Wishful Reading: So Many Books...So Little Time

It's been a Busy Year thus far and my new year's "resolution" to do even more reading in my "spare time" hasn't been going as well as I'd hoped. There are many books on my shelves at home that I'm eagerly anticipating...Here are 8 of them.
1. Working by Studs Terkel: When my brothers were in high school the drama club did a musical performance of Working. I was young at the time and can still remember some of the numbers, and as a twenty-something trying to decide on a career it seems like a good resource.

2. Darkmans by Nicola Barker: Josh has been raving about this at the book store and I do trust his taste (he encouraged me to read Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall which I thoroughly enjoyed)

3. Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo: After we moved to the city I heard about "The great Boston molasses flood of 1919" and couldn't believe that molasses in January could be considered a disaster. This book is supposed to be the definitive account of everything that happened that January 1919.

4. Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link: In 2004 I went to a concert in Northampton and instead of having an opening band they had a reading. It wasn't until this past year that I found out that it was Kelly Link who had read from this book. She read the 6th segment of this book, a story about Zombies. It lulled us into a story- time sleepiness. There is nothing quite like being read to in a dark theater to let your mind wander and join the story.

5. As She Climbed Across the Table by Jonathan Lethem: Alexander put this on display a year ago February. I remember reading the back, being intrigued...forgetting the title, asking Alexander what it was and then finally taking it home before I could forget again. The idea of a particle physicist leaving her boyfriend for a void in the universe seems odd- but thoroughly entertaining.

6. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July (stories): Perhaps it was the bright yellow cover, the simplistic design (I know that this contradicts my previous post- forgive me). After reading a short story of July's in The Best American Non required Reading 2007 I was hooked!

7. The 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers: Perhaps I'm just attracted to bright yellow covers but this book has grabbed my eye several times over the past year and a half. It's described as being "equal parts J.K. Rowling, Douglas Adams and Shel Silverstein" and I really enjoy Mr. Adams' work.

8. Travels with Charley: in Search of America by John Steinbeck: I've been in search of road trip literature for the past year in preparation for my own road trip and this was suggested to me by a friend who went through the same process.

Are there any books you've been dying to have time to read?