Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Fall into Reading Recap

Well, winter has officially arrived and with it, the end of the Fall into Reading challenge.

How did I do? Well, I lost a little steam at the end. The end of the list is much too restrictive for me. I never "feel" like reading the few things that are left. So, the three remaining on my list were "The Catcher in the Rye", "The Whole Life Adoption Book" and "The Hole in our Gospel". Shame on me. I abandoned the non-fiction once again. These three books will definitely be high on the list for 2011.

Now let's talk about what I did read. I just looked back at my list, and it seems like I read some of those books a long time ago. There were lots of great ones in this list. Without a doubt, the best read was "The Book Thief". I also really enjoyed Francine River's new duo, "Her Mother's Hope"/"Her Daughter's Dream". Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy (Black/Red/White) was different from anything else I've read and absolutely captivating. "Green" will definitely be on my 2011 list.

In my defense, I did read some non-fiction, including "A Homemade Life" and "My Life in France". I like reading about food obviously. In fact "A Homemade Life" made my Christmas list because of the delicious-sounding recipes at the end of each chapter.

I threw in a few extras as well, Dave Rosenfelt's new one, "Dog Tags" and a free book I had on my Kindle, "Mossy Creek", plus some library books "Winter Garden, "Innocent", "House Rules" and "A Rule Against Murder"...and maybe a Percy Jackson. Total books read this fall = approximately 22.

This is a great challenge! Thanks to Callapidder Days for hosting.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

What's left?

I realized today that I needed to check what was left on my Fall into Reading list. I feel like I've made some pretty good progress. Here's what needs to be in my to be read pile for the next month:

"The Confession" - finally available for me to pick up at the library
"The Catcher in the Rye"
"Brooklyn"
"My Life in France"
"Ape House"
"Half Broke Horses"
"A Hole in our Gospel"
"The Whole Life Adoption Book"
December's book club pick

Well, that's a few more than I thought it was. I have obviously left the non-fiction for last again. Oops. I think this list is doable. Especially if I ignore the 3 books I picked up at the library that are calling my name:
"The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton
"House Rules" by Jodi Picoult
"The Scent of Rain and Lightning" by Nancy Pickard

I like to list them here so that if I do have to return them unread, I can find them again.

October Book Club

October was my month to host book club. The books on my list were "Great American Classics" and included "The Catcher in the Rye", "A Farewell to Arms", "Grapes of Wrath", and "To Kill a Mockingbird". As you may have noticed from my Fall into Reading list, "A Farwell to Arms" was the chosen book.

One of my favorite things about book club is that we eat. And, the host tries to make something that relates to the book in some way. In "FTA" there were actually quite a few references to food. Since they were in Italy, I knew some kind of pasta was in order. At one point, they had pasta but no red sauce, so I opted for Spaghetti Carbonara (recipe below). We also enjoyed a variety of cheeses. It was my first time to put together a cheese tray - Drunken Goat, Brie, Sartori (a combination of Parmesan and Cheddar), Emmentaler, and Red Leicester Cheese. We had apple slices, bread and salted almonds. The grand finale was a pumpkin bread pudding. I'll post that recipe soon over at What's Cooking. I don't want to leave out that Anne brought the most delicious chocolate cupcakes for my birthday.

Let's just say that the food went over better than the book did. But, some of us can now say we've read Ernest Heminway. I really doubt another one of his books ever makes it on a list.

Now for the recipe. The ingredients are fairly simple, but my method is a little more involved. The night of book club, this actually turned out drier than it had in the past. I changed my method. Here I will post what I did on previous attempts:

Spaghetti Carbonara
adapted from Gimme Some Oven
1 lb spaghetti
1/2 lb bacon, diced
1/2 lg. onion, diced
5 eggs
1/4 c. milk (I did about 1/2 milk, 1/2 cream)
1/4 c. - 3/4 c. grated fresh Parmesan
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Boil water for the pasta. Salt it liberally (1-2 TB).

While the water is coming to a boil, cook bacon in large skillet. When the bacon is nearly crispy, add the onion. (I discovered once that if I added the onion too soon, the bacon wouldn't get crispy and then the onion would burn...not good). So, you want the bacon almost as cooked as you want it. Once you add the onion, cook until translucent.

