A Joyful Reader

January rundown

2012-01-29T21:32:00.001-08:00

I got 5 books read this month:

1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight

2.Strawberry shortcake murder

3. The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime

4. Of Mice and Men

5. The Romance Readers Book Club

I wanted to get more in, but we were traveling for 2 weeks this month, so only got 5 in. I will probably be low in reading the next two months as well, as I will have my mother here visiting for 5 weeks! I know, I still need to get some reviews written too!

What I'm reading...

2012-01-09T18:19:00.001-08:00

Just a little update. I just finished my 2nd book of the year " the Romance Reader's Book Club" last night, which I will review soon. And I perused my shelf and pulled The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" from my shelf and decided to get into it. I have been wanting to read this for awhile. Last night when I finally started it, it was late so I couldn't keep my eyes open long to get very far into it yet, but so far it seems like it's gonna be a fun read, so I'm pretty excited about it!

What are you reading?

Currently Reading: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and The Help (Kindle)

Why? Because it is on Dr. Boxalls 1001 books you must read list, and because it has been on my shelf now for over two years, so it's time to get off my shelf already!

What I just finished reading: "The Romance Reader's Book Club

What I am looking forward to reading next: I think I will either read the 2nd in the Dragonlance series or The Appeal by John Grisham, not sure yet. It's hard for me to say this early in my current read what will be up next, cuz I am never sure what I'll be in the mood for when I'm done reading my current read. We will see!

2012 Book Review #1: Dragons of Autumn Twilight

2012-01-06T05:16:00.000-08:00

Title: Dragons of Autumn Twilight

Author: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Pages: 444

Personal Rating: 4/5

From the Back Cover: Life-long friends, they went their separate ways. now they are togehter again, though each holds secrets fromt he others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.

Person thought and reflection: I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed this book! My husband has been hounding me for years to read this series, and they have been gracing my TBR shelf for about 2 years now. I finally decided to just take the plunge....I came up satisfied!

These were written in the 80's, so they have been around for awhile, so I'm a little behind...only about 20 years, no biggie! But I can say I am glad I did finally pick this up. I am not a fan of sci- fi, or fantasy. In 2010 I read the first book in the Sword of Truth series, and enjoyed it well enough. Then last year I tried the 2nd in the series, and my enthusiasm for the series waned. These feelings made me really hesitant when reaching for the Dragonlance series. However,I am glad I didn't let Terry Goodkinds works keep me from picking up the likes of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. These two are amazing writers! They made me laugh and drew me into the journey right alongside their characters. The signs of truly masterful writers.

While I will not be reaching straightaway for #2 in this series, as I have other books I would like to get through first, I can guarantee it won't be long before I visit the companions of this tale in their next adventure Dragons of Winter Night.

Whats next on my stack? The Romance Readers Book Club by: Julie L. Cannon

A new year! New goals!

2012-01-02T02:48:00.000-08:00

Well, last year, my goal was to read 75 books, and I got 86 finished. But I must admit that towards the end of the year when it didn't look like I was going to finish the 75 I started reading shorter books just to make my challenge. So, I sorta feel like I cheated.

This year I have decided no more cheating, so I have decided that I am going to try to read 65 pre-picked TBR books! If I finish them then I can read others but that is my goal.

I could aim for 75 again this year, but I am going to be starting a rigorous work out program this year with my hubby (ever heard of P90X?) And whenever I start working out like that I have a tendency to not be able to sit for long periods, as exercise gives me a crazy amount of energy. I find myself sitting down to read only to pop up again after a few minutes to work around the house or do another work out! It is craziness, but I really want to get in shape this year, since last year I had a baby and it was really hard on me with my high blood pressure and borderline high cholesterol...I think it would have been so much easier had I been in good shape. So, I have other goals to work on this year besides just reading, as much as I am in love with books, and reading, I think dealing with some health issues is so much more important. I need to lose this weight and be healthy. I know everyone says that at the first of the year, but I have been battling with this for awhile, so it's really nothing new, I just finally had the extra money to order the system, so...this year it is!

So, right now I am reading the first book in the Dragonlance series: "Dragons of Autumn Twilight". My husband has been wanting me to read these for a long time and I am finally giving them a go! I am on page 150 or so and I must admit I am enjoying it a fair bit more than I thought I would!

This year I would also like to blog here alot more often. Include more reviews and just general "What I'm reading now" posts, as apposed to just posting a monthly list of what I got done!

Well I hope all my readers enjoy a wonderful bookish 2012!

What I'm currently reading: The Dragons of Autumn Twilight

Why: because my husband suggested it, and so I put it on my TBR list for this year

What I just finished reading? The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest

What I am looking forward to reading next: I haven't decided if I want to read the next in the Dragonlance series right away yet, or pick up Three Fates by Nora Roberts. This one is the first one of twelve on my TBR challenge list for the Book Addicts group on Goodreads. I will let you know!

Joyful Reading!

Books Read in December

2011-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

I did pretty good to wrap up my year in reading, with 13 books read this month. Here's what I read in December:

1. The Phantom Freighter (library)

2. World Without End (TBR challenge)

3. The secret in the Old attic (Library)

4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1001 books)

5. Ghost in the Mirror (Non- fiction/Kindle)

6. Hawk O'Toole's Hostage

7. The Daughters Break the Rules

8. The Daughters take the Stage

9. Just as Long as We're Together

10. The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest

11. The Chocolate Chip Cookie murder (kindle)

12. A Boyfriend Before Christmas (Kindle)

13. All the Lovely Bad Ones

This was an excellent way to end my year in reading. All except two of these books received 5 stars from me!

My 2011 Year in Books

2011-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

Books read in 2011
(Goal: 75, or 22,500 pages!)

JANUARY
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns
2. The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo
3. Restless Hearts
4. Thirteen Moons
5. Blue Skies

February
6. The Virgin Suicides
7. Club Dead
8. Dead to the World

March
9. Love and Respect
10. By the Shores of Silver Lake
11. The Long Winter

April
12. Search for a New Dawn
13. Little Town on the Prairie
14. These Happy Golden Years
15. The First four years
16. The Purpose driven Life
17. The Pillars of the Earth

May
18. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
19. Safe Haven
20. The Christmas Train
21. Amazing Word search collection
22. Haunted Schools
23. The Boleyn Inheritance
24. Haunted Highways
25. Standing in the Rainbow

June
26. The Memory Keepers Daughter
27. The Interruption of Everything
28. The Red Queen
29. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World
30. That Summer
31. Something Blue

July
32. One Tuesday Morning
33. beyond Tuesday Morning
34. The house of Mirth
35. Stone of Tears

August
36. Black Hills
37. This Lullaby
38. The Bestseller
39. Dead as a Doornail
40. The Girl Who Played with Fire
41. War and Peace
42. Definitely Dead
43. The Poisonwood Bible

September
44. Conquering depression
45. All Together dead
46. The Woman in Black

October
47. The Ghost Next door
48. The shelters of stone
49. Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
50. One summer

November
51. Heart of the Matter
52. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1
53. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2
54. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3
55. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #4
56. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #5
57. Deep and Dark and Dangerous
58. Wait ‘til Helen Comes
59. 50 Things That Really Matter
60. Cam Jansen and the Snowy Day Mystery
61. Cam Jansen and the Triceratop pops Mystery
62. If I could Fly
63. Good-bye Pink Pig
64. The Sign of the Crooked Arrow
65. Not Even for Love

December
66. The Phantom Frieghter
67. World Without End
68. The Secret in the Old Attic
69. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
70. Ghost in the Mirror
71. Hawk O’Toole’s Hostage
72. The Daughter’s Break the Rules
73. The Daughter’s Take the Stage
74. Just as Long as We’re Together
75.The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest
76. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
77. A boyfriend Before Christmas
78. All The Lovely Bad Ones

Books Read to My Daughter
79. Peedie
80. Guess How Much I love you
81. Pooh Loves
82. Noah’s Ark
83. My Little Golden book about God
84. Baby’s First Book
85. Baby’s House
86.Look Out Suzie Goose!

So, this has been another amazing year of reading!!! Those last two months I really went to town trying to catch up! I did pretty good! I have to admit, I was scrambling around trying to get some shorter books to read (even went to the library for that purpose!) since I didn't have any good short or YA books on my TBR shelf, so next year I am going to only read off my TBR shelf, and since, like I said I don't have any really short ones, I think I am not going to be reaching a 75 book goal in 2012. i'm pretty much not even gonna try. I have a list of 65 already written up that I want to get finished by years end, but a few of them are pretty lengthy, like Don Quixote and #'s 3 and 4 in the Sword of Truth series. So, I am just going to try to get through that list and if I do and can read more towards the 75 book challenge then great but if not, eh oh well, as long as I try to knock quite a few off my pre-chosen list of 65. So, there are my goals for 2012! Do you have any reading goals?

Thank you! Merry Christmas and a TBR challenge list!

2011-12-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

First off thank you to Kimberly at Turning The Pages for such an encouraging comment!! I am definitely going to try to keep this up! The reading part is the fun/easy part for me, it's the writing part that is sorta hard. The reviews and such! But I will keep trying to write as much as I can! Maybe If I hand write out my reviews first. For some reason my brain works better with pencil in hand then when I try to type out how I feel about a book. And part of it is pure laziness, or being too busy with other things! The other thing I think that deters me is the fact that I don't read new releases often, since my TBR shelf overfloweth, with books that I purchased a long time ago, so I think "Why review that?! Everyone has probably already read it!" But then I think Well the reason I started this blog was to keep track mainly for myself what I read, so why should I care what other people think? And who knows? Something I write just might help someone else want to read a great book I read, even if it's been on the shelves for years and years.

That being said I have once again joined the TBR challenge at The book addicts group on Goodreads, and the challenge is to read 12 books off your TBR shelf during the year. The books must have been on your shelf for at least a year. So, that means no publication dates from after Jan 1 2011. Lord knows I have plenty to choose from! So, here's my list!

1. Three Fates By: Nora Roberts

2.Of Mice and Men by: John Steinbeck

3. Girls Night In By: several authors (short stories!)

4. The Romance Readers' Book Club by: Julie L. Cannon

5. Nostalgic Noel A collection of 4 Christmas stories by various authors

6.The Appeal By: John Grisham

7. Ask Again Later by: Jill A. Davis

8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Nighttime By:Mark Haddon

9. Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore

10. Mansfield Park by: Jane Austen

11. Waiting to Exhale by: Terry MacMillan

12. Every Breath You Take by Ann Rule

You are allowed 2 alternates as well and for those I picked:

1.Summer breeze By: Catherine Anderson

2. The Summerhouse By: Jean Stone

I just realized that out of those 14 books 10 of them are from authors who are new to me! Wow! I may find me some new favorite authors this year!

Well, that's it for me here, but before I go I would like to say a big Merry Christmas to all you who took the time to read this! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and have a great New Year Holiday and next year? If you don't see reviews here, be sure and leave me a comment and say "Hey! I'd love to see a review for ::insert title here!::"

Wow!

2011-12-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

I am up to 19 followers here now! I didn't think anyone even cared...guess I had better start writing more here. Like reviews of books...yeah that might be good! =) I have written what? 2, 3 reviews all year, and I've read almost 80 books! I am a horrible book blogger! =( I am gonna try to be better next year, I promise! (I think I made this promise for this year too...oops!)

Books Read in November

2011-11-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a goooood reading month in November! I finished 15 books! So, now I am more than caught up with my challenge, in fact it is only the beginning of Dec, and I only have 1 more book to finish to reach my 75 books for the year!
Here's the list:
1. Heart of the Matter by:Emily Giffin
2. Diary of a Wimpy kid #1 by:Jeff Kinney
3. Diary of a wimpy Kid #2
4. Diary of a wimpy Kid #3
5. Diary of a wimpy Kid #4
6. Diary of a wimpy Kid #5
7. Deep and dark and Dangerous By:Mary Downing Hahn
8. Wait Tl Helen Comes By Mary Downing Hahn
9. 50 things that really matterDave Joachim
10. Cam Jansen and the Snowy day Mystery By: David A. Adler
11. Cam Jansen and the Triceratops Pops mystery by: David A. Adler
12. If I coud Fly By: Judith Ortiz Cofer
13. Good Bye Pink Pig By: C.S Adler
14. The sighn of the Crooked Arrow By: Franklin Dixon
15. Not even for Love By:Sandra Brown

Yes, i went a little overboard on the kiddie books but I got the box set of the Wimpy kid books for my birthday. And they went so fast and were fun that I decided to hit the library and see what other great kid books were out there! I forgot how Kiddie books can truly take you from your now world, and transport you to a time when you were young! I loved to read as a child, and these books took me back to long warm summer days laying on my bed reading as a child. I loved them all. I still have a few more from the library to read in December and I am looking forward to them as well.

