It's been a long time

My only excuse for my very long absence is my very old internet browser at work, which is no longer compatible with blogger.   I have been reading...not quite as much as usual, but not reading is just not an option for me.

Lately, I've also been listening to audio books on a regular basis.  Love this!  I typically listen on my way to and from work and sometimes over the lunch hour. 

Most recently I listened to The Power of Habit.  I really enjoyed this non-fiction look at how habits work, how they're changed and the amazing impact they have on individuals, businesses and societies.  I like social science research, and this book included plenty of that.  But, it was also full of stories, which made it so easy to listen to.

I am slogging my way through Boundaries for book club...which is tonight.  I'm about half-way through. 

What else?  I just looked at my library account, and I have two audio books (Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella and East of Eden by Steinbeck) on hold, but that's it!  No books.  I need to figure out what to read next. 

Suggestions?

Quick Update

I cannot for the life of me get my list on the sidebar to update...

So, a quick update here: 
Just finished Happier at Home.  Loved it. 
Read The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.  Not on my fall reading list.  Pretty good.  Not my favorite of hers but good. 
Re-read Gone Girl for book club.  Enjoyed it a second time. As expected, it was good for discussion.  I learned yesterday that the audio version is read by both a male and female reader...intriguing.
Next up is The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny.  Also not on the fall reading list, but I love her mysteries and this is the perfect time of year for them.
Just ordered Dies the Fire for book club.
Counted this morning...I think I've finished 9 of my list of 17.  Not bad.  I have two more fiction books on the list and 6 more non-fiction.  A little unbalanced perhaps. 

That's all. 

A Quick Update

Well, I've accomplished some reading the last week or so. 

I finished I Will Carry You and Cutting for Stone.  Then, I knocked out Where We Belong and Let's Pretend This Never Happened.  And over the weekend, I flew through Dinner: A Love Story.  (That's one I'll be buying). 

I'm making progress on Dare Me.  And started The Praying Life. 

So, not quite a month in to the challenge, I've finished 6 out of 17.  That's not bad...but it's not a good sign that I'm already through 3 of my 7 fiction books.  And, I've got a couple on hold at the library that aren't on my list.  And a couple that are on my list but have such LONG waits.  So, we'll see how this next month goes. 

New books & Library Fail

So, I returned my unread books to the library yesterday, on their due date.  But, I forgot the one book I had read that needed returned.  And I thought I was being so organized.  More fees for me, please.  :)  And another trip to the library. 

I haven't even been letting myself go in when I return books.  It's just too dangerous.  The last time I went in (during this fall reading challenge, when I shouldn't even be looking at the new release shelves), I managed to come out with only ONE extra book, The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns by Margaret Dilloway. 

Where We Belong is waiting for me at the library.  I can wait 5 more days before picking it up. 

I went to a conference this last weekend.  They sold books there.  Just like last year, I walked away with more than I needed, including Looking for God by Nancy Ortberg and Wisdom Chasers by Nathan Foster.  I bought a third book but can't remember the title off the top of my head. 

More RWR...ughh

Another Returned Without Reading post.  Not that anyone who reads this (Hi Tylie) cares, but I like to keep track just in case I want to go back and check them out again, ie, keep them on my shelf for 12 weeks, preventing anyone else from reading these fine books. 
So, tomorrow I will return These is My Words, Backseat Saints and The Summer We Got Saved.  I was tempted to hold on to the last one, since I actually have it for another week.  But, since it didn't make my Fall into Reading list, it needs to go back. 

Speaking of Fall into Reading-
I'm nearly done with I Will Carry You.  It's so good but always causes tears.  So, I can't read all that much of it at a time if I want to be able to open my swollen eyelids the next morning.
As for fiction, I'm currently reading Cutting for Stone.  I like it.  I'm intrigued by it.  But, I'm so tired at night that I'm not getting through it very quickly. 
Also in progress - The Resolution for Women
Waiting to be picked up at the library - Where We Belong...I better get after Cutting for Stone if I'm going to have time to finish this one before it needs returned. 

One Down

I finished my first Fall into Reading book...just a few more to go.  :)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks was a fun but clever YA read.  I really enjoyed this book and flew right through it.  If you were ever a fan of the Gilmore Girls, I think you would like this book and its boarding school setting and secret society pranks.  If you're looking for a light, fun and quick read, check it out...from the library, once I return it.

Next up is Cutting for Stone.  This one doesn't look to be quite such a quick read.  And with no trip to SW Kansas in the near future, I'm not sure when I'll get the reading done. 

