Congratulations!

Congratulations to Pauline Rowson, whose In Cold Daylight has made it onto the shortlist of the World Books Day Books to Talk About competition. I read this topical thriller in December - but didn't like to say very much about it here for fear of spilling too many plot-related beans. Pauline was one of the very first people I met through blogs and blogging when I first dipped my toes into the great unknown last summer. The energy, enthusiasm and humour with which she promotes her novels are infectious (you can read all about them in her blog) and I'm delighted that she's reached the final ten, which will certainly Spread the Word for her in a big way.

Congratulations also to Candi Miller for hitting the shortlist with Salt & Honey. I read this very recently and I just can't get it out of my mind. An absolutely stunning novel - the culmination of years of research, transformed by Miller's love for Southern Africa and her burning, poetic imagination - I'm thrilled that it's going to receive the exposure it deserves as a result of Books To Talk About.

Now, how am I going to square my nascent plan to read the other eight books on the list with my recent vow of abstemiousness on the book-buying front??? The TBR pile is TOO BIG already. But . . . some of these do look absolutely necessary, somehow, don't they?