October Monthly reads

2011-10-31T01:26:00.000-07:00

In October I read 5 books:

1) The Woman in Black by: Susan Hill
2) The Ghost Next Door by: Mark Alan Morris
3) The Shelters of Stone by: Jean M. Auel
4) Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by: Marian Keyes
5) One Summer by: David Baldacci

all but one were great reads. I really sturggled through The Shelters of Stone. I finished The woman in Black in one day and The Ghost Next Door in a few hours. I wanted to save The Ghosty one for Halloween, but it arrived early and I couldn't help myself and so I sat down and read the entire thing in a few hours.

Book Review: "One Summer" by: David Baldacci

2011-10-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

Title: One Summer
Author: David Baldacci
Pages: 320
Personal Rating: 5/5

From the inside Cover: It’s almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no on able to care for them,the children are separated from one another and sent to live with family members around the country.
Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie’s death, he reunites everyone at Lizzies’s childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack begins to learn to love again, and he and his children learn how to become a family once more.

Personal thoughts and reflection: I LOVED this book. I couldn’t put it down, and spent the last night up until 2 am finishing, as I couldn’t just leave the last quarter of the book unread! I had to know how everything resolved itself!!
I liked the character of Jack immediately. I was sucked in emotionally with this one! I have said it before and I’ll say it again. I believe the greatness of a book is shown when it can bring it’s reader to emotion, whether it be sadness, triumph, jealousy, anger, or any other emotion while reading, it has done it’s job! This book evoked so many emotions in me. Sadness, hope, anger, fear, it was all there!

The one thing that struck me about this book was it’s style. Now I have only read ONE of Baldacci’s books so far (The Christmas Train), though I was hooked from that one and went out and started stockpiling his works from then on, I am excited to get into some of his series!! (I’m a big series addict!) But this one reminded me of a Nicholas Sparks book. It read a lot like many of his. He spun a great tale, and I kept thinking “This was written by a guy?” Though some of the fight scenes were obviously written by one of the male gender! (come on, admit it, the thought of a fight scene makes you wanna read it, huh?)
If you are looking for a great, easy, fun, emotional adventure to sink your teeth into, grab this book!! If you enjoy Nicholas Sparks works, grab this book! Heck, Just Grab this book!!!! I promise you , it will grab you back!!

Book Review: "Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married" by: Marian Keyes

2011-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Title: Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
Author: Marian Keyes
Pages: 624
Personal Rating: 5/5

From the Back Cover: What happens when a psychic tells Lucy that she’ll be getting married within the year? Her roommates panic! What is going to happen to their blissful existence of eating take-out,drinking too much wine,bring men home and never vacuuming?
Lucy reassures her friends that she’s far too busy arguing with her mother and taking care of her irresponsible father to get married. And then there’s the small matter of not even having a boyfriend.
But then Lucy meets gorgeous,unreliable gus. Could he be the future Mr. Lucy Sullivan? Or could it be handsome Chuck? Or Daniel, the worlds biggest flirt? Or even cute Jed, the new guy at work?
Maybe her friends have something to worry about after all….

Personal thoughts and reflection: From the first page, this book had me laughing! I was entranced from page 1! I enjoyed Lucy’s journey as she hopped from man to man, wondering if THIS one was “THE ONE”.

She is a classic codependent, clinging to any rubbish that comes her way, due to the life she grew up in with a drunk father. Taking care of, and pampering men has always been a way of life for her, starting with her dad. She finally wakes up and decides to stand tall and not allow anyone to walk all over her anymore. And when she does….she finds her one true love!
This was my first book by Marian Keyes, and I can assure you, it won’t be my last! I plan on running right to library this coming weekend and seeing if they have any of her other works….but then again, looking at my overflowing To-Be-Read shelf, maybe I will wait a while!

September Monthly run down, and an answer to a question in comments!

2011-09-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Wow! September really was a HORRIBLE reading month! I only got 3 books read...why? you ask? Because I decided to try to stick to reading a horrible book that is about a million pages long that is just a waste of time. Which one might that be? "The Shelters of Stone" by Jean M. Auel.

This book is the 5th book in her Earth Children's series. It took her 12 years to write, and most of her fans, who loved the first four books are mostly dissapointed in this work. The reviews at goodreads aren't good. I am struggling to get through this thing. The only reason I am STILL reading it, is that I have invested time in getting through over 500 of the 700+ pages and I see the end is near, but I find myself doing so much skimming...sad. I was totally looking forward to this work too! There is a 6th inthe series, and I hear it is worse than this one. I borrowed it from a friend, and I think I will be returning it without even cracking it open.

On the other hand I did finish three really great books:
1. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
2.Conquering Depression By: Mark A. Sutton and Bruce Hennigan
and
3. All Together Dead By: Charlaine Harris

I am STILL slogging through The Shelters of Stone. I still have a little over 200 pages left of this one. I confess, I keep turning the page hoping something happens! but nothing ever does! It's just more of the same old boring drivel. I am also curious to see how she ends this, despite the fact that I don't think anything exciting will happen. And there have been plenty of opportunity for drama, but she never grabs it! Just a few incidents here and there, and I think that is why I keep going, just about the time I wanna give up, there is a bit of excitement, but she never runs with that storyline, she just goes back to the boring descriptions of everything in minute detail, and repeating herself over and over and over.

Well, if I ever get this book done, I will be picking up The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest, World without End, and maybe Blood of the Fold, the third book in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind....another three that are over 700 pages, and one is over 1000! Or! Maybe I'll go for some light reading, some Emily Giffin, or Karen Kingsbury. I know I want to read/reread some of my true ghost story books in lieu of the Halloween/fall spirit...no pun intended! I just ordered a new Ghosty Book on Amazon last week, and am hoping it shows up before October is gone!

Ok, and now to answer Booklady who asked how I liked War and Peace and if I had plans to read any more of Tolstoys stuff.
I enjoyed it alot! I have read Anna Karenina, and loved it also. I do have his other works on my "To read someday" list, but there are none on my TBR shelf as of yet. Maybe I will have to remedy that here soon!

August Monthly Run down

2011-08-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

I did pretty good this month! I read 7 books, which is amazing, I must have read some really good ones! I am thinking that I am not going to reach my 75 book goal for the year. I just have waaay too many chunksters to get to this year. So, let see what did I read in August?

1.Black Hills, by Nora Roberts ***
2.This Lullabye By Sarah Dessen *****
3. The Bestseller By: Olivia Goldsmith *****
4. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris *****
5. Definitely dead By: Charlaine Harris *****
6. The Girl Who Played with Fire by: Stieg Larsson *****
7. War and Peace By: Leo Tolstoy ****

I was soooo proud of myself for finishing War and Peace by my goal date of Sept. 1st!! I got it finished 2 days early!!!

This was a good reading month for me, as I only got 4 done in July, so 7 is really good! I am still behind quite a bit on my challenge for the year. I have 49 done and 26 left to go, so that is 6 and a half to be read every month from now until the end of the year, for the reason of having too many chunksters to finish for the year, I am not seeing this happening, but maybe I can eek a few tiny ones out here and there. We shall see. I am not too worried about it, since last year I read 8 more than my goal number, so did really well! If I don't make it this year I shall look at that title "War and Peace" and know I did fine! Not only that but I have read 17,136 pages this year which is approximately 349 pages per book read....so I am doing fine on the whole page goal. (which is 18,000) So, I'm doing ok.

July: Monthly Rundown

2011-08-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I only got 4 books read in July!!

1) One Tuesday Morning By: Karen Kingsbury
2) Beyond Tuesday Morning By Karen Kingsbury
3) The House of Mirth by: Edith Wharton
4) Stone of Tears by: Terry Goodkind

The first three were for the TBR challenge, and the fourth was a pre-requisite for two books on my TBR challenge. (I have books 3 &4 of the Sword of Truth series on my TBR challenge list, but I had to finish #2 first, which was Stone of Tears)

I am hoping this month will be full of alot more books. I already have one read, and will probably finish another today. I'm hoping to get 6 finished this month, if not more! We shall see! I think I can do it, if I pick the right books! Obviously last month I didn't! Stone of Tears was about a million pages long (ok, only 979, but it was LONG) The House of Mirth was a classic, and while parts of it were good, for some reason classics just don't read as easily as contemporary fiction. And I couldn't tell you why the two by Kingsbury took me so long to read, I thought they'd be fast, but I found them sadly kinda boring, which stinks, since I bought #3 in the series before I realized this! So, I ordered it on Amazon, and it will be here soon. Guess I'll read it, I DID afterall buy it, so I might as well. So, keep your fingers crossed for me that I will get more than just 4 measly books in this month, even though my big goal for this month is to finish "War and Peace".

Ok, off to enjoy the typhoon that is ripping up our island, and read a bit before trying to sleep, which will be kinda hard since there are 100 mph winds roaring through the place!!!

June Reads

2011-07-05T04:51:00.000-07:00

This month has not been too bad with the reading, I think it coulda been a bit better, but I am stuck reading 2 chunksters (one of which is War and Peace) and also The House of Mirth, which is a classic, so it's not an easy read per se...so towards the end of the month I decided to pick up two easy fun and light reads (One by Sarah Dessen, and one by Emily Giffin) and finished those two in a matter of three days after not having finished a single one for almost 2 weeks straight.

Well lets see what I got to:

1)The Memory Keepers Daughter By: Kim Edwards 5/5
2) The Interruption of Everything By: Terry MacMillan 5/5
3. The Red Queen By: Philippa Greggory 5/5
4) Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World By: Joanna Weaver 5/5
5) That summer by Sarah Dessen 5/5
6) Something Blue By Emily Giffin 5/5

So I read quite a few really great books this month!! Or I guess I should say I FINISHED a few good books this month! I am still sloggin through War and Peace, which totally slowed me down, but I am on page 1070 out of 1455 on that one, so less than 400 pages now!! Exciting! So I was reading some not so great books as well, but all the ones I finished I loved! Some really really great stuff!

TBR Challenge Books: 2
Non fiction: 1
Library: 3

May Reads

2011-06-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

I did really well this month with my reading!! I was surprised, of course pleasantly so! What did I read? 8 books!! That is a new record for me this year! It's the most I've read in a month so far this year. I am hoping to be able to keep it up!!

1.The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
2. Safe Haven
3. The Christmas Train
4. Amazing Wordsearch collection
5. Haunted Schools
6. The Boleyn Inheritance
7. Haunted Highways
8. Standing in the Rainbow

So, technically I guess I finished 7 because one of those wasn't a "real book" It was a huge book of word search. But I counted it toward my challenge...it had a ISBN!! I am really grasping at straws this year in the book area. I really wanna reach my goal, but with the baby it is hard to get a lot of reading in, so I'm doing what I can!

TBR challenge: 1
Paranormal: 2
Library:4

I am hoping to do as well (or better?) in June! We shall see! I have two more library books to get to, then I want to concentrate on 1)War and Peace...I Really want to finish it this year, it's been on my "currently reading shelf" for a year now, so it is time to get that monster DONE! 2) TBR challenge I think I only have 7 or 8 left to complete that one! Those are my goals for this month

1) Finish Last two library books
2) Read at least 300 pages in War and Peace
3) Read at least 2 books from my TBR challenge list

I love having goals!!

Monthly Progress.

2011-05-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, so far reading this month is going alright. I have finished 2 of my library books that I got a week ago. Then I started two more, which for some reason I can't seem to get much reading in at all lately, they are going so slow!! I don't think it is the books that are slow I think it is me!! Everytime I sit down to try to settle into a book I think of something I need to do, or the baby starts crying, and I hop up after just a few pages! This is annoying! I would like to settle on the couch for just a few hours to get really into one of these books (Right now i'm reading the boleyn Inheritance and Standing in the Rainbow) I finished "Safe Haven" and "The Christmas Train" within a few days time, and now I feel as though I just can't get into my reading...what is with that?!

I am also noticing my computer habit is in the way too! I am forever on Facebook and Goodreads and Twitter just doinking around. And then I kick myself for not doing other worthwhile things (Like reading!)

Anyway. I hope I find some time to read soon, I feel like I am falling further and further behind in my challenge for the year. And that frustrates me, but then it is my fault most the time, since I can't seem to stop myself from turning on the computer....::sigh:: I remember the days before the internet got so big and I would rip through books like water, but now other things consume my time.

