Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Well, not recently, but that’s supposedly what goes on around here. It seems like every time I come back to blog it’s been a week (or more) since I was here last. And believe me, it’s not that I don’t want to spend time with all of you who stop by; it’s just that the time keeps slipping away.

Anyway, on to a bit of this and a bit of that…

~Last Monday I visited the doctor for my first prenatal appointment. I was able to hear the baby’s heartbeat, which is always fun. Everything is going well, and the due date is set for mid-April. I thought it might be a little less awe-inspiring this time since I’ve been here before, but I was wrong. I can’t wait until my next visit and the opportunity to hear that sweet sound again. (as an aside: the baby is currently known as Baby Boo and will be referred to as such for the foreseeable future)

~The morning sickness seems to be letting up. I still have my moments, but overall I’m feeling better. I’m very glad at this turn of events.

~Little and I contracted a head-cold last week. I hate having a stuffy nose. Little didn’t sleep well at all on Saturday night because she couldn’t suck her thumb and breath at the same time, which means none of us slept well. Needless to say, we didn’t do much this weekend.

~I finished Memoirs of a Geisha, the first book from my Fall Into Reading list. I really enjoyed the book and found myself caught up in the narrative of the peasant-girl-turned-kept-woman to the point that I didn’t want to quit reading. Arthur Golden does a great job of story-telling and presenting exotic places and people in a such a way that I could picture them in my mind. If you haven’t read this one yet, I would recommend it (but be warned that there are a few parts that are quite risque).

~The “Bookshelf” portion of my sidebar is being updated to contain the books I’ve chosen to read this fall. If I add anything to my list, I will also add it to the bookshelf.

~I love to read on recommendation. If you have a favorite book, or a book you’ve read recently that you really enjoyed, I would love to hear about it. Please leave me a note in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully I’ll meet you here again soon!

Fall is in the air – the leaves are beginning to change, pumpkins and mums are showing up at the stores, and the overnight temperatures are getting cooler. The new season officially begins today, and so does the Fall Into Reading 2007 challenge at Callapidder Days. I’m excited about setting and meeting some reading goals over the next few months, and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else will be reading as the cooler days come.

This time around I’m going a bit lighter on the non-fiction since I had such a tough time motivating myself in the Spring. This list is subject to addition, deletion, and any other type of modification as I see fit.

Non-fiction:
The Mommy Manual by Barbara Curtis
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, et al. (finish reading)

Fiction:
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Butterfly Effect by James Swallow
Eden Close by Anita Shreve
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne Brashares
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Bible Study:
I’m currently participating in a study of the book of Matthew through Bible Study Fellowship International; the questions and reading required for my class will be my Bible study time for now.

If you would like to join in the fun, or to view the reading lists of other participants, visit Callapidder Days.

As Spring winds to a close, so does the Spring Reading Thing that Katrina has been hosting at Callapidder Days. The challenge has been good and bad, but overall I’ve enjoyed reading with some goals in mind.

My original reading list can be found here. Reviews of Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Double Bind are here. And an update from approximately half-way through the challenge can be found here.

I did well on the fiction portion of my list making it through Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Double Bind, The Yada Yada Prayer Group, and Peace Like a River with no problem. I am currently reading Sense and Sensibility and expect to have it finished by the first of next week. Over the course of the last three months I picked up several additional fiction books that I completed as well. I have done short reviews/recaps of all the books in a separate post.

On the non-fiction portion of my list, I didn’t do so well. I have realized a couple of reasons that I have a harder time reading fiction, though. As I mentioned in my earlier update I like to read at bedtime, and, for me, non-fiction doesn’t lend itself to bedtime reading. I don’t want to read anything while I’m winding down that requires a lot of effort to read for comprehension or that makes me think (as thinking tends to impede sleeping). Also, I like to read quickly and I can’t read both for comprehension and speed. Finally, one reason I like to read as a form of mental escape; I want to be swept up in the characters, setting, and plot and feel like I’m observing the story. This just isn’t possible with a lot of non-fiction. I do still plan to read or finish reading all of the books on my non-fiction list, I just don’t know when.

As to my Bible reading, I didn’t do nearly as well as I would have liked (discipline, my child), but I did finish 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Nehemiah, and Ephesians.

Probably my favorite of the new books I’ve read this Spring was Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. I wasn’t sure about it at the very beginning, but it didn’t take long for the characters and story to draw me in and keep me wanting more. It is a touching and memorable story of family and a son’s view on a father touched by God. Mr. Enger writes in a classic literary style; his characters are deep and distinctly human.

My least favorite book of the Spring had to be Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. This was one on my master reading list that I picked up at the library a couple of weeks ago. I just couldn’t get into it, and only made it through about the first 100 pages. Not the book for me.

I really enjoyed most of the reading I did the last few months. My master reading list is getting to be quite hefty (and only grew as I read the lists of other participants), so it was nice to have a smaller “goal” list from which to choose books. I’m looking forward to participating in the Fall reading challenge when the time rolls around.

