In My Mom Era

Some women collect shoes. Some collect handbags. I collect books I apparently believe I will live long enough to read. And judging by my Goodreads account, I’m planning to live approximately 400 years. 😅🤣

I was sitting at my boys’ soccer games tonight, thinking about what I felt like writing about since I told myself I’d do that ridiculous 365-post challenge (I’m on day, what? 4 and questioning my sanity LOL) when I realized I hadn’t really EXPLAINED my obsession with books.

“Book collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those who do it must do it.” – Jeanette Winterson

So tonight I’m digging into my TBR (that’s to be read, for those not in the know) to find out just how ridiculous I am. There will be drama, love, mystery, horror, paranormal, history, and who knows what else… But I’m excited to see!

Goodreads shows 4,237 books TOTAL. 3,888 want to read, 343 read, and 6 currently reading. (I’ve read WAY more than 343 books – but I can’t guess them all, and I didn’t have a Goodreads account in 1986 LOL – shhh!)

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We’ll start with what I’m “currently reading.” Only 6 books right now!! That’s quite good, as there were about 15 a little over a month ago 😅!

‘The Woman in Suite 11’ – Ruth Ware – the follow-up novel to ‘The Woman in Cabin 10,’ which was adapted into a movie and released on Netflix in 2025. A dark, twisty, WHAT IS GOING ON type of book! I’m about 60-ish pages in, and based on the opening… I’m having trouble putting it down! 👀🧐

Next up: ‘Demelza,’ by Winston Graham. Book 2 of the Poldark series – yes, the TELEVISION show… Hmm, I’m seeing a pattern LOL! Swoonworthy romances, historical drama, upper vs. lower class. I’m about halfway through that one, though I’m struggling a bit because it’s on my phone – and I DESPERATELY need a bigger screen LOL!

Third up, ‘Confessions of the Serial Killer H. H. Holmes.’ Written by H. H. Holmes himself. It’s a very rambly, fast-paced… speech, almost? I haven’t quite figured out where this is all going. I haven’t even gotten to his account of the Chicago World’s Fair. But he has admitted, multiple times, that he’s deliberately using people’s dead bodies for insurance scams… so, I don’t even know what to say. It’s very odd. He was famously (infamously) notorious for being unreliable, so I take all of it with a grain of salt. I read a handful of pages a day and then move on LOL.

You should know, I do NOT quit reading a book. Apparently, that’s a thing? Putting books on a “DNF” pile…? So people aren’t finishing them. Well, I’m not the one, LOL, so these books will damn well stay PUT until I finish them LOL!!

Ok 4th, we have ‘Ghosts’ by Hans Holzer – a GIANT of a book at around 761 pages (per Goodreads). I was perusing the local Farmington Library in 2023 shortly before Nora was born and saw it just staring at me from the shelf. So, I borrowed it. I did not finish it by the time I had to return it, so the poor thing has sat on my currently reading shelf for 3 years now. But I WON’T give up – I’m due back at the library this week, so I will reacquire it and get going. It’s essentially a deep dive into the paranormal by Mr. Holzer, a paranormal expert. It’s fascinating and leads to some pretty interesting rabbit holes as I read!

5th is ‘Anna Karenina,’ by Leo Tolstoy. Considered a masterpiece by most, I have to find out why. But this one’s an even bigger giant than the previous! And to be fair to myself, I lost my copy for a few years. I actually JUST found it 2 days ago, so I’ll be able to hop back on the wagon and finish that one up, hopefully by the end of the year 😅.

Last: ‘Mein Kampf,’ by Adolf Hitler. We all should know what Adolf Hitler DID during WWII and prior. But I want to know his thoughts – WHY he was the way he was. I know it’s considered political propaganda and quite self-serving, but still. I’ve always been fascinated by people’s inner thoughts. It’s why I enjoy a good autobiography – not that this is necessarily that, but it’s as close to it as I could get here.

