I spent nearly an hour browsing at Barnes & Noble Friday night, and I saw five books that I really wanted to buy. Unfortunately, I already have too many unread books in my collection–would you believe 70 of them?–that I try to limit my buying at least to a level where the number of orphans in my collection does not grow, even if it rarely diminishes.

Anyway, here are some of the books and cds on my current wish list:

• Dances with Luigi, by Paul Paolicelli, a true story about an Italian-American seeking his family roots in the “old country”
• The Nautical Chart, another historical mystery by Arturo Perez-Reverte
• The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco. I loved both his Foucault’s Pendulum and Baudolino, so why not try his masterpiece?
• How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, by U2. They are capable of fabulous albums such as The Joshua Tree and All That You Can’t Leave Behind, and this new one is supposedly one of their best
• Deja Vu All Over Again, by John Fogarty. He is unable to record a bad song, much less an entire album, and the critics seem to agree that this new album is vintage Fogarty.

All of these items are on my Christmas list for my family to peruse. I’ll let you know in another 6 weeks if I actually get any of them. ☺