Why?

I read a post over at Write Stuff that made me think about why people read. Although some of my reading is out of obligation, or as a challenge, most of my reading is for pleasure. Many people read for pleasure, but our versions of pleasure are probably very different. I guess it's the "one's man's trash is another man's treasure" idea.

Have you thought about why you read?

Another Great Find

Speaking of great finds, Mind Games, Susan Kaye Quinn's short story prequel to Open Minds is free on Amazon right now. Go get it, it's a great addition to the series.

A Couple of Great Finds

The other day I was browsing NetGalley.com and found that galley for the sequel to Princess Academy is now available. As a follower of Shannon Hale's blog, I knew that Pricess Academy: Palace of Stone would be released in August, but I was really excited to be able to request (and be approved) to read the galley copy! NetGalley is wonderful. You should check it out if you haven't already.

My second great find came when I discovered Misty Moncur's blog. In her latest post I found that the sequel to her Whitney Award nominated novel, Daughter of Helaman, was available to read via Wattpad (which also has an app making it super nice and convenient to read on your iPad). Stripling Warrior was an enjoyable read (FYI, the story doesn't end yet). I'll post my review soon.

I love finds like these!

What Am I Putting In My Mind?

I recently decided to read a couple of eBooks I got for free on Amazon. I can't remember how I found them. Someone must have recommended a free book, and then the suggestions at the bottom listed more. Anyway, one was a Georgian romance, and the other was a Regency romance. I don't believe I've read any other Georgian romance novels before, and apparently the Regency romances I've read have all been very tame. Talk about racy!

So, I discovered, yet again, that free can be bad (like sharing a cup with someone who is sick, bad). Slippery, slippery slope. I hope that I've learned my lesson this time. I really should look at reviews before starting books that haven't been recommended by sources I can trust. Hopefully that will at least give me an idea about the content.

I like this quote from President Thomas S. Monson:

In short, if you have any question about whether a particular movie, book, or other form of entertainment is appropriate, don’t see it, don’t read it, don’t participate. ⁶

Such a good message to follow! Easier said than done at times, but something to strive for.

Mother Daughter Book Club

Last week my daughter and I went to a Mother-Daughter Book Club at the library. The discussion was on The Cabinet of Wonders. Actually, saying discussion is a bit of a reach. The group was for 8-12 year-old girls and their moms, and there wasn't a lot of input from most of the girls. But, the librarian who hosted the evening had found some interesting information about the author and some people and items mentioned in the book. She also had a game, craft and treat.

The best part was having some one on one time with my daughter. She seemed really happy about the outing, and it's fun that we have a common reading interest. Definitely a good activity to do together!

30+ Hours in the Car = Lots of Reading

Last week my family went on vacation for Spring Break. We had LOTS of time in the car, and my wonderful husband did almost all of the driving. Thus, I was able to down several books while the nothingness of the Nevada desert passed by.

Special thanks to my sister for providing me with most of the books I read. I'll post my reviews over the next week or so.

Romance Category Finished!

Borrowed Light marked the last book I needed to read in the Romance category. Assuming I can get my hands on a copy of all of the 2011 Whitney Award Finalists, I think I'm going to make this goal by the "Read 'em All" deadline!

*And, if anyone was wondering, this challenge has effected my resolution of reading as a reward after I accomplish other things. At least I still remember that I set the goal, right?

General Category Finished!

I thought I'd post an update about my progress with the "Read 'em All" challenge.

Having sick kids for over a week was really bad (high fevers and coughs), but since there was a lot of laying around, I was able to get a bunch of reading in. Having a deadline makes some of the reading more of a chore than a pleasure, but I have found several really enjoyable books.

There was a recommendation to read one category at a time, but I've been all over the place (availability of books has been a factor). The Evolution of Thomas Hall marked the final book for me in the General Category though, so I'm happy about that.

One disappointment with the Finalists has been that I expected all of the books to be clean, and some of them aren't. When I know an author is LDS, I expect more from their stories (morally). Part of "being in the world, but not of the world."

Lost Review & Resolutions

I post my reviews on GoodReads and then post a copy here (it's nice to have the book image and my rating along with the review). I've rarely had issues doing this, but after spending a bit of time writing my review for The False Princess, GoodReads decided to be unavailable. So, while the site says my review is saving, I'm very doubtful that I'll see it again.

In place of that review, I decided to give a quick update on my reading resolutions. It's only 9 days in to the new year, but I am happy to report that for the most part I have been successful at having reading as a reward for accomplishing other things.

I am very easily distracted when it comes to housework. I may start some dishes, but then something draws me to the other room. Then I might start sorting laundry, and notice that my bed still needs to be made. Then I try to get back to the dishes, and decide I really need to start the laundry so it can run while I do the dishes.

Is it common to be distracted by things you don't want to do?

Anyway, progress is being made, and I've still been able to enjoy some good books. Reviews to come.

Happy New Year

Ah, a new year and new goals.

My favorite hobby is reading. SURPRISE! Several times throughout 2011 I thought that I should make reading a reward for accomplishing other things (like doing the dishes or laundry). Not that one should be a slave to their home and deny themselves of any indulgences, but there is a physical calm when things are clean that doesn't exist when things are in disarray.

But, I never got around to implementing this idea. The pull of a good book is just much stronger than the pull of a sink full of dishes. 

It's a shame I don't get paid to read. Then I could blame my dirty dishes on work instead of slothfulness. Sigh. If anyone knows how to get a job reading novels, please share.

