SO MANY CHOICES, SO LITTLE TIME! — CHOOSING — JUNE 6

Welcome to another Booking Through Thursday, during which we ponder our bookish topics.  Like today’s:

 

What makes you choose the books you read?
Genre? Reviews? Certain authors? Covers? Recommendations?

 

***

Before blogging, I would choose a book in the bookstore based on its cover and blurb, as well as the author’s name.  I usually picked up books by favorite/familiar authors.  Maybe someone had recommended the book.

But nowadays, I find books I want to read from seeing them on blogs and reading what other bloggers have to say about them.  I also find books on Goodreads.  As a result, my world of reading has expanded exponentially.

And so have my stacks!

I still choose books from favorite authors, but my list of favorites has definitely grown.

Here are some books I’ve discovered from blogging that would not have been on my radar otherwise:

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, by Tom Franklin (Read in 2010) (Click for review)

Godmother:  The Secret Cinderella Story, by Carolyn Turgeon (also read in 2010)

 

Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan (Read in 2012 – and When She Woke, by this author)

 

Ninepins, by Rosy Thornton (and her previous book, too! – The Tapestry of Love)

 

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (and the previous books Sharp Objects and Dark Places)

 

These examples are books I probably would not have known about or chosen without blogging.  So I can safely say that I find most of my reading material from other blogs these days.

What about you?

 

CHILDHOOD VS. ADULT — WHAT ATTRACTS YOU NOW? — MAY 23

Welcome to another bookish conversation via Booking Through Thursday.

Here is the prompt for today:

Have your reading habits changed since you were a child? (I mean, I’m assuming you have less time to read now, but …) Did you devour and absorb books when you were 10 and only just lightly read them now? Did you re-read frequently as a child but now only read new books? How about types of books? Do you find yourself still attracted to the kinds of books you read when you were a kid?

***

I am now in my second childhood, in that, as a freelance writer and retiree (after a thirty-year career), I once again have lots of reading time.  But my habits have definitely changed.

As a blogger/reviewer, I find myself drawn to a wider range of books, and I have gone outside my comfort zone on many occasions.  Whereas, in childhood, I stuck to favorites and even reread them many times, like Little Women, Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, and a favorite romance author that I reread a couple of years ago, and thought:  Huh?

At some point—I think it was in college—I found myself drawn to books about relationships, issues, and a darker undercurrent.  And now these are my current favorites.  Along with mysteries, psychological thrillers, etc.

But I always love discovering new-to-me authors, and embrace the experiences in an almost child-like manner.

What about you?

 

Some recent favorites:

 

Tapestry of Fortunes, Elizabeth Berg (Click to see Review)

 

Don’t Go, by Lisa Scottoline

 

Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine, by Ann Hood

And, of course, the books by Gillian Flynn, Chevy Stevens,  and  Sophie Hannah.

I had read none of these authors pre-blogging.  So these are my new attractions.  Tell us about yours….

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: SILLY (AND OR) FOOLISH READS — APRIL 4

Welcome to another Booking Through Thursday, where we explore bookish thoughts.

Today’s Exploration:

What’s the silliest (most foolish?) book you’ve ever read? Did you enjoy it?

***

I had to search through my blog bookshelves for this one.  And then ponder just what silly or foolish might mean, in terms of this question.

I found three books that hint at silly, or funny….and a couple seem kind of foolish.

A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan, was foolish in the sense that it stretched the imagination and posed quandaries.

 

Here’s one thought from my review, which tells you a bit about how the book made me feel:  “It was sometimes difficult to read this book, which was compelling and haunting and a bit disturbing. There was one section in the book that was filled with word diagrams instead of regular prose (a Power Point presentation)…several pages of them. I found this style to be disruptive, and because of this aspect of the book, I am deducting one star.”

***

Then there’s The Effect of Living Backwards, by Heidi Julavits.

The story centers around a “controlled experiment” on a flight that exposes vulnerabilities and rivalries and twists everything from reality to fantasy and back again.

Here were some thoughts:  “As a reader, I felt confused most of the time, intrigued some of the time, and quite happy to finally finish this ‘experiment.’ Boldly contrived and brilliantly articulated, the author shows the reader her talent for philosophical issues and experiments. But I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who enjoys simply reading and understanding a story. And while I admired the effort, I didn’t enjoy it. Therefore, three stars.”

***

And finally, my third example is silly and truly funny.  And I did enjoy it!

Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run, by Lucy Adams, is full of life’s embarrassing and silly moments.

 

A snippet from my review:  “Join a 40 year-old bridesmaid on her journey to walk down the aisle, delve into a magnolia massacre, attend a hawg killin’ with the communists, do some island living country style, and inflict vicarious revenge on the inventor of the balloon. Adams’s wit will make you turn around and check your own underwear. Best of all we each can relax in the realization that we’re not the only ones running with our skirts tucked in our panties.”