Thanks to Katrina for pulling the challenge together and for all of your work on the book give aways. To see the wrap-ups for other participants, click here.

During the Spring Reading Thing I’ve read several novels; here are recaps/reviews of the books I’ve read since March 21st (in addition to Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Double Bind – reviews here):

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella: another light and quick read from the author of the Shopaholic books. It is an entertaining story of friendship, family quirks, office politics, and co-worker romances.

Next by Michael Crichton: Mr. Crichton delves into genetic engineering, bioethics, cloning, and the inner workings of bio-industry in this sci-fi/science thriller about what the next step in evolution will be. It wasn’t my favorite of his books, but I can’t give a fully accurate opinion of it because I had about 100 pages left to read when I had to return it to the library.

Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy: a series of stories revolving around a shrine to St. Ann at a well near the Irish town of Rossmore. I really prefer novels to short story collections, but I like the way Maeve Binchy weaves together characters and locations in her stories. This collection includes tales of love, greed, alcoholism, infidelity, and many other topics as seen through the eyes of the pious and not-so-pious, the young and old, the locals and visitors.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger: Told from the perspective of a grown man looking back on a couple of years in his childhood, this is a novel about family, perseverance, and doing the right thing even if that isn’t what you want to do. Written in a classic literary style, Mr. Enger develops deep characters and creates wonderful word pictures. If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend adding it to your “to be read” list.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson: I’m not a big Christian fiction fan because, in my experience, the plots tend to be predictable in an “everything works out in the end” kind of way, and this book wasn’t an exception to that rule. That being said, I could relate to the main character in many ways and did, for the most part, enjoy the book. This is the story (first in a series) of a group of women who meet by “chance” when they are assigned to the same prayer group at a Christian women’s conference. Through circumstances of the weekend they decide to keep the group together after the conference and see each other through various situations both in friendship and prayer.

Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells: I really can’t say much about this book as I didn’t make it past the first 100 pages. I just couldn’t get into the characters or story.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle: The children’s classic about three children who travel through time with the help of Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit. It is a story of love for one’s father, good vs. evil, and the time-space continuum. I read this once in elementary school, but I didn’t remember much about the story. I really enjoyed this book; the characters are likable, the writing held my attention, and the story is fun in a serious sort of way.

I think that covers them all; I hope you’ve enjoyed your Spring reading as much as I have.

Okay, so I have to admit that I’ve fallen off the wagon with my Spring Reading Thing list. I have been reading, but I’ve only finished 2 of the books on my original list (see book reviews here).

One thing I’ve learned about myself during this challenge is that it is very difficult for me to read non-fiction at night (before bed); by that time I am tired and looking for light, enjoyable stories that don’t require a tremendous amount of thought. Right now, most of my reading time is after Little goes to bed, so I am falling woefully behind on my non-fiction reading goals. Hopefully, I will be able to finish at least one of the non-fiction books on my original list by the end of the challenge (June 21st).

So, if I haven’t been reading from my list, what have I been reading?

Next by Michael Crichton (I got down to the last 100 pages and it was due back to the library; I’ll have to check it out again in a couple of weeks)

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (another cute, light book by the author of Confessions of a Shopaholic)

And fresh from the library today:

Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy (one of my favorite modern authors)

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (from my original list)

I am also sad to say that I have fallen way behind on my Bible reading; I really need to buckle down and get back to doing quite time like I should.

Anywho, off to read for a bit while Little rests. Enjoy the beautiful day (assuming it is as pretty where you are as it is here right now)!

Two weeks and two books deep in the Spring Reading Thing I thought I would write a couple of book reviews. I will keep them short because I have a tendency to tell the story if I try to get too deep with a review. Knowing this, you now know that it might not be in your best interest to ask me what a book is about; especially if you plan to read it.

Anyway, the books I’ve completed are Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella and The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian.

Confessions of a Shopaholic ~ Sophie Kinsella crafted a cute, kind of quirky, and entertaining book. I enjoyed the first person narrative and really got a sense of being “in” the character’s head. As a spender, there were many parts where I thought, “I know that feeling,” or “I can relate to that;” though, fortunately, without the debt looming over my head. I would definitely recommend this book as a fun and funny read; good beach or poolside reading material for the summer. I plan to read the other books in this series as well.

The Double Bind: A Novel ~ I finished this book over a week ago, and I’m still thinking about it. In fact, I might go back and read it again at some point now that I know how it ends. The main character is a social worker with the homeless who was victim of a vicious attack in college; both of these shape her character and are intrinsic to the story. The story is very intertwined with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby which is a book I’ve read several times and a story I enjoy. Being a fan of Gatsby, and not a fan of the new trend of “completing” the stories of classics, I spent most of the book thinking about how much I didn’t like how Bohjalian was using the Gatsby characters, but by the end, I felt that his use of the Gatsby story had been redeemed as all the pieces fell together. Bohjalian is a very good writer who develops his characters and stories well. I’ve enjoyed each of his books I’ve read and am glad I read this one, too.

Well, I’m off to read some more!