Exceedingly Mundane

I don’t normally do book reviews, per se, or recommend books. I read a lot of books, and I generally enjoy everything I read. I don’t step far outside my comfort zone. I know the authors and types of books I like, and I tend to stay within those parameters.

I had to blog about these two books though, the Marta’s Legacy books by Francine Rivers (the first is called “Her Mother’s Hope” and the second, “Her Daughter’s Dream). For one thing, these two books were most enjoyable to me, and I highly recommend them if you like Christian fiction, or enjoy big epic books that span generations, following the characters through trials, triumphs, relationships and the course of their life.

Second, I believe I set a personal best record yesterday! I picked up this second book, “Her Daughter’s Dream” from the library on Saturday. We had a family reunion to go to at lunch, and were gone for several hours. I read a few pages in the car, then read some Saturday night before bed (my preferred time to read). But, then, on Sunday, I read. A LOT. I read about 500 pages, which has GOT to be a new record for me! I finished this book, all 564 pages of it, in basically a day. New record for me!

Now, my biggest concern is deciding what to read next! I downloaded “The Inner Circle” by Brad Meltzer to my Kindle, for Tim. I’m trying to get him to like my Kindle, it’s an uphill battle 🙂 So, I’ll be working on some “real” books from my bookshelves while he’s reading on my baby!!

P.S. Have any of you seen Meltzer’s TV show on the History Channel? We’ve been watching it too. It’s called Decoded and is a mixture of history, obscure facts, conspiracy theories and the like. We’re oddly fascinated by it!

As seen on Kim’s blog, from the original source, Miz B:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

OK, I haven’t talked books in a while, and I have been trying to read more. I LOVE my Kindle, and have read a lot of books on it since I got it for my birthday last fall. I’ve been trying to get Tim to read on it, so I loaned it to him a couple of weeks ago for him to read a free book I had gotten and really enjoyed. That gave me time to read a couple of “real” books that I had on my bookshelves.

Let’s see, I’m currently reading: The Justice Game by Randy Singer on my Kindle. It’s another freebie from Amazon, a Christian legal thriller. I’m really enjoying it so far 🙂

What did I recently finish reading? While Tim had my Kindle, I knocked out three “real” books from my bookshelves. Two I had won and one I had purchased. I read “The Swiss Courier” by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey (WWII story about the Swiss Underground and the fight against the Nazis). I also read “Mystery at the Inn”, last fall’s offering of the Grace Chapel Inn set of books by Guideposts. Lastly, I read “Secrets” by Robin Jones Gunn, a freebie I won online. It’s the first of a series, but I probably won’t purchase any. They were all good, and I enjoyed each of them (all Christian fiction).

Lastly, what I might read next? That’s always hard for me to pick, as I’m a moody reader. Right now, I’m leaning toward the sequel to “Gone To Green”, that I got free recently from Amazon, called “Goodness Gracious Green” (by Judy Christie). I might read “Always the Baker, Never the Bride” on my Kindle instead. If Tim wants to read on my Kindle again, I’ll probably read “Under the Cajun Moon” by Mindy Starns Clark, which is languishing on my bookshelves.

How about you? Have you read any good books lately? Are you reading one now? Happy Reading! 🙂

Boy, you get old, you blink and a month goes by in a flash!

It seems like we wait all year for football season, and when it FINALLY gets here, we’re so happy. Then, before you know it, BAM! It’s the end of January and it’s almost over. Although for us this year, for the first time EVAH, our team is going to the big game. Can’t wait! We’ve never really experienced a true Super Bowl experience. We have a party every year (not this year though!), so we always watch the game, but we never get to root for our team. Not so this year!

Ok, I actually meant to post about what little was going on around here in January.

* The month started out cold, then our water heater went out. It was an ordeal to get it replaced, but it all turned out fine in the end. It definitely gave me a whole new appreciation for HOT water, as well as for all of the little things in life that I can so easily take for granted. 🙂

* We went to our great-niece’s 4th birthday party, which was fun. We weren’t able to make it to our niece’s 5th birthday party, as it was out of town, on the same afternoon as the NFC Championship game and we had invited some people over to watch the game.

* We had the whole Saints in the playoffs, going to the Super Bowl thing that I just blogged about (and yes, I know I blog ad nauseum about football and the Saints!).

