Judging a Book by Its Title

Books end up on my To-Read list for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways.

• I tend to read a lot of mysteries, so anything new by one of my favorite authors automatically gets added as soon as I hear about it.
  
• I'll read a review in a magazine or in one of the e-mail newsletters I get from a variety of libraries and booksellers and think, That sounds intriguing.
  
• I check out the Cuyahoga County Public Library's What to Read page.
  
• I prowl through Borders with a notepad and pen (or PDA and stylus), madly scribbling down titles of things that catch my eye. (But rarely actually buying anything. Tiny apartment! Too many books already!)

Anyhow, once I have a title/author added to the infamous spreadsheet, I do a little recon on Amazon to see if it's something I want to bother with.

If all signs point to yes, I enter my library card number at the speed of light and use my favorite button on the CCPL site: Request.

I love to waltz into the local branch after work and have everything waiting for me in the racks behind the circulation desk. All the clerks know me, and they tease me if I only have one or two things to pick up instead of the typical six or eight. It's a red-letter day when I get a whole cubby to myself because I have so much stuff on hold. [I hear your muttered "Geeeeekkkkk!!!!" and I do not care.]

So, here's a short excerpt from the long list of things I have on request. These may turn out to suck, but that's part of the fun.

<<<<< >>>>

I was going to call this post "Judging a Book by Its Cover," but that would require posting the actual covers, and I could not force the image-uploading technology to bend to my will this time. So, you'll have to follow the links to Amazon. Enjoy.

<<<<< >>>>

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists: A Novel by Gideon Defoe

Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane

Sunday Money: Speed! Lust! Madness! Death! A Hot Lap Around America with NASCAR by Jeff MacGregor

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales

Anansi Boys: A Novel by Neil Gaiman