to-read list at the beginning of this thread is a wonderful inspiration. I keep noticing books on my bookshelves that I bought, shelved and promptly forgot. I always think I've just got to check my LT catalogue - but obviously that isn't the most efficient way for me. I've only bought a few, but I've added many to my Amazon and Book Depository wishlists.

(7) Me. I've brought home 32 books since January 1st, not including the free E-book downloads...

oh me as well. I've bought 45 or so, counting everything. sigh.

I'm doing very good, only 5 real books and 3 e-books. I'm surprising my self.

Good job, connie!

To be fair, I did buy 12 of those books at the library's twice-yearly used book sale, so those really shouldn't count...or maybe I could average them over the next six months?

:D

I've been doing very well also, only 3 regular novels, one massively huge annotated/full of info novel, and 2 cookbooks. However, once summer comes around and there's the 2 huge book festival/markets, I'll be coming home with another couple years' worth of reading material, hahaha.

So far so good - bought 3, won 5 - read 10. Net -2

You're doing great, Cyderry.

Should have guessed there'd be a lot of replies to that one ;)

(9) and (10) - WOW! That's a lot of books in one month. Actually I haven't counted how many I've brought in since the new year. I'll go and do that now...

Borrowed: 2
Bought: 4 (3 proper books and one for kindle)
Free downloads for Kindle: 3

Oh, that's fine then! I feel much better now. There are another half dozen or so that my husband brought over from his parents' house but I refuse to take responsibility for those as he bought them before we met :p

I've added over 50 to my wish list since the beginning of the year though!

Erratic_Charmer wrote I've added over 50 to my wish list since the beginning of the year though!

LibraryThing is an enabler to those of us who have book addictions... ;)

I've BOUGHT that many due to LT enablers. Sigh.

I came home with six more this evening...Habitat for Humanity was having a "Buy 2, Get 2 Free" sale.

Cold Mountain
All Creatures Great and Small (like new!)
One Corpse Too Many
Shadowmarch
The Haymeadow
Take a Thief

plus two more I bought for my dh, one about the Civil War and one about unsolved crimes.

Eight books for less than $3.00! How could I resist?

You can't!

Had a little oops at Judd Books in London. Seven little oopses, actually.

Man but I love that book shop.

Ooh, that looks like a very good place to have a book-related oops! *adds to list of places to visit on the next London trip*

22. http://www.juddbooks.com/ It is massively exciting and you can get some very good bargains there :) It's also just down the street from Gay's the Word which is another excellent independent book shop, albeit rather more specialised.

Have read: 31 books from the TBR shelves!

Have added: around 70.....

Hmm.

It's not my fault if they were gifts, right? Some of them were gifts....

Of course it's not your fault!

(24) I stopped counting my shelf additions in June...

(27) We're off on a holiday weekend now to Hay on Wye (famous for its secondhand book shops) so probably I should just stop counting as well and make a new list for 2014.

Hay on Wye sounds like a wonderful place to visit. I thought Sixpence House by Paul Collins would be a great story of his relocation from the U.S. to Hay with wife and child. Too bad it didn't work out for him. The book was disappointing.

OK, the method of trying to make my way through the entire TBR pile was....not working so well. I'm going to change my approach and only let myself buy another book for every five that I read from the to-read list :)

I hope that will work for you, E_C. Good luck.