Anyway, with this first day of 2012 I am making some goals related to reading.

First, is the implementation of the reading reward program. I haven't worked out the details, but isn't admitting that there is a problem the first step to recovery? This is about self mastery (or something like that).

Second, I have got to get more non-fluff books consumed. I'm not sure that setting a number is the way for me to go (my 4 non-fiction books goal last year was met [barely], but it was a struggle and a stretch seeing as I started at least one of them prior to 2011).

My main goal for this one is to read my church manuals/study guides in addition to my chapter a day of scripture reading. I have started with reading Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society. My husband got me an iPad 2 for Christmas (bless him), and there is an app that lets you get all of the manuals/study guides for free. It's awesome (especially the Night Viewing feature). I'm already more than a 1/3 of the way through this book!

I also want to read some other non-fiction books, but I need to figure out a way to do this without it feeling like a chore. Any ideas on this are welcome.

This is it for now. It may not sound like much, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a bit of an adjustment for me.

May 2012 be a great year full of accomplishments and good books!

Free is Not All It's Cracked Up to Be

I recently saw a post on Deal Seeking Mom that listed free Kindle books. I don't have a Kindle, but I do have Kindle for Mac that allows me to read eBooks on my iMac or my husband's iPod. I've liked books by a couple of the authors, so I decided to download all of them.

It's not uncommon for free items to be free because they're not worth much. So, I didn't have really high expectations for my free books. However, the first two books I read (Maid to Match and While We're Far Apart) were really enjoyable.

Then I started reading Sold to the Highest Bidder. I wanted to like it, but there was a lot of swearing right off. The story line also seemed very similar to the movie "Sweet Home Alabama". I actually enjoyed that movie, but I had hoped for a new story to catch my attention. Back to the archives it went.

Next I read The Girl in the Lighthouse. A young girl and her parents start a new job at a lighthouse in post Civil War Maine. Lillian's parents have always kept the family secluded, but this new position allows her to be near another family, and she finds a lot of happiness with her family and new friends. I was enjoying the book fairly well, and then things just went downhill. The link above lists the many crazy things about this book, but it is enough to say that it isn't worth reading.

I typically don't know how to take book or movie reviews from strangers since everyone's tastes are so different. But, glancing at the reviews for either of these books probably would have been helpful.

I really hope I have better luck with my other freebies. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Slump

I am struggling to find a good book to devour. The last few I've checked out just aren't doing it for me.

One of the books is by Carol Higgins Clark. I've never read any of her books; in fact, I just heard about her last week. Two people told me that she isn't as good as her mom (Mary Higgins Clark). I think I've only read one Mary Higgins Clark (and, I ended up skipping to the end because it was uber creepy), but I think hearing this may have affected my feelings on the book.

Has anyone else read any of Carol's books? Is it just me, and my allergy induced fog, or is her writing bad? A big distraction could be that my library only had large print editions. Is the larger font making the dialogue seem worse than it really is?

Sorry Carol, but I think seven chapters is all I'm going to give you. I wish you the best, really I do.

I need to find a good book to read. I'm typically in the mood for what my sister calls "mind candy". I think this is the same type of book that I refer to as "fluff". Whatever it is, it's easy to read, and doesn't take much mind power to do so.

Any suggestions?

The Hunger Games & Audio Books

The other day I was doing a canning project that was taking forever. The audiobook of Catching Fire was on my iPod, so I turned it on to keep me company. Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games series.

If you haven't read this series, you might want to consider it. It's set in the future where a corrupt government annually punishes its citizens by selecting a boy and girl from each of its 12 districts to fight to the death. This is a reminder that citizens shouldn't rebel against the Capital.

It's brutal, but the writing really draws you in. The characters are very well done. It's not a happy book (which I tend to prefer), but it's sort of addicting. The end of the series isn't totally satisfying (because it's not dripping with happiness), but it works. And, it makes you think. About Peeta. A lot! Poor, poor Peeta.

The reader for The Hunger Games audiobooks is Carolyn McCormick. I don't know anything about her, but she does a great job with this series.

The reader really makes or breaks an audiobook for me. Jim Dale=awesome. Can you even imagine anyone else as the reader for the Harry Potter series?

My husband and I checked out an audiobook (I think it was The Smoke Jumper) for a road trip. Having Luke Perry as the reader didn't work for me. His voice was just too familiar, in a very distracting way (and I'm not sure that I really liked the book either).

I loved the book Matched, but I heard a little snippet of the audiobook, and I'm not sure that I like the reader. She might grow on you if you heard more than a minute or so though.

What audiobooks really work (or don't work) for you?

What's It Worth?

I really like to finish what I start. There is something inside me that drives me to finish, even if the task takes a really long time, or is unenjoyable. Unfortunately, this attitude follows me in books I read for fun.

More and more I find that there are some pretty poorly written or trashy novels out there, and I'm gaining nothing from finishing them. I won't be penalized for not finishing, but I'll definitely lose time, and might even have filth in my mind that won't ever leave.

I found this to be the case with The Red Tent. Someone recommended it to me a few years ago, but my library's copy has been missing. A friend recently mentioned that it was on her reading list, and that got me interested in tracking it down again. I ended up borrowing it from another library.

I was so disappointed with it! So much so that I only made it to page 36, and I am anxious to get it out of my house.

My uncle (an avid reader) once said, "If a book is worth reading, it's worth owning." Initially I wasn't sure if I agreed with him, but then I realized that too often I read books that just aren't worth reading.

How do you determine if a book is worth reading?