I’m an avid reader of both fiction and nonfiction about fiction, so this is the time of the year when I read a lot of “best of the year” articles. LOCUS has the most extensive lists and discussions about fantasy and science fiction, while BOOKMARK concentrates on general fiction. I also browse several websites such as SF SITE and Cheryl Morgan’s EMERALD CITY. All this reading provides me with a good idea of what books I should buy without having to wade through lots of mediocre books that I would read if I bought my books blindly.

Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time to read as I would like (I would like to read several books a week, but that is physically impossible with holding down a job! ☺), so my lists of RECOMMENDED READING have grown almost out of control. Currently my lists contain 37 f&sf books, 20 general fiction (primarily historical fiction) and 20 nonfiction books. Plus there are 4 long series which I would like to read consisting of 19 other books.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg: Nor am I caught up on reading all the books I have already bought the past few years. My BOOKS TO BE READ list currently consists of 9 f&sf books, 14 historical fiction, and 14 nonfiction books. *sigh*

Combining the two lists, there are 133 books I would like to read in the foreseeable future! And that does not include new books in the current crop of 2003 “best” books!