* I didn’t cook a whole lot in the month, we ate a lot of sandwiches and soups and easy stuff, plus we picked up food on the weekend. We’ve been going to Fresh Market every Sunday after church, and usually get stuff that we can “eat on” for a few days. Or we have leftovers from the football food that I fix (or pizza that we order!) from the weekend. I do have one or two new recipes that I have tried, that I need to post on our family website (but I haven’t gotten around to that yet) 🙂

* I didn’t read a lot of books in January. I finished three books and I’m about 20 pages away from finishing another book, here on Feb 1. I completed “Home for the Holidays” (part of the Grace Chapel Inn series), “Leaving Yesterday” by Kathryn Cushman and “Latte Trouble” by Cleo Coyle (part of the Coffeehouse mystery series). I enjoyed all the books, even though I didn’t blog about any of them. I am also working on the five books in the Chronicles of the Kings series by Lynn Austin and thoroughly, thoroughly enjoying them. I have so many books I want to read!

* We spent one very productive Saturday in January, when it wasn’t so cold, doing a lot of outside work. Tim got all the bushes and trees cut back, and raked leaves. He also cleaned up a lot in the garage and stuff. I spent a lot of that day working inside, getting the office cleaned up (and a bunch of stuff thrown out), gathering up some stuff for Goodwill. And, the biggie, I got all of the yearly “paperwork” done from last year – shredding things we won’t keep, getting papers organized for the taxes, and going thru receipts. The shredder got a workout that day!

* I spent a lot of time on Facebook. Mostly on Farmville and Cafe World. I continue to be addicted. 😀

* I got back into walking with my walking buddy Julie. She wanted to start the C25K (couch to 5K) training program, so we did that. We’re into week 2, but I think we’re repeating week 1 on the program. It’s going to take us longer than the 9 weeks that the program thinks 😀

* We played some of our new Wii games, in between football, tv and Netflix movies. I’m really enjoying Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort 😀

Ok, February, bring it on! I have a dentist appointment and haircut to start the month off right, then there’s that all important “greeting-card” holiday that Tim loves to avoid. Mostly, we’re excited about the Super Bowl! February is a short month, so I expect it to fly by with equal speed, if not faster, than January did.

And to think, I wrote 2009 on a check the other day! I’d better get used to 2010 and a whole new decade, because it’s here with a vengeance!

Some various, random and assorted items:

I just love, love, love to see one of these:

Sitting on my doorstep, like it was today 🙂 I had a bunch of credit stored up at Amazon (gift cards, plus a certificate cashed in from points at MyPoints, and gift cards accumulated by searching at Swagbucks). So, I decided to splurge and order some books from my wish list. They’re all Christian fiction books but one, and the other is a cozy, so they are definitely not everyone’s favorite kind of books. But they are mine, and I’m so excited to get a big box of new books. Here’s my stash:

Happy Reading!

Still not into blogging much lately. I do believe I prefer the “micro-blogging” of Twitter and Facebook more than this format. Or at least lately. I’m not ready to abandon my blog though.

My attempt to try to keep up, at least a bit. Here’s a few bulleted items, things just.right.off the top of my head! 😀

OK, well, that was a whole lotta nothin! I hope you’re having a great day out there in Internet-land! If you’re on Twitter or Facebook and we’re not connected, be sure to leave me a note. I’m definitely spending more time there lately than here 🙂

Since our website was down (and therefore my blog), I haven’t been able to post any updates on the books I’ve been reading so far in 2009. I have, however, been keeping up at GoodReads, so hopefully most of those who might be interested in what I’ve read or my thoughts on those books are following me over there. In case there are any who aren’t, I thought I’d do a quick rundown on some of the books I’ve been reading lately.

So far this year, I’ve completed 9 books, including 4 for the two reading challenges I am participating in. I’ve read:

1. Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle (cozy mystery, part of a series about murders revolving around the owner of a coffeehouse in New York City)

2. Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren (cute Christian chick-lit/romance book, my first by this author but it won’t be the last, counts toward my Chick-Lit Challenge)

3. Life Support by Tess Gerritsen (medical mystery, second book by this author that I’ve read and liked, counts towards the What’s in a Name challenge, category of medical condition)

4. The Way We Were by Judy Baer (part of the Guidepost series, Tales from the Grace Chapel Inn, easy and enjoyable Christian fiction)

5. Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (one of hers I had not read, not my favorite of hers, but not bad, counts towards the What’s in a Name Challenge, category of time of day)

6. Booked to Die by John Dunning (first in the Cliff Janeway series, I’m on the fence about continuing with these)

7. Rorey’s Secret by Leisha Kelly (continuing story of the Wortham and Hammond families, wonderful Christian fiction books I’m reading)

8. Whispers of the Bayou by Mindy Starns Clark (Christian mystery, not part of the Million Dollar or Smart Chick mysteries but still a good read)

9. The Broker by John Grisham (one of the many Grisham books we own I have not read, not my favorite but still enjoyable, counts toward the What’s in a Name Challenge, category of profession)

I’m going to include a few of the blurbs I wrote over at GoodReads about a few of these on the extended page, please click on the “Please read more” if you’re interested and want to read them.

