Thanks!

I've spent most of the last few days asleep--fighting off a minor illness and getting very little of anything accomplished. While I was down for the count, my to-be-read stack expanded by 3 books, all won in recent blog contests:

Go check out the puzzle competition over at Shakespeare Geek for the new book Pocket Posh Shakespeare Puzzles. Although winners have already been drawn, his cipher entry puzzle will definitely amuse you.  I can't wait to look through the book which promises to provide many evenings of fun for my Shakespeare-obsessed family.

If you love Shakespeare and really bad puns, you absolutely must follow Shakespeare Geek on Twitter.  He and Bardfilm keep me laughing everyday with hashtags such as the recent #JudyBlumeShakespeare, #ShakesPoe #ShakespeareProductRecall, and even #ShakespeareanPickupLines. (Unfortunately, these all seem to be past the date when Twitter keeps them available--but if you tune in yourself, you'll get to be part of all the fun.)  Follow them at @ShakespeareGeek and @bardfilm.

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Given that Little Women may have been the book that really started my career as a reader (depending on whether you count the entire Nancy Drew series or not), I must say how excited I am to be receiving the new novel The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees, given away--and signed!--by the author.

I'm also looking forward to reading Harriet Reisen's well-received biography, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women.  Perhaps an Alcott reading extravaganza is in order!

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I was thrilled to win Amanda's blogoversary contest over at The Zen Leaf a few weeks ago.  In her post, Amanda called special attention to some of the blog reviews she wrote in her first year and listed a few of her favorites. She offered the winner of her drawing any book from her 2008 list.

Immediately, I knew I would choose Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea.  Having been a Jane Eyre fan since I was a young girl, I can't believe I haven't read this extension of the story.  (It is the story of the m******* in the a****, as Amateur Reader would say.)

I think I'll reread Jane Eyre before reading WSS--and perhaps I'll look through Lucasta Miller's study, The Bronte Myth, too.  Ah, yes.  One book always leads to another...

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Thanks to all three of these bloggers for keeping my shelves--and all available floorspace in our house--brimming with possibilities.