Once again, austerity measures prevented the purchase of a huge number of books, but we still did pretty well at expanding our library. (Anyone who thinks that we are not limiting our purchases is invited to view my many wishlists on Amazon.) We did it conscientiously, though; most of the books shown here were purchased used, many with credit from books sold to the same store (the redoubtable Book Buyers in Mountain View). Over Thanksgiving, we traveled to Portland, Oregon for our celebration, which always includes hours and hours at Powell’s Books, the best bookstore in the country. Christmas, of course, always sees us getting books (books are the primary choice of a gift between my husband and me, and it’s where my signed first edition of E.L. Doctorow’s Homer & Langley, as well as the lovely two book set of American Fantastic Tales, edited by Peter Straub, came from). And after Christmas comes the inevitable, “I didn’t get the books I asked for” purchase from Amazon.

I also convinced Pyr, a publisher of fantasy and science fiction, to start sending me books now and then (see my review of Joel Shepherd’s Sasha (A Trial of Blood and Steel, Book I), my review of the first of these books). Tor sent me one title, and Night Shade Books, one of my favorite small presses, sent me another. I am always extremely grateful to any publisher that sends me books; I could never review all the books I do without their help.

I have reviews of The Hellbound Heart: A Novel by Clive Barker and Blood Memories by Barbara Hendee coming up soon. And I can’t wait to get to the others shown here! I’m particularly eager to read Mark Chadbourn’s The Silver Skull (Swords of Albion), a Pyr title. John Langan is one of my favorite authors, and House of Windows, his first novel, is the one I want to read next, just as soon as I’m done with these pesky library books that are due a week from Monday (can I really read six books in that short a time?). If only I had more time to read.

Not shown: Fugitive Pieces by Gary A. Braunbeck – apparently out of print and a lucky find at Powell’s.

During this time, I also broke down and bought a Kindle Wireless Reading Device. So far I’ve been reading electronic galleys on it, and I’ll soon review the first book I’ve finished on the machine: Death Without Tenure: A Karen Pelletier Mystery by Joanne Dobson. I’ve also been reading Jeffrey VanderMeer’s Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st Century Writer on the device, and my immediate reaction to reading a book this valuable is that I need it in hard copy, so I can flip through it more easily. (I’ll be reviewing this one soon, too, but don’t wait: if you’re a writer, or an aspiring writer, you need this book NOW.) When it comes time to choose what to read next, I’m much more likely to pick up a physical book than my Kindle. I like the look, smell, feel and everything else about books much more than I like the Kindle, even with the (separately purchased) leather cover that makes it feel much more book-like.

Did you get books for Christmas? Tell us all about them in the comments!