Bookworm
I am an admitted and very proud Bookworm! I belong to two book clubs and have been called a "book club whore" by some of my closest friends :) I am blessed to work for a company that "slows down" during the holiday season. We may choose to use vacation days to take all days off from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day. My husband is a teacher so he also has these same days off of work. We've been spending lots of family time together, lots of exhausting time refereeing fights and making sure the 19 month old doesn't kill himself doing stupid things, lots of time running errands, lots of time trying to rest and relax. My all time favorite things to do to relax (I know this makes me sound horribly lazy) are read and watch TV. Stu and I try to limit our TV watching while the kids are awake since we have to limit their TV watching or they'd watch all day long. So, we watch TV after they are in bed. When the kids are awake and I need to take a break, I read. I also read in bed before turning out the light to fall asleep, in the bathroom (both when I'm by myself and when the kids are bathing), when I'm working from home and I click "save" and I know it's going to take a few minutes, sometimes while I'm cooking...basically anytime I can find 5 minutes to string together. I keep track of all the books I read, for fun, on a site called goodreads.com. I went back to look at all the books I read this year and this is what I found:
1. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (the 4th book in the Twilight series; I'd read the first three just after Christmas last year)
2. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (a book club book; what a surprise ending!)
3. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian (a book club book)
4. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (a book club book that I did not end up finishing and after hearing about it in book club, will probably never finish)
5. Stolen (Women of the Otherworld, #2) by Kelley Armstrong (my sister turned me on to these books)
6. Blue Water by Manette A. Ansay (a book club book; I really liked this one)
7. Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld, #3) by Kelley Armstrong
8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
9. Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner (a book club book)
10. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (a book club book; pretty good one)
11. Small Town Christmas: Return to Promise/Mail Order Bride by Debbie Macomber
12. The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal
13. The Shack by William P. Young (great book)
14. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers (a book club book; I wasn't a huge fan)
15. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
16. Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See by Robert Kurson (slow to get into but very interesting story)
17. The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions-Today by Julia Ross, M.A.
18. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo (a book club book; a longy but a goody)
19. Twelve Sharp (Stephanie Plum, #12) by Janet Evanovich (haven't read any of the other of this series but maybe I will someday)
20. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (a book club book; I wasn't as wild about it as I've heard others are)
21. The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak (a book club book)
22. Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, #4) by Kelley Armstrong
23. Insightful Parenting: Making Moments Count by Steve Kahn (a local author; good advice, hard to follow!)
24. Following My Toes by Laurel Osterkamp (a book club book and a local author who attended our book club meeting that month!)
25. The Divide by Nicholas Evans
26. Haunted (Women of the Otherworld, #5) by Kelley Armstrong
27. Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strough (a book club book; good one)
28. Broken (Women of the Otherworld, #6) by Kelley Armstrong
29. No Humans Involved (Women of the Otherworld #7) by Kelley Armstrong
30. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson (a book club book)
31. Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) by Charlaine Harris (both my sister and friend, Kelly, turned me on to these books)
32. Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse, #2) by Charlaine Harris
33. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire (a book club book)
34. Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, #3) by Charlaine Harris
35. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (a book club book; very good)
36. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium, #1) by Stieg Larsson (a book club book)
37. An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7) by Diana Gabaldon (this is my favorite series and I've read all 6 of them at least 3 times each now...so I may have re-read some of them this year but I can't remember)
38. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (read to Max and Ryann before bed for several nights in a row)
I'm also currently reading (yes, all at the same time):
1. Whose Game is it Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage by Richard D. Ginsburg
2. The Girl in the Photograph by Gabrielle Donnelly
3. High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never by Barbara Kingsolver
4. Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld, #8) by Kelley Armstrong
5. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (a book club book; I missed the meeting but would still like to finish it)
6. Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse, #4) by Charlaine Harris
7. Under the Dome by Stephen King
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (a book club book, meeting in late January)
9. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (a book club book, meeting in late January)
10. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (reading to Max and Ryann before bed)
11. Ribsy by Beverly Cleary (reading to Max when we find time; Ryann didn't want to hear this one)
12. The Love Dare Day by Day: A Year of Devotions for Couples by Stephen and Alex Kendrick (Stu and I ready this together each morning)
Next to my bed, I have these books that I plan to read in 2010:
1. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
2. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
3. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
4. No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong
5. Living With the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
6. The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve
and, on top of those, I'll read two books each month (or so) for each of my book clubs.