In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, Parmesan and pepper.

Cook pasta 9-11 minutes or until al dente.

When the pasta is ready (here's where my method may sound a little strange but it works), remove it from the pasta water with tongs or a pasta spoon and put it in the bowl with the egg mixture. When you're doing this, you'll likely get a little pasta water with it. That's okay. Once you get that all added, stir, stir, stir. (Actually I stir after each addition) It should thicken a little. Next, I dump the pasta water out of the pot, and put the mixture into the hot pot. Stir, stir, stir again. (The goal is to keep the eggs from scrambling but heating them up gradually.) Then, I usually put the pot on a burner over low heat and stir, stir, stir. It's easy for the eggs to end up cooking on the bottom of the pan. It's not the end of the world. Just don't scoop that part out. It still tastes delicious. Just warm it up until the sauce thickens and clings to the spaghetti. I promise it's not as complicated as it may sound. And it's so very worth it.

Sorry it took me a month to post this. Enjoy!

Catching Up

Okay, a quick catch up post from the last one -

I read:
"A Mother's Hope" -Loved this!
"Winter Garden" - Entertained by this.
"Innocent" - Good for something different after two emotional dramas.
"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" - Really enjoyed this one, too and would definitely recommend it.

I decided not to read:
"South of Broad" - I probably didn't give myself enough pages to adjust to his writing style, but there was just too many other books to read.

I had to return:
"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" - I'll check this one out again.

I still have:
"Brooklyn"

Next post: A recipe from last month's book club

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

2,694 pages

So, I went to the library today (seems like many of my posts start like this)...

I came home with 2,694 pages of reading. How did that happen? Let's just say that I shouldn't even stop at the new release shelves. I should go straight to the checkout when I have a book on hold. But, today I had a few extra minutes and just couldn't help myself.

Many times I walk away empty-handed. But, today the titles were just jumping off the shelves. Were any of them on my Fall into Reading (FIR) list? No. That would be too easy. And, of course, 6 of the 8 books that I left with are 14-day loans. I'm pretty sure some will be returned unread. Oh well. I did grab a couple that are on my list...they just weren't on the new release shelves.

So, what's in the pile?
Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers (the book on hold that I went there to pick up)
South of Broad by Pat Conroy - Not FIR but on my "to be read" list for some time
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah - Her books are super fast, easy reads...nothing life changing here, just fun, not FIR
Innocent by Scott Turow - Also not on the list, but something a little different
Brooklyn - FIR
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - FIR
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - I've seen this on a number of FIR blogs and it looks interesting.

I can't start any of these just yet though. I'm now flying through The Book Thief. What an incredible book! I highly recommend it. More about that later...back to reading.

Monday, September 27, 2010

One down, many to go

Well, I polished off my first "Fall into Reading" book last week, Friday morning to be exact. Numero uno...Molly Wizenberg's "A Homemade Life", a fun memoir/recipe book by the author of the Orangette blog. I don't read that blog very often, so I really have no idea how much of her content came directly from her blog. The book, however, did not read like a compilation of blog posts. It was an enjoyable story about her life and her family with each chapter concluding with a recipe.

I really enjoyed her writing. She tells her stories well and describes the recipes in ways that make me want to try (nearly) every one. For example, thanks to this book, I now have a desire to make stewed prunes. She makes them sound scrumptious. I'll let you know how they turn out.

So, what next? Well, I forgot to add a few books to my list last week. My 10-year old has been reading the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, but I'm trying to read each book ahead of him. So, "The Titan's Curse" became available at the library and took priority over my list, so that he can get his hands on it. I finished it this morning, so now he just has to finish reading his "39 Clues" book.

Now what? Well, I've started The Book Thief and The Whole Life Adoption book. I probably should keep pounding away on those. Like them both but not in large doses...yet. (I've heard The Book Thief gets hard to put down). I have Farewell to Arms and need to read it for next month's book club. And Her Mother's Hope is waiting to be picked up at the library. Hmmm...

When am I supposed to clean my house?

