Unread Books; and a Giveaway!

I love reading, as you may have gathered. I have a penchant for cozy crime since it tends not to tax my somewhat befuddled and cottonwool-filled head, but I also read books from other genres and belong to a book club that meets once a month.

When DC was born, a friend commented to hubby (who is also an avid reader) and I that we wouldn't get the chance to read a book for another ten years; I am extremely happy that we have been able to prove that friend (very) wrong. Even if it's just a couple of pages of a book before falling into a deep, deep sleep at bedtime or a moment snatched while DC plays with his toys, then I will read something (and magazines count) every.single.day. One of my most anticipated pleasures about our recent trip to Shanghai was the amount of time I would have to read - forget the sightseeing, get your book out. I took nine magazines and three books, for a six-day trip... The thinking about and then choosing of the books from the un-read bookcases was almost as wonderous as actually reading them.

And talking of un-read books, I come to the point of this particular blog post. I commented to hubby just yesterday as I opened the doors of my cozy crime un-read bookcase to squeeze in two more books that had just arrived, courtesy of eBay, that I was running out of room in there. (Incidentally, one of the doors fell off, but I don't think this is as a result of being over-full.) Hubby's suggestion was that I stop buying books. Say wha'? Well, actually it's a sensible suggestion and one I have considered, during my more lucid moments, so I may take it on board, for the time being at least.

The cozy crime un-read bookcase currently looks like this:

And the non-cozy crime un-read bookcase looks like this:

I was glancing back through my blog the other day and came across this photo of some cozies I'd bought when we were in New York back in December 2010. And this was what prompted this post. I thought to myself 'Self, how many of those books have you actually read?'

And after 2 years and 4 months of owning them, the answer is... Well, what do you think? Leave me your guess in the comments section and I'll send a book from my unread bookcases (cozy or non-cozy, you decide - let me know along with your guess) to the person who guesses correctly. If more than one of you get it right I'll either send books to all the correct guessers (like I'm expecting lots of responses here!), or draw a name out of a hat, depending on how many books I can bear to part with! I'm happy to send anywhere in the world, so feel free to leave a guess if you live further afield than the end of my street. PS, even if you've never commented before, please don't be shy - the more, the merrier!