Book Worm

I love to read. I've always loved to read, but I haven't always made the time. I think in High School I got burned out reading because I never seemed to enjoy the books we had to read for English Class. I also don't enjoy having to pick a book apart for an assignment... I enjoy reading just for the pleasure of it. Sometimes I find myself picking books apart and analyzing them, but I don't like being assigned to do it. When I got married, I didn't read much. I was working full time and trying to "be a good wife" in the evenings, which didn't include hibernating in another room with a novel. Besides, I just didn't know what kind of good books were out there. That's when I started reading the "Work and the Glory" series, but I started when there were just 2 or 3, so I had to wait a year for the next one to come out so I could get my "Steed" fix. Then I had kids and who has time to read with a full time job and a toddler?

It wasn't until I had Ian that I really jumped back into the "reading" world head on. About the same time he was born the 4th Harry Potter book was released. I'd never heard of them, but my mom saw a special about the books on the Today show and decided to buy them at Costco. She figured they would be good books to have around for the grandkids when they got a bit older. She decided to read the first one, just to see what they were like. It was all over after that. She read all 4 back to back and then brought her set to me. I had a newborn, so lots of time to read, right? I was skeptical, but read all four in just a couple weeks. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading a good book (or books in this case!) I'm amazed no one ever snapped a picture of me sitting in my rocking chair, holding Ian with a bottle and balancing a HP book all at the same time. I became quite good at it!

A little while later, a friend of mine started a "book club" in our ward. I was a total skeptic again. Reading books so you can discuss and analzye them? Totally made me think of High School all over again! Yuck... so I convienently avoided it for a long time. But, I had a great friend, Lisa, who would lend me her copy of the Book Club book after she was done with it, and say, "Christy, you have to read this... it's an amazing book." So, I would.... reluctantly, but I always enjoyed the books she passed on. Finally, I decided to attend Book Club. It had been a crazy month (Eric was in the thick of his MBA program) and I desperately needed a night away. So, I went.... LOVED it... had a GREAT time... made some NEW friends.... and have been a Book Club Enthusiast ever since!

I decided I wanted to post a list of some of my favorite Book Club books - and these are ones that I would have NEVER picked up and read on my own. Obvious Favorites (like HP and Twilight will not be on this list....):

• It's Not About the Bike (memoir by Lance Armstrong)


• Letters of a Nation


• The Hiding Place


• The Eyre Affair (and all sequels)


• Three Weeks with my Brother


• The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency (series)


• Once Upon a Town


• These is my Words


• The Mitford Series


• The Giver (and sequels)


• Slave


• Rebecca

I've also become quite a fan of Young Adult Fiction. It's generally cleaner and tamer and shorter. I've read quite a bit of it trying to find good books for my kids to read in school. Here's some of my favorites in the YA category:

• Twilight series


• Harry Potter series


• Artemis Fowl series (newest one just got released and I'm chomping at the bit waiting for Taylor to finish it so I can read it....)


• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)


• Ella Enchanted


• Anything written by Eoin Colfer (author of Artemis Fowl)


• Anything written by Gail Carson Levine (author of Ella Enchanted)


• Anything written by Shannon Hale (author of the Princess Academy)


• Stargirl


• The Chronicles of Narnia


• Fablehaven

I just discovered this blog and can't wait to explore it more along with all it's great "book" links... hey, this girl is LDS and likes Stephenie Meyer, so she must be a kindred spirit.....

So since most of us still have several weeks of HOT weather left to endure... head to the library, pick up a book or two and just enjoy some good quality time indoors!

What are your favorite books???

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