tbr shelf | Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to my new weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Instead of always looking ahead to upcoming new releases, I thought I’d start a weekly feature focusing on already released books that I want to read. Consider this a variation of a Wishing & Waiting post… but looking at books already available, and in most cases, books that are either on my shelves or on my Kindle!

If you’re like me…

… simply drowning in books you’ve yet to read, then join me for Shelf Control! See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

For my inaugural post, this week’s Shelf Control pick is:

Title: My Name is Mary Sutter
Author: Robin Oliveira
Published: 2010
Length: 364 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

A New York Times bestseller and a moving Civil War novel about a young midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon

Fans of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, and Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini will love this New York Times bestselling tale of the Civil War. Mary Sutter is a brilliant young midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon. Eager to run away from recent heartbreak, Mary travels to Washington, D.C., to help tend the legions of Civil War wounded. Under the guidance of two surgeons, who both fall unwittingly in love with her, and resisting her mother’s pleas to return home to help with the difficult birth of her twin sister’s baby, Mary pursues her medical career against all odds. Rich with historical detail-including cameo appearances by Abraham Lincoln and Dorothea Dix, among others-My Name Is Mary Sutter is certain to be recognized as one of the great novels about the Civil War.

How I got it:

I picked it up at the big annual book sale sponsored by our public library, which is always a ton of fun. You never know what you’ll find!

When I got it:

Last year.

Why I want to read it:

I love historical fiction, and Civil War-era US history fascinates me. Add in a strong female lead character pursuing a non-traditional path, and it sounds just perfect for me.

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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

Let me know what you think of Shelf Control! I’m looking forward to sharing more goodies from my shelves… and I’m hoping this will give me the added motivation to start focusing on reading books I already have!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

I love to travel. I hate to pack.

I have a little over a week to get ready for my trip. Passport? Check. Insect repellant? Check. Cute new sundress? Check?

Decision on what books to bring? Um, not yet.

Here’s the deal. I have a huge fear of running out of reading material, so I always bring bunches of books, and then throw in even more, just in case. Because, yes, I have once had the awful experience of finishing all my vacation reading one hour into my return flight — and had nothing to do for the next four hours. It still makes me shudder, just thinking about it. In more recent years, I’ve been relying on my Kindle, because then of course I never run out.

Fair enough. But on this trip — coming up in 9 days (!) — we’ll be in a rain forest, in rainy season, and we’ve been advised to not bring electronics… and to store our books and other paper items in ziploc bags to protect them from the damp. Seriously.

So while I have bunches of shiny new books, all pretty and perfect, just waiting to be read, I’m not going to bring any of those with me. Instead, I’m thinking I’ll bring some of the older paperbacks on my shelf, the ones I’ve had for a while and haven’t read. Maybe I bought them used to begin with. Maybe they’re just enough years old that they’re starting to look a bit tattered around the edges. Whatever the case, that’s my plan.

Here’s where you come in. I’ve narrowed my list list down to about 10, and I need to come up with a top 4 or 5. (BTW, I’m only going to be away for ten days, but like I said: DEATHLY AFRAID OF RUNNING OUT OF BOOKS.)

Take a look at my ten below (pictures link back to each book’s Goodreads page), then cast your vote and let me know what you think I should read. Top vote-getters win!