So Many Books, So Little Time

I have a ton of books.  And I have moved many of them several times.  The hubs and I are moving again this summer and I have accumulated quite a few books since we moved almost 2 years.  I am starting to wonder how many of them I really want to move again.  For example, I own quite a few Anne Rice books (10+) and I have moved them at least 8 times and across different states.  When I bought them I was sure that I would reread them because I love Anne Rice's writing...but I haven't.  There are quite a few books I own because I JUST HAD to have them on my shelf.  Now I am starting to rethink this.  A lot of the books I would want to get rid of are on the 'looking for' board at Half Price Books. I also have four bookshelves in my dining room.  Two are lovely huge oak bookshelves while two of them are smaller and less nice looking but still match each other.  I would kind of like to use the smaller shelves for other things when we mov...

In Honor of Banned Books Week, I feel like I should post my thoughts on banning books.   Few things bother me more than the idea that certain books are ‘inappropriate’ because they tackle difficult issues or bring up subjects that make people uncomfortable.   I feel like if you don’t want to read a book because of its content, that’s your choice but you don’t get to make that choice for me.   The Giver came out when I was in sixth grade and lived in small town Utah.   I remember that the school library wouldn’t allow this book to be put in circulation and that just made me want to read it even more.   My mom ended up buying it for me just to spite the school.   I didn’t even know what The Giver was about but I wanted to read it because someone told me that I couldn’t and I am glad I did because it is an amazing book. I also tend to get annoyed with the people who say things like Harry Potter is Satanic and blah blah blah.   They obviously haven’t ...

I am so excited!  I pre-ordered "The Summer Garden" by Paullina Simons and was able to download it to my nook this morning.  I started reading it while I was eating breakfast and can already tell that I am going to love it!

Summertime is here and with that comes Summer reading!!  When I lived in California I would take my book out on the patio or to the beach and spend the day reading outside.  Here in the Midwest, it is a little to hot for me to spend the day outside reading so it's something to do inside in the air conditioning.  This summer I am participating in the summer reading program at the library.  The goal for that program is to read five books set in five different continents which I think sounds fun!  I also hope to catch up on books I have purchased and haven't had time for yet. What's in your Beach Bag? is a summer reading link up for bloggers hosted by http://lifeisshort-readfast.blogspot.com/ and http://readingwithmartinis.com/ .  It's a way to show off what you are excited to read this summer.  If you are interested in participating, you should check out their blogs for more information. My summer list is kind of long and I am not sure if I will g...

From Goodreads:  Nina Sankovitch has always been a reader. As a child, she discovered that a trip to the local bookmobile with her sisters was more exhilarating than a ride at the carnival. Books were the glue that held her immigrant family together. When Nina's eldest sister died at the age of forty-six, Nina turned to books for comfort, escape, and introspection. In her beloved purple chair, she rediscovered the magic of such writers as Toni Morrison, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ian McEwan, Edith Wharton, and, of course, Leo Tolstoy. Through the connections Nina made with books and authors (and even other readers), her life changed profoundly, and in unexpected ways. Reading, it turns out, can be the ultimate therapy. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair also tells the story of the Sankovitch family: Nina's father, who barely escaped death in Belarus during World War II; her four rambunctious children, who offer up their own book recommendations while helping out with the cooking and cl...

I live in a relatively small town and from my past experience of living in small towns I have found that small town libraries are not very good.  This is so not the case for my local library...it is AWESOME!  They have such a great selection of books, DVD's, CD's and audio books that it is hard not to find what I want.  If they don't have it, they will do whatever they can to get it to you through Interlibrary Loan or by purchasing it for the library.  I really want to read Anne Easter Smith's new book "Queen by Right" and my local library did not have it and no other library wanted to loan it out through ILL so my library just went ahead and purchased it!  I also love how easy it is to use my library.  I can sit at home and search their online catalog, request all the books I want and they will get them off the shelf for me and email me when they are ready to be picked up.  I know that makes me kind of lazy but I don't always have time to run to the l...

I have been trying to use the library more this year and I just picked up several books that I am super excited to read! Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning- I love the Fever series!  This is the last book and after the major cliff hanger at the end of Dreamfever, I can't wait to dive into this one! Auschwitz:  A New History by Laurence Rees- This isn't a newly published book but I just recently heard about it.  It's supposed to include interviews from survivors as well as the Nazis working at the camp.  I am really interested in the Holocaust and World War II and am curious to see what this book brings to the table.  A Woman Nobly Planned:  Fact and Myth in the Legacy of Flora MacDonald by John J. Toffey :  The Outlander series really turned me on to Scottish history as well as the history of the Scottish Highlanders in America.  I found Flora MacDonald to be an intriguing figure in the series and am looking to learning more about her. I...

There are several books that have either just come out or will be coming out in the next couple months that I am super excited about. Queen by Right by Anne Easter Smith -Anne Easter Smith has written several novels that take place during the Wars of the Roses and that feature both Edward IV and Richard III.  I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her books and can not wait to read this one as it focuses on Edward and Richard's mother, Cecily Neville. The Summer Garden by Paullina Simons- This book was published a few years ago from what I can see but it is very expensive to buy in hardcover and I was unable to get it from my library.  It is coming out in June in paperback and I will be pre-ordering my copy so that I get it as soon as possible.  The Summer Garden is the third and final book in the "Tatiana and Alexander" trilogy.  It is also historical fiction but is set in America after World War II.  The first book in this trilogy, The Bronze Horseman , is an ...

I am a huge fan of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  Drums of Autumn and the books following it take place in Cross Creek, North Carolina where Jamie and Claire build a homestead, encounter Flora MacDonald and witness the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.  My brother is stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC which is present day Cross Creek and I was there visiting last week.  While I was visiting, we went to the Museum of the Cape Fear which hosts a pretty neat display about the Scottish Highlanders in Fayetteville as well as about Flora MacDonald and the beginning of the Revolutionary War in North Carolina.  We also drove past the site where Flora MacDonald College once stood (it has since been incorporated into another private college).  When I pointed out the sign, my brother asked "Who the heck is Flora MacDonald?!" and  I had a total nerd moment explaining who she was and how cool it was to see where some of my favorite books were set. ...