For the record, I’ve read 9 books so far in 2009, for a total of 2,884 pages. Up next is the first in the Spa Girls series by Kristin Billerbeck (“She’s All That”). I’ll count all three of these towards my 10 required for the Chick-Lit Challenge.

Happy Reading!

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I know a lot of bloggers aren’t avid readers, but I am one of those who is. I read a lot more since Tim took up golf, LOL! I ended up reading 88 books last year (get it, 88 in 08?!), and will once again shoot for 75 or more this year. 2007 was my highest year ever, when I read 104 books. I’m not sure I’ll top 100 ever again, but it was nice to do it that time.

Anyway, I’ve read a whopping one book so far this year. 😀 We are staying pretty busy and I haven’t had much time to read. We have gotten some new games for the Wii lately, plus it’s hunting and football season (Tim’s other hobbies besides golf). Maybe once the Super Bowl is over, I’ll have a little more time to read.

I was in Sam’s Club last weekend, stocking up on a few things, and I went to check out the books. Being an avid reader, I look at the book section in any store I go to (Walmart, Target, Sam’s and of course bookstores). I was really surprised to see that Sam’s is now selling the Sony E-reader. I was also surprised at its size. Not only is it smaller than I thought, but that thing is thin. I think the product info said it is 1/3 of an inch thick. I held my iPhone up to it and it is bigger than that, but it’s still a very manageable size. I guess seeing these things in person, as opposed to online, really makes a difference. I’ve heard so much about Amazon’s Kindle but I have never seen one in person. I have been thinking off and on, for a while now, about whether I would like one of these one day or not.

I’ve had a blog post brewing in my head for months, about the pros and cons of printed books versus electronic books. About the way things will go in the future and if these things will even be around in 10 years. Or if the way of the printed book is going to some day be like trying to find a coin-operated pay phone.

I, for one, am not sure that I’ll ever be able to transition from printed books to a digital reader. I think I like holding a book in my hand and turning the page. But I do know this, I think I could convert to a digital reader a whole lot quicker than audiobooks. I’ve tried those, and they just don’t work for me. Hearing someone else read to me just doesn’t work for me, I like to read myself and “hear” my own voice in my head. If that makes any sense at all. However, I must admit, after seeing this e-reader in person, it makes me think that on some level I might really like it. I certainly love all of the other electronic gadgets in my life and have adapted to them quite well. One of the biggest drawbacks for me, I think, is not being able to get books free from the library, but having to always pay for them. If my library ever starts offering free downloads to a digital reader, that might really propel me into getting one.

OK, so, if you’re a reader, or even if you’re not, I’d love to hear what you think. Today’s Question of the Day is – do you have a Sony Digital Reader or an Amazon Kindle, and if not, do you think you might ever get one? Do you think digital books will be the way in the future, or do you think printed books, bookstores, libraries and the like are here to stay for our foreseeable lifetime?

Leave me a comment and let me know! Happy Reading!

I’ve decided to join the reading challenge at The Twiga Blog, the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge. The rules are:

Back by popular demand, the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge has been expanded for the whole year! From January 1 through December 31, 2009, read at least 10 chick lit books. Books can overlap with other challenges and you can change your list at any time.

Debi (aka Twiga) has set up another installment of her popular reading challenge. I didn’t participate in 2008, but I wish I had! I read a lot of chick-lit in 08, and I’m having a hard time finding books left to read for the challenge this year, LOL! Mostly because I’m trying to read books I already own before buying more or going to the library. However, I don’t have enough chick-lit books here in my TBR pile to complete this challenge, so I’ll have to do one of those to finish the list at some point.

Here’s what I have so far:

1. The Potluck Club by Linda Evans Shepherd & Eva Marie Everson – read June 09

2. The Potluck Club Trouble’s Brewing – read June 09

3. The Potluck Club Takes the Cake – read July 09

4. She’s All That (Spa girls 1) by Kristin Billerbeck- read February 09

5. A Girl’s Best Friend (Spa Girls 2) by Kristin Billerbeck- read March 09

6. Calm, Cool & Adjusted (Spa Girls 3) by Kristin Billerbeck- read March 09

7. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner- read April 09

8. Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie

9. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (not sure if this is chick-lit???) // Changed to:
9. The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter – read July 09

10. Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren – read January 09

Thanks to Debi for sponsoring this challenge and I’m looking forward to reading lots of chick-lit this year! 🙂

I participated in the first “What’s in a Name” challenge last year and had a great time picking and reading the books. So, it was a no-brainer that I would join again!