I know this is a rambly post, but I don' think anyone even reads this thing anyway so it doesn't matter. I need to do more reviews and less rambeling. Maybe I should shut this blog down altogether....or combine it with my other blog, that I have for my cross stitching obsession...I don't know...I see today I lost a follower, of course they are still friends with me on goodreads, but loosing a follower when I have precious few, hurts....oh well. My moaning and groaning session will now come to an end!

I hope all my readers have a lovely weekend!

Library Haul

2011-05-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

I have not been to the library at all this year!! Which is amazing, but my TBR shelf has been so full that I just didn't feel I needed to go. Well we just moved and so all my books are in boxes, and I needed something new to read!!!

So today I went to the library. I only intended to get a few (2 or 3) since my reading has pretty much dimminished since the birth of my child. However I couldn't help myself and ended up with 7 in my arms instead!!

So many books I want to read!!

So this is what I got:

Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Greggory
The Memory Keepers Daughter by: Kim Edwards
The Red Queen By P. Greggory
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
The Interruption of Everything By Terry McMillan
And
Safe Haven by: Nicholas Sparks

At least they were free but the downside is I only have 3 weeks to read them all and since lately I've only been reading one book every two weeks (if that!) I doubt I will even get 2 read. I can renew online, if I can remember my sign in and password....

Well off to read!! Bye!

April Reads

2011-04-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

This month was pretty good for reading for me!! I actually finished 6 books, and almost a 7th, had it not been for buying the third season of Private Practice on DVD and sitting on the couch like a slump for a week! Plus we moved this past week, and while I didn't have the internet to distract me, along with watching hours of PP, I also spent many hours playing Sims 3. So, if I'd not spent so much time with those things I think I may have been able to finish my current book: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes But that was not to be. So here is WHAT I did read this month:

- Search for a New Dawn
- Little Town on the Prairie
- These Happy Golden Years
- The First four years
- The Purpose driven Life
- The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth was a pretty long one, almost a thousand pages so I was glad to have that one done! It is one of the 12 in my TBR challenge so another one marked off for that challenge, also Search for a New Dawn is on my TBR challenge list. So I did pretty well this month!! If I could stay off the computer for a few days a week I may actually get more reading in, but alas, I am addicted! Hmph...

March Reads

2011-03-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

Did about the same this month as last month, only got 3 done, at this rate I don't see me reaching my 75 book challenge....maybe a 60 book challenge would be more realistic this year!!

1. Love and Respect
2. By the Shores of Silver Lake
3. The Long winter

February Reads

2011-02-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Not a good month for Reading, as my daughter was born this month, was too uncomfortable to read the first part of the month and busy with a newborn the last part of the month. Only got 3 books read:

1. The Virgin Suicides
2. Club Dead
3. Dead to the World

Dr. Boxalls List: 1
TBR challenge: 0

2011 TBR challenge update

2011-02-20T18:36:00.001-08:00

I have finished 3 of the 12 books I have on my list, and am currently reading "The Pillars of the Earth", which is actually going alot faster than I thought it would. It is a really good book!

I am pretty sure I will finish this challenge. I am probably going to have to take the two "Sword of Truth" series books off my list and replace them with my alternates, as I am "reading" the second in the series and have not picked it up in months, and whenever I do try to read it, it bores me to tears, so I throw it down and don't look at it again for months, so I will definitely not be interested in picking up the next two in this series, I'm done with it!! It's just not my cup of tea. I tried it, and didn't like it, moving on.

Turtle slow!!!

2011-02-15T15:06:00.000-08:00

for some reason this year I am reading SOOOOO slow!!! I have only read 7 books so far!! I think it is because of watching too much TV, playing online and my pregnancy!! My baby will be here next week (We induce on Weds!) and trying to get comfy when you feel this fat is just a hard thing to do! So Not a whole lot of reading has happened!! I also am behind in reviews...obviously since i've not written a thing yet!! Well just a short note...I will try to get back on here and get a review or two written this week, before my tiny one shows up! Who knows what this blog will be after she makes her appearance?

Book Review: "The Virgin Suicides" By: Jeffrey Eugenides

2011-02-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

Title: The Virgin Suicides
Author: Jeffrey Eugenides
Pages: 243
Personal Rating: 4/5
Number read for the year: 6

From the back cover: The Virgin Suicides announced the arrival of a major new novelist. In a quiet suburb of Detroit, the five Lisbon sisters-beautiful,eccentic, and obsessively watched by the neighborhood boys- commit suicide one by one over the course of a single year. As the boys observe them from afar, transfixed, they piece together the mystery of the family's fatal melancholy, in this hypnotic and unforgettable novel of adolescent love, disquiet, and death. Jeffrey Eugenides evokes the emotions of youth with haunting sensitivity and dark humor and creates a coming-of-age story unlike any of our time...."

Personal Reflection: Going into this one, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd heard some great things about it, and some not so great things, so I went into it with an open mind. For the most part I enjoyed this one, there were some slow parts, where I wanted to scream "Hurry up! I wanna know what happens next", and many times I felt the sorrow that the family went through during this time of loss. The actions of some of these girls made me want to yell at them "You stupid girl! Get your head on straight!" and at other times, I just wanted to hug them, and take them to the best psychiatrist I could find.

One of the ways I rate a book is by how friendly the characters are. Can I get to know them, have feelings for them? Can I "make friends" with them? I did so with Eugenides suicidal girls. I wanted to slap the poop out of their parents and take them under my wing.

This was a great piece of work by Eugenides. I had read Middlesex (Which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002) by this author a few years ago, so I was expecting another great one by him, and I wasn't disappointed. This was a great reading experience, if a little sad. However that being said, the fact that I had emotion when I turned the last page says alot about how this author reaches his audience. He doesn't merely tell a story, he takes his reader by the hand and engages them with his characters. This is truly a skill found in only the best authors.

He has another book, The Marriage Plot set to be released in October of this year, I am definitely putting it on my list to purchase. I am excited to read another by this Pulitzer-Prize winner.

January's Reads

2011-01-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

1.A Thousand Splendid Suns
2.The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3.Restless Hearts
4.Thirteen Moons
5.Blue Skies

TBR Challenge books: 3

Book Addicts TBR challenge for 2011 list

2011-01-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

I am in a group at goodreads called Book Addicts, and every year they host a TBR challenge, basically to pick 12 books off your TBR shelf that has been on your shelf at least a year or longer and get them read during the year. Here's my list for the year:

1. A Thousand Splendid Suns
2. Thirteen Moons
3. The Pillars of the Earth
4. World Without End
5. One Tuesday Morning
6. Beyond Tuesday Morning
7. Blood of the Fold
8. Temple of the Winds
9. The House of Mirth
10. Blue Skies
11. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
12. Search for a New Dawn

Alternates:

-Something Blue
-That Summer

I am about half way finished with the first one on my list. I have to admit, that my reading mojo had been gone for the first of the year, here it is the 5th of the month and not a book has been finished yet, I think it may be because I am in my last 2 months before the baby gets here, and I just have a hard time getting comfortable to read. I just couldn't settle. I'd read half a page and hop up, then sit read half a page and hop up. But for some reason yesterday I was able to hammer out about 100 pages!!! It felt good to finally be able to sink into a book, I think I may get this one finished this week!!! I'm going to put this challenge on my sidebar so you can all follow my progress!

A glimpse at what I read in 2010

2011-01-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

1. Dracula By: Bram Stoker 5/5
2. The Other Queen By: Philippa Gregory 5/5
3. Then Came Heaven By: Lavyrle Spencer 4/5
4. The Inheritance By: Louisa May Alcott 4/5
5. Foul play By: Janet Evanovich 4/5
6. Gracelin O'Malley By: Ann Moore 5/5
7. My Sunshine By: Catherine Anderson 5/5
8. Catch-22 By: Joseph Heller 4/5
9. A Girl's Best friend By: Kristin Billerbeck 4/5
10.The Little Giant of Aberdeen County By: Tiffany Baker 5/5
11.Moral Disorder By: Margaret Atwood 5/5
12.The Restoration By: Douglas Liversidge 3/5
13.A modest Proposal By: Jonathan Swift 5/5
14.Little Women By: Louisa May Alcott 5/5
15. The Historian By: Elizabeth Kostova 4/5
16. Dead Until Dark By: Charlaine Harris 4/5
17. Water Dancers By: Terry Gambler 4/5
18. Captivated By: Nora Roberts 3/5
19. Anna Karenina By: Leo Tolstoy 5/5
20. Cutting For Stone By: Abraham Verghese 5/5
21. The Portrait of a Lady By: Henry James 4/5
22. Two For the Dough By:Janet Evanovich 3/5
23. People of the Wolf By:W. Michael & Kathleen Gear 5/5
24.Weep No More, My Lady By: Mary Higgins Clark 5/5
25.Leaving Ireland By:Ann Moore 5/5
26.Living Dead in Dallas By: Charlaine Harris 5/5
27.Stillwatch By: Mary Higgins Clark 4/5
28.The Magnificent Ambersons By: Booth Tarkington 5/5
29.The Kite Runner By:Khaled Hosseini 5/5
30. A Cry in the Night By:Mary Higgins Clark 3/5
31. Jane Eyre By: Charlotte Bronte' 5/5
32. Wicketts Remedy By: Myla Goldberg 4/5
33. Three To Get Deadly By: JAnet Evanovich 4/5
34.Firefly Beach By: Luanne Rice 4/5
35. The worlds Most Haunted Places By: Jeff Belanger 5/5
36.Wizards First Rule By: Terry Goodkind 5/5
37.Gilead By: Marilynne Robinson 4/5
38. Vanishing Acts By Jodi Picoult 5/5
39.Mother of Pearl By: Melinda Haynes 2.5/5
40. C is for Corpse By Sue Grafton 4/5
41. Great Expectations By: Charles Dickens 5/5
42. Outer Banks By: Anne Rivers Siddons 5/5
43. Keeping the Moon By: Sarah Dessen 4/5
44. The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank By: Anne Frank 5/5
45.Moment to Moment by: Barbara Delinsky 4/5
46. Little house in the Big Woods By: Laura Wilder Ingalls 5/5
47.Little House on the Prairie By: Laura Wilder Ingalls 5/5
48. Farmer Boy By: Laura Ingalls Wilder 5/5
49. Haunted Theaters By: Barbara Smith 5/5
50. On the Banks of Plum Creek By Laura Ingalls Wilder 5/5
51. Talking to Depression By: Claudia Strauss 4/5
52. Miss Julia Throws a wedding By: Ann B. Ross 5/5
53. Miss Julia Hits the Road By: Ann B. Ross 5/5
54. Miss Julia's school of Beauty By Ann B. Ross 4/5
55. Montana Sky By: Nora Roberts 5/5
56. Savannah Blues By: Mary Kay Andrews 5/5
57. Downtown By: Anne Rivers Siddons 5/5
58. Haunted Hotels By:Jo-Anne Christensen 5/5
59. Ramona the Pest By: Beverly Cleary 5/5
60.The Mystery at Lilac Inn 5/5
61.Harriet the Spy By: Louise Fitzhugh 5/5
62.D is for Deadbeat By: Sue Grafton 4/5
63.E is for Evidence By: Sue Grafton 4/5
64.The Bungalow Mystery By: Carolyn Keene 4/5
65.F is for Fugitive by: Sue Grafton 4/5
66. Haunted Houses By: Edrick Thay 5/5
67. Four to score By: Janet Evanovich 4/5
68. The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne 4/5
69. The Swan Thieves By: Elizabeth Kostova 5/5
70.Every Last One By: Anna Quindlen 5/5
71.Victorine By: Catherine Texier 4/5
72. G is for Gumshoe By: Sue Grafton 4/5
73.The Winding Ways Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini 4/5
74. The Silver Needle Murder by: Laura Childs 5/5
75. Visions of Sugar Plums By: Janet Evanovich 5/5
CHALLENGE MET!!!!

76. The Lost Quilter by:Jennifer Chiaverini 5/5
77. H is for Homicide By: Sue Grafton 5/5
78. The Crowning Glory of Calla Lilly Ponder By: Rebecca Wells 4/5
79. The Aloha Quilt By: Jennifer Chiaverini 5/5
80. Fireside By: susan Wiggs 4/5
81. A New Song By Jan Karon 5/5
82. Candy Cane Murder By: Joanne Fluke 4/5
83. Someone to Love By: Jude Deveraux 4/5

My goal was to get to 75, and I got to 83!!! So didn't do so bad this year!!! =) I had a page goal of 22,500 and got to 28,054...so I made that challenge as well!!! Over all an amazing year of reading. Not sure how 2011 will go as I am expecting my first baby in March but I'm still shootin' for 75 this year as well! And I am going to try to get more reviews in this year as well! We'll see how I do on that!!

