One month! One book!!

OMG, I realize today, being Christmas day that I have not posted for one month!! My goal has fallen by the wayside in amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!! I have finished ONE book, Dan Chaon`s Await your Reply. It was a fantastic read, about identity theft, one I`d almost like to reread again to see just exactly what happened!!! I am in the middle of reading a book that was possibly not on my list. It is called Providence and the author`s name escapes me at this moment. It was a book that was left on my Christian Women`s book table when I was told to discount all the stock by 50 % back in January. It`s been sitting in my library..spare room for months now and I decided to pick it up and read it a few days ago. It has been a great read so far, delving into past tunes from the 80`s, a novel written about a 40 something man who has committed his life to serving others and what his past was like contributing to his current day life. It may or may not have been on my original list but I saw it sitting there and decided, who cares about the list. As soon as I sign off on this post, I am going to hop into bed and get reading! I am half way thru this book at the moment and being the holiday season, and having a few much appreciated days off, I plan to finish this book and all the hidden library books under my bed at this point in time!!!! I have been receiving a few overdue library calls on my phone this past week and I want to remedy the situation as soon a possible,which means the Colin Thatcher book must be found and finished as well as the Anita Shreve novel. I`m not sure why I haven`t been reading as much as I was back in October but trust me, this will change in the new year!!!!! There are so many stories I wish to read and so read I must do!!!!

For Christmas I did not recieve a single book unless you count a journal which I could use to write things in. But that is what this blog is for. I will write write write and read read read. Merry Christmas all!!

A change of Plans

I pretty much abandoned all my other books and grabbed the one that arrived on loan from the library last week. I discovered it in the McNally Robinson flyer when we were in Saskatoon last month. This book is called Small Beneath the Sky and it's basically a memoir of sort, written by Lorna Crozier who apparently was born and grew up in Swift Current. I love reading about Swift Current in the fifties and sixties, this woman was only four years younger than my own mother and The author's mother, until she passed away a few years ago, apparently lived down the street from where I did before moving to Estevan. I have just a few more pages to read before I can say book 'seven' is now in the bag! I would like to say, then I'll get back to Anita Shreve's book about the mountain climbing expedition in Africa, but I have a few more books that came in from the library last week that also need to be returned on a deadline. I think I'll keep with Saskatchewan history and did into Colin Thatcher's book. Thank God books don't go bad!!

Back in the saddle again!

Reading is like riding a horse or a bicycle. I don't think we ever really forget how. Thank heavens since I've barely read during this past week! I picked up Anita Shreve's a Change in Altitude on Friday night, read one chapter and promptly fell asleep. Sunday afternoon a picked it up, read a chapter and a half, almost fell asleep and then the boys called me for supper. Then again last night I was able to read quite a bit more and I'm really getting into the book! If I'm lucky I can finish it tonight. Trying to keep a tidier house has really cut down on my reading time, that and the fact that I now have a contraption in my basement that is supposed to tone my sagging muscles and hopefully help me shed a few pounds. Maybe I can sit on the bench and do some leg curls (is that what you even call it?) while may hands are occupied by a book! And while I'm working out my arms I could learn to hold a book with my feet! Turning pages might prove to be difficult!!! Anyway, last night I found out that Rachel Vincent's next book "Shift" is supposed to be released right on the 1st of March! I may have to recalculate this fifty books thing!!! 105 days until March 1st, 44 more books to finish! That now means I have to finish a book every 2.38 days!! So the pressure is on!! I will have to make time for reading just as I would (I mean WILL) for exercise. Happy Monday!!

Slowly reading....

I haven't been exactly dormant. On Halloween night I wanted a bit of a scary read so I started reading one of my ghost story books (I have a huge collection of the Lone Pine Publishing series) by Joanne Christensen, called Ghosts,Werewolves,Vampires and Witches. I am almost done this book. Too bad it's not on the list! Also I see the library will have Colin Thatcher's book Final Appeal coming in for me this week and Dan Chaon's new book is in transit as well. I really must get at it but instead I've been devoting my evenings to some much needed housework. So it's all worth it. Once my tidying is done, I'll have more time to read if I keep on top of things. Reading has become a problem in the past, where the house gets neglected. Tonight I will be back at it, searching for a photo in the boxes of clutter that have accumulated over the year or so. The books will still be waiting for me when I find that picture!!!

Have books, but no time to read them!