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fall Into Reading 2010


The Fall Into Reading Challenge hosted by Callapidder Days is THE thing that got this blog started a year ago. I liked the idea of making a list of books to read during the fall and putting it out there for all to see, all 5 of you who occasionally check this blog, that is.

So, now it's time to do it again. I've been making my list and checking it twice. Here's what I've got right now:

The Confession (Grisham's newest and already on hold at the library)
A Homemade Life
The Catcher in the Rye (every fall I plan and, subsequently fail, to read this)
Her Mother's Hope/Her Daughter's Legacy by Francine Rivers
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (this book has been on my Amazon wish list for too long)
Brooklyn (ditto)
My Life in France
The Book Thief
Ape House (I'm hoping to attend a reading/signing by author Sara Gruen in October)
Half Broke Horses (Jeanette Walls is also going to be here for a signing...hmmm)
The Hole in our Gospel (I should probably read this one first)
The Whole Life Adoption Book (And I should probably just read a little of this one each day)
October book club: A Farewell To Arms by Hemingway
And maybe...Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy

To be added:
November and December book club picks

Other reading goals -
Read to CJ at least 4 nights a week - We've been working our way through the Little House on the Prairie series for a very long time. It would be fun to get to something else.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Ready for Fall

How I love to read in the fall! (And every other season for that matter.) But, there's just something about settling in with a good book and a Pumpkin Spice Latte that can't be beat.

Not only do we welcome the arrival (technically, not meteorologically) of fall tomorrow, but it also is the kick off of Callapidder Days Fall into Reading challenge (Go here for the basic directions). I've been working on my list for a few weeks now and am excited to get started.

A little too excited, in fact. I already finished two of the books on my list.
"The Cookbook Collector" by Allegra Goodman was very good, excellent writing and captivating story. I highly recommend it.
"Crazy Love" by Francis Chan is a book I will buy and read again. So much of the book challenged me to be more committed to Christ and his commands. It was a library book, so I couldn't write in it. I look forward to having my own well-marked copy.

I guess I need to think of a couple more to add to the list...Yay.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Booking It Update

(Check out Life as Mom for other Booking It updates.)

Well, let's see...what have I read lately?

I can't even seem to remember. So, let's talk about what I'm currently reading and hoping to read in the next couple months.

I just picked up "The Cookbook Collector" from the library and am excited to dig in. I am also reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. Unfortunately, it's due back today. Ack. I'm only about half-way through. Trying to decide whether to just keep it and pay the fine or get back on the list. I've been really challenged by what I've read in it and would highly recommend it. It would be even better to read it with a group though, so that you can discuss the material.

Also, in the "to be read" pile (also known as the "to be picked up from the library as soon as they become available" pile):
"The Confession" by John Grisham
"A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg
"The Titan's Curse" Percy Jackson #3 - CJ is ready to read this but has to wait for me...this will get priority.

Finally...tomorrow night is my night to suggest books for the next month's book club. I'm excited about my "theme" and all the books on the list. Can't wait to see what they pick.

Oh yeah, finally remembered what I just read: "Never Let Me Go" - This was a great book that is actually coming out as a movie this weekend. Normally, I am not interested in seeing movie adaptations, but with this one, I can't wait to see what they do with it. Maybe a date night is in my near future?

Friday, September 3, 2010

Read this book!

Now, I could write about "The Hunger Games" trilogy and how everyone should read it, but I know it's probably NOT for everyone. (However, my mom had my granddad read it...the first one at least. I think his comment was "It was interesting".) This post is actually about "Sarah's Key", our book club selection for September. What a great book! And, it was a quick read and kept you (or me at least) interested to the very end. Not only that but I learned something about World War II that I wouldn't have had it not been for this book. So, put your name on the list at the library. There will likely be a wait.

Now, what to read next? I have "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, "The Corrections" by Jonathon Franzen and (to be picked up at the library) "Never Let Me Go" by I can't spell his last name. I want to request Francine River's newest book...the sequel comes out soon, but I'm afraid of getting too many 14-day loans at once. And, David Rosenfelt has a new one out, "Dog Tags", and our library doesn't even have a copy. What's a girl supposed to do? (Please don't say buy it, I'm already fighting the urge.)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Long overdue

...for an update. In fact, it's been so long, I'm not sure I can remember what I've read.

