Oh no, the great book plan is already crumbling. Matthew gets free books from Amazon sometimes because he is considered a helpful reviewer by the Amazon community. Or something like that. Anyway, I just got the book he ordered a few days ago. I didn't know what he was getting, but it turns out to be a book I've been wanting to read. And I was already thinking about going to a talk by the author this Thursday! Clearly, I need to bail on the 10-book list and read The Foie Gras Wars instead. I just hope that doesn't mean I need to read ten more books before buying a new one.

There must be a recession: I mended my sweater before work today.

Update 2: Imperium has also been completed. (I was most of the way through it already; I don't actually read *that* quickly.)

I'm one chapter in on Stiff, and so far it's fascinating and exactly what I was hoping it would be.

Update: People of the Book has been completed.

I have a slight addiction to buying books. I suppose this is not news to anyone who has helped me move or has seen our library. :) I regularly feel guilty about this, partly because of the environmental impact and partly because of the ridiculous amount of money I have spent on books. I try to mitigate some of the environmental problem by buying used or electronic books, but I'm not perfect at that. And I tend to justify all of my purchases these days by saying that I'm stimulating the economy. But still, it's a bit out of hand. (Before you ask why I don't just go to the library, the answer is that my addiction is to buying books, not just reading them. I get this little thrill every time I purchase a new book. It's a sickness, I know.)

So, on the feels of having purchased way too many books, I made a promise to myself that I would read at least ten books I already have before buying a new one. I'm going to track my progress here. (BTW, if you haven't read any of Nick Horny's Believer Magazine columns where he reviews books and lists "Books Purchased" and "Books Read" each month, you should. They're terrific!)

Matthew says I can count books I'm completing even if I'm already halfway through them as the start of the project (i.e., yesterday). I suppose it would be a useful thing for me to get in the habit of actually finishing books I start...

So, my plan for the ten is currently:

1. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

2. Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris

3. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

4. Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century by Michio Kaku

5. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

6. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

7. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

8. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

9. Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt by David McCullough

10. Three Junes by Julia Glass

I have at least started five of these books, so this list theoretically shouldn't take that long to complete. I reserve the right to swap out books, but I am going to try to finish the list as written.