I may have become the worst blogger ever. I'm still reviewing regularly over at 5 Minutes for Books, but I guess that's all I have in me right now. Looking back at last month's Nightstand post, I read every single book except one on the list (A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri, which I might get to this month, but might not). But in addition to what's listed, I finished two other books:
Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham -- I loved it and my full review will post next week when it is published
Three of my reviews from last month's post have already published on 5 Minutes for Books (As Sweet as Honey, Nowhere But Home (giveaway still open through today!), and This Journal Belongs to Ratchet). but three others are still to come. I also have a handful of children's books to write reviews for, and hopefully I'll make some time to wipe my slate clean and get all caught up.
I was glad to truly think about what I needed/wanted to read last month and sort of stick to it. So what's in store for the next month?
I'm so happy to have received a copy of this! I've read about 1/3 and it's lovely!
This is for a blog tour, so I'll get to it for sure. Deadlines are working for me these days.
I took this book when a publisher pitched it to me as a YA/adult crossover. We had a nice little email back and forth about some of our recent faves, so I'm hoping I like this one. I have it scheduled for a giveaway in May.
Kyle (9) has already read the 1st one and is partway through this one. He's shared parts aloud with me. It sounds fun, and I look forward to reading it.
This is my 1st book by this author, and the intrigue has me intrigued.
I might get to The Last Camellia, which I'm looking forward to after enjoying a novel by Sarah Jio last year.
And I have to add in one last title, that I had been waiting on, but forgot about until it arrived today:
I've been waiting for this book, being a big fan of the author, Elissa Brent Weissman
Do you like this new format? Click on the pictures for more info. And be sure to click through to the What's on Your Nightstand meme at 5 Minutes for Books to see what others are reading.
My poor blog hasn't seen any action since last month's "What's on Your Nightstand" carnival. There are a lot of things I mean to write, most notably my fun mother-daughter trip to Los Angeles that Amanda and I took in February. I still want to document that, so hopefully soon.
But now on to books. . . .
I'm reading a lot of middle grade fiction this year. It's always satisfying for me, so I'm making an intentional effort to accept those titles for review. Here are some:
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet looks like sweet heartwarming story. It's next up on my list, because I have a review and giveaway scheduled for this weekend.
Before I read that one, I'd like to finish The Center of Everything by Linda Urban. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it, and it's okay, but I think I've decided that Linda Urban isn't really for me.
In addition to those two, I hope to get to at least one of these:
Paperboy is a story about a young boy who stutters, sure to be heartwarming and inspiring.
As for other books, I have a whole big stack. These are two I know I'll get to, because I have blog tour deadlines:
Nowhere but Home is a "touching and funny novel" by Liza Palmer, which are two things I love, especially when added to a small-town Texas setting.
Maya's Notebook is an entirely different sort of read, a coming-of-age story about family secrets. It's by Isabel Allende, who is an author I've wanted to read.
I was excited about these books when I selected them, because they are both by "foreign" authors with "foreign" settings (India and Iron respectively), but I've passed them over a bit. We'll see if I get to them:
I've been in an interesting reading pattern. In January and the first part of February I was focused on finishing the Cybils Middle Grade Finalists (I've just published some of my reviews). Then I had to read Michael Connelly's The Black Box for my Sony Reader VIP bookclub meet-up in LA, and I've felt a little aimless since then. In fat, I still feel a little aimless, reading-wise, but here are some books that are coming up soon on the pile:
A Nearly Perfect Copy is a story about a family of art dealers, promising family drama, "reckless behavior" and "disastrous consequences."
As Sweet as Honey -- "an enchanting story of family life that is a dance of love and grief and rebirth set on a gorgeous island in the Indian Ocean."
When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories by Molly Ringwald that is the Sony online bookclub pick for March. I'm actually almost finished with it and have enjoyed it so far.
And as always -- after looking at my calendar and books that I have coming up, these are some that I'll be sure to get to:
I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp -- which is also for a review and giveaway of the book and CD, but I will have to get to it soon -- as soon as I actually receive it, since it was delayed.
I enjoy this monthly opportunity to make some reading goals for myself. I've been feeling
I am a round 2 judge for the Cybils, so I have a few books that I'll definitely be reading this month:
Chomp - This is my first novel by Carl Hiaasen. I'm almost finished with this one.
Liar & Spy - I loved Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (linked to my review), so I'm pretty sure this one won't disappoint.
Wonder has received a bunch of buzz, and even before it was selected as a finalists, I had downloaded it to my Kindle hoping I'd get a chance to read it soon.
The thing I love about reading Middle Grade novels (well, ONE thing) is that I can generally get through one within a couple of reading sessions. It's so satisfying! So getting through the 7 finalists in about 6 weeks is no problem at all.
Here are some other books I'm hoping to get to for upcoming review:
I'm about halfway through The Tragedy Paper, a YA book that I'm thoroughly enjoying.
I've loved everything I've read from Jennifer Haigh, so I definitely wanted to read her new book of interconnected short stories, News from Heaven: The Bakerton Stories.
