So, as always, I’m late to the game, but after my lament about my book buying addiction, I discovered I was not alone. There were others out there just like me, and they shared many suggestions for suppressing the buying urge and dealing with an excessive To Be Read list. One that particularly caught my eye was Shelf Control, a celebration of the unread books on our shelves run by Bookshelf Fantasies. The idea is that you pick a book you own but haven’t read and write a post about it. I have discovered many many books I’d forgotten I had just by compiling my To Be Read list, so I figured reminding myself of why I wanted to read them in the first place might bolster my resolve to chip away at said list.
In keeping with the goal of this blog, I’ll only be looking at the YA and children’s books on my list, still, I’m confident there’s little chance of running out of material to write about.
Title: The Silence of Six
By: E.C. Myers
Published: 2014
Target: 14+
Synopsis (via Goodreads):
WHAT IS THE SILENCE OF SIX, AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
These are the last words uttered by 17-year-old Max Stein s best friend Evan just moments before he kills himself after hacking into the live-streaming Presidential debate at their high school.
Haunted by the unforgettable image of Evan s death, Max s entire world is upended as he suddenly finds himself the target of a corporate-government witch-hunt. Fearing for his life and fighting for his own innocence, Max goes on the run with no one to trust and too many unanswered questions.
Max must dust off his own hacking skills and maneuver through the dangerous labyrinth of underground hacktivist networks, ever-shifting alliances and virtual identities all the while hoping to find the truth behind the Silence of Six before it s too late.
How I got it: This book was part of my recent $200 buying spree during a rare bookstore visit to see a student of my promoting and signing her new book. I merrily roamed Chapters tugging the wheely cart behind me and tossing into it any books that struck my fancy. This is how I met Ross, your friendly neighbourhood Chapters employee, who much to my surprise, really new his stuff. His enthusiasm for particular titles was infectious and I tossed several of them into my cart. This particular book still bears the sticker with “Staff Pick by Ross” on it.
When I got it: October 2017
Why I want to read it: The premise is very “Ready Player One”; young adult sci-fi intrigue with a male lead. Eager to finish my current read to get to this one.
I had a different post planned for today but the death of Sue Grafton has left me feeling sad and nostalgic. For decades I have loved her stories, eagerly anticipating the next chapter in Kinsey’s story. Z is for Zero was set to be published within the next two years, and I was already wondering what Grafton would write next. Now the alphabet ends with Y and Kinsey’s story will remain unfinished.
Drew. In my teen years I quickly progressed to more “adult” books with Agatha Christie and Sue Grafton (I’ve always hated the age-labelling of books but that’s another post). I finished Grafton’s A is for Alibi and was forever after enamoured with her detective, Kinsey Millhone. Kinsey is flawed, independent and resourceful; and I wanted to be her. I even went through a spell of wanting to go to detective school; train to be a PI like Kinsey and Nancy Drew before her. That never happened but still I lived vicariously through Kinsey with B is for Burgler, C is for Corpse and, most recently, Y is for Yesterday.
I have an addiction. One I’ve had most of my life. Like most addictions, I wasn’t born with it; it developed over time, influenced by external experiences and factors. Although unrecognized at the time, my addiction took hold at the age of eleven. Almost every penny of my modest allowance was being spent on books. I wasn’t at the point where I was borrowing to feed my addiction; but only because they don’t issue credit cards to eleven year olds. Now many might say they also buy a lot of books, it doesn’t mean they have an addiction. Completely possible, but that’s not me. Just like a compulsion to drink, or gamble or play video games, I can’t stop buying books. It wasn’t really too much of a problem until the advent of the internet. Now my addiction can be fed with the click of a button. I finish a book, click a button and am reading the next book within seconds.
Convenient yes? Read a book, buy your next one. Sure, but for compulsive book buyers it poses quite a problem. I don’t just buy one book, I buy eight. I download cheapies and specials and those that look interesting. I spend time on Amazon and Goodreads checking out all their recommendations and adding to both my Kobo and my Kindle. And I still indulge occasionally in an afternoon at Indigo, adding to my physical library, which is housed on my main floor. I have tried getting books only from the library but I’m not good at waiting for what I want. I’ve tried going cold turkey, telling myself “you may not buy a book until you’ve read what you have” but really that’s just not feasible as long as Dan Brown and Joy Fielding are still writing.
My Childhood Bookshelf 