I need to make sure that I'm plugging away at the non-fiction as well or this challenge will not end well.  Right now, I'm reading The Resolution for Women for group.  And, I need to finish I Will Carry You and start on The Praying Life. 

Got my game plan.  Just need time to read.

Fall into Reading 2012

I'm excited to once again participate in Callapidder Days Fall into Reading challenge.  I think this is my third year...nope, I just went and checked.  It's my FOURTH year.  Wow.   As always the best part of the challenge is seeing what others are reading.  In fact, the very first year I participated, I kept seeing "The Hunger Games" on peoples' lists.  Checked it out at the library (there wasn't even a wait...I was ahead of the curve on that one) and devoured it.  So, go HERE to check out all the great reading lists.  Get inspired and get reading.

So, what am I going to read this fall?  I have so many books I would like to get to, but it seems like this fall is just packed full.  No leisurely Saturdays on the horizon for reading...hmmmm. So, what's it going to be?

Let's start with the non-fiction.  I think this list is a little ambitious, but it does include some easier reads, i.e., Let's Pretend This Never Happened. 

Non-fiction:
1. The Praying Life by Paul Miller
2. The Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas (reading this with my husband, but not nearly often enough)
3. Give them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson
4. The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer (reading this in my small group)
5. Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
6. No Easy Day by Mark Owen
7. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
8. Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach
9. I Will Carry You by Angie Smith (I just have a few chapters left to finish in this one)
10. Mended by Angie Smith

The fiction list is much shorter and almost entirely dependent on when books become available at the library.  I will add a couple book club books to it as they come about.

Fiction:
11. Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham
12. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
13. Where We Belong by Emily Giffin
14. The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
15. Dare Me by Meg Abbott

I really wanted to end the list at 15, because that seems like a good number.  But I am just started a new book on Friday. 
16. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
and for good measure, our October book club selection (it will be a re-read for me)
17. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Happy Reading!  I would love to hear what's on your list.

Out of Renewals

Lately, I have been checking out more books from the library than I can possibly get read.  Today, I checked my account and was discouraged to see that I am out of renewals on almost everything.  Bummer.  So, a couple will go back without being read:
The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
The Ambition by Lee Strobel (Phil's been reading this one...he has until Tuesday to finish).

Still have (thanks to one more renewal):
Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson
The Summer We Got Saved by Pat Devoto
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart
These is my Words by Nancy Turner

What I need to be reading:
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (for book club)

What I should finish soon:
You Will Carry Me by Angie Smith

What I just started:
The Resolution for Women (for my small group)

What I'm excited about:
Making my reading list for the Fall into Reading Challenge
I'm going to have some good stuff on there. 

What are you reading?

Reading Rampage

So, if you read this blog, you likely already know that reading is my number one coping mechanism.  So, with the last month being rather traumatic to say the least, my reading has taken off. 

I have a big stack from the library and four more waiting for me.  Plus, I went on a bit of a book buying binge as well.  Ack.  Amazon makes it far too easy.

So, what's on my shelf:
What Alice Forgot - just finished this one.  Good book, bad timing for one of the main sub-plots.
I've Got Your Number - listening to this on audio book and loving it.  It makes me smile all the way to work.  The reader's accent is delightful.
The Beginner's Goodbye - just started this one.  It's one of my (many) fourteen-day holds, so I need to put some time into it.
Beach Season - four short(er) stories
Wedding Season - not related to Beach Season, not sure I'll actually read this one...or the other
The Gilly Salt Sisters
The Song Remains the Same - picked this up right after reading What Alice Forgot and put it back down when I realized it was also about memory loss.  We'll see if I get back to it.
State of Wonder
These is my Words
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

What's waiting for me at the library:
Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews
Make the Bread, Buy the Butter
Porch Lights
Imagine

What I'm still waiting on the library for:
Summerland
The Fault in our Stars

What I bought:
Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Defending Jacob by William Landay - finished this one.
Let's Pretend The Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
I Will Carry You by Angie Smith
The One Year Book of Hope by Nancy Guthrie - so, so good.

I think this is sufficient to keep me reading for quite some time.  :)

Spring Reading Thing

Ahhh, spring. I can hardly believe that everything is already so green. Our very mild winter caused spring to appear quite early this year.

Spring (as I've mentioned in the past) is the season during which I read the least. And, I've had a hard time figuring out what exactly is on my must-read list for the next few months. But, I love these reading challenges by Callapidder Days, and I still want to participate.

To see what everyone else is reading, go here.

So, we'll start with books I've requested from the library:

1. Night Circus (I read this in February, but it is the book club selection for April, so I'm checking out the audio book to refresh my memory).

2. Home Front by Kristin Hannah

3. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (comes out in April)

What's next? How about some non-fiction?