What I've read and a new purchase...

2010-12-03T03:43:00.000-08:00

#76- The Lost Quilter
#77- H is for Homicide

I broke down and decided to buy just one book when I was in the book store the other day. And it is Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke. Although I think it is a collection of short mysteries by a few different authors. I have seen it around for awhile and been wanting to read it and saw it at the store and got it. An impulse buy, but I think it will be a fun one.

Progress on War and Peace has been slow, I am too busy trying to get through my library books for the month, I only have one more to read, then I can really concentrate on W&P.

75 books in 2010? DONE!!! Yay me!

2010-11-27T23:33:00.000-08:00

#72-G is For Gumshoe
#73-The Winding Ways Quilt
#74-The Silver Needle Murder
#75-Visions of Sugar Plums

I did it!!! I made it to 75, and I have a month left to spare, so now my goals are:

Finish War and Peace before years end (I have about 800 pages left!)
Get to 80 books read for the year

We'll see how I do!

Book stash

2010-11-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

So, my birthday was about 2 weeks ago, and I got a bit of money from my parents and aunt, so decided to use some of it on....books!!! BIG surprise, huh?

what'd I get?

1. The boxset of the Millenium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire and the Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest)

2. Dead to the World (the 4th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris)

So, I guess I did ok, I didn't go overboard, and yet I managed to pick up a few new things. Hey! I think I've done pretty well this year with not buying TOO many books, I don't have them recorded or anything, but I am pretty sure it's been under 20 this year!

It's helped that I have been using the library quite a bit more this year than I usually do.

Library Haul for November

2010-11-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

1. Every Last One By: Anna Quindlen
2. G is for Gumshoe By: Sue Grafton
3. H is for Homicide
4. The winding ways Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series)By: Jennifer Chiaverini
5. The Lost Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts series)
6. The Aloha Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series)
7. The Silver Needle Murder By: Laura Childs
8. High Five By:Janet Evanovich
9 Visions of Sugar Plums By: Janet Evanovich

These should keep me busy for awhile. I have been working my way through the grafton series, but have decided they aren't good enough to actually purchase, so I will just borrow them, the same goes for the Evanovich series, fun, but not worth the cash! I have read one of the Elm Creek Quilts series and was wanting to read a few more. And I have never read anything by Laura Childs. She is the author of the Tea Shop mystery series, this is not the first in the series, but it was the only one I saw on the shelves so thought What the heck! If I like it I may go back and start the series from the beginning.

Every Last One has been on many reading lists since it's coming out, and I wanted to see what all the hype was about...I only gave it 4 stars out of 5. It was good, but seemed somewhat unrealistic in some aspects....guess that's why it's fiction, right? Although I must say the Author DOES have a writing style that sucks her audience in quickly, so that was a plus!

I'm still pushing ahead!

2010-11-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on my latest reads...

#68-The Scarlet Letter ****
#69-The Swan Theives *****
#70- Every Last One ****
#71-Victorine ****

Only 4 more books to go to reach that 75 books read for the year goal!!! I am SOOO close!!! But I think it is do-able!!

My one regret for the year is that I don't think I will get War and Peace completed. I'm on page 475 of 1455....and If I concentrate on it I don't think I will finish my 75 book schallenge, but I may try anyway!! We shall see...I think at this point I only need to read 20 pages a day of W&P to actually finish it by the end of the year, which seems easy, but it's just pickin' that sucker up!!! And Once I DO pick it up I enjoy it most the time...However, I DID just get a huge library haul the other day (9 books) and am eager to get to them too! Ohhhh too many books, not enough time!!!

Oops!

2010-11-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have not been keeping up with this blog, since I do all my reading posting at goodreads.com, however, here is the run down for the year so far!

1. Dracula By: Bram Stoker 5/5
2. The Other Queen By: Philippa Gregory 5/5
3. Then Came Heaven By: Lavyrle Spencer 4/5
4. The Inheritance By: Louisa May Alcott 4/5
5. Foul play By: Janet Evanovich 4/5
6. Gracelin O'Malley By: Ann Moore 5/5
7. My Sunshine By: Catherine Anderson 5/5
8. Catch-22 By: Joseph Heller 4/5
9. A Girl's Best friend By: Kristin Billerbeck 4/5
10.The Little Giant of Aberdeen County By: Tiffany Baker 5/5
11.Moral Disorder By: Margaret Atwood 5/5
12.The Restoration By: Douglas Liversidge 3/5
13.A modest Proposal By: Jonathan Swift 5/5
14.Little Women By: Louisa May Alcott 5/5
15. The Historian By: Elizabeth Kostova 4/5
16. Dead Until Dark By: Charlaine Harris 4/5
17. Water Dancers By: Terry Gambler 4/5
18. Captivated By: Nora Roberts 3/5
19. Anna Karenina By: Leo Tolstoy 5/5
20. Cutting For Stone By: Abraham Verghese 5/5
21. The Portrait of a Lady By: Henry James 4/5
22. Two For the Dough By:Janet Evanovich 3/5
23. People of the Wolf By:W. Michael & Kathleen Gear 5/5
24.Weep No More, My Lady By: Mary Higgins Clark 5/5
25.Leaving Ireland By:Ann Moore 5/5
26.Living Dead in Dallas By: Charlaine Harris 5/5
27.Stillwatch By: Mary Higgins Clark 4/5
28.The Magnificent Ambersons By: Booth Tarkington 5/5
29.The Kite Runner By:Khaled Hosseini 5/5
30. A Cry in the Night By:Mary Higgins Clark 3/5
31. Jane Eyre By: Charlotte Bronte' 5/5
32. Wicketts Remedy By: Myla Goldberg 4/5
33. Three To Get Deadly By: JAnet Evanovich 4/5
34.Firefly Beach By: Luanne Rice 4/5
35. The worlds Most Haunted Places By: Jeff Belanger 5/5
36.Wizards First Rule By: Terry Goodkind 5/5
37.Gilead By: Marilynne Robinson 4/5
38. Vanishing Acts By Jodi Picoult 5/5
39.Mother of Pearl By: Melinda Haynes 2.5/5
40. C is for Corpse By Sue Grafton 4/5
41. Great Expectations By: Charles Dickens 5/5
42. Outer Banks By: Anne Rivers Siddons 5/5
43. Keeping the Moon By: Sarah Dessen 4/5
44. The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank By: Anne Frank 5/5
45.Moment to Moment by: Barbara Delinsky 4/5
46. Little house in the Big Woods By: Laura Wilder Ingalls 5/5
47.Little House on the Prairie By: Laura Wilder Ingalls 5/5
48. Farmer Boy By: Laura Ingalls Wilder 5/5
49. Haunted Theaters By: Barbara Smith 5/5
50. On the Banks of Plum Creek By Laura Ingalls Wilder 5/5
51. Talking to Depression By: Claudia Strauss 4/5
52. Miss Julia Throws a wedding By: Ann B. Ross 5/5
53. Miss Julia Hits the Road By: Ann B. Ross 5/5
54. Miss Julia's school of Beauty By Ann B. Ross 4/5
55. Montana Sky By: Nora Roberts 5/5
56. Savannah Blues By: Mary Kay Andrews 5/5
57. Downtown By: Anne Rivers Siddons 5/5
58. Haunted Hotels By:Jo-Anne Christensen 5/5
59. Ramona the Pest By: Beverly Cleary 5/5
60.The Mystery at Lilac Inn 5/5
61.Harriet the Spy By: Louise Fitzhugh 5/5
62.D is for Deadbeat By: Sue Grafton 4/5
63.E is for Evidence By: Sue Grafton 4/5
64.The Bungalow Mystery By: Carolyn Keene 4/5
65.F is for Fugitive by: Sue Grafton 4/5
66. Haunted Houses By: Edrick Thay 5/5
67. Four to score By: Janet Evanovich 4/5

I am part of a group at goodreads called the 75 book challenge, where we try to read 75 books for the year. I am SOOOO close...only 8 more books to go!! I probably would have already met the challenge, except that I had to take 1 or 2 months off from serious reading for a bout of morning sickness, so that slowed me down a bit. Lately I have been slow in my reading, for some reason. It seems the closer I get to the end of the challenge, the further away the end gets!!! But I am sure I can meet the challenge, just need to focus a bit more on reading, instead of SIMS 3, or Facebook games.

Also, I have been really focusing more on my cross stitching, than reading it seems, since the baby will be here in about 4 months, I have been trying to get some things stitched up for her!

July: Monthly Rundown

2010-07-30T00:43:00.000-07:00

Due to morning sickness I only got to 4 this month:

1. Outer Banks
2. Keeping the Moon
3. Anne Frank: the diary of a young girl
4. Moment to Moment

Re-Read: 1
Classic: 1
Dr. Boxalls list: 1

June: Monthly Rundown

2010-06-30T00:38:00.000-07:00

This month proved to be a much more productive reading month than last month! I got 7 done!

1. The Worlds Most Haunted Places
2. Wizards first rule
3. Gilead
4. Vanishing Acts
5. Mother of Pearl
6. C is for Corpse
7. Great Expectations

TBR challenge: 2
Classics: 1
Paranormal: 1
Pulitzer: 1

New Genre: 1

May: Monthly Rundown

2010-05-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

This was a SLOOOOW month for reading. Just how slow? 4 books! I only got 4 books read, and one of them was an audio! Freakin' FB!!

1. Firefly Beach By: Luanne Rice
2. Jane Eyre By: Charlotte Bronte
3. Wicketts Remedy by: Myla Goldberg
4. Three to Get Deadly By: Janet Evanovich

TBR challenge: 1
Dr. boxasll's List: 1
Classic: 1
Audio: 1

Yearly book count: 34
Yearly page count: TBA

Firefly Beach: A book Review

2010-05-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

Title: Firefly Beach
Author: Luanne Rice
Pages: 379
Personal Rating 4/5
Number read for the Year: 34

From the Back cover: Coolly sophisticated and steadfastly single, Caroline Renwick has always been the sister everyone could count on. As she and Clea and Skye gathered at Firefly hill, their childhoos home, caroline thought that they had all put the past behind them. But as summer gets underway, a mysterious man arrives- a man who has the power to bring it all back...

Joe Connor was only six when his father dies at Firefly hill. Though he and Caroline had never met, the five year old girl reached out to him. They became pen pals, and friends, untill a teenaged Joe finally learned the truth about what had happened to his fatehre that night. Now after years of silence, Joe is suddenly here...and Caroline feels a connection. But she can't help but wonder if this handsome man hold the key to her family's healing- or it's destruction. And in his presence, how long will she be able to guard her heart?

Personal Thoughts and Review: I am a long time fan of this author, I have read about 9 or 10 of her other works, and she brings me into her characters world quickly and fully. I find myself totally emersed in their feelings, and story, their pain, and anger, and their happiness too. Her character descriptions are full and leave you with no questions as to who these people are, making the reading experience very enjoyable.

I anticipate enjoying more of Luanne Rice's works in the future.

Jane Eyre: A Book Review

2010-05-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Pages: 461
Personal Rating:5/5
Number read for the year: 31

From the Back cover:With her 1847 novel, Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte created one of the most unforgettable heroines of all time. Jane Eyre is an orphan, penniless and plain, but full of courage and spirit. She has endured incredible hardship to secure her humble status as a governess in the household of her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester. Jane's sharp wit, and defiant nature meet with Rochester's sardonic temperament. The two become enmeshed in a deep, intense bond. but Rochester has a terrible secret- a remnant from his past that could threaten any hope of happiness with his only love.

An unconventional love story that revolutionized the scope of romantic fiction, Jane Eyre is ultimately the tale of one woman's fight to claim her independence and self respect in a society that has no place for her.

Personal Thoughts and Review: Amazing!!! I, a few years ago made a pact to get more classics and worthy reading into my reading diet, and I have found few that are not totally amazing, and worth the time! The Bronte Sisters are truly a talented lot, and Jane Eyre was hard for me to set down. I enjoyed it alot.

It is hard to believe that in 1848, 4 years after it was published and already very successful, a woman reviewer tore it and it's author to shreds, with allocations of it being "Illegitimate romance" (taken from the introduction by Erica Jong). when even today readers find this books amazing and well worth the read...at least I do!

