Or he'll make an offer you can't refuse (couldn't resist, sorry)

I still haven't yet decided on what to read next. Maybe this evening.

Oh! Pillars of the Earth miniseries on Starz last night was wonderful!! Happy happy happy!! And with the success of various historical epics (The Tudors, Spartacus, Rome), there is a big push to create more of them. I know of The Borgias, Camelot, more Spartacus, and Boardwalk Empire in the making or coming soon. And they're devoting a LOT of money to making them. Woot!

I've been working on my newsletter this afternoon and with permission of the moderator, posted a request for feedback on 4MA. We'll see who gets in touch. It's kinda becoming real now. This Wednesday on my day off, I'll have to start gathering info on printing expenses. *******************************************

This week's Weekly Geeks' question centered around those new books we tend to be drawn to over the older ones on our shelves. It's called Shiny Book Syndrome. As Tara SG from 25 Hour Books describes it: "It is when a person only wants to read their newest book and leave piles of poor unread books on their shelves to collect dust." She offers a few ways to ward off Shiny Book Syndrome, namely in the form of reading challenges and keeping a spreadsheet of all the books you own. I know that when I first began blogging, getting to those older books on my shelves was exactly the reason I joined reading challenges. This week Tara SG wants to know what we do to alleviate Shiny Book Syndrome.

Oh boy, do I suffer from this Syndrome. There are books that I just HAVE to read -- or at least get -- the day it comes out. JD Robb I must get THE DAY. I will purchase books via www.bookdepository.com to get books that are released in the UK before the US. CJ Sansom is at the top of the list. Or I get the books but then something newer and shinier jumps up and the former shiny book gets lost in the shuffle. Of these, I have many. Examples include Phil Rickman's BONES OF AVALON, the new Nancy Pickard, another historical called THE FIFTH SERVANT, etc., etc. ...

I don't think there is anything that one can do to alleviate Shiny Book Syndrome. It is a by-product of being a Book Addict. The only thing I can think of is to create a sub-set of TBR. The newer TBRs that one draws from before looking at the even older stuff. I know there's a lot of challenges out there to help deal with what to read next: the spell you name with the first letter of the title, geographic challenges, and so forth. I've been dealing with back lists of the series I'm interested in by trying to read one per month by the author but I have so many, it is difficult to do. And then those shiny new releases happen ....

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster