Big Stack of Books

I have a big stack of books to read between the five books I ordered with a Barnes & Noble gift certificate I got for my birthday and others that I've borrowed from friends and family recently. The problem is, I've been so busy with work and other things that I haven't been able to do much reading. However, I have been editing my second novel.

I'm trying to resist temptation to make a big dent in that big stack of books, because I need to finish editing my own novel and give it a second read before I see if one of my friends will read it. I want it to be in reasonably good shape so that I can submit it for review by one of the agents or editors attending the San Diego State Writers Conference in January.

I'm looking forward to the conference, because last year's conference was so good, and because I could use a big dose of inspiration. I left the conference last year with all kinds of good feedback, but I still haven't made much progress on a few of the stories I shared in workshops there.

I guess that should be my motivation to get through a second and a first read on my teen novel. When that job is done, I can move on to something new. Or read one of those books in the stack next to my dining room table ...