April: Monthly Run-down

2010-04-30T00:52:00.000-07:00

April wasn't a bad month for reading. I set a goal to read 7 books, and I did just that. Here's what I devoured:

1. Weep No more my Lady by Mary higgins Clark
2. Living Dead in Dallas By: Charlaine Harris
3. Leaving Ireland By: Ann Moore
4. Stillwatch by Mary Higgins Clark
5. The Magnificent Ambersons By: Booth Tarkington
6. The Kite Runner By: Khaled Hosseini
7. A Cry in the Night By: Mary Higgins Clark

TBR challenge: 1
Classics: 1
Pulitzer: 1

I read alot of Mary Higgins Clark, as I had a three in one book of hers, I actually have another one as well in my TBR shelf that I may get to later on this year. I was pleasantly surprised that I met my goal to read 7 books this month.

Yearly book count: 30
Yearly page count: 10,059

Book Review: "The Kite Runner"

2010-04-24T00:19:00.000-07:00

Title: The Kite Runner
Author:Khaled Hosseini
Pages:372
Personal Rating: A or 5/5
Number read for the year: 29

Goodreads review:An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from the final days of Afghanistan’s monarchy to the atrocities of the present.
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption. And it is also about the power of fathers over sons -- their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvasses of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject -- the devastating history of Afghanistan over the past thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.
Author Biography: Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, the son of a diplomat whose family received political asylum in the United States in 1980. He lives in northern California, where he is a physician. The Kite Runner is his first novel.

Personal Thoughts:Phenominal book!! I don't know why it's been sitting on my TBR shelf for sooooo long, I can't wait to get to A Thousand Splendid Suns! That one is also in my stacks, I bought them at the same time...a few years ago, when they were going through their hayday, it's taken me just now to get to them...this book makes me thank God for allowing me to live in America, and for the men and women in our armed forces who are willing to risk their lives to go into a place like Afghanistan and save those less fortunate, as well as make sure our country stays a free place.

Book Review: "Stillwatch" By: Mary Higgins Clark

2010-04-17T00:09:00.000-07:00

Title:Stillwatch
Author: Mary Higgins Clark
Pages: 368
Personal Rating: B or 4/5
Number read for the year: 27

From the insde flap cover: Broadcast journalist, Pat treymore comes to Washington to do a piece on the senator andvice-presidential nominee Abigail Jennings, but also to discover the truth behind her own mysterious past. Despite anonymous warnings to stay away, PAt continues her search- revealin gdark secrets that threaten to end the senators political career...and Pat's life.

My Personal thoughts:This one was ok, not as great as previous ones I've read of hers. But still enjoyable. I gave it a 4/5 rating. It had been sitting on my TBR shelf for quite some time, and I decided I was in the mood for some mystery and went for it.

Book Review: "Living Dead in Dallas"

2010-04-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

Title: Living Dead in Dallas
Author: Charlaine Harris
Pages:279
Personal rating:A or 5/5
Number read for the year: 26

From goodreads review: "Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is on a streak of real bad luck. First, her co-worker gets murdered and no one seems to care. Then Sookie is attacked - and poisoned - late one night by some weird and apparently mythical beast. She only survives because the local vampires roll up and graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn't enjoy it). But in return the blood-suckers need a favor.

Which is why Sookie ends up in Dallas, using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire, on the condition that her undead friends don't do anything, well, vampiric while she's there. Easier said than done. All it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly."

Personal Thought:I thought the second one in this series (this one) was better than the first. I think I'm starting to get addicted to this series...oh boy! lol

Book Review: "Leaving Ireland" By Ann Moore

2010-04-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

Title: Leaving Ireland
Author: Ann Moore
Pages: 378
Personal Rating: A or 5/5
Number read for the year: 25

From the back Cover:Hoping for a better future, Gracelin O'Malley sets sail from her beloved Ireland- a journey that takes her to a world far different from anything she's ever known. After surviving the difficult voyage, she joins her brother Sean, already much changed by his exciting life in Manhattan. she takes a job in a saloon, learning firsthand the harsh reality of immigrant life and the horrors ofthe Irish tenement district. Haunted by the choices of her past, and desperate for news of the infant son she left behind in County Cork, she finds solace in the friendship of a runaway slave, a woman who has made unspeakable choices of her own. As grace struggles to adapt to her new home, she reunites with a man she once misjudged. With his help, she finds the courage to take a stand against the corruption and injustice around her, but her brave actions threaten the very people she swore to protect.

Personal thoughts: This author was new to me at the beginning of the year, when I read the first one of the Gracelin' O'Malley series. I fell in love with her writing and her characters. There is a third book in the series, and I want to read it eventually, though I don't own it yet. If you have any Irish in your blood, I would suggest this one for you, these novels are rich with Irish History as the story of Gracelin O'Malley unfolds in this delightful series.

March: Monthly Rundown

2010-03-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

1) Anna Karenina
2) Cutting for Stone
3) The Portrait of a Lady
4) Two for the Dough
5) People of the Wolf

Classics- 2
Boxall's List- 2

This was a bad month for reading for me. I think Anna Karenina slowed me down a bit.

Yearly page count:8,067
Yearly book count: 23

Aaack! Sooo behind!!

2010-03-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

I'm behind on reviews, I am sooooo sorry!! This always happens!! I tell myself that I will stay caught up, and then I find myself reading book #20 for the year (like now) and only written a handful of reviews! I will try to get some more up here soon!

So far March has been a slow month for reading, I have finished 1 book, yes! ONE! granted it was Anna Karenina...with it's whoppin' 817 pages, but that is NO excuse!! I started it on January 1st!! I think I have been sidetracked lately with blogs and blog reading and Facebook playing and cross stitching and not reading as much as I would like. I am going to try to rectify that here SOON! As well as posting more reviews also! I try to keep my sidebar up to date, so if you want to know what is going on with me, watch that! Reviews will show up...eventually...I really wanted to do better about that this year....::sigh::oh well, I am back on the ball...I just poted a review on "Then Came Heaven" (Check Jan 7th post) I will be posting others this week as well. Stay tuned!

February: Monthly Run-Down

2010-02-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

1. The Restoration
2. A Modest Proposal
3. Little Women
4. The Historian
5. Water Dancers
6. Dead Until Dark
7. Captivated

Non-Fiction: 1
Classics: 2
Library: 3
Dr. Boxall's 1001 list: 2

Yearly page count: 6,070
Yearly book count: 18

January Reads: Monthly Rundown

2010-02-01T01:57:00.000-08:00

1. Dracula by: B. Stoker
2. The Other Queen By: P. Gregory
3. Then Came Heaven By: L. Spencer
4. The Inheritance By: LM Alcott
5. Foul Play By: J. Evanovich
6. Gracelin O'Malley By: A. Moore
7. My Sunshine By: C. Anderson
8. Catch-22 By: J. Heller
9. A Girl's Best Friend By: K. Billerbeck
10. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County By: T. Baker
11. Moral Disorder By: M. Atwood

Classics: 2
Audio: 3

Yearly page count: 2,937

Book Review: "A Girl's Best Friend" by: Kristin Billerbeck

2010-01-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

Title: A Girl's Best Friend
Author: Kristin Billerbeck
Pages: 318
Personal Rating: 4/5
Number read this year:9
Total Pages read this year:2,596

Fromt he back cover:From the outside, Morgan Malliard has it all: diamonds at her disposal, a willowy figure, a doting daddy, and allt he elegance that money can buy. But money can't buy happiness- or an identity to call her own- and morgan is realizing her perfect life has no purpose other than spectacular grooming (which isn't really a purpose at all unless you're a chimpanzee.) Then a falling-out with her father drop kicks Morgan into the real world, and she is suddenly forced to get an actual job, wear affordable shoes and cope with public transportation- not to mention deal with that mysterious hottie who may or may not be stalking her!
It's time for a spa get away with her best gals, Lilly, and Poppy, because there's just something about lying under a pile of sweet smelling papuya plaster that can help a girl figure things out. Like the fact that life isn't about living up to a perfect ideal, and that with God's grace, the beauty of it may just be int he flaws after all...

Personal Thoughts and review: I enjoy Kristin Billerbeck. Her style is similar to that of Janet evanovich. Somewhat snarky humor is used to spin her tales. This is the sixth book of hers I've read, and hers are always a treat, laced with Chirstian principle undertones, "A Girls Best Friend" is a nice summer read.

Book Review: "My Sunshine" By: Catherine Anderson

2010-01-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

Title: My Sunshine
Author: Catherine Anderson
Pages: 421
Personal Rating: 4/5
Number Read this Year:7
Total Pages read This year:1813

From the Back Cover: When Isaiah first hired laura, he wasn't expecting her to be such a breath of fresh air. Impressed by her healing touch-and captivated by her dazzling beauty-Isaiah finds himself falling in love. And he'll move heaven and earth to convince Laura that she's the woman he needs...the only one who can bring joy to all his days.

Personal Thought and Review: This was a run of the mill grocery store paperback. I picked it up at Sam's Club for a mere 4.88, the low price being my main reason for picking it up. I used to really enjoy mass paperback romances, but recently have not invested so much money or time into them. While this was a light, easy read, I didn't come away from it feeling as though I had gleaned anything useful from it, although it was fun brain candy.

I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars because I felt the story was well written, and the storyline was well filled out, and easy to follow, however i felt that some of the character development was lacking. This is an enjoyable read if you enjoy a good romance, with a little mystery thrown in for good measure.

Book Review: Gracelin O'Malley By: Ann Moore

2010-01-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

Title: Gracelin O'Malley
Author:Ann Moore
Pages: 398
Personal Rating:5/5
Number read this year:6
total pages read this year:1,392

From the back cover: Life has not been easy for Gracelin O'malley. only fifteen when she married the local English landlord to save her family from financial ruin,she has tried her best to be a dutiful wife, providing him with an heir. Despite her husband's escalating cruelty, Gracelin's spirit remains unbroken, though she is no longer the innocent country girl she once was. As famine devastates the land, she openly defies him by feeding the desparate souls who come to her door. As political unrest sweeps across the countryside, she harbors Irish rebels-her own brilliant brother among them-keeping them hidden, as well, the deepest secret of her heart. And as a disaster threatens those she loves most, Grace fights to keep them alive, her profound courage inspiring everyone around her.

My persoanl thoughts: This book really brought the Irish potato famines to life for me. I was able to see the suffering of those poor Irish farmers, as they lost their homes and lives at the hands of ruthless, wealthy English landlords, who only cared about getting paid, leaving the poor in ditches, dying of hunger and yellow fever.

This was a hard read for me, emotionally, because while I was reading, I kept reminding myself that while this particular story and the characters within were fictional, the events were based on something that really happened. People DID starve and suffer in this tragic way, and that reality was heartbreaking.

I have the sequel to this one, Leaving Ireland,and am looking forward to reading it later this year, I have some challenges I need to read for and library books as well to finish first though.

I rated this a solid 5 out of 5 for solid plot, history research,and the ability to yank at my hearstrings. I would reccomend this one to anyone, but especially those with Irish background who care to learn more about their heritage and background. Amazing book! A job well done, Ann Moore!

Book Review: "Foul Play" By: Janet Evanovich

2010-01-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Title: Foul play
Author: Janet Evanovich
Pages: Audio
Personal Rating: 4/5
Number Read this Year:5
Total Pages read This year:994

From the back cover:When Amy Klasse loses her T.V. job to a dancing chicken, handsome vetrinarian, Jake Elliott rescues her with an offer to be his receptionist. Jake just can't resist a damsel in distress, and Amy certainly doesn't mind Jake's charming sincerity.

Then the job-stealing chicken suddenly disappears and Amy is suspected of foul play. Amy and Jakesearch for clues to p;rve her innocence. But will Jake be able to show Amy that love, too, is a mystery worth solving?

This is a funny, quick typlical Evanovich read. I enjoyed it, had some laughs, but not much else was gleaned from this one. But if you enjoy Janet Evanovich, I'm sure you will enjoy this one!

Book Review: "The Inheritance" by Louisa May Alcott

2010-01-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

Title: The Inheritance
Author: Louisa May Alcott
Pages: 177
Personal Rating: 4/5
Number Read this Year:4
Total Pages read This year:992

From the front Flap of Cover: Set in an English country Manor, the story follows the turbulant fortunes of Edith Adelon, an impoverished Italian orphan whose loyalty and beauty win her the patronage of wealthy friends until a jealous rival contrives to rob her of her position. In the locket around her neck, she carried a deep secret about her natural birthright. But an even greater truth lies hidden in Edith's heart- her deep reverance for the kind, and noble Lord Percy, the only friend who can save her fromt he decietful, envious machinations of Lady Ida.

