You can't have too many books

I feel uncomfortable if there isn't a stack of books waiting to be read....not just one unread book, but many. I want to have choices when it's time to start a new book. I might be in the mood for a good mystery, or some historical fiction, or a gothic romance (yes I admit it), or a new recent novel, or something political, or maybe a biography (though for some reason, when asked, I always say I don't particularly care for biographies, yet I really liked every one I've read, and there have been several).

I just stocked up on a bunch of new to me books at a recent rummage sale (what would I do without rummage sales and thrift shops?!) in anticipation of my upcoming summer vacation. This has added nicely to the pile of unread books I already had, which was running perilously low...only about 20 books. Usually on vacation I read a book a day, so I need to have a steady supply to choose from.

The books that take me only a day to read are generally murder mystery, spy novel type books....authors like Harlan Coben, John Lescroart, John Sanford, Kay Hooper, Iris Johanssen, etc...books where I can't figure out who did it. I like mysteries with twists and turns and surprises and nothing obvious to give away the ending ahead of time. Some books have a recurring character with interesting personality traits who I like to follow from one book to another. Jack Reacher in the Lee Child books is one of them. I don't consider any these books great literature, but they are really fun and entertaining reads.

Then there are books that I'd consider meatier...really good novels for instance. I usually spend more time with these. There's more to think about while reading them. Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini would fall into this category (I'm anxiously awaiting Hosseini's latest book, And the Mountains Echoed),  the Chris Bohjalian novels, Sarah Dunant's books, and so many others....the kind of books you remember. I haven't mentioned some of the  classics like Jane Austen, or Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald or Hemingway. Those were all read long ago.

So, I'm off to hunt for a few more treasures, just to be on the safe side. There's a nearby used book store that's calling my name.