4. The Praying Life by Paul Miller

5. Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas (Phil and I have been reading this together, but we haven't made much progress).

6. Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton (I've started this one just briefly and would love to finish it this spring).

How about some more fun stuff?

7. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (loaned to me by a co-worker)

8. Heart of a Killer by David Rosenfelt (his new, stand-alone legal suspense novel)

9. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton (in my box of Christmas books)

10. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (in last year's box of Christmas books)

That's probably enough. I'll have two more book club books to add to the list before the end of the challenge. And, I'm just not getting all that much reading done these days.

What I wish I were reading

My reading drought has continued. I didn't realize how much reading I had been doing at home prior to going back to work a month ago. Wow. I must have spent a lot of the day reading. Now, that I'm gone for 8-9 hours a day, it is just not happening. (And I can bring a book to work, but I often don't get much reading done there either).

So, I recently finished The Tiger's Wife for book club. It was very good. I read The Kitchen Counter Cooking School immediately after that. It was a fast read. And, it may have convinced me to never buy processed food again. Now, I'm working on David Rosenfelt's new legal suspense Heart of a Killer (not sure that I think much of a the title).

So, tomorrow kicks off Callapidder Day's Spring Reading Thing. I haven't even really given much thought to what's on my reading list for this spring. Ack. I have a few things from the library and a few things I'm waiting on.

Any suggestions?

A Quick Update

I have piles of books everywhere, but so little time to read these days!!

Before I start taking stacks of unread books back to the library, I thought I better record some of them here, just in case I want to bring them home again. :)

Recently Finished:

When You Were Mine by Elizabeth Noble

7 by Jen Hatmaker (wow-za...I will be writing more about this one soon)

Currently reading:

Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Need to read:

Unbroken (a re-read for book club)

Sitting in a stack in my bedroom just waiting:

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

Always Something There to Remind Me by Beth Harbison

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The same two books I keep checking out by Lynn Austin, Candle in the Darkness, Fire by Night

From my son's school library:

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

For the kitchen:

Ruhlman's Twenty

That is a lot of books. And that includes only one, no, two books that I actually own. (Oops, went back and counted again...and we do own Unbroken, along with Sacred Rhythms and 7).

What's on your list?

Kicking off the New Year

Welcome 2012! I've been excited for the new year. Often I rather lament the quick passage of time and the turning of the page to the new year, but this year I was ready. A fresh start sounds wonderful after a rather roller-coaster of a year in 2011. So, here we are.

What are you reading in 2012? I haven't given too much thought to my reading list yet. Right now, I'm reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova. And, I have a stack from the library, plus my Christmas books.

You might notice that the list of books read in 2011 is no longer in the sidebar...well, it actually is, but now it is a link instead of the whole list. So, if you want to see what all I completed this past year, click on the Books 2011 link. The grand total was 93, I think. I really enjoyed keeping track this past year. As I look back over the list, I can remember what was happening around the time I read most of the books.

So, once I finish a book in 2012, you'll see the new list in sidebar.

I would love to hear what's on your list for this year!!

Christmas Books

It's that time of year again, time to reveal what was in the Christmas box of books!

This time I thought I would share via picture:

What we have here:
The Lovely Bones (this is actually the book I received in my book club book exchange...excited to read it.)
Grace for the Good Girl
V is for Vengeance
Doc
Explosive Eighteen

Not pictured, the five cookbooks I received: The Gourmet (magazine) Cookie Book, I Heart Trader Joe's Around the World, On a Stick, Pinches & Dashes (Wichita Jr. League), Ratio

Also worth mentioning: Phil received Steve Jobs, Counterfeit Gods, The Forgotten God and Unbroken.

Lots of good reading to be done! And hopefully some good eating as well.

Fall Into Reading Wrap-Up

As I sit amid 3-foot snow drifts, it's hard to believe that fall is only just now drawing to a close. I once again really enjoyed the Fall into Reading challenge hosted by Callapidder Days. And, I achieved some degree of success.

Of the 20 books on my list, I read 15 (actually, the 15th is one I will finish today). And, I read a fair number of non-fiction this time. In fact, of the 15, only 6 were fiction - A Trick of the Light, Tunnels, Joy for Beginners, One Dog Night, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, The Catcher in the Rye. Of those, both Joy for Beginners and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand were delightful. And, A Trick of the LIght was excellent. I really liked all of them.

The non-fiction on my list were also excellent - Unbroken was one of the best books I've read this year, as was One Thousand Gifts. Counterfeit Gods, The Good & Beautiful Life, The Forgotten God, Radical, and Kisses from Katie were all absolutely worth the read. Lost in Shangri-La was also good, but not quite the story that Unbroken was. Run with a Girl (book club) was the only one that wasn't really anything I would recommend to others.