I can not believe that four days have gone by with me not reading!!! I will never complete this task at this point!! Halloween preparations have kept me busy the last few days and I was sidetracked yesterday after a trip to the Sally Ann store netted me with a 500 piece polar express jigsaw puzzle and if I had to pick another favorite hobby of mine, it would have to be reading followed by doing puzzles. So I spent last night completing the puzzle with Nolan and Kolby. Perhaps tonight between trick or treaters, I will get a few chapters in. I can't even remember what book I was going to set out to read...Oh yeah, Anita Shreve's A Change in Altitude. I was so excited my friend, neighbor and fellow reading enthusiast Shelley just picked up a copy of P.C Cast and Kristin Cast's new book in the House of Night Series so once she finishes it, I will be adding that book to my list of fifty books, oh it's interesting how the list evolves and changes over the course of time :) I had just finished reading the first five books in the House of Night series before I started this journey of reading. It has been fun actually since starting this blog, I've been book marking my favorite Author's websites on my computer so I can keep up with their new releases and other interesting tidbits of information. I am finding Danielle Steel's blog very interesting right now if I could find the time to actually sit down and read some of it! I also discovered that Lori Lansens is having an interactive face book chat or something coming up here in November that I am going to try and remember to take part in.

For now, I must finish getting ready for the trick or treaters! Make sure my lights are lit up and that nothing is going to blow away on me tonight!! Happy Halloween Everyone!!!!!

Now what?

Book six is in the books. I finished Karen Kingsbury's Every Now and Then. This was the third book in her 9/11 series. I had read the other two years ago, in fact, One Tuesday Morning was the first Karen Kingsbury book I have ever read. Today I can say I've read them all. I keep tabs at her website as to when her new books are being released and the next one coming up next year is called Shades of Blue. Her books are probably the only ones I have come across that can make me cry. At the end of the book last night, the main character's dog died and that did it for me. And I'm not even a dog person :) Anyway, it's always nice to read something inspirational, I think we all need that Every Now and Then!

Shelley hasn't brought over the next Demon book yet so I think I will move along to an Anita Shreve book, A Change in Altitude. For weeks, while I was waiting for this book to arrive from the library, I thought the title was a Change in Attitude! Anyway, I have until November 4th to read it and return in so I'd better get at it. I believe this author has written about 15 books in total and I think I've read about 11 or 12 of them. I recall about a year ago, I'd picked one of her books up at the library and I couldn't get into to so I returned it unread!! I hate when that happens, but I tried!!

I discovered Anita Shreve while camping at Kenosee about three summers ago. We drove over to the red barn for the flea market and I picked up her book Fortune's Rocks. I finished it about 12 hours later :) Many of her books are set along the east coast where she is from, many of the books while not repeating the characters like some authors do, the setting repeats itself. Fortune's Rocks, The Pilot's Wife and Body Surfing all took place at the same location and the history of the house is talked about which made me think, how cool is that, I've read all those stories! Anita Shreve is right up there on my list of favorites. If I had to pick a favorite book of hers, it would be hard. I think Body Surfing was one of her best. She can write a great page turner whether it's set in the present day and time or 100 years ago. Perhaps when I've finished her two books I have on my list, I'll have to head to the library and try to find the book I never did finish. I think it was called Resistance and it was set during and after the 2nd world war I believe. Maybe that's why I found it so hard to get into. My husband is more the military history type of guy!

Five books Finished!

So here we are, almost two weeks into this little project. I have completed five out of the fifty books.

1. Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult
2. Take One by Karen Kingsbury
3. The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens
4. Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner
5. California Demon by Julie Kenner

So after about 45 pages into the Deja Demon book, I decided that I had missed too much and I abandoned that book in favor of finding the second book in the series in my cluttered library room. I finished this book this afternoon after literally spending the entire Sunday in bed reading. I'm trying not to feel guilty about that, using the excuse that I'm still not feeling that great from this cold/flu but here I am sitting here Sunday evening knowing that no housework got done, no laundry to put away.

But that's all in the past. Tomorrow is another day and tonight I have started another Karen Kingsbury book, Every Now and Then. I've tired of the demon slaying suburbian housewife for now. Besides, Shelley has borrowed book three in the series, I'm sure I'll be able to start that book tomorrow!

Out of order!!