Back to vacation...I finished "Sizzling Sixteen" and "Eat, Pray, Love" - though the latter cost me a pretty penny at the library, since I didn't quite get it back on time. I also spent some time reading "The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop", which I finished shortly after we returned home. (Great non-fiction book about book publishing, selling, etc.)

Then, I went on a brief hiatus. For real. I checked things out from the library but didn't read them. Nothing sounded good. I did finally pick up "Sea of Monsters", the 2nd Percy Jackson book that my kiddo is wanting to read, but I needed to preview.


Then, I decided it was time to re-read The Hunger Games, books 1 & 2 in anticipation of today's release of "Mockingjay" (book 3). I sped through those this weekend and enjoyed them nearly as much the second time as I did the first.

Immediately following, I started "The Heart of the Matter" by Emily Giffin, a 14-day loan from the library that is due soon. On top of that, I ordered next month's book club book, "Sarah's Key" and it came yesterday. And, "Mockingjay" has been on pre-order since it became available, and while I had high hopes of it arriving today, it looks like tomorrow is more likely. So, I've finished "The Heart of the Matter" and am trying to decide whether to loan "Sarah's Key" to someone else from book club. I just don't think "Mockingjay" will take more than a couple evenings, though.

What a thrilling read this blog must be. Ha.

Obviously, I've gone from doing no reading to another reading binge. How did that happen?

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Vacation Reading

I think I've mentioned here before that I really love reading in the summer. And one of the only things better than summer reading is vacation reading.

What books will I be packing?
  • August book club pick - "If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I Doing in the Pits?" by Erma Bombeck - actually finished this one this afternoon.
  • "Sizzling Sixteen" - Janet Evanovich is pretty much only good for vacation reading.
  • "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert - Unfortunately, this one is due back at the library while we're gone. And since it was such a long wait to get it, I'm going to keep it and just pay the 75-cent fine.
  • Checked out a few others at the library today...not sure which ones I'll take along.
  • Book I should read on vacation "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" - I started this one on our vacation last summer, had to put it down to finish "Gone with the Wind" in time for book club and never picked it back up.

What do you like to read on vacation?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Book Club Recommended Reads

At our June book club meeting, everyone shared a few books they recommend. Here's the list:
The Tunnel series (Erin)
The Sookie Stackhouse series (Erin)
The Hunger Games trilogy (Erin & Jimi)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Jimi)
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (Jimi)
Boundaries by Cloud & Townsend (Sarah)
Raising Great Kids by Cloud & Townsend (Sarah)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Emily) - our July pick!
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Emily)
Dangerous Beauty by Mark Ross (Emily)
Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange by Amanda Smyth (Emily)
Bringing up Girls by James Dobson (Jade)
Jane Austen (Jade)

Book Club books that have been a hit (for those of you who may not have been around when we read these):
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Kite Runner/A Thousand Splended Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
The Art of Making Money by Jason Kersten
Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Friday, June 11, 2010

A Book Binge

So, CJ (my 10-year old) has been gone to camp this week. Overnight camp. As you might imagine, his absence opens up some significant time in my schedule, time that should be filled with things like cleaning out the linen closet, organizing the office, catching up on laundry. Or, even more importantly, planning my in-law's 40th anniversary party or preparing freezer meals for my sister-in-law who will be delivering TWINS any day. I had plenty on my list to keep me busy this week.

What did I do? Well, I tackled a few projects here and there. We shopped for curtains and rods for our living room, since one of our cats decided to tear down what we had. And, I did get the invitations sent for the anniversary party. But, each night, after dinner, I pulled out a book and read, read, read. In fact, it's a little embarrassing how much I read this week. Oh well, here's what I finished (so far...I have until 5:30pm tonight though. I may squeeze in a little more reading):

U is for Undertow
Percy Jackson & the Olympians - The Lightning Thief (read this one to see if it was okay for CJ to read)
Beatrice & Virgil (by Yann Martel, author of one of my very favorite books, "Life of Pi"
The Recipe Club

Up Next: I should probably get started on my book club book (we meet next Thursday) "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", but I also just picked up a non-fiction book from the library "The Other Wes Moore" that I need to get started on...14 day loans don't give you much time.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Summer Reading Program

I finished "The Pillars of the Earth" a little over a week ago. I'm making myself hold off for a bit on the sequel, "World without End". I must get to the library books that don't have any renewals left. I did find out that "The Pillars of the Earth" is being made into a mini-series (I guess that's what you would call it) to be shown on Starz (we don't have it, but some friends do). And, it was rather appropos to watch the new "Robin Hood" just after finishing this book. The movie is set in the same time period.

