I don’t know if it’s because both my parents were educators, they read to me a lot as a child, I love spending time (not to mention lots of money) in bookstores and libraries, or because my playpen, as the story goes, was in a room surrounded by shelves and shelves of books, but my first word was “book”.
I read to my children everyday. Lola’s current favorites are Curious George and Dancing Feet and Lucas can now read chapter books and has discovered Nate the Great. He is dying to start the Harry Potter series, which believe it or not, I haven’t read!
Sadly, since I’ve had children my leisure reading has been cut in half. I miss it very much. There is nothing better than getting lost in a good book. Historical fiction modern day fiction are suspense novels are my favorite.
Books can transport you to another place and time and introduce you to interesting characters that you don’t normally encounter in your day-to-day life. I enjoy the relaxation of reading, especially when hours have passed and I don’t even realize it because I’m so enthralled in a good book. Sitting quietly with a juicy epic is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures and brings me a lot of peace.
My Personal Book Facts:
- I am a founding member of a book club called JUGS (Just Us Girls) that my friend, Nancy and I started almost 12 (!) years ago and I used to live for our monthly meetings. Our discussions were always lively, fun and thought provoking. If it weren’t for our group, there are many books I would have missed. Unfortunately, despite many attempts to revive the group, it hasn’t met since 2010. People just got too busy.
- I have a really hard time starting a book without finishing it, no matter how much I may want to throw it into the fireplace (i.e. Saving Graces, a terrible JUGS selection), however, the older I get, the more I realize life is just too short to read crap!
- I always start books in bed.
- One of my very best friends is in my life today because we initially bonded over books. Thank goodness for Patricia Cornwell and Kay Scarpetta!
- Since 1999, I have kept a list of every book I have read maintaining (pre-mommyhood) an average of 35 books per year. Now it’s more like 15. My father also kept a list of the books he read and I often turn to it for recommendations.
- My husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas 2014 and the purist in me took six months before I downloaded my first book and several weeks to actually read it, but now I’m head over heels hooked!
Some of my favorites include (in no particular order):
1. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
2. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
5. The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
10. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
11. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
12. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (this book moved me so much I write a blog post about it called Unwavering.
13. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
14. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (the first book I read on my Kindle!)
15. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
16. My next book!
Love her or hate her, I believe Oprah Winfrey single-highhandedly got our nation reading again when she established her book club in 1996. All hail the Queen!
As any voracious reader knows, there are so many books out there, it can be hard to choose just what to read next. I’m always in the middle of book, even if ends up taking me a month to read! At the moment I am in between books and this is a place I don’t like to be.
What’s up next on my reading list? Good question. My husband and I are going to New York next week without the children, so I want something juicy and epic for the plane ride there and home. I have a ton of titles on my Goodreads list to read. 979 to be exact and I’m always adding to it, but I want to know recommendations! I’m thinking The Goldfinch. Have you read it?
What are you currently reading?
I wrote a version of this post in October 2009 called Bibliophilia.
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I love your list. My recommendations are “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks (and I love most of her books); “March” by Geraldine; “The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simion; “The All Girl’s Filling Station Last Reunion” by Fannie Flagg. Keep sneaking in those moments to read!