I'm so happy to be a part of the Sony VIP Reader program, and in February, I'll be able to be a part of a live bookclub chat in LA with author Michael Connelly on The Black Box (A Harry Bosch Novel).
Fuse is the sequel to Pure (linked to my review). It comes out about this time next month, so I may or may not get to it before next month's Nightstand.
I've had The Fruitful Wife: Cultivating a Love Only God Can Produce sitting on my shelf for a month or two, and Carrie's enthusiastic endorsement has made me look forward to it even more. I'm reading through this with a good friend, which I know will help me get even more out of it.
Find out what other people are reading the 4th Tuesday of each month at 5 Minutes for Books' What's on Your Nightstand.
Last year I set some reading goals, specifically I wanted to make sure I was taking some personal non-review reading time, by reading at least 12 books that I didn't specifically request for review.
I also wanted to keep an accurate record of what I read, which I did, so thanks to that I can share my results.
I did in fact read 15, and here's the breakdown. It affirms my desire to read with intention as well, focusing on more Christian nonfiction and putting effort into reading with my kids.
Christian Nonfiction 4
Nonfiction 1
Fiction 4
Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction5
Memoir 1
Here are my totals, mostly review copies, with some surprising results:
Biography/Memoir 12
Christian Nonfiction 6
Nonfiction 10
Fiction 41
Middle Grade Fiction 16
Young Adult Fiction 15
That's 100 books, on the nose (there are probably another 10 or more that I didn't finish so aren't included in this number). A pretty large number, 23 of them, were audiobooks, which speaks to the power of using time doing other things (driving and cleaning mostly) to read.
This year, I'd like to do more of the same. I want to continue to make sure I'm feeding my mind and soul with Christian nonfiction, being more particular about what I accept for review. which I have been doing for the past 6 months or so and makes that gap between "personal reading" and "review reading" shrink. However, I'd still like to be sure I take time to read "just for me" if there are backlist titles that interest me.
Home is where the heart is, and right now my heart is in Newtown, Connecticut.
I don't feel quite at home here in Houston right now. I'm headed to Connecticut tomorrow. It will be hard. It's the worst reason ever to visit a place, but I will still be able to see friends and loved ones. I'll be able to hug necks. I'll be able to see that in the midst of the unbelievable tragedy that has hit my town, there is some sort of normalcy (is there?) or at the very least that it's still the same town that we love.
2004: Amanda and Kyle 3 months before we moved to Newtown
I lived there for over 6 years and have been away just under 2. I suppose that six years is long enough to claim a place as home. I'm not sure, but what I do know is that certain times of your life hold more of your heart: college, the first place you lived on your own, the places your babies were born, and the places they grew up.
2006?: Amanda and Kyle in Newtown
The years my kids spent in Connecticut were formative ones. It's Amanda's childhood home. She started school there. She was baptized there. She started Middle School. She was a child when we arrived and was on the cusp of adolescence when we left. She left behind friends who she had known what seemed to her to be her entire life.
Kyle was just a newborn baby when we left Texas for Connecticut. By the time we left he was a confident 6 1/2 year old boy. His world expanded as he left my home and went to preschool. I relinquished even more control as I put him on the bus each day for Kindergarten, and even more when he started school full time in first grade. He made friends -- good friends. He left behind people he had literally known his entire life.
2010: Amanda and Kyle in Newtown, about 6 months before we left
Whether it's because I "got" Connecticut and it got me, or because of the time in our lives that we lived there, Connecticut will forever be home. I claim my dual status as a Connecticut Yankee and a Texan. It doesn't matter why, but it is home.
*******
This video has made me a bit of a blubbering mess. The song "This is Home" speaks to my heart. Seeing
the sights that were so dear to us makes my heart ache for home: the
library, the beautiful view from the flagpole down the hill, the exit I
took off the highway several times each week, the flag that someone
painted on a tree that we saw on the side of the highway just as we
entered Newtown, the Labor Day parade, ice cream at Ferris
Acres dairy farm, snow in Sandy Hook Village, Edmond Town Hall.
I've done well of keeping my goal of doing some personal non-review reading, and specifically reading more Christian nonfiction.
However, due to the fact that the group that I was reading it with stopped reading/discussing it, I haven't yet finished Soul Detox. I was liking it a lot -- I just happened to get derailed. So, I'll finish that, and get it moved out of my Bible study box and replace it with one of the other books that is awaiting my attention. There are many more I am looking forward to.
Another book that is on my list that I haven't gotten to is Embracing Obscurity. I'll give it a go, but due to some less-than-stellar reviews (like Carrie's), I'm not as interested as I once was. And my reading time is too valuable to finish a book just because it's on my list, so I'm not going to promise anything except that I will start it and give it a fair shake.
But looking back at my list, a certain book glared at me. A book that I still haven't read. A book that I even stopped putting on my Callapidder Days' challenges because I was so incredibly lame about it.
I WILL read it. In fact, I may start it now. And I won't say anything else about it until the deed is done.
What about you? Is there something that you really really want to or need to read this month? Let us know over at 5 Minutes for Books.
