'Hop' August Nights

I just returned from several days of park-'hopping' with my wife and five-year-old grandson!  Living in southern California makes it kind of easy too.  We visited Disneyland (a very long day!), and then spent a day a couple of days just north of San Diego, in Carlsbad, California, visiting Legoland and the SeaLife Aquarium.  Each morning the 'little guy' woke up chock full of energy and he made sure that we packed in as much fun as possible each day too.  We all had a blast, and it was simply priceless to see the look of pure joy on his face as he went from adventure and experience to the next!

Now you know why I am a day late in adding my 'Book Blogger Hop' posting here on my blog.  Well, better late than never!  This is my second time participating in the 'Hop', and I'm enjoying meeting all of you who love books as much as I do, and finding some really terrific blogs to follow.  I'd like to thank Jennifer at Crazy for Books for sponsoring the weekly Book Blogger Hop.  You can go here to learn more about the 'Hop' and sign up.

This week's Book Blogger Hop question is:  "How many books do you have on your 'To Be Read' shelf?"

 I really couldn't hazard a guess as to how many books are on my TBR shelves.  I have a bunch though!

Over the past few years, in an effort to more effectively manage my reading, I have developed a process that seems to work pretty well for me.  When I find an author that I like, I tend to try and read that author's entire oeuvre, or at least a solid and very representative portion of their work.  For example, in late-2008 and a good portion of 2009, I read the fiction of Charles Dickens in the order that he wrote them.  Not only did I read some terrific novels, but I was also able to follow Dickens's maturation and evolution as an author and story-teller.  I have since done the same with the Brontes, Wilkie Collins, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and Elizabeth Gaskell.

This summer I have been exploring the work of George Eliot and Thomas Hardy.  Also, so that I don't become too narrowly constrained, I tend to read something a little different in and among my primary reading.  This summer I have managed to sprinkle some very enjoyable reading of the short stories of Sarah Orne Jewett and Edith Wharton in with my more deliberate and studious reading of Hardy and Eliot.

Have a wonderful weekend!  'Hop' around and make some new friends and find some new books to read.  Thanks for stopping by and visiting!