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.