Whew. Bookworm/book club whore indeed. People often ask me where I find the time to read since I work 32 hours a week and have three young children. I honestly don't know but I'm glad I find the time.
1. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (the 4th book in the Twilight series; I'd read the first three just after Christmas last year)
2. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (a book club book; what a surprise ending!)
3. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian (a book club book)
4. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (a book club book that I did not end up finishing and after hearing about it in book club, will probably never finish)
5. Stolen (Women of the Otherworld, #2) by Kelley Armstrong (my sister turned me on to these books)
6. Blue Water by Manette A. Ansay (a book club book; I really liked this one)
7. Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld, #3) by Kelley Armstrong
8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
9. Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner (a book club book)
10. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (a book club book; pretty good one)
11. Small Town Christmas: Return to Promise/Mail Order Bride by Debbie Macomber
12. The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal
13. The Shack by William P. Young (great book)
14. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers (a book club book; I wasn't a huge fan)
15. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
16. Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See by Robert Kurson (slow to get into but very interesting story)
17. The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions-Today by Julia Ross, M.A.
18. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo (a book club book; a longy but a goody)
19. Twelve Sharp (Stephanie Plum, #12) by Janet Evanovich (haven't read any of the other of this series but maybe I will someday)
20. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (a book club book; I wasn't as wild about it as I've heard others are)
21. The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak (a book club book)
22. Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, #4) by Kelley Armstrong
23. Insightful Parenting: Making Moments Count by Steve Kahn (a local author; good advice, hard to follow!)
24. Following My Toes by Laurel Osterkamp (a book club book and a local author who attended our book club meeting that month!)
25. The Divide by Nicholas Evans
26. Haunted (Women of the Otherworld, #5) by Kelley Armstrong
27. Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strough (a book club book; good one)
28. Broken (Women of the Otherworld, #6) by Kelley Armstrong
29. No Humans Involved (Women of the Otherworld #7) by Kelley Armstrong
30. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson (a book club book)
31. Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) by Charlaine Harris (both my sister and friend, Kelly, turned me on to these books)
32. Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse, #2) by Charlaine Harris
33. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire (a book club book)
34. Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, #3) by Charlaine Harris
35. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (a book club book; very good)
36. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium, #1) by Stieg Larsson (a book club book)
37. An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7) by Diana Gabaldon (this is my favorite series and I've read all 6 of them at least 3 times each now...so I may have re-read some of them this year but I can't remember)
38. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (read to Max and Ryann before bed for several nights in a row)
I'm also currently reading (yes, all at the same time):
1. Whose Game is it Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage by Richard D. Ginsburg
2. The Girl in the Photograph by Gabrielle Donnelly
3. High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never by Barbara Kingsolver
4. Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld, #8) by Kelley Armstrong
5. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (a book club book; I missed the meeting but would still like to finish it)
6. Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse, #4) by Charlaine Harris
7. Under the Dome by Stephen King
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (a book club book, meeting in late January)
9. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (a book club book, meeting in late January)
10. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (reading to Max and Ryann before bed)
11. Ribsy by Beverly Cleary (reading to Max when we find time; Ryann didn't want to hear this one)
12. The Love Dare Day by Day: A Year of Devotions for Couples by Stephen and Alex Kendrick (Stu and I ready this together each morning)
Next to my bed, I have these books that I plan to read in 2010:
1. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
2. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
3. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
4. No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong
5. Living With the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
6. The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve
and, on top of those, I'll read two books each month (or so) for each of my book clubs.
Whew. Bookworm/book club whore indeed. People often ask me where I find the time to read since I work 32 hours a week and have three young children. I honestly don't know but I'm glad I find the time.
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