Personal thoughts and review:
This was Louisa May Alcott's (Author of Little Women)very FIRST book, it was found at Harvard University, with the words "My First Novel written at seventeen- High St.Boston" on a piece of paper that was pasted on the inside of a notebook. This piece of work, the very first book written by Alcott, was found in the Houghton Library, by the writers of "The Selcted Letters of Louisa May Alcott", as they commenced research for their book. This was in 1988. And 9 years later "The Inheritance" was published.

While this book was short of length, the knowledge that it is the first novel written by such an acclaimed author, makes it so special.

I enjoyed it very much. I only gave it a 4/5, for it's length, and sometimes it feels as though it is filled with holes, the plot and character development is thin. However, the thought that it is her very first book written at the ripe young age of 17 is amazing!! I can't imagine the excitement of those who were standing in the rare manuscript library at a prestigous college, looking for letters to fulfill material for one work, and stumbling across something as great as an entire novel that was never published, not only just an entire novel, but her VERY first one, written before she was ever publsihed. Amazing!!

Book Review: "Then Came Heaven" By LaVyrle Spencer

2010-01-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

Title: Then Came Heaven
Author: LaVyrle Spencer
Pages: Audio
Personal Rating: 4/5
Number Read this Year:3
Total Pages read This year:815

From the Cover: As time passes, Sister Regina and Eddie Olczak come to realize that something has blossomed between them that transcends their love of Krystyna (Eddie's Deceased wife) and Eddie's daughters. Thrilled and secretly frightened, they both summon the courage to look within their hearts and make their own choices.

Personal thoughts: This is a good heart wrenching story about loss of a loved one, and learning to move on and about sacrifices that sometimes must be made in order to have true love.

Library Loot

2010-01-07T01:41:00.000-08:00

Today I went to the library as if I need any books!! lol...This was what I got:

Fiction:
1) The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
2) Water Dancers By:Terry Gamb
3) Catch-22 by:Joseph Heller
4) Little Women By:Louisa May Alcott
5) The Little Giant of Aberdeen County By: Tiffany Baker

Audio:
1) Foul Play by JAnet Evanovich
2) Moral Disorder By Margaret Atwood

Non-Fiction
1) The Restoration By:Douglas Liversidge

I posted a photo because I love the way a stack of books look. =) I know, I'm weird!

I also traded in my 11 trade ins for 11 others, some I will probably keep, like "The Diary of Anne Frank", and Ken Follets "The Pillars of The Earth", and some I will probably trade in again.

I was also bad and ordered 5 new ones from paperbackswap. 4 books, and 1 audio book.

Yesterday I finished reading "The Other Queen" by Philippa Gregory, today I finished "Then Came Heaven" By: LaVyrle Spencer. I listened to Then came Heaven while I worked on my Cross Stitch this week. I love that I can combine my love of reading with my love of Cross stitch, I can do them (sorta) at the same time!

So, I have two reviews to write sometime very soon! =) Off to dive into this stack of books!

Book Review: "The Other Queen" by Philippa Gregory

2010-01-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Title: The Other Queen
Author: Philippa Gregory
Pages: 433
Personal Rating: 5/5
Number Read this Year:2
Total Pages read This year:815

From the Back Cover: This Dazzling novel from bestselling Philippa Gregory presents a new and unique view of one of history's most intriguing, romantic and maddening heroines. Mary, Queen of Scots, trusts Queen Elizabeth's Promise of Sanctuary when she flees from rebels in scotland and then finds herself imprisoned as the "guest" of George talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick. The Newly married couple welcomes the doomed queen into their home, certain that serving her hosts and jailers will bring them an advantage in the cutthroat world of the Eliabethan court. To their horro, they find that the task will bankrupt them, and as their home becomes the epicenter of intrigue and rebellion against elizabeth, their loyalty to each other and to their sovereign comes into question. If Mary succeeds in seducing the earl into her own web of treachery and treason, or if the great spymaster William Cecil links them to the growing conspiracy to free Mary from her illegal imprisonment, they will all face the headsman.

Since I've read "The Othe Boleyn Girl", I have been wanting to read another book by Gregory. She makes the Elizabethan court and all that it entails so alive. I felt as though I was right there with the characters.

This book was written from first person point of view by Bess, George and Queen Mary, each chapter written by another character, so youare getting three view points of the story. The story of Bess who hold a grudge as she watches her holdings and everything she has worked for slip away while carrying to the every need of Queen Mary. You read the thoughts of George as he slowly slips into enchantment of the beautiful Queen he has been made a jailer of, all the while trying to remain faithful to his own Queen, Elizabeth. And you read the thoughts of the treasonous traitor, Mary, Queen of Scots. You start to take sides as you see the story unfold, and you feel what the characters feel.

Gregory writes with amazing character development, to the point where you make friends, or enemies of her characters.

I enjoyed this book very much, and gave it 5 out of 5 stars. I will later this year, be reading "The White Queen" by this author, and I am much looking forward to it.

Book Review: "Dracula" By: Bram Stoker

2010-01-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

Title: Dracula
Author: Bram Stoker
Pages: 382
Personal rating: 5/5
Number Read this Year: 1
Pages Read for the year: 382

From the Back of the Book: Count Dracula sleeps in a lordly tomb in the vaults beneth his desolate castle. His stony eyes are open. His cheeks have the flush of life beneath their pallor. On his lips- a mocking,sensuous smile and scarlet fresh blood. He has been dead for centuries, yet he may never die....Here begins the story of those who feed a diabolic craving into the veins of their victims, into the men and women from whose blood they draw their only sustenance. It is a novel of peculiar power, of hypnotic fascination. The reader is warned that he who enters Castle Dracula may not escape it's baleful spell, even when he closes this book.

This book was as great as I thought it would be from the beginning. As of late I have been wondering about the whole Vampire thing, since the uproar for the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer. I sorta wanted to see how they compared and contrasted. I wanted to see how her version held up to one of the originals.

Which brings me to something I learned while doing my research. I had always thought that Count Dracula was THE original Vampire. The first. However, that isn't true at all. There were THREE written before Bram stoker's Dracula: The Vampyre By John Polidori,Varney the Vampyre by thomas Preskett, and Carmilla Written by Sheridan LeFanu.

Learning this fact, I am all a-search for these first novels, so I can do more research. I don't know if they are still in print, or not, but I would really like to read them,and get some more background to the original gothic character of the vampire.

I gave this wonderful gothic tale a 5/5. It was a quick, easy read, as far as classics go, and the storyline kept me intrigued...I was forever wondering who would die next? WHEN the heck were they gonna die? And would they ever catch this evasive bloodsucker? So, if you have not had enough of the Vampire craze, I wholeheartedly suggest this one, to wet that Vampire desire!!

First finish for 2010!!

2010-01-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

I just finished Dracula tonight. I wanted to read it, since there is the whole Twilight/Vampire craze going on right now. I thought I'd go back and read the classical version!

I really enjoyed that book. I won't write too much here on what I think, as I will write a proper review tomorrow, or so.

I started "My Sunshine" By Catherine Anderson, now that I'm done with Dracula. It is what some of us refer to as brain candy. Something a little lighter, after reading a classic, gives the ole' grey matter sloshing about in my skull a little break.

Ok, off to bed!

Oh yeah tonight, Hubby and I saw "Avatar" in the theater...not bad. I give it 4/5 stars.

Some goals for 2010

2010-01-03T02:14:00.000-08:00

I have once again decided to do the 75 book challenge with a group at goodreads.

2 of those books are gonna be Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and War and Peace.

So I made a start on Anna Karenina On Friday! I figured out that if I only read 10 pages a day I can get them both read during the year, with no problem!

I want to continue to read more classics, and try to knock a few more off the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction off the list. I read three last year. I am also aiming to maybe make a dent in "Dr. Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" list as well.

So, pretty much trying to read 75 books this year is the big goal. I barely made it last year, as I finished #75 with 5 hours left to spare before the end of the year. I am hoping to actually finish early and see how many more than that I can get done.

We shall see how I do. I also have some pretty steep stitching goals to work on this year as well. So, we shall see how I do!!

Spending The Christmas Money

2010-01-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, my parents sent me some cash. And today I went out and bought a nice little pile of books. Except for one was a gift from my hubby.

Here's my haul:

They include:
1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes By: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2. The Secret Garden By: Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by: Jane Austen and Ben Winters
4. The House of Mirth By: Edith Wharton
5. The White Queen by: Philippa Gregory

They have all been on my wish list for awhile, and I was lucky to find them at the BX here. Usually they don't have many that I actually want, so I was pleasantly surprised. Especially since I had taken a bag full of 11 books that I wanted to trade at the paperback swap they have at the base library and the library wasn't opened...=( So I gotta wait until next week to do that. And of course on top of switching out those eleven for "new" ones, I will also peruse the stacks to see if I can find anything to check out also...hey! I'm a sucker for free books! Even if you do have to turn them back in! I guess you could say that is sort of one of my yearly goals. Is to make use of my library more often. I mean I have over 100 books that I already own that is on my TBR shelf here but I can make those last longer if I use the library!

I feel as though I have gone book Crazy!!!

December Reads

2009-12-31T15:11:00.000-08:00

1. Slammerkin By E. Donoghue
2. The Christmas Theif By M. Higgins clark
3. The Age of Innocence By: Edith Wharton
4. The Nanny Diaries by: E. Laughlin
5. Christmas Wishes By D. Macomber
6. Ghost Chronicles By: Maureen Wood
7. Eclipse By: S. Meyer
8. Breaking Dawn By: S. Meyer

Not a bad month in lieu of all the Holiday hooplah!

Challenges met: 75 books read for the Year

Non fiction: 1
Classics: 1
Pulitzer Prize winner: 1

Next year I would like to, again, finish 75 books, and try to post to this blog ALOT more often! It's sad that I only posted 37 times this year, and I read 75 books, which means not a whole lot of reviews happened....so next year I am definitely going to work on that!

Also, thank you to all my new followers! I am hoping maybe you will motivate me to keep on top of this blog!

Yearly for 2009:
Books read: 75
Pages read: 26,462

November Reads

2009-11-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

1. The Quilters Kitchen J. Chiaverini
2. Joy Luck Club A. Tan
3. Babylon Sisters P. Cleage
4. Heart and Soul M. Binchy
5. Wuthering Heights E. Bronte
6. New Moon S. Meyer

Libray:4
Classics: 1

October Reads

2009-10-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

1. Baby Proof E. Griffin
2. The Fountainhead A. Rand
3. The Bestseller O. Goldsmith
4. Thursdays at Eight D. Macomber
5. Househusband A. Hudler

Challenge met: 60 Book Challenge for 2009

Read-a-thon! G-o-o-o Readers!!!

2009-10-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the day!! And while I did not sign up as an official cheerleader or reader, I am still trying to hit up blogs I see on my sidebar coming up with read-a-thon updates! So, if you are doing the read-a thon and you happen across one of my comments left on your blog and came to this one....I'm waving my pom poms for you all!!! You can do it!!!!

Frustration!!!

2009-10-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

For some reason I am not able to access "Goodreads". This has been going on for almost a week now. It's annoying. I think it's a server thing, because I am on a armed forces network, things get blocked for security reasons. Grrrr...

So, I have started cataloguing my books at "Visual bookshelf" on facebook. I am really liking that app. I also joined up with librarything. I don't know why, but I just love cataloguing my books and seeing what others are reading as well. You'd think that the blogosphere would do it for me, but nooooo, I have to have a special Book site to work off of! lol.

Oh well. It's crazy I actually find myself online playing around with these dumb sites more than just sitting my behind down and reading. Putting all those books into the profiles can be very time consuming....:/

Well, I finished "The Fountainhead". It was really good I thought. I will write more about that later when I'm not so tired and can think straight, I have had a really bad headache all day so I'm ready for bed. =) Good night!

Book Review: "Baby Proof" by Emily Griffin

2009-10-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

Title: Baby Proof
Author: Emily Griffin
Pages: 340
Personal Rating: B or 4/5
Number read this year: 57
Pages read for the Year:18,572

From the Book Jacket:
First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes...a baby carriage? Isn't that what all women want?

Not so for Claudia Parr. And just as she gives up on finding a man who feels the same way, she meets warm, wonderful Ben. Things seem too good to be true when they fall in love and agree to buck tradition with a satisfying, child free marriage. Then the unexpected occurs: one of them has a change of heart. One of them wants children afterall.

