No more willpower than a soggy paper bag.

I have failed (again) and this time I am laying the blame at the feet of my friends in the blogosphere.  I don't like shopping.  I have almost total sales resistance except where books or plants are concerned. 

I can only resist if I don't go near anywhere which sells either of them.  Drat you, my resolve on the book front is frequently tested here in the blogosphere.  Many of you are talented writers and others of you tell me about books which I lust after.  My unread pile is substantial and I have been resisting (mostly) temptation as I work through it.  And, during the medical mayhem, rereading comfort books was about my limit. 

And on the weekend just gone I fell from grace.  Dramatically.  I love the library, and cannot imagine not being a member.  But NONE of the books I weakened over are held in our library.  And are not likely to be purchased in the foreseeable future.

A review here started the rot.  El is herself a talented author, and the review she posted about' The Sexual Adventures of Time and Space' by Brian Sfinas whetted my appetite.  Big time.  I had not heard of either the author or the book, and was intrigued.  Drat you El.  So I rationalised (dangerous) that I had been very busy and very stressed and very good and deserved a reward.  Oh dear.

And dived in the deep end.  Yes, I have bought it.  But did I stop there?  Did I hell.

Some time ago Geo. told me that Laurie King had another book out in her series about Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes.  Which I resisted at the time.  No longer.  And while browsing I found another one I didn't have.  Oops.

But wait, there's more....

librarygirl introduced me to Ben Aaronovitch  a couple of years ago.  And recently reminded me that there is another one in the series...  So I succumbed again.  And worse she has also added 'The Children of the King' by Sonya Hartnett to my wish list.  I didn't get it on this binge, but I will...

And more.

lynners told me recently that she had purchased and loved 'Station Life in New Zealand' by Lady Barker.  I love biographies, autobiographies and memoirs.  I bought it too.

And one more.

Susan Flett Swiderski has written  'Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade'.  Resistance was obviously useless so I added that to my hoard.

Oh dear.  And I don't even feel (very) guilty.  Reviews will follow in the fullness of time - they are not expected to reach me before the end of next month.

What can I say, but thank you - and drat you.

And, while still obsessed with books, I found 'Who will I be when I die?' by Christine Boden at a Lifeline bookfair in June.  A book which terrified me and inspired me.

Christine Boden had just escaped an abusive relationship and become a single parent who also filled a  high profile and stressful job.  And, at 46 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  I am terrified that MS will eat my brain, so my heart lurched in sympathy for her.  And she lived and worked in my city.

This book is the story of her emotional, physical and spiritual journey in the three years after her diagnosis.   Mike Munro summed it up superbly 'Who will she be when she dies?  A mother remembered and revered by her family and a woman who gave a great deal of herself to strangers.'

A moving and inspirational book - and she has also written two more books and is working on a third.  I hope I could face life with a fraction of her grace and determination.