This weekend, I finished "The Housekeeper and the Professor". If you love math, you should read this book. If you don't, you might (like me) be a bit confused at points, but it's still a sweet story set in Japan. The Housekeeper works for a Professor whose memory only lasts 80 minutes. Can you imagine?

I'm still working on and loving "The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop". And, I'm picking up "Unveiled" by Francine Rivers from the library today. And, I need to get started on re-reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" for this month's book club.

On my nightstand (it's kind of like the on-deck circle in baseball): "The Book Thief", "World without End", "The Whole Life Adoption Book", and many others.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Hello, Book Club Friends

Well, since I gave out this website at book club last night, I thought it was only appropriate that I welcome you all to my blog. I sure enjoyed our discussion, the delicious food and the good company last night, ladies.

We talked about "Breathing Lessons" by Anne Tyler. While no one loved the book, it still provided good discussion, real characters and some laughs.

This next month we're reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". I am very interested to see what others think of it.

Finally, an update on my own reading list:
Currently reading: "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, "Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice" by Dallas Willard and Jan Johnson
Books on deck: "The Housekeeper and the Professor", "The Yellow Lighted Bookshop", "The Parent You Want to Be", "The Hole in our Gospel"
Haven't forgotten: "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle", "The Whole Life Adoption Book"

Too many books, too little time.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Reading and Driving Don't Mix

I waited entirely too long to start my book club book for April, "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. I was not terribly excited about the book, simply because I was not at the March book club gathering, didn't know much about the book and couldn't get it from the library (the one copy was being held hostage by a fellow book club member).

I finally downloaded it to my Kindle. As you read books on the Kindle, it tells you what percentage of the book you've read. Since you can adjust the font size, page numbers aren't really an option. Perhaps if I had had a paper copy of the book, 500+ pages would have meant a little more to me. I thought I could tear through it in a couple days.

As I started reading, I wasn't particularly drawn in. The vocabulary was advanced. I was using the dictionary tool on my Kindle multiple times on each page. But, I kept reading. And, I am so glad I did.

"Cloud Atlas" is a fantastic story, really a set of six stories, each told in a different way, set in a different time and each fascinating in their own right. Each story is connected but not obviously so at first. (I'll give no more details away, though) I really loved this book, and I highly recommend it. Just give yourself more than 3 days to read it.

(I adjusted my Kindle to the largest font and finished up the book on my way to our book club meeting...and was thoroughly reprimanded for it.)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Overdue

Well, true confessions, I did very little reading in March. It took me the whole month and then some to finish "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families" (a great read by the way). In fact, it was 10 days overdue at the library when I finally returned it. I figured it was cheaper to pay $2.00 in overdue fines than to buy the book...though I might buy it sometime in the future anyway. :)

I'm still working on "Getting Things Done", close to finishing. It's been a great book on organization. Now, if I could just implement all that I've read.

My book club book for April is "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. What an intriguing book! I'm only halfway and book club is tomorrow night, so I have some serious reading to do. I think I really like it but will wait for the verdict until finished.

We took our 10-year-old to meet Andrew Clements, one of his favorite authors, last week. Unfortunately, we got there late enough, it was standing room only. Between his talk (1 1/2 hours is a little long for kiddos to listen) and waiting to get our book signed, we were there nearly 2 1/2 hours, on our feet the whole time. That might have taken away a little from the enjoyment of the evening.

I want to jump on the "Spring Reading Thing" bandwagon but am a little late...and need to make a list.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

March reading

What will I read in March? Hmm...well, I hope to finish "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families" and "Getting Things Done". Beyond that, I am just not sure what to read next. Maybe "The Book Thief". Maybe "The Grapes of Wrath". I should really finish "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle".