This is a witty, heartfelt story about what happens to the perfect couple when they suddenly want different things. It's about feeling that your life is set and then realizing that nothing is as you thought it was- and that there is no possible compromise. It's about deciding what is most important in life,and taking chances to get it. But most of all it's about the things we will do- and won't do- for love.

I have read two other books by this author and they were both pretty good. This was definitely a "brain candy" sort of book. It was an easy, fast read.

I gave this one a 4 out of 5 rating because I found it (along with her other two) very predictable, even though they are fun, they are your run-of-the-mill chick lit book.

And here it is again!!

2009-10-10T16:49:00.001-07:00

The 24 hour read-a-thon!! I have not participated in it yet, though it is tempting!!! I do love to read blogs about it though. I don't really feel like I have broken into the whole "Book blogging community" yet, though I badly want to.
I'm a lurker for the most part, because my blog here...well, it's not great...not like some of the other blogs I see out there.

But, I love reading about all the challenges going on, and of course the great 24 hour read a thon! Maybe in the spring, I will be able to participate. Right now I'm just going to continue to watch everyone else's progress and see if I can pick up some more great reads to throw on my ever growing TBR list!!!

Not blogging much, but still reading obsessively

2009-10-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

As my title says I don't know why, but I tend to ignore this blog. I don't mean to, I am very active at goodreads.com, and love keeping track of my books and what I am reading, and I LOVE to follow other books blogs (as you'll see my blogroll on my sidebar) but when it comes to writing about the books I am reading, I stink!!!

I must work on that.

Well, my yearly goal was to read 60 books, I am almost there! On # 56 now, so I think I should reach my goal there.

I have finished a few personal challenges as well. My Sci-Fi/fantasy challenge has been met. I read the His Dark Material's trilogy by P. Pullman. I really enjoyed them. I also met my "Read 40 books off my TBR list for this year" challenge as well.

I also did the Spring Reading thing challenge and finished it.

However a few of my personal challenges, thus far have gone un finished, but! I still have 2 and a little more than a half of a month to finish those.

Off to crack open the books, I would like to see a finish on "The Fountainhead" this week. We shall see how that goes!

September Reads

2009-09-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

1. Don't Look Down J. Crusie
2. My Sisters Keeper J. Piccoult
3. Home Song L. Spencer
4. The Amber Spyglass P. Pullman
5. The Summer I Dared B. Delinsky
6. The House of the Seven Gables N. Hawthorne

Audio:1
Classics: 1
challenges met: 18,000 pages for the year 2009

The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky

2009-09-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Title: The Summer I Dared
Author: Barbara Delinsky
Pages: 491
Personal Rating: A or 5/5
Number read this year: 56
Pages Read this Year: 18,232

From the Back of the Book:

"On Big Sawyer island, life is as steady as the routine of the lobstermen who leave with the tide each morning and return with their haul each night. But for forty-year-old New Yorker Julia Bechtel, life and what's important in it, are about to be forever altered when she survives a terrible boat accident en route to the island. Now in the company of her aunt and daughter, Julia finds herself feeling strangley connected to the tragedy's other survivors- Noah, a divorced lobsterman, and Kim, a young woman rendered mute since her rescue- and newly outraged at the state of her marriage to a domineering man. Seeing the world with new eyes, Julia vows to embrace life with all it's joys and uncertanties. And the journey begins on Big Sawyer..."

I am a big Barbara Delinsky fan. I have read some good ones, some great ones, and some bad ones from this author. This one was a good one, not up to par with her "Looking for Peyton's Place" but well written just the same.

I do, however commend her desire to go out of her comfort zone to speak and write about something completely foriegn to her. At the back of the book there is an interview with Barbara and they asked what inspired this book. She was thinking of several tragedies that had occured around the time of the writing of this book, one being the 9-11 attacks on the world trade center and she wanted to feel what survivors of a tragic accident felt, and try to portray that. I believe she did a great job of just this in "The Summer I Dared".

August Reads

2009-08-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

1. Twilight S. Meyer
2. Mrs. Dalloway V. Woolfe
3. The Jane Austen Book Club K.J Fowler
4. B is for Burglar S. Grafton
5. The Guardian N. Sparks
6. The Other Boleyn Girl P. Greggory
7. Angels All Over Town L. Rice
8. Catching Heaven S. Hall
9. The Subtle Knife P. Pullman

Classics: 1
Audio: 2

July Reads

2009-07-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

1. Daring to Dream N. Roberts
2. Holding the Dream N. Roberts
3. Land of A Hundred Wonders L. Kagen
4. Finding the Dream N. Roberts
5. Moby Dick H. Melville
6. Miranda Blue Calling
7. Full House J. Evanovich
8. Atonement I. McEwan

Classics: 1
Pulitzer: 1

Not working sure helped me get more reading in this month.

June Reads

2009-06-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

1. The Reading group E. Noble
2. The Grief club M. Beattie
3. Middlesex J. Euginides
4. While They're at War K. Henderson
5. Miss Julia Meets Her Match A. Ross
6. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons L. Landvick
7. The Mirror L. Freed

I got a few more books read this month, as I didn't have the internet to distract me as we just arrived Japan and were trying to get settled.

Non-Fiction-2
Pulitzer-1

A completed challenge.

2009-06-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

I actually completed all 12 books on my Spring Reading Thing challenge list. Plus 9 others as well. I have been reading like crazy. We were int he middle of a move overseas, and so had no internet for awhile, and so had lots of extra time to get some reading done!I want to see if there is a Summer reading challenge out there somewhere. If anyone knows of any, please let me know! I have really been ploughin through the stacks lately! i am glad I joined the challenge, and am proud of myself for finishing it.

May Reads

2009-05-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

1. All This Belongs to Me A. Hudler
2. Ghosts of the Range D. Munn
3. I do (But I don't) C. Lockwood
4. Just Beyond the Clouds K. Kingsbury
5. A little Help from Above S. Rosenberg
6. The New codependency M. Beattie

This was a busy month trying to move to Japan, so didn't have a whole lot of time to read, but I did get a few in.

Non-Fiction: 2
Challenges met: Spring Reading Thing for 2009

April Reads

2009-04-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

1. The Sandcastle RM Brown
2. Texas Haunted Forts E. Coleman
3. Colony A.R. Siddons
4. The Blind Assassin M. Atwood
5. City Ghosts B. Sammons
6. Emma J. Austen
7. The Lucky One N. Sparks
8. The Clan of the Cave Bear J.M. Auel

Re-reads:2
Library: 2
Classics: 1
Audio:1

Spring Reading Thing update

2009-04-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

I am doing really well on my goals so far for this challenge. I had set out to read 12 books, and I am already finished with 7 out of the 12, so that means I am more than half way finished with my list. Not to mention that in between all that I also read two other books that were (are) not on my list: "The Blind Assassin" and "The Sand Castle". I think staying off the computer for the most part has really helped me acheive this. I do still have days where I spend massive amounts of time online, but I have really tried to cut back on my computer time. I am getting alot more things done. Both in reading and Cross stitch. I am definitely gonna reach my Spring Reading Thing goal. =)

Books via Mail...

2009-04-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday a wonderful package arrived for me from my friend, Pamela. She and I are friends at paperbackswap.com. I ordered from her three books and she was so wonderfully kind and sent me a 4th for free! I got:

~Middlesex (Been wanting to read this one for a while)
~Miranda Blue Calling
~Quite a Year For Plums
~ Dang it, I forgot the title! The other Bolyn Girl I think it is...I gotta double check.

I am so excited! I know, I do not need anymore books! But Oh well. I didn't need the chicken McNuggets I ate tonight for dinner either, but they were sure good!

Now I am just wondering, should I start reading them now,or do I wait and dive into them when hubby and I move? I do have a 16 hour plane ride to live through. I am sure I would love to have some good reading to get me through that time! I think I will hold off and wait until later to dive into these Gems, as I already have my "Spring Reading Thing" list mapped out and am working towards that goal, even though I got a bit sidetracked and read "The Sand Castle" and "The Blind Assassin" Those two were not on my list, but I couldn't help myself!

Tonight I got back to my list, and finished "City Ghosts" I'm almost half way finished with my 12 book list. This week I am going to really concentrate on "The Clan of the Cave Bear" and "Emma" and see if I can't make a good dent in both those, possibly a finish.

So, that is what is happening here. New books, a few finishes and pushing forward with the Spring Reading Thing list!

Book Review: "Blind Assassin By Margaret Atwood

2009-04-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

What to say about this one? The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood? There is truly sooo much to say! I thoroughly enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. I had seen various reviews at goodreads.com and Amazon about this one, and decided to give it a try. It took me a bit to get into the writing style of this one. At first it seems as though she is all over the place, but then you realize that is the genius of this work. It's sort of a story within a story within a story. It's amazing really.

This was my first Atwood piece and I will be picking up more of her works, just as soon as my "TBR" pile goes down a bit more.

Book Review: Texas Haunted Forts By E. Coleman

2009-04-06T04:10:00.000-07:00

This one took me a bit to get through. I have a pension for haunted places, and books about them as well. This book tended to focus more on the history of forts and the battles that took place in/around them. And while I know the history of a haunted place is essential when it comes to writing about it, in order to get a full background of why the place is haunted and how and by who, I found that the author focused way too much time and effort on the historical background, then threw in a short blurb about the entities that haunt the fort.

I was sadly disappointed in this book, it didn't measure up to what I thought it would be.

Book Review: The Sandcastle By Rita Mae Brown

2009-04-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

This one was extrememly short, only 103 pages. I read it awhile ago, so had to go look at Amazon reviews to refresh myself.

This one did not get terribly great reviews at Amazon. Most were in the 1 star category. I thought they were a bit harsh, as I enjoyed this one. It was indeed a quick and easy read, funny at times.

Basically it was the narration of a day trip to the beach with two kids and their mom and her sister. This one reminded me of day trips I've had to the beach as a child.

I give it 3/5 grade, for it's shortness.

Library...

2009-04-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I don't use my library more often, but I don't, and I should. Today I decided to do just that, and this is my library haul:

The list includes:

Hilltowns by Anne Rivers Siddons

Downtown By Anne Rivers Siddons

Enchantment (a Biography of Audrey Hepburn)

The Blind Assassin By Margaret Atwood

The Sand Castle By Rita Mae Brown

I am a lover of Anne Rivers Siddon books, and I own all of hers, but right now I'm in the midst of a move so they are packed away in a box somewhere, and I have been reading Colony for the Spring Reading Thing, and all of a sudden got a hankering for Downtown and Hill towns, two of my favorites of hers.

It is weird, most people get cravings for certain types of foods, well just as people get those cravings, I sometimes get a craving for a certain book. It is sorta odd, but sometimes you just connect with the character in such a way that makes them feel truly like friends,and it is nice to go back and revisit sometimes!

March Reads

2009-03-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

1. Being Committed A. Maxted
2. Dreamland S. Dessen
3. Ghost stories of Georgia C. Wangler
4. Getting Over it A. Maxted
5. Ghost Stories of California B. Smith

Non Fiction: 2

Book Review: Ghost Stories of California

2009-03-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

Title: Ghost Stories of California

Author: Barbara J. Smith

Pages: 224

Personal Rating: A or 5/5

Book count for the year: 12

Page count for the year :4190

I loved this book!! It was well written, and held various accounts of different supposedly haunted places in California. As I am really in to the paranormal, and true ghost tales, this one was right up my alley! And the added bonus being I was born and raised in California, living the first 27 years of my life there, I knew of some of the places they spoke of.

Book Review: "Getting Over It"

2009-03-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

Title: Getting Over It

Author: Anna Maxted

Pages: 403

Personal Rating: A or 5/5

Number read this year: 11

Pages read for the year:3,966

This was the second book of Anna Maxted's that I read, and I remember really enjoying it. It was a fast read, very funny, somewhat along the lines of Bridget Jones, and the Shopaholic books. Very light.

I shouldn't have...but I did!

2009-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday hubby and I went to Hastings to see what they had, and although I swore to myself, that I wouldn't get anything I couldn't help myself!!! I got these 4 new books! How could I pass up the price of 2.99? I couldn't! I have not read anything by these two authors. Then I got The House of Seven Gables, as I have sworn myself to more classics, and I got (used, mind you, so alot less expensive!) Nicholas Sparks The Lucky One in audio!

I normally am not a big audio book fan, but last summer realized I could sort of combine my two loves of reading and cross stitching, by listening to books as I stitched! So I went and invested in a few audio books on Paperbackswap.com, and now I think they are boxed up and ready for the move, so decided what the heck? I'll just buy another one!!!

