Get Back into Reading

I love to read. There is nothing better for me to do than spend a few hours immersed in a book. But recently, almost two months now, I have not seemed to have the time to read! Oh, the horrors! So I am consciously making the effort to pick up a book even if it is a few minutes each day.  (Or at least listen to an audio book.) Then it is back to the real world....

Here are a few books that I managed to fit in over the last month...

 

The Silkworm by Robert Galbrith (ok, really by you know who)

Second in the series and I was glad to spend sometime with these characters again, although this one was definitely darker and rougher than the first one. Good old fashion detective story.

 The Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

Continuation of the long on going series. The character of Flavia is just delightful, and I enjoy the writing style of this author. My one complaint is I felt like this was a book full of questions for Flavia , but all the other characters seemed to almost already know all the answers. Mystery could have been solved in five minutes, if some sort of game wasn't being played over a few hundred pages. Sure that this was all a set up for the next book, and it frustrates me to have to wait.



This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

Really glad that I listened to this as an audio book read by the author. It added something to hear the person who wrote the book, about events in her own life, read the words. A nice collection of short stories. Note: the title is very misleading and is actually the title of just one of the short stories. The whole book is about much more than just a marriage.

Top Secret Twenty One by Janet Evanovich

My guilty pleasure. I love the character of Stephanie Plum and all of her crazy friends. It is just so much fun to hang out in this world for a time. Perfect audio book to listen to as I run.

For more books to read, stop on by Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit.

One Room Challenge: Fall 2014 - Week 5

 
 

It is week five.... 

  

 So now the panic has set in. I am going to be spending a lot of all nighters to get this library pulled together by next week.

 

The feature in the room, of course, is the bookshelves, so I spent time this week working on getting the books looking just right on the shelves. These bookcases have been with me through all of my houses, and I have learned a lot over the years about how to style them.

 

First is always to edit down to what I really want to be displayed. I jokingly call it "book shelf worthy".

 

I try to avoid just lining the books up in a row, and instead place some vertical and others horizontal.

 

 

 

Accessories are also added onto the different levels of stacked books to add some interest.

 

 

 

For my favorite books or the ones with pretty covers, I turn them facing front.

 

 

 

To keep the bookshelves from looking too cluttered, I always leave some space mostly empty with just one or two items placed on a shelf.

 

 

Finally I group similar books together to help me easily find them later.

 

 

 

I still need to do a few more tweaking, but it seems to all be coming together.

 

How do you like to display your books on bookcases?

 

One Room Challenge: Fall 2014 - Week 1

 

 I'm back....

A lot has happened over the last several months while I took a break from blogging.. The big thing is we moved into a bigger house! Yippee! A second thing is I became a writer for Tipsaholic, a great blog that shares tips on all kinds of subjects. When you have a moment, check out some of my featured tips on moving, camping, starting conversation's with kids, flower arranging and laundry.

While there is a lot on my plate right now, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to once again participate in Calling It Home's One Room Challenge. For those of you who don't know, this is a six weeks event with the Linking Participants sharing their progress of decorating a room each Thursday. In the end, a whole room is redone. This will be my third time joining in. In the past, I redid my laundry room with a Greenbrier/Dorothy Draper theme and the kid's mud room in bright primary colors with a big dash of organization thrown in.

And this time the room in my home I am going to do for the ORC is.....

Read a Good Book: February Twitterature

 

 

I have some good books to share today...

 

 

First, thanks to Anne for the recommendation on this one. It was a fun, quirky love store. Makes you feel like there is the right person for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one I listened to as an auto book during a long drive. It was actually the perfect format for this story. Listening to the description of the races, instead of just reading them, gave you more of that edge of your seat feeling...like you were really listening to the announcer at the track. Great and inspiring story.

 

 

 

Also, have to share this. While looking on Pinterest, I recently come across a pin of a bookcase that covered a whole wall. While the picture was nice, it was the comment that really caught my eye. The person had said, "Nice looking bookcase even if books are old fashion."

 

Am I just old fashion that I still have books all over my house? Honestly, I haven't gone the Kindle/Nook route yet. I do prefer to read an actual book. Then again, I am the person who was still listening to tapes when all my other friends were switching to CDs. Looks like I might be behind again...

 

 

 

If you want to get some more ideas for good books (however you might read them), head over to Modern Mrs. Darcy.



Read a Good Book: January Twitterature Link Up



 

 

It's Twitterature time with Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

 

 

I feel like I was in a slump for a while. I just didn't love any books I was reading. Some were okay, some were even good, but there wasn't any of that can't-put-it-down feeling going on. But I think I my have turned a corner, because the last couple books I read were great.

 

 

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

 

 



My elementary age son picked out this book just because he found the cover interesting. After he read it, he handed to me and said I should read it. He had never done that before, so of course I did as he suggested. It was a very uplifting and sweet story, and I thought very appropriate for my son to have read. It lead to some good discussions between us about how people can treat one another.

 

 

 

Shine, Shine, Shine by Lydia Netzer

 

 

This book is all about acceptance. It was a nice reminder for me that it is okay to be a little different in life and follow your own path. There will be people around who will take the journey with you.

 

 

 

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

 

 

I have read all of the books in this series about an eleven year old girl who is part chemist and part detective. The last few were losing their luster, and were no where near as good as the first book. This installment luckily gets back to the excellent story lines and character development that I enjoyed at the beginning of the series.

 

 Have you read any good books lately?

 



My Favorite Reads of the Year

 

 

Via

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a round up my favorite reads of 2013.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

For more of my book reviews check out these by clicking on the links:

 

Twitterature link ups...

 

August

September

October

November

December

 

 

And my Read for Improvement Series...

 

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

 

Also be sure to head over to the Modern Mrs. Darcy. Anne shares her favorites here, and for more recommendations check out the link up going on today here.

 

What good books did you read in 2013? 

Read a Good Book: December Twitterature Link Up

 

It's time for the Twitterature link up.

Anne of Modern Mrs. Darcy invites others to share what they have recently read and to give a short Twitter type review.

Here are my reads for the month....


 The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

A novel about a women who accompanies/chaperones the future silent film star Louise Brooks to her first big audition in New York City. But the proper Cora hides a secret. Interesting historical settings.



The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

A prestigiously awarded book that tells the tale of a man, who after suffering the lose of his wife and generally miserable life, retreats with his two daughters back to his ancestral home. He meets plenty of complicated yet zany characters along the way.

Via

I also wanted to share the Christmas stories that I often reread this time of year. All are short  (perfect for this busy season) and filled with holiday cheer.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

The Christmas Box trilogy by Richard Paul Evans

The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!