Too Many Books

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
-Arnold Lobel

I saw this quote online the other day, and I think it suits me. No, I'm not going to have a beard seeing as I'm a girl, but technicalities aside, I do have a pile of books that I need to read. I try to keep one with me everywhere I go--you'd be surprised how often you find yourself sitting on the bus, or with a large gap between classes, or any number of places where a good book comes in handy.

Just a few books in my pile:

• The rest of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. See the description below for more details.
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Yes, this is the book that inspired the musical by the same name. I own the book--it was a Christmas gift from last year--but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. That's my next task once the Dark Tower is done with my soul haha.
  
• Maus by Art Spiegelman. 2 of my friends have recommended this to me. It's a graphic novel depicting the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats...I'm told it's brilliant and moving.
  

Here are some books that I would recommend:

• Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Honestly, he wasn't an author I planned to read, but a few of my book-loving friends convinced me to try him out. It's a 7-book series with a very diverse set of characters from different wheres and whens coming together in search of the elusive Dark Tower (shocker). I envy King's imagination--especially when I read these books. They're very long but well worth the read.
  
• Anything by Bill Bryson. As I've noted in previous posts, the man is brilliant. I've read 3 of his books and I own 5, but I'm in the midst of the Dark Tower series...
• The Keeper's Son and Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. If you ever saw the movie "October Sky," then you'll know the name Homer Hickam--that movie was based on the book Rocket Boys and it's an excellent read. So is The Keeper's Son, which takes place in a small coastal town in WWII. I really like fiction that takes place in small southern towns...throw in the beach and you've got me hooked already.
  
• Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World: An Unofficial Guide by George Beahm. As an anglophile and an avid Harry Potter fan, I must recommend this book. Beahm tackles 4 main categories: Fabulous Beasts, Wizards Through the Ages, All Things in the Magical World, and Enchanting Places; he gives detailed descriptions (all in alphabetical order by subject) and important background information for all the entries that give the average Potter fan more understanding into the beasts, characters, things, and places J. K. Rowling writes about. Excellent read.