I have three "hobbies" in a sense. I love to read. I love to cook. And I love to run (most of the time). It seems that if I am really into any one of these things, the other two suffer. And right now, I'm in a bit of a reading drought. That's probably okay, since I often find myself in the midst of a reading binge. I need balance. And if I'm going to cook, I need to run. :) (Cooking and reading do not do good things to my waistline.)

The Olympics and Other Distractions

Wow. I haven't done much reading in the past few weeks. I'll blame it on the Olympics, college basketball, and our Colorado ski trip. Although, if it weren't for that trip, I might not have finished but two books in February.

So, what did I read/finish since the last update?
365 Nights
The Painted Veil (but I didn't quite finish it before book club)
Sweethearts (YA)
The Cruelest Month

I've also been reading on "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families", which is good but very long. And, I've been reading a book for work called "Getting Things Done". The rest of my reading has has included cooking magazines, a running magazine, blogs, the newspaper, etc. I haven't found much in the past few weeks that has really grabbed my attention. I should probably go back to my list and request one of those books at the library.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

What I've read and will be reading

Visit Life as Mom for other bloggers who are Booking It.

Here is a quick summary of what I've read so far in 2010. I keep updating my 2010 books post (see below), so this is really a bit of a repeat.

What I've read:
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Mark of the Lion series (3 books)
The Hidden Art of Homemaking (Jan. book club selection)
Her Fearful Symmetry
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
True Colors
The Baker Street Letters

What I'm reading (or about to):
365 Nights
The Painted Veil (Feb. book club selection)
A Perfect Mess (for Bible study)
La's Orchestra Saves the World

The rest of the pile:
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families
Sweethearts (YA)
Twenties Girl
The Cruelest Month
The Whole Life Adoption Book

Of my lists, I really enjoyed Francine River's "Mark of the Lion" series. Wow. It's very well done Christian fiction. The best part is that my church is currently offering a class on Sunday afternoons over Ancient Church History. It adds so much to my understanding of that time period.

"The Hidden Art of Homemaking" was not a hit with my book club, though the discussion was great, and I think we all left with some good ideas. The book itself is not particularly well written.
I had too high of expectations of "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". And I had no idea what to expect with "The Baker Street Letters", a mystery in the style of Sherlock Holmes (or so it says). "True Colors" by Kristin Hannah was okay, a love story requiring plenty of tissue.

And, in the interest of not making this post too terribly long, I'll stop there.

Friday, February 5, 2010

The minimum

I can't seem to walk out of the library with just the book I went in to pick up. Today, I stopped at the library to get two books I had on hold. (After my last trip, I'm sure you're wondering why I would have put more books on hold. Good question).

So, the two books I intended to leave the library with were:
1. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective FAMILIES
2. Sweethearts by Sarah Zarr (YA)

But, as soon as I walked in I felt the pull of the new release shelves and off I went. I did better than last time. Just two books in my pile are 14-day loans and one of those is a cookbook.

So, the extras that have been added to my rather large pile:

3. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
4. Martha Stewart Dinner at Home
5. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penney (the third in a series I've been enjoying)

The thing is, I also ordered two books from Amazon today. It's starting to sound like I have a problem. They're both non-fiction, though. And one is for my small group.

So, the other two books added to that crazy pile:

6. The Whole Life Adoption Book
7. A Perfect Mess by Lisa Harper

Whew.

One other note - I returned "How to Buy a Love of Reading" today without reading it. I read a few chapters this morning and decided I wasn't interested and didn't want to invest the time to become interested. So, I just have two more 14-day loans to finish before next Friday. (And 2 more for the following Friday.)

Saturday, January 30, 2010

14-Day Loans Are A Problem

So, on our snow day, CJ and I made a trip to the library. We went often this past summer, but now that school has started, I usually just run in and pick up the books I have on hold. And, CJ gets his books at the school library.

So, after he found 10 books he wanted to bring home, I ventured over to the new arrivals shelf to see what was there. (I also needed to pick up my book club book for the month, "The Painted Veil").

I quickly amassed 5 books...unfortunately, they are all 14-day loans. How will I ever read them all in 14 days?!?! I brought them all home anyway.

