Sunday, August 10, 2014

Beside Ourselves

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  I don't want to be sappy, but it has been so profoundly wonderful to see all your nightstands and bedside reading this week! First of course, it's reassuring that you all are reading so much, whew.

And I do appreciate the lovely peeks of THE WRONG GIRL  and THE OTHER WOMAN you so politely tucked in.

AS Nancy Martin observed, there was a very low percentage of mass market paperbacks. Many more hard covers are in those piles. And that must mean, um, something.

Several people had sleekly empty tables..topped with only their ereader.  Funny what an amazing visual difference that made.

We had the horizontal stackers and the vertical stackers. We had the dual horizontal/verticals.

We had the biggest books on the bottom piles, and the who-cares-what-size is on top teetering towers.

 We showed the shelves and the tables and the cabinets.  With clocks, sock monkeys, and edges of quilts.  

You showed us true chic and shabby chic. Decorated, lighted and carefully arranged--as well as many crazy salad piles. 

It was terrific! Sweet, hilarious, intelligent, broad-based and literate. You all are the best. Thank you for sharing!

And as a prize, I'll send an arc of TRUTH BE TOLD to add to one person's pile...and the winner is, well, see below.  But first,  here are ours.


From Julia--this is her husband's table!



 She says: "his table top is too covered with papers, stuff from his wallet, water bottle, etc. etc. to hold any books. So Ross makes a tower of literature on the floor instead. When it gets so high it topples over, I make him put some back in our bookcases/return to the library."  


Got to love those shoes.


From Lucy Burdette:




 HANK: Ah, dear. She is optimistic. And she will never catch up. And here is Hallie's:



 HANK: Ms. Ephron alleges she does not read in bed. (The New Yorker is from 1999, I think. And is there only because it looks chic.).  Here is Debs'--she has admitted, I will tell you, to tidying up a bit. 

  


Mine is next! I obviously did NOT tidy up! Although it crossed my mind, I must say. You can see the pieces of paper in that bound ms. on the bottom--that's where I take notes. And I see now that it looks kind of tippy.




We loved having all your night stands this week! Thank you so much... and oh!
The winner of TRUTH BE TOLD arc is mmgage, the winner of QUEEN OF HEARTS is Beverly Cleary, and the winner of  A LITTLE NIGHT MURDER is Penny,  Ray Daniel chose (by some scientific method) Kathy Reel as the winner of TERMINATED, and the new winner of the ARC of TRUTH BE TOLD is Susan Felbush Braun! All of you email me at h ryan at whdh dot com to claim your prizes!

And see you all right here tomorrow--because we're telling secrets about something we ALL did. And you did it, too!

12 comments:

  1. So many books, so little time . . . .

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  2. What fun this week Hank--thanks for the good idea, and to all of the blog friends, thanks for sharing!

    Do you really think my pile is hopeless?? I keep plugging onward though:)

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  3. Just for the record, my TBR pile is on the floor of my office... and that New Yorker is from 2014.

    LOVED seeing everyone's TBR pile.

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  4. This was a fun week. I enjoyed seeing everyone's nightstands and TBR piles - aren't we a curious and fun bunch?!

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  5. And just for the record, my TBR SHELVES are in the next room, in my office. What you see on my nightstand is a mere smattering. And although I don't equal some of our dedicated e-readers, I now have more books on my Android tablet than I can ever read.

    I will never catch up.

    But how sad would it be if you did, and there were no more things to read????

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  6. I love that I'm in two piles! \_o_/ (That's winner arms.)

    But more, I love seeing that we're all the same crazy, can't-get-enough readers. Thanks for sharing all the photos!

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  7. Fun, fun, fun! Sharing reading piles is such a great way to get to know one another. The Reds' reading is, as expected, an interesting variety of titles that will result in adding even more to my TBR wish list.

    I see in Deborah's pile(s) some of my own short list TBRs, such as some Catriona McPherson's Dandy Gilver, Jacqueline Winspear's The Care and Management of Lies, Anna Lee Huber's The Anatomist's Wife. Oh, and Debs, please do read Alan Bradley's Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and the rest of his Flavia de Luce books, as they are such great reads. I've read Rhys' Queen of Hearts and loved it, as with all her Georgie books.

    Lucy, your piles remind me that I haven't read my copy of The Winter People yet, and that I want to someday read C.J. Box and someday even sooner William Kent Krueger. Also, I love that you have The Tarot Bible at the top of your right-side pile, and Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good caught my attention. You speak to my sense of quirky.

    Hank, I've read Linda Fairstein's Terminal City and was fascinated by all the historical information about Grand Central. I'm a fan of Alex Cooper, and I've enjoyed all the previous books, too. There are some interesting titles with which I'm not familiar that I want to check out, too.

    Julia, I love your husband keeping his reading piles on the floor, and his shoes are indeed awesome. I'm wondering how often he ends up stepping into the books when he gets out of bed.

    Hallie, I admire your minimalist approach to bedside paraphernalia, something I will never be able to achieve. I need a surrounding of books and other items I might need or want as a part of my nest. Of course, your not reading in bed precludes the surrounding of such.

    Thank you, Reds, for sharing your reading with us. I do have a question though. With as busy as you all are writing and traveling, when do you get the time to read? LOL!

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  8. {SIGH} These all look so neat and tidy compared to mine!





    NGW

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  9. Just teasing Hallie!

    And just back from out of town--what a great convention--the Nora Roberts Writing Institute. I was keynote, and had SUCH a great time.

    Thank you everyone --missed you!

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  11. Hank, yesterday seems to have disappeared from my awareness. Even so I had to comment today to tell you how much I enjoyed the bedside books adventure!

    xoxox R

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