Ok, no more book buying for awhile now...yeah right!

Spring Reading Thing 2009

2009-03-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

My list for this challenge will be short and sweet, but I think it will be achievable. Don't want to be too ambitious.

1. Emma by Jane Austen

2. Texas Haunted Forts By Elaine Coleman

3. Getting Over It By: Anna Maxted

4. Just Beyond the Clouds By: Karen Kingsbury

5. I do (But I Don't) By Cara Lockwood

6. All This Belongs to Me By Ad Hudler

7. Colony By Anne Rivers Siddons

I'm Currently in the middle of three of these, and my seventh selection is a re-read.

Good luck to me! LOL

edited 3/22/09

***************

Ok, I have been thinking about this spring reading thing, and have decided to really challenge myself. In the 2 1/2 months since the first of the year I have finished 10 books, so if I can read that much in 2 1/2 months I should easily be able to add about 5 more books to my list, to make it more challenging!

So here it goes:

8. The Clan of the Cave Bear By JeanM. Auel (This is a re-read, but it's been several years since I last read it, I'm actually in the middle of it and want to finish it!)

9. City Ghosts True Tales of Hauntings in America's Cities By: Mary Beth Sammons and Robert Edwards

10. Ghost Stories of California by: Barbara Smith

11. Ghost ships, Gales and Forgotten tales True adventures on the Great Lakes By: Wes Oleszewski

12.Ghosts on the Range Eerie True Tales of Wyoming By: Debra D. Munn

Ok, so THAT would be much more challenging!!! I hope I can do it!

Book ten

2009-03-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, today I finished reading book #10 for the year...I'm falling sadly behind in my goal of reading 60 books this year. I'm not sure its truly gonna happen, but it is still early in the year so I still have time to catch up.

I have not been playing on the computer so much anymore, and spending a lot more time with my books so maybe I will catch up.

On my side bar I have the books I am currently reading and I've noticed Moby Dick and Clan of the Cave Bear have not moved at all. Which is about to change, I think. I keep reaching for new unread books everytime I finish one, and I need to put that old pile that is currently sitting on the floor next to my bed, on my nightstand so I SEE them glaring at me when I decide to read, instead of continuing to crack open new books.

It has also been rough because we are in the middle of a move, so things are all over the place, I have no clue where most of my brand new books are that piled up when I went on a stockpile binge this past summer. They are currently in a box in storage somewhere. I know I was able to save a few and stash them in my lower night stand drawer, but I keep thinking about other books that I KNOW I own and just don't have access to right now, and it tends to drive me crazy!

I am currently working on a few book reviews right now, and will be posting them here soon. I am trying to think of a good format that will be constant everytime I post a review, as I keep writing about books, but it's not very uniform here, just kinda a blurb "Hey! I read this book, it's # (insert number) in the year! I liked it!" and thats about it, but I want to start writing better reviews, ones that really dig a bit deeper into the book or the material within. So, we shall see how I do with that. If anyone has any ideas on how to do that and want to offer any help, I'd be grateful. Is there a format or something that makes it easier?

Well, off to work on a few reviews and maybe pick up a book before heading off to work for the evening.

Being Committed

2009-03-15T03:50:00.000-07:00

I finished this the other day. Great book! I would have had it finished much sooner, except that I had gotten into my Ghost tales book and kinda forgot about this one.

This is book 8 for the year! I feel like I should be much further along, however I am also busy with moving and doing alot of needlework as well, so with these other things fighting for my free time I had to spread my reading time out.

My new read is "Dreamland" By Sara Dessen. she is a YA writer, I have read her before last summer, and was captivated by her so much that I went and bought three or four more of her books and am just now getting into the next one of hers.

I also splurged and bought 5 new ghost books, one arrived in the mail yesterday. "Ghosts of Georgia" I couldn't help myself, I started right in on it last night.

Yearly page count: 3071

Yearly book count:#8

A finish!

2009-03-07T03:05:00.000-08:00

I finished The Best Tales of Texas Ghosts yesterday making 7 books read for the year. I got really caught up in other hobbies this week and so it tooka bit longer than I expected to finish this book, but it's donenow.

I loved this book, though I found the first half of the book a lot better than the last half, I don't know why.

Pages read for the year: 2219

Still...

2009-03-02T10:33:00.001-08:00

Just getting through the Texas Ghost tales...it is a really quick read though, so I imagine I will have it finished very soon!

I sat down last night, actually early this morning, after work to settle into Being Committed By Anna Maxted, but didn't get very far, as my eyes started to drift closed, so I just said "I'll read when I get up", and disappointedly set my book back down and went to sleep!

So, I am excited to pick up that one here pretty soon, when I get done with my chores for the day. It is cold out, so what better to do than curl up in bed, (my favorite place to read) with coffee, and a bowl of Frito's (A favorite reading snack) and disappear into the world of Hannah, the main character of this book. This book is set in England, which I love, because I enjoy reading a different lingo than what we have here in the states...it's cute, and fascinating.

...hmmm...you know? Chores be damned...I'm gonna curl up with it now!

February Reads

2009-02-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

1. Welcome to Temptation J. Cruise
2. Best tales of Texas Ghosts D.S. Williams

Not a great start to the year...I'll get better!

Got a bit sidetracked!

2009-02-26T23:49:00.000-08:00

Well I said my next read would be one by Anna Maxted, which yes I started it today too, but I also picked up and started "Best Tales Of Texas Ghosts". By Docia Williams. OMG!! GOOOOOD book. If you are into real ghost tales, this is one for you. I have recently in the past two or three years really been into the supernatural, and I love reading about places that are really haunted, and so I am really enjoyingthis one, I started it this afternoon and couldn't put it down for over two hours!!! I just read and read and read! It's been a while since a book has caught my attention like that.

So, while I am still on track with the Maxted book I also couldn't help myself by starting the ghost tales too. Yay! I incorporated some non fiction into my reading diet! This hardly ever happens, but I think maybe I will add that to my list of personal challenges for this year...to read three or four non fiction books. Yes, I think I will...

Welcome to Temptation

2009-02-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

Right now I am reading Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. It has actually been a fast read...I only have 10 or so pages left of this book. I would give it a C. It is a run of the mill romance, which I used to be a big fan of, but have not been much into since I started getting into book blogs. There seems to be so many more great books with real plots out there.

Up next is "Being Committed" by Anna Maxted. This will be my first novel by this author. It seems interesting, from what I can see. Like some good light reading.

I am also in the midddle of "Emma" by Jane Austen. This is the first book for my Jane Austen Personal Challenge. Although I must admit, I have not picked that one up for a bit. I got wrapped up in Welcome to Temptation and need to get back to it.

So far this year I have read 1746 pages.

Still reading.

2009-02-22T04:00:00.001-08:00

I am now reading my 6th book for the year, and we are only barely coming up on the end of the second month of the year. i am seriously trying to stay off the computer, for the most part, although my pension for beigna couch potato isn't helping.

My problem with the computer, is I get stuck on all those dumb social sites, like myspace, or facebook,and then I start chatting with people, and there go several hours of my days! I think I have decided that this year I am going to try to focus more on my blogs, (reading and writing) rather than mess around on those sites. Yes, they are fun, but they are interfereing with some of my favorite other things I love to do. Such as Cross stitch, and involving myself in that blogging community as well as reading and sort of being a part of this community, though I have yet to break into the community as much as I just sorta lurk around the edges and check out what everyone is doing. There are a lot of great books out there!

And I own a lot of them, seeing as how when I read about a great book on here, I often times will go and order it, so I have piles of TBR books, and yet hardly make a dent in the pile, because I am soooo busy messing around talking to people. Or playing around on other sites. this year I am going to try to blog my books alot better. That said, when I get home from work today I plan to to just that, let you in on what I've been reading and tell you a bit about them for now, I must be going.

January Reads

2009-01-30T16:46:00.000-08:00

1. Bend in the Road N. Sparks
2. Patty Jane's House Of Curl L. Landvick
3. Slowman JM Coetzee
4. Return to Summerhouse J. Devereaux
5. Alphabet Weekends E. Noble

BOOK REVIEW: 8 Sandpiper Way

2009-01-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

Title: 8 Sandpiper Way
Author: Debbie Macomber
Pages: 371
Personal Rating: B or 4/5
Number read this year: 44

This was the last book I read for 2008. I finished it on the very last day of the year infact.
it is number 8 in the Cedar Cove series written by this author. I have read the entire series thus far. I really enjoy this author lot.

I only gave this one a B by way of grade because I found that there was some conflict in some of the characters arguments. They sometimes seemed to be arguing with themselves, in a way that doesn't seem consistant with other things they say. This made it seem less convincing, and almost silly.

I did enjoy the book itself other than that, the story line seemed to flow nicely and it was a fast and easy read.

I can't wait for #9 to come out in September!

Challenges...

2008-12-31T07:33:00.000-08:00

While early on in this blog I mentioned a few challenges and noted that I had signed up for a few and totally bombed. So I'd made the decision not to take up challenges, as I just don't feel really well about myself when I fail to meet the challenges expectations. However I sorta like the idea of striving toward finishing a set challenge, or a list of books to be read. So, while I have pretty much made my decision not to sign up for any challenges publicly, I HAVE decided that I would like to make a few personal challenges just for myself. Just to give myself something to work towards. But since they will be personal challenges, I won't feel bad if I fail to post on a public forum or don't meet the requirements, because...well...it's personal. =) So, look on my sidebar if you want to see the challenges I have set out for myself. Feel free to take up any challenges with me that you see there, and make comments here at my blog to let me know you are doing the challenge with me, but there are no limitations, or rules. Just the rules I set out for myself. We'll see how I do with these. This will also give me a another reason to keep this blog updated as well.

I still have not finished #8 of Cedar Cove Series, but I am hoping to have it finished before I head off for work at 8 pm.

Happy New Year...to the 1 person who reads this blog! LOL!

Full Bloom

2008-12-30T11:34:00.001-08:00

I just finished Full Bloom by Janet Evanovich, it's book #5 of the "Full" Series written by her and a co author, Charlotte Hughes. I'd give it a B. Right now I am trying to finish the 8th book in the Cedar Cove series by Debbie Macomber. I have less than 50 pages now so am thinking it will be the last one on my list of books read for 2008.

I am also in the middle of A Bend in the Road by Nicolas Sparks. It is really good, and a fast read. I'm pretty sure that once I finish The MacComber book and really settle into it I will have it finished by the end of the first week of next year!

I know I have totally sucked at this blogging thing this year, but I am really hopin got pick it up and be serious about it next year. I have just had alot of stuff going on,but still reading. I edited my sidebar to add all the books I have read this year, so you can see I am still crusing through books, but just not taken the time to sit and blog about them.

I don't own them yet, but hope to be able to read the "Full series" by Janet and Charlotte in 2009. Of course I have many, many other books that I already own that I should finish first...at this rate I will be getting back to the "Full Series" in about 2012...lol. We'll see.

I have seen at some other book blogs that there is a Pulitzer Prize reading challenge. I have that listed as books to be read. I believe there are 82 of them, and so that would take me awhile. There is no time limit on the challenge, so I could possibly do it. We shall see. SOOO many books to get through...

I have not fallen off the face of the earth!

2008-06-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

I have not posted here in forever, pretty much just because nobody ever reads this thing, but I really want to keep a journal of my books. So, I think I will do so, even tho I don't think anyone reads it.

This year, I thought I would try to read 65 books, even though last year my goal was to read 50 and only made it to 36, I think. So, if I couldn't make it to 50 I don't know what makes me think I can make it to 65. I guess I could if i did absolutely nothing but read, but that won't happen simply because I enjoy many things, and won't just read and do nothing else.

So far this year I have read 18 books. I just finished #18 last night and started #19.

"The secret life of bees" This book has been around the block. I have seen it mentioned on several blogs, and i have finally gotten to it myself. I cannot put it down. It is just flying right on. Which is good, because I have been in a buying mood for...well for most of this year actually. i am a member of paperbackswap.com, and oh man! It is toooooo easy to buy buy buy!!! All I do is pay for postage. So, I love it, but my to be read shelf is overflowing!!!!

I keep telling myself "I'll wait until next year to even think about buying any new books," and then! there I go, ordering more!!! or I tell myself I will wait until I have read 10 books before I order 1! That doesn't work either! I need to have my credit card taken away! lol. Ok, I am off to read some more of Secret life...rating and review to come soon!