TBR or ITRN?

TBR: To Be Read…
I only recently discovered what that acronym means, and I have come up with a new one of my own.
ITRN: Itching To Read Now; it seems more apt.
Certainly I’ve had stashes of books languishing away, collecting dust, waiting to be read throughout my house, but never have I felt this urgent need to read just a little bit of each of them, to hoard them and keep them close on my nightstand, within easy reach of my bed.

While I was writing my first novel, I didn’t have much time to read. Now I don’t either, but I squeeze it in. I feel compelled since I spend plenty of time on reader loops, on author websites, and in bookstores, trying to market and promote my name and my book. There is suddenly soooo much that I want to read. And I don’t want to buy it and save it. I want to read it now, which is difficult when I’m in the middle of writing two books and reading a couple as well. I can’t give my attention to all of them at the same time. And the crux of the matter is that the more I read, the less I write, the less I promote, the less I…work. Of course reading is good for my writing (in more ways than one), but it’s a toss up. How should I be spending my “free” time?

For a while at least, I’ll be spending it reading. Just take a look at the gems on my "ITRN" stack:
It’s In His Kiss by Julia Quinn (divine at half-way through)
The Givenchy Code by Julie Kenner (chick-lit, mystery, and math!)
Little White Lies by Gemma Townley (author of the breezy When In Rome)
The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long (a debut author I’ve heard great things about)
Priceless by Marne Davis Kellogg (a take-off on To Catch A Thief, which I loved)
And of course…Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, but I’ll have to wait out my husband for that one.

Feel free to send me any suggestions…