Here's what I've got:
How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson
True Colors by Kristin Hannah
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
La's Orchestra Saves teh World by Alexander McCall Smith
The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham

And I still need to finish "As Sure as the Dawn" (Mark of the Lion #3).

There are not enough hours in the day for 14-day loans. :)

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Falling Behind Fast

So, I must have composed a few posts in my head, because I sure thought I was more up to date than this.

I added "Her Fearful Symmetry" to my list when my mom showed up with a copy loaned to her from a friend. I read it quickly so that I could return it to her. A rather bizarre book, I must say, but so was "The Time Traveler's Wife" (same author). I definitely preferred "The Time Traveler's Wife".

I'm certain I've added another book or two in my head but am, of course, drawing a blank now.

Also finished "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (Jan. 8th?) and "The Hidden Art of Homemaking" (Jan. 18th). That book club was interesting...it didn't rate very well among anyone.

Next month's book club pick - "The Painted Veil".

I've also started the "Mark of the Lion" series by Francine Rivers. It took me a few chapters to get into the first book, but I'm loving it now. I finished "A Voice in the Wind" and am reading "An Echo in the Darkness". In the midst of reading this, I've also been reading a lot of the Old Testament. The series references many of the events I am reading about...the timing has been great.

Phil is finished "The Long Walk" as I type. I might need to add that to my pile.

And, last but not least, I need to decide on a non-fiction book for February. Any suggestions?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

A list for 2010

Well, I've been working on a list for 2010. It's far from complete, but here's a few of the titles I'm considering.

The Girl who Played with Fire - finished 1/3/10
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - finished 1/8/10
The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers: Book #1 - finished 1/23/10 , Book #2 - finished 1/25/10, Book #3 - finished 1/30/10
The Hole in our Gospel
The Hidden Art of Homemaking (January book club pick) - finished 1/18/10
Boundaries
The Strong-Willed Wife
The Grapes of Wrath
The Catcher in the Rye
The Book Thief
The Pillars of the Earth - finished 5/16/10
The Art of Racing in the Rain
- Added to the original list -
Her Fearful Symmetry - finished 1/10/10
The Painted Veil (Feb. book club) - finished 2/19/10
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - finished 2/3/10
True Colors by Kristin Hannah - finished 2/4/10
The Baker Street Letters - finished 2/7/10
365 Nights - finished 2/2010
Sweethearts (YA) - finished 2/23/10
The Cruelest Month - finished 2/28/10
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families - finished 4/2010
Getting Things Done - finished finally 4/23/2010
Down to the Wire - finished 3/2010
Cloud Atlas (Apr. book club) - finished 4/15/2010
Breathing Lessons (May book club) - finished 4/24/2010
Take One by Karen Kingsbury (free on Kindle) - finished 4/19/2010
Take Two - finished 4/21/2010
Rainwater - finished 4/25/2010 (do not judge this book by its author...it's like nothing else that she has written)
Take Three - can't quite remember when I finished this one...4/2010 or 5/2010
All God's Creatures - 5/2010
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (June book club) - finished 6/13/10
The Girl who Played with Fire (re-read) - finished 6/27/10
The Girl who kicked the Hornet's nest - finished 7/1/10
The Housekeeper and the Professor - finished 5/31/10
The Yellow Lighted Bookshop
Mockingjay (on pre-order from Amazon)
The Whole Life Adoption Book
World without End
Unveiled by Francine Rivers - finished 6/4/10
U is for Undertow - finished 6/8/10
Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book #1 - finished 6/10/10
Beatrice & Virgil - finished 6/10/10
The Recipe Club - finished 6/11/10
The Other Wes Moore - finished 6/??/10
The Lost Art of Happiness - finished 6/??/10
The Postmistress - finished 7/2010
The Poisonwood Bible - finished 7/2010 - our July book club pick. Because of baseball I had to miss the discussion. So sad. To miss the discussion that is.
If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I Doing in the Pits? - finished 7/17/10


Plenty will be added, I'm sure. And probably a few will be taken away.










Visit Life as Mom for her Booking It challenge this year. It will be fun to follow along as others tackle their reading lists, whatever the size or challenge.