Happy Mother's Day to all!!!

It's ridiculous. My house is being over run by books. they are stacked in closets, on my dresser, under my son's bed and of course on book shelves. When I see a book on my TBR list at a thrift store or my church's trading site I grab it up then sit it aside. I need to actually read them. These don't even count the list of books I want to read that could fill a notebook. My resolution is to read these book and claim some of my space back. I declare 2009 The Year of the Diminishing TBR pile! Read on!

Booking Through Thursday

Here’s something for Valentine’s Day.

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?

I have never fallen out of love per se, but I have moved on. I will go through phases where I will read as many books of a particular genre or author as I possibly can, then I grow tired of it and move on.
In middle school, my aunt gave me a paper bag full of Harlequin romances, shortly after high school it was Danielle Steele, then I went on a mythology kick. I can't do Harlequin's or Danielle Steele anymore. They were nice fodder for a silly pre-teen/teenager, but I still love mythology, especially of the Greek and Roman variety.
I used to love Sidney Sheldon, but he lost me with a book where he got a bit predictable and preachy. I'm amazed by his body of work, not just books, but TV, plays, etc, that I could easily be lured back. His autobiography is one the books I have checked out from the library to read.
More than an author is a genre. I cannot read biographies/autobiographies. I'm going to try Sidney Sheldon's because I heard it read like a novel, but these are the books I had to force myself to read in school. I don't know why, I just can't stomach them.

“The only measure of what you believe is what you do. If you want to know what people believe, don’t read what they write, don’t ask them what they believe,
just observe what they do.”

Ashley Montagu
1905-1999




In honor of Random Acts of Kindness Week (11th-17th) I'm having my very own give-away. Leave a comment between now and Sunday, and one of my kids will randomly pick a name and we will send you some goodies. I have no idea what we will send, just be warned that I'm letting my kids decide and my kids are wierd. They are cute as all get out, but don't be mad at me if there is no rhyme or reason to what you recieve. Just know that I've already said no to a pair of used flip flops.


*I swiped the quote from Out on a Limb

Booking Through Thursday

But, Enough About Books

Okay, even I can’t read ALL the time, so I’m guessing that you folks might voluntarily shut the covers from time to time as well… What else do you do with your leisure to pass the time? Walk the dog? Knit? Run marathons? Construct grandfather clocks? Collect eggshells?

This is a joke, right? I am a freshly single mom to 5, count 'em, 5 kids, ages 11,
5, 3, 2 and 6 months, it's a wonder I have time to read! I am teaching myself how to crochet, but only at work. I like to craft, but my 2 years like to use the scissors to cut (so far in addition to paper he's cut my tablecloth, a shirt, my desk cover, his hair and the baby's hair) and the markers and pens to write on the walls (and the toilet seat!!), so the craft supplies have been retired for now. When I get home from work, I'm checking homework, changing diapers (the 2 year knows how to use the potty; however, he prefers my floor) chasing kids (the 2 year is a bit hyper-notice a trend here with my 2 year old?), fixing dinner, cleaning house and barely hanging onto my sanity. When the kids fall asleep, I read for an hour or so before I fall asleep usually with book in hand. One day I dream of having "leisure time" again. But not now.

Angela over at The Crime Sistahs got an idea from the movie The Bucket List to make a Book Bucket List and I thought this was a brilliant idea. I have a huge list of TBR books, but I'm not including those here. I'm only listing books that I think I would be remiss if I didn't read before I kick the bucket, not just because Becky Blogger gave it a good review. Books that have had an impact on literature and/or society and I believe would have an impact on my life. So here's my partial list:

Love in the Time of Cholera
Native Son
The Secret
Eat, Pray, Love
1984 I started this once, put it down and never finished it
Gone With the Wind I just checked this out of the library last week so I will be able to mark this one off soon
Invisible Man
Beloved
Anna Karenina
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Handmade's Tale
Uncle Tom's Cabin I just swiped this from my sister's bookshelf, so soon
Go Tell it on the Mountain
Absalom, Absalom!
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Satanic Verses
Dracula

I know there's more, but I'm at work and those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Booking Through Thursday


Quirky

This week’s question is suggested by (blogless) JMutford:

Sometimes I find eccentric characters quirky and fun, other times I find them too unbelievable and annoying. What are some of the more outrageous characters you’ve read, and how do you feel about them?

I am not a book snob, I will read just about anything. I read on a blog the other day where a reader snubbed romances saying they were a waste of her time. I don't think someone who reads classics like The Count of Monte Cristo is any better than someone who reads the latest Bridget Jones. The important thing is that a person reads. I love period romances (those are usually the Fabio covered books) because of the history in them. I'm fascinated with Native American cultures and Cassie Edwards writes alot of novels featuring Native Americans, but the women in these books have to be the most annoying creatures on God's green earth. I probably read about 1 every other year because they drive me crazy. Many times I will scan through several pages instead of actually read them just to get past the inane banter of some of these stories.
Other times it's the quirkyness of the characters that I love. I love Grandma Mazur in the Stephanie Plum series. Ranger is completely unrealistic, but I love that about him. When I'm reading fiction books, I often want to be whisked away from the real world, so I enjoy reading characters who are a bit out there. Characters who are enjoyable is most important to me.