Most of the books I read professionally are by dead men. This has certain advantages. There's no sitting around waiting for them to finish up their latest installment, and no lag from the publication date until my very excellent library acquires a copy. It's already been there for decades. I usually don't even have to wait in line with other readers to get my hands on it, unless it's being used in a class. And if someone else does have the copy, I can get it by recall or interlibrary loan within a couple of weeks.

I've been reminded lately of the frustration factor of discovering current writers that you like: it takes them a lot longer to write a book than it takes me to read it. I experience this mostly in the realm of kiddy lit, since by my lights the series fiction most likely to be worth following is shelved in the children's section. Harry Potter is so extreme it doesn't even count anymore; I finished an entire graduate degree in the time it took Rowling to write book 5, so I've made my peace with having to settle in and wait a good long time between installments. But I've discovered a few other authors whose work intrigues me, and I am now stalking their latest products.

Since I prefer to listen to these books on unabridged audio, I usually have to wait even longer than if I settled for the hardcover. My cheapskatedness further delays my gratification, since it leaves me subject to the budget and whims of the library and its other patrons.

I'm not even sure if all of these are, or will be, available on CD, but here are the kid's books I hope to get my hands (er, ears?) on in the coming months:

To-Be-Read/Heard Juvenile Fiction List.