Annie is hosting again this year, at a new blog place (here). The rules are as follows:

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a “profession” in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian

2. A book with a “time of day” in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3. A book with a “relative” in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father’s Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a “body part” in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness

5. A book with a “building” in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower

6. A book with a “medical condition” in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don’t use the same book for more than one category.

I am struggling a bit with books in one of the categories. I’ve already tentatively chosen the following books for my picks, but I might substitute one or two along the way if I come across a book that looks better 🙂

My choices:

1. A book with a “Profession” in the title – The Broker by John Grisham — Read in February 09.

2. A book with a “Time of Day” in the title – Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy or Four Seasons by Mary Alice Monroe — Read “Nights of Rain and Stars” in January 09.

3. A book with a “Relative” in the title – The Preachers Daughter by Beverly Lewis

4. A book with a “Body Part” in the title – The Amethyst Heart by Penelope Stokes — Read November 09

5. A book with a “Building” in the title – A Painted House by John Grisham — Read March 09.

6. A book with a “Medical Condition” in the title – Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner or Life Support by Tess Gerritsen — Read “Life Support” in January 09.

Thanks to Annie for hosting again this year. Happy Reading!

I finished the books I set out to read for the Winter Holiday Reading Challenge (original post here). I also read a book entitled “My Mother’s Wish: An American Christmas Carol”, which was very short and pretty decent, but was not my favorite of the books I read. My original three books I chose were more to my liking. I tend to like really sweet, really old-fashioned, easy books, especially at this hectic time of year.

The books I completed were:

1) Till Morning is Nigh by Leisha Kelly (part of the Wortham Family series of books I am reading)
2) A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber (part of the Cedar Cove series, fit in nicely after the 8th book I recently finished)
3) The Spirit of the Season by Dana Corbit (part of the Grace Chapel Inn series I am reading)

As you can see, these all fit in with current series that I am reading, so that was an added bonus for me. Irregardless, I really enjoy reading holiday books this time of year and am glad that I got a chance to participate in this challenge. I hope to do it again next year.

For the record, I’ve completed 85 books so far this year, for a total of 27,320 pages. I have started another book (“Sugar Cookie Murder” by Joanne Fluke, one of the Christmas offerings in a series of cozy mysteries that I am reading) and will probably finish it before the year is out. The really odd, anal side of me wishes that I wouldn’t read it or another book. I like round numbers, people. 85 is a round number, 86 or 87 is not, LOL! Anyway, I have so many more books to read, and I’m looking forward to turning the calendar to January and starting on a new goal for 2009. 🙂

Happy Reading!

Heidi, over at God’s Grace in Practice, tagged me with this book tag and meme. It’s easy, so I thought I’d play along. Here’s the rules:

Pass this on to 5 blogging friends.
Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.

I’m currently reading “Till Morning is Nigh” by Leisha Kelly. This is the first book I’m reading as part of the Winter Holidays Reading Challenge. It’s part of a series of books I’m reading about the Wortham’s, a family living in Indiana during the Great Depression. These are Christian fiction books, and I’m really enjoying them 🙂

My passage is:

“You know he always buys us candy in December.”

Here’s what happened before this – the ten Hammond children are staying with the Worthams, whose farm is closest to theirs. Their mother died last Christmas and their father, George, is ill-equipped to raise one children, let alone ten. The task falls mostly to the oldest Hammond daughter, Lizbeth, and Mrs. Wortham. Last year at Christmas, George Hammond tried to end his life, but Samuel Wortham found him in time. This year, the Depression is even worse, and the economy even bleaker. They are struggling just to put food on the table for so many mouths, and to find sugar to bake cookies with and material to sew a small doll from as a gift. Anyway, George Hammond has disappeared and has left everyone else wondering where he is and what he is doing during a snowstorm right before Christmas.

As the tag suggests, here’s the next several sentences:

“He’d a’ took the horse and wagon if he was going to town,” Kirk echoed Franky’s understanding. “It don’t take no wagon to haul home Christmas candy,” Joe argued. He forced a little smile. “He didn’t have money for that much.”

