Books

I've sort of dropped the ball on keeping up-to-date on the books I've been reading. I almost finished reading Decision Points, but put it down because I didn't want to travel with such a big hard back book (especially with the Nook color going with me) all the way across America and back. I think I'll pick it up tonight and finish the last 50 or so pages I need to finish it... 

While I was driving around America, I read Persuasion by Jane Austen. It was no different than any of the other Austen novels, in that it was fantastic. I'm now reading Emma by Jane Austen because I can't get enough. I may read Mansfield Park soon next for good measure. 

I also read The Carrie Diaries and Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell while we were on the road. I read them both really quickly because they are super easy reads and because I really didn't want to put them down. I'm a fan of Sex and the City, so I have heard about these books forever. I almost felt silly reading about a young girl in high school and then in the summer after she graduated, but at the same time I was in love with early Carrie, Miranda, and Samantha. I wouldn't call these literary books by any stretch of the imagination but they would be great beach reads.

Lastly, I also bought Always Something There to Remind Me by Beth Harbison while traveling. I almost finished it, but I put it down to travel back home, to Vegas, and to Oregon. Somehow in all the craziness I forgot all about it and started Emma. I'll either finish Emma and go back to this one or vice versa. It's a very light read like the Bushnell books, so I would recommend it for the beach. Basically a girl is totally in love with one guy during high school. Life happens and they split up. Years later she is with an incredible guy and when he asks her to marry him, she flashes back to high school. The story unfolds from there and follows what she does to reconcile her past love with her future happiness with the new guy. 

So there you have it. This is me jumping around from one book to the next (which I generally never do) and still reading even though I haven't mentioned it in a while. I'll be at 10 books once I finish the last chapters of Decision Points, Always Something There to Remind Me, and Emma so I think the 12 books in 12 months worked out. I'm sad it hasn't been more but I'm going to say it's because I'm so busy! Maybe next year I can set a higher goal...   

I think I'm going to read Jen Lancaster's If You Were Here and some other classic works after I finish up the three that are in limbo now. Are you reading anything fantastic that I should add to my list?

The Help

A few ladies in the squadron and I decided to start a play group, a book club, etc while our Marines are deployed to help keep busy and pass the time. We are getting ready for our 1st book club meeting and the book we have basically picked out (to be decided at the first meeting) is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Several ladies mentioned an interest in reading it, so I decided to get a sample of the book on my shiny new Nook Color to see what it was about. 

As soon as I downloaded the sample, I was turning pages as quickly as I could read. Kathryn Stockett has a way of writing that makes you want more. I bought the book and finished it the next day. I had to read during nap time and stay up until 3am, but I finished it in two days. If you haven't heard about this book, I would recommend you read the description because I passed it over several months back without a second thought. I wish I had read it then.  

While Kathryn Stockett is a bestselling author, it just so happens that she is also a Phi Mu.  Check out this article in The Aglaia (a Phi Mu publication)! 

*Apparently Michael Phelps mom is also a Phi Mu. I guess I should actually read The Aglaia more often... 

Nook Color

Josh asked for and received a Kindle for Christmas. He buys new books while sitting in the living room. He takes it with him on vacation. He reads books in bed. In short, he loves it. 

I've been watching on the sidelines telling myself I don't need another electronic device. With the computer, phone, cameras, chargers, and cords in tow when I travel, I don't think I could handle the extra weight or my shoulder may break carrying it all around in my purse (Only kidding. Even I'm not that dramatic.). I've also been thinking about the endless possibilities. Maybe I could ask for one. Birthday? Anniversary? Christmas? 

No more buying books and trying to find room on the book shelf. That alone was almost enough to sway me. I got more interested as time passed, so I did some research. I decided that I really like the Nook Color because of it's size and the backlit display, so I can read in bed while Josh sleeps. I also like that you can download magazines and newspapers directly to the device (Less paper clutter! Wahoo!) and that there is a place for additional external memory. I loved that it has children's books (some are animated) that you can chose to read yourself, or the Nook will read it to you. How much will Gray love this!?! 

I decided it was the e-reader for me and picked on up at the Barnes and Noble right up the street. I got a pretty cute pink cover for it too. 

Nook Color

Ooohh! Pretty colors!

I think Josh buys me the nicest anniversary presents! Don't you? 