‘Mein Kampf’ has been on my current reading list since 2020. Another one that has taken a back seat to my INSANE life. I mean, COVID, working from home, 3 more babies, and all of a sudden it’s 2026, and I’m working on THIS BLOG!! But I’ll get there with the currently reading – I have to try not to add anything else.

Which is really, really, LIKE REALLY hard for me. I mean, the library lets me borrow TEN books at a time! Plus there are Kindle books, plus the physical books I already have here! I told you all, I have a problem LOL!

I discovered Goodreads in 2019… I have NO idea who introduced me to THAT monster, but I’d like to thank them! It’s given my brain a place to dump all of the crazy things I want to read about when I can’t just go out and BUY every book that strikes my fancy!

Also, funnily enough, it gives me a place to put a crazy amount of books on my TBR list based on another person’s suggestion about what one should read before one dies… so… yep, between THAT book and books I see when scrolling, or when walking through the store, or when someone is talking about a book… there’s really no stopping me.

The ‘1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die,’ by “100 international critics,” was tough! DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN REACH A LIMIT OF BOOKS TO ADD IN ONE DAY TO YOUR GOODREADS ACCOUNT?

I DID IT!!

It’s around 600, in case you’re wondering – at least in my experience 😆 🤣. I had to split up the additions to my Goodreads account over about a week so I didn’t get flagged again!

Honestly, that book led to some really amazing recommendations, though! There were the CLASSICS that most literary folks know about. Think ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘The Bell Jar’, & ‘Infinite Jest’.

Then there are the more obscure ones that made me go researching them, such as ‘The Life of Insects,’ by Victor Pelevin; ‘Hallucinating Foucault,’ by Patricia Duncker; and ‘Thursbitch,’ by Alan Garner.

In fact, I can see a future follow-up specific to that book! Maybe once a month I tackle one of those 1001 books to read – and document the experience!! Or however often I have time, HAHA.

I maintain my innocence here, though, as everyone keeps telling me about books! I mean, even KNOWING I have a problem!!

Goodreads is always recommending things; the book clubs I’m part of on FB are never quiet, CHATGPT sends me a daily LIST of books it’s found for me… AND I KEEP ADDING THEM 🤣😅

It gets worse.

This TBR list has series. Not just one-off books here and there. But entire series. I’ve got ‘Outlander,’ by Diana Gabaldon; ‘Mercy Thompson,’ by Patricia Briggs; ‘The Great Library,’ by Rachel Caine; ‘The Bridge Kingdom,’ by Danielle Jensen; ‘Hugo Marston,’ by Mark Pryor; and ‘Bridgerton,’ by Julia Quinn.

And don’t even get me started on books that have been or will be turned into TV shows or movies. Hint: there are a LOT!

What I find most interesting is how I jump around everywhere. On any given day, my mood can go in a completely different direction than it did the day before.

A few weeks back, I read ‘Mengele: The Complete Story,’ by Gerald Posner and John Ware. It emotionally shattered me. There were parts that I had to put the book down for and watch a funny movie or do something with my kids.

I get INVESTED in the books I read. I took over 300 photos of that Mengele book – specifically so I could research things I wasn’t aware of. I sent the screenshots to ChatGPT and would go down rabbit hole after rabbit hole.

The number of books for me to research based on that book ALONE is over 70. I want to learn the good, bad, and ugly of our world. Our world is incredible, but also downright nasty.

Every book I open can lead me to 5 or 10 books I hadn’t heard of yet. A character IN THE BOOK will be reading a book that I must know about. A person in the movie I’m watching may casually mention what they’re reading – ADDED.

I LOVE READING AND COLLECTING.

I love the possibility of what’s out there. The information I can glean and share with my kids. The ‘hidden’ destinations that someone took the time to write about and share with the world. I want it all.

So yes, I may be dreaming, thinking I’ll get to my whole TBR shelf. Or, Heaven for me will be a library filled with all the books I could ever want, and the ability never to die.

Kelly