***

Did you enjoy traipsing through your book titles to find today’s answer?  I am so glad that on the weekend I finally went through and linked the titles from 2010 and 2011!  It was quite a task, but comes in handy for events like this one.

Come on by and share!

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: CURRENT READ — FEB. 28

Welcome to another Booking Through Thursday, where we have a conversation about bookish things.

Today’s prompt:

One of those quick, easy questions that I ask periodically because the answer is always changing:

What are you reading right now? (And, is it good? Would you recommend it? How did you choose it?)

 

That’s pretty simple.  I’ve been working my way through my stacks via some challenges, like my Mt. TBR Challenge and the Sequel Challenge.

My current read fits both.  I bought Knit Two in 2010:  wow, a long time ago; but I actually have some on my Old TBRs that I’ve had longer.  I had purchased this book right after finishing and loving the first book in the series:  The Friday Night Knitting Club.

I chose the first book, and subsequently this one, because I love books about the friendships between women, especially those when people gather together around common interests and then form a bond.

In this second book, we follow the characters from the first one, and add some new ones.  I’m loving the bonds, the conflicts, the secrets…all the stuff of wonderful characterization (IMO).

I should finish this one this morning and post my review. 

What are the rest of you reading?

 

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: LIBRARY VISITS — FEB. 21

Welcome to another edition of Booking Through Thursday.  Check out the link for everyone else who is chatting today.

Today’s topic is very timely….it’s something I’ve been thinking about lately.

How often do you visit a library? Do you go to borrow books? Do research? Check out the multi-media center? Hang out with the friendly and knowledgeable staff? Are you there out of love or out of need?

***

Last week, I even mentioned my neighborhood library when we talked about our bookish love.

For a long time, I had stopped visiting the library, except for when my computer was in the shop and I went there to borrow their computers.

I have been buying books for quite awhile.  I loved the idea of having my own personal library.  But I got a little carried away!  My stacks grew to gigantic proportions, with bookshelves in every room, in the hallway, in the bathroom, in the pantry….

So I started exploring the library again.  Slowly and carefully, because I hate having to return books unread because of that expiration date!

Now I make my online requests for books and go to pick them up.  And while I’m there, I might glance around at the shelves…cautiously.  And sometimes leave with an extra book or two.  Here’s a photo of my library.

So far I haven’t returned any unread.

But, like most of my obsessions, I tend to go too far….which is why I carefully mix in books from my stacks and review books when I’m making my reading list for the week.   And then I slip in a library book.

This week, I’ve read two library books and one review book.  I finished Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain, the final book in the series that I hadn’t yet read.  Worked out for me.

And I’m now reading Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich:  another series book.  I had joined a Sequel Challenge for this year, so both books will work for it.

I also like to take my grandson to the library.  Here’s the children’s section.

What is your library experience like?  Do you go?  If not, why not?

**Addendum:  I just remembered a vital piece of my history with libraries!  In the early 1960s, I worked at the County Schools Library in the town where I lived, selecting and packaging books for the schools.  And when I started college, I worked in the college library for awhile.

 

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: BOOKISH LOVE — FEB. 14

Welcome to another great bookish journey, with Booking Through Thursday.

Today’s Thoughts to Ponder:

Not the kind of “love” question you’re expecting for Valentine’s Day. No, what I want to know is:

What do you love most about reading?

***

I cannot imagine my life without books to read.  For as far back as I recall, I’m curled up with a good book.

In my childhood, books took me out of the dreary world of chores and isolation and on various journeys to unimaginable destinations.  My childhood favorites included Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and the Nancy Drew books.

Later I fell in love with romance books, although I didn’t read books for teens.  I don’t recall too many intriguing teen stories back in the day.  So grown-up romances were my passion.  And when I read them, I was in love.

Nowadays, I still enjoy a foray into the world of characters, veering between mysteries and women’s fiction, with an occasional stop at a good psychological thriller.

I like a series, because when I fall in love with a character, I want to follow that character ad infinitum.

I picked up two sequel books at the library yesterday….and can’t wait to dive in.

I also love libraries, even though most of my books now are books I purchase, or books sent to me for review.  Here’s my neighborhood library, another reason I love to read.  I feel at home in libraries.  Whenever I move to a new town (and I moved a lot as a young adult), I find the library before anything else.

At home, I curl up and read at one of my reading spots, which I featured last week.  Here’s another view.

 

What do you love about reading?

 

 

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: THE INFLUENCE OF OTHERS — FEB. 7

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, where we explore bookish topics.