The day after I bought the Nook (and informed Josh I had gotten a great anniversary gift from him*), Josh sent me an email with lots of mushy stuff about how great I am and lucky he is, plus his plans for a spa day for me. The Nook is great, but not as great at being married to the most thoughtful guy in the world. He is fighting bad guys AND planning a spa day for me. That's right ladies. He is all mine! 

*I should add that I wasn't expecting any gifts (like he has time to worry about that while he is deployed). I told him I was considering the Nook. Turns out he was planning on the Nook plus a spa day/wine tasting. That fantastic email would have been enough. :)  

Lord of the Rings.

Well, it took me a little longer than expected (about 2 weeks), but I finally finished all three books in the Lord of the Rings series. I feel like I've been on an epic journey, so I know Frodo was over it by the time he made it back to the Shire. 

That being said I think the books were good, but I would not recommend them to anyone who isn't into the genre or the movies. I started watching the movies with Josh because he had read part of the series when he was younger. I'm sure the myriad of questions I asked during the movies were rather irritating to him but he had a much better understanding of all thing Ring related. Now that I've finished the books, I think I'll watch the movies again. 

Ole Frodo. 

The next book on the list is Decision Points by George W. I'm assuming it will be much easier to read, since the people and places are not imaginary. I'm open to any suggestions for the book after Decision Points, because I haven't decided what to read yet!

PostSecret

"PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard." 

If you haven't been to the PostSecret website, I recommend it. People mail in their secrets on postcards and a selection of about 10-15 postcards are posted on the site every Sunday. I have PostSecret attached to my Google Reader, so I follow them every week. I can't resist reading what people send to PostSecret's mailbox every week. Some of the secrets shared are so personal that you can't help but be touched by them. People send in secrets about friendship, love, abuse, thoughts of suicide, cheating, religion, guilt, and pride. You name it and people send it in. 

Here is a random sample from the last few weeks...

This makes me smile. 

This one cracked me up. :)

This one made me wonder why...

Some of the secrets shared are pretty risque. If you are easily offended, this may not be the site for you. I tend to ignore those 'secrets' and read on for others. I enjoy the postcards for what they say, but also because I love the creativity that people use when sending in a secret. Let me know what you think if you hop over there to check it out. 

Book List 2011

If you know anything about the books I normally read, you could say I generally judge books by the cover. If it's cute, I'm in. I've been burned by this method of book selection, but I have also found some fantastic books this way too! 

For example...

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
Super cute. 

Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin
Pink and a sparkle-y ring.  Double cute.

Decision Points by George W.
George is ultra-cute.
(No matter what you think about politics, his cute-ness is undeniable!)

 Then there was The Lord of the Rings. Josh has been telling me since the movies came out that The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) was a great read. He also told me I should read it to have a better understanding of the movies. Maybe he is tired of me asking a million questions every time we watch one of the movies...

 I wanted to read The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien after hearing that the movie getting ready to begin production because I enjoyed Frodo's antics during The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I also thought The Hobbit was a much more manageable way to read a book by the same author to give him a test run before dedicating myself to 1000+ pages of hobbits. The Hobbit was written with so much detail and great characters, there were nights I literally couldn't put it down. Which lead to the decision to read LOTR after Christmas. 

As a New Year's resolution of sorts, I decided to read more books this year. That's not to say I don't read. I read all of the Harry Potter series last summer. And Gone With the Wind. And The Hobbit. And a few others I can't recall at the moment. I just want to read more this year and add some variety so I decided this could be the first one on the book list of 2011. 

Turns out it's three in one. The copy Josh had was all three rolled into one book. I'm literally carrying a book around that's the size of a textbook. I think I get looks when I take it into the gym and put it on the magazine holder on the bike. Whatever. It's the best place for me to get some uninterrupted reading time in without being hit in the face by a flying toy. Does that not happen at your house?   

Either way, I've decided to read 12 books this year at a minimum. January, February, and March are all the LOTR books. I've already finished The Fellowship of the Ring and have started The Two Towers. After I read The Return of the King, I'm going straight back to Decision Points by George W. Bush for April's book. I started it before Christmas, but somehow picked up LOTR before finishing it. The first few chapters of Decision Points were fantastic. I can't wait to finish it! 

I'm not making any concrete decisions about the rest of the year, because I would rather pick the books as I go. I have about ten titles in mind, but I'm open to suggestions on books you have read/loved recently.