Don't you just hate it when you can't find find what you want? And, you know it's where it ought to be. Back in April, I wanted to start reading Craig Ferguson's memoir, American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot .  ( Click on that link and it'll bring you to Amazon. Just saying. ) It was one of the books that the husband and I got for ourselves last Christmas. He finished it at the beginning of the year and placed it on my pile of books to read that I stacked on the recliner in the bedroom. Because I got tired of feeling bad that he had to move all the books onto the bed when he wanted to sit on the recliner to read, and then back again when he was done sitting, I thought I'd switch the books elsewhere. I did in February. I brought the pile into the office and wrote a blog post ( not an amazon.com link ) about what I was not reading.  I must have been still in a got-to-be organized mood because I stacked them neatly away somewhere. I

Today, I moved all but one book from my nightstand because the dust collecting on them was bothering me. I mean a lot of books...and a lot of dust! Some books have been waiting patiently for years for me to crack them open. Bookmarks peek out of other books to show that I abandoned them after only several pages or a few chapters for various reasons. I have very good intention to return to each of these books. Some day. The Octopus: A California Story by Frank Norris. I aim to re-read this book. It's a novel about the ruthlessness of big agribusiness in California at the turn of the 19 th century. Much of the story is set in a fictional place based on San Benito County where I was born, raised, and now live again. Execution Dock by Anne Perry. Another novel I want to re-read. It's part of a series about a detective, whose regaining his memory, and his wife who solve crime in the mid-19 th century. Perry is one amazing writer. She's able to bring the sights, smells, and