Today’s Exploration:

Do other people influence what you choose to read? When a family member recommends something, or a friend says they hated a book you were planning to read … does it affect your reading choices?

***

I am not overly influenced by the reading choices of friends or relatives, since most of them are either non-readers or are drawn to different kinds of books.

Not that I don’t read outside my normal genre.  I have spent a lot of time in the past few years doing just that, via various challenges, and by trying out books recommended by others.  Those “others,” of course, are other bloggers.

When I see a book that is “hyped” a lot, I am not necessarily drawn to it.  I may consider it, but probably won’t jump on the bandwagon.  But when a blogger who often enjoys the same books I do recommends one, then I’m willing to give that one a try.

As a result, I’ve discovered some wonderful books over the past few years.  Here are a few favorites I discovered from the blogging world:

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (click for review)

 

Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan (I read and loved When She Woke by the same author)

 

The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (a 2011 favorite)

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, by Beth Hoffman (Another 2011 favorite)

And there are many more….some way out of my comfort zone, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

 

In fact I find so many books on blogs these days, that my shelves are overflowing…and my Sparky is on the way to overflowing, too!

These are the tip of the iceberg.

How do you discover the books you read?

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: TO LEND OR NOT TO LEND — JAN. 31

Welcome to another Booking Through Thursday, a day for exploring bookish topics.

Today’s Questions:

Do you lend your books? Are any out on loan right now? Do you have any that have been loaned to you? Do you put a time limit on these? Do you think people should make an effort to read the loaned book quickly?

***

I don’t make a practice to lend books, but I have one friend who lives in Northern California, and we do swap books on loan.  She has a couple of mine, and I can’t even remember which ones.  But she always returns them.

It takes awhile, because she doesn’t travel down here as much as she once did.  And I don’t go there much, either.

I have four books of hers:  the Nora Roberts’ Brides Quartet.

We haven’t discussed when they should be returned…and I am sad to say that I haven’t even started reading them yet.  I’ve had them for almost a year.

My plan was to read them, one after the other.  I should probably do that.

I don’t know why I didn’t jot down the names of the two books she borrowed, but there you go.  A casual exchange, which is not at all like me…lol; in fact, as I write this, I feel a bit guilty about it all.  And for awhile, the books I borrowed were sitting on my nightstand so I could be reminded of them…but now they’re tucked away on a shelf at the foot of my bed.

But she has always returned the books she borrows, and so have I.  In fact, she borrows more than I do.

What about the rest of you?  A casual kind of lending, or something more formalized?  Do you have time tables?

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: WINTER READS — JAN. 17

Welcome to another Booking Through Thursday, our event that allows us to share bookish thoughts.

Here’s today’s prompt:

It’s the depth of winter here where I live right now … what books do you like to read when it’s snowy and white? What books do you read to evoke a real feeling of winter (good or bad)?

***

It never gets snowy or white here, but rain and fog surround us, and it’s cold enough!  Judging from last month’s choices, as well as the ones I’ve read this month, some of my favorites of the season include lush books that span decades; good mysteries, both the thriller kind and the cozies; a few memoirs; and anything that involves curling up with a cup of tea or coffee.  And the book, of course.

Like these: (Click for reviews)

Windfall, by Penny Vincenzi

Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian

A Thousand Pardons, by Jonathan Dee

There Was an Old Woman, by Hallie Ephron

And here are some from last winter:

The Girl in the Green Raincoat, by Laura Lippman

Bogey Nights, by Marja McGraw

***

So there’s a sampling of my cold weather choices.  What about yours?  I’m off to find out!

 

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: GIFTS — JAN. 10

Welcome to another Booking Through Thursday.  I’m late today because I’ve been fiddling around with this blog.  I’m not sure I’m “finished,” but I’m taking a break.

Here’s today’s topic:

It’s my Dad’s birthday today, which makes me wonder … do you like to give books as gifts?

I’m usually torn. I love giving and sharing books, but it can be hard. The giftee can be difficult to please, or you don’t know what they’ve read (or what they thought of books they have read). Even people who love to read and love to get books can be hard to gift books to … so, does that make you pause and reach for the neckties or DVDs or sweaters … anything BUT a book at gift-giving time? How do you feel about getting books yourself? Are you picky or easy? (For the record, I’m told I’m VERY hard to buy for, even though I’ll read just about anything … go figure.

***

That’s an easy one for me.  For those who enjoy books, I give a gift card from bookstores or online venues.  That takes the guesswork out of gifting…and for people who know me, they also understand that I, too, love gift cards.

My daughter bought me something unexpected, yet bookish, a couple of years ago:  she bought Sparky, my Kindle!

What about the rest of you?  What do you do when gifting?