Unread -

Game of Thrones - This one I did check out from the library and read a chapter or two. As much as I was hoping to like this series, I just didn't.

A Hole in our Gospel - one of these days...

In the Garden of Beasts - after reading 2 WWII books this fall, I thought this one was best saved for later.

The Summer We Got Saved - Just never got around to this one

The Good & Beautiful Community - This is one I hope to read early in 2012

I love this challenge. And, now I'm reading to move on to reading something else. Thanks to Callapidder Days for hosting. I can't wait to see how everyone else fared.

Fall into Reading - winding down

Just a few more days of the Fall into Reading Challenge. I've probably already said this, but by the end, I start really looking forward to reading something other than what I have listed. It's amazing how many other books come across my path in just a matter of months.

I hope to finish one more from my reading list (Radical by David Platt) before next Tuesday (I think that's the last day of the challenge). Just finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (December book club pick) and really enjoyed it. The story and the writing were delightful. And, before that, I, at long last, finished Tunnels.

I'll save my wrap-up post for when it's official...just wanted to get my progress chronicled on here a bit.

What to read next?
Here's what I have from the library:
Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos
2 Lynn Austin books
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
The Three Weismanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain

Books at home (that I own and haven't read and are high on my list):
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton
Soul Searching by Mindy Caliguire
Matched by Ally Condie
The Distant Hours by Kate Mortenson

From CJ's school library:
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson - read aloud??

Of course, I have all kinds of other projects I would like to/need to be working on...not sure when all this reading is going to happen.

RWR

As always, I ended up with more books from the library than I could read in the allotted time.

Returned without reading:
The Women
Bel Canto
The Candle in the Darkness
Fire by Night

Currently reading:
The Forgotten God

Still sitting on my shelf (or actually on my window seat):
Counterfeit Gods
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
The Lies We Told
The Three Weissmanns of Westport
Grace-Based Parenting
The Reason for God

At Long Last

I read "The Catcher in the Rye". Last week, we had a couple of rainy days and it seemed like the perfect weather to sit down a read this particular book. It was good, but I probably need to talk to an English teacher to really understand what the significance of the book is and why it's been so enduring. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read it.

Others that I've finished:
A Trick of the Light - Louise Penney's latest in her Inspector Gamache series. I think her books just keep getting better and better. If you like cozy mysteries, check her out.
The Good & Beautiful Life - the second of James Bryan Smith's three books. So good. I would like to read this in a group at some point.
Lost in Shangri-La - This is November's book club book.

#20

You know how I said that if I had realized there were 19 books on my Fall into Reading list I would have added another. Well, my small group had a reading assignment, so I'm making that #20.

Kisses from Katie is the story of Katie Davis, a young woman from Tennessee who moved to Uganda and is living an amazing story there. A friend's husband described her as a modern day Mother Teresa. I think he's right. And the thing is, she's just obeying God and He is really the one doing amazing things through her. She is in the process of adopting thirteen girls and impacts hundreds more through the non-profit she has started.

The book tells the story of how she got there and why she's stayed. The way she lives is challenging to say the least. The exciting thing, though, is that we all have the opportunity to impact lives like she is. The co-author wrote this at the beginning of the book:
"...I've noticed something about people who want to make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters...They don't do anything to call attention to themselves, they simply pay attention to the everyday needs of others, even if it's only one person." Wow. You and I can do that too.

Plus One

I'm a little behind on my posting...

I read Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister about a month ago and was so glad I did. It was a good book and a great message, one of hope and joy (as evidenced in the title). Briefly, the book begins with a celebration of one woman's victory over cancer. Her daughter has asked her to do something outside of her comfort zone in the coming year (I won't give away what) and in turn, she challenges each of the women celebrating with her to do the same. The book is divided into their individual stories. It was fun and quick read.

Now, while I was at the library picking up that book, I read some of the reviews on the back for Bauermeister's first book The School of Essential Ingredients. Here's what it said:
"A delicate meltingly lovely hymn to food and friendship. Lillian's kitchen is a place where the world works the way it should. You'll want to tuck yourself into one warm corner of it and stay all day."

Well, with a review like that, how could I not check it out as well when it was sitting there on the shelf??? So, I paused on my FIR list very briefly (like, one afternoon) to read The School of Essential Ingredients. And, it was just as delightful as Joy for Beginners and arranged the same way, each section/chapter of the book telling someone else's story. Just lovely.

I highly recommend either one if you're looking for a light, easy, and for the most part, happy, read.