“Well, he’s a grown man,” I told everyone. “And since it is December, it’s probably best not to keep up our guessing.” I knew the skepticism in the children’s faces, especially Willy and Kirk. But I deeply appreciated Joe’s optimism. Far better for the little ones to have a little ordinary hopefulness than a fearful doubting of their father’s intentions.

Let’s see, I’m supposed to tag five others for this… I guess I’ll tag:

1. Gail at More Than a Song
2. Lynne at Lynne’s Little Corner
3. Kim at Mom’s Musings
4. Karen at Over the Backyard Fence
5. Katrina at Callapidder Days

P.S. I haven’t checked to see if any of them have already been tagged. If you have, I’m sorry for not checking first! 🙂

I saw this over at Lynne‘s blog (here), and thought it looked like fun. I always like to read some seasonal books at Christmas. Last year, I checked several out of the library, and this year, I asked for and received a couple as birthday gifts. So, I’m really looking forward to reading these before the end of the year, although the challenge runs until the end of January 2009.

The Winter Holiday Reading Challenge is hosted by BookinHand and the original post is here. Go check it out and sign up, if you want 🙂

Here’s the books I’m planning to read for this challenge:

1. A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber
2. Till Morning is Nigh by Leisha Kelly
3. The Spirit of the Season (Grace Chapel Inn book 8, Guideposts books) by Dana Corbit

Bonus: If I get to it, I might read a book that my mother-in-law gave me, an older book of several short stories with Christmas themes, called Christmas Dreams.

Happy Reading!

Here’s a couple of random quotes I have marked from one of the non-fiction books I am reading. It’s called “One Month to Live: 30 Days to a No-Regrets Life” and is a book we’re doing in conjunction with a sermon series at our church. The book is written by Kerry and Chris Shook. I’m really enjoying what it says, but I do have trouble with the “assignments”. I always do. I’m not really a self-help or deep-involved kind of study/reader. I wish I was, but it’s not my nature to do the kind of exercises that these books employ. Still, I’m enjoying it 🙂

God says to you and me today, “Remember who you are. You are My child. you are a child of the King.” Too many people today have forgotten their Creator, so they have completely missed out on the purpose and meaning of life. They’re not really living; they’re just existing. They don’t know their place in life because they have forgotten whose they are, and therefore they have forgotten who they are.”

And another one from the next chapter:

The great theologian Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Our greatest pleasure in life often comes from serving others, from giving them what no one else can provide in that exact time and place, whether it’s a hot meal, a kind word, a listening ear, or a strong shoulder. We must be willing to be guided by the One who knows us best.

Hope you have a wonderful and blessed day!

I’m cheating again and posting here what I wrote over at GoodReads about two books I recently finished. The first is Katie’s Dream by Leisha Kelly and the second is The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. I enjoyed them both, quite a bit, but then again, I tend to enjoy most every single book I read on one level or another! You can’t use me for recommendations 🙂

Katies Dream: A Novel by Leisha Kelly

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the third book in the Wortham family series by Leisha Kelly. I read these 3 books back to back to back, which is highly unusual for me. But I love the writing, love the characters, love the lessons it teachers, and I love the simplicity of these books. I believe the stories are going to go on in the next set of books by Kelly, the Country Road Chronicles (which I’ve been “collecting”!), but I’m going to take a break between reading them and read some other things first. I like to have a little anticipation for books I know I’m going to enjoy and characters I love to return to.

If you like old-fashioned, good, heartwarming Christian fiction, then these are good books for you. I’ve certainly been enjoying them 🙂

View all my reviews.

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is another really good novel, at least to me, from one of my favorite authors. I usually buy Nicholas Spark’s books in hardcover when they come out, although I tend to wait nearly a year to read it, before the next one comes out, so I always have one waiting in the wings of his to read, if I want to! Which makes absolutely no sense to anyone but me, but that’s one of my reading quirks.

I don’t want to write much about this book, because I don’t want to give anything away. I usually really enjoy most of his books, and this one was no exception. I like light, predictable love stories. I like the way he builds characters and crafts a story, especially a love story. This book was a great example of that. If you’ve liked most of his other love stories, I think you’d really like this one too 🙂

View all my reviews.

For the record, I’ve completed 73 books with a total of 24,199 pages. Up next is an older book I picked up at a library sale by Christian author Lisa Samson. It appears to be one of her earlier works, and is probably 8-10 years old. It’s a romance and is called “The Moment I Saw You.” After that, I’ll either read more Christian fiction or maybe mix in a cozy or mystery. Depends on my mood. I’m definitely a moody reader 🙂

Happy Reading!