So I finished Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner last night. I guess you could call it a cute book in a 'chick-lit' sort of way. Just to be different, or maybe because I didn't want to get out of bed to grab California Demon, I grabbed Deja Demon which is apparently book four in this series of five or six. I've kind of lost track because these books have come into my possession fast and furious in the last couple of weeks. My friend and neighbor Shelley and I trade books back and forth across the street. I bought California Demon off of a discount table at Chapters and it sat on my shelf for about two years I'm guessing. Well she dropped by this summer to feed our cat while we were on holidays and she grabbed the book and really liked it. She then discovered that this book was number two in this demon hunting soccer mom series. I ordered book one from the library, that was the book I finished last night. I bought what I thought was book three in Saskatoon, the weekend I decided enough was enough, no more buying books for this lady! Shelley read Deja Demon and realized it wasn't book three but book four so I searched the library website again and ordered book three which I think may be waiting at the library for me now. While searching for that book, I came across another title which I think might be book five and Shelley just picked another one up at Chapters this week which she is currently reading right now, making my head spin thinking when am I going to have time to read all these books??

So to make a long story shorter, last night I rolled over, grabbed the book off my nightstand and decided to throw caution to the wind and read these books out of order, surely each book is good enough to stand alone on its own. But right from page one, I realized, maybe I shouldn't have been so lazy and grabbed the second installment off the shelf in our book room. I've obviously missed an important part of the story line by doing such a silly thing. But I think I'll get over it!

For now lets just say I'm now on the fifth book of my journey which means when it's finished, hopefully later tonight I will be ten percent of the way into this journey, but for now, I'm off to the library, they called while I was blogging. I think I have two more books waiting for me :)

From one extreme to another

It's funny, how different one book can be from another. I went from reading about a middle aged, frumpy wife whose husband took off from their life together to the book I am reading now where the wife is young, athletic, has children, a hard working devoted husband and a sense of purpose in her life as she is the first woman demon hunter I have had the pleasure of reading about. I'd like to say I'm hooked on Kate Conner's character since I have two more books about her to read. Again, it could be because I'm still feeling tired and run down but this book isn't at the top of my favorite list yet. However, it is an incredibly easy read and I am over halfway through the book, so I'm making great progress with my goal and that is something to be proud about. I may not be a demon hunting soccer mom but I am a super reading machine of a mom soon to be a paper rolling machine of a mom since I skipped our Thursday night ritual to stay in bed and plow through my book!!

Kind of a let down

So three down, 47 more to go. While I finished The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens, it left me disappointed. In the end of the book, Mary Gooch does not even find her husband! It's like the author got tired of writing the book, figured she had enough pages to call it a book and called it quits! In a way, I find it quite Canadian of her in the sense that Lori Lansens, is somewhat like another favorite Canadian author of mine, Miriam Taevs. Both have a cast of quirky characters in every novel, setting their stories apart from many of the current popular novelists on the market today. Their plots, you wonder if they were on some sort of an acid trip while devising each story line and the settings, well many of their novels branch out in the fact that the characters are compelled to take a trip into the good old U. S. of A. Maybe this appeals to a broader range of readers?

Maybe I had hoped for some sort of reconciliation at the end of the book, maybe the practical side of me demanded that Mary head back home to the country she lives in and take care of the things she left behind in Leaford, Ontario. I mean, she and her husband were both gone for weeks, who was paying their utility bills and being accountable for their home, workplace, friends they left behind? What was the woman going to do when her bank account ran out? I don't know, maybe because I read this book while suffering from one of the worst head colds I've had in years, I happened to miss out on some of the key elements of the book. Maybe because I feel like I'm on a deadline of sorts I needed to rush through the book. Either way, I would have to say, if you are going to read one of Lansen's books, check out The Girls. It was a page turning, thought provoking book that didn't disappoint. The Wife's Tale....wait until your drugged up on Tylenol Cold and Flu to read this one!!

Now on to the next one. I think I will dive into a book that is sure to be a fun read. I have three books in Julie Kenner's 'Demon Hunting Soccer Mom' series. I have a feeling it's not going to be as deep as the Twilight series and I should be able to polish off the first book in a couple of days, just in time for me to return it to the library!! Carpe Demon here I come!

Too sick to read????

Doesn't that sound ridiculous? Well last night after a scalding hot bath, I hopped into bed and went straight to sleep drugged up on Niquil and Tylenol Cold and Flu. I remember my husband telling me he was sleeping on the couch and that was about it. So even though I'm dying to see how this book turns out, there was no reading done last night. Maybe tonight!

On a roll!!

Last night, I was feeling pretty lousy, this cold is back with a vengeance, the aches and fever this time with a bit of a cough left over from the weekend. I was in bed by seven thirty and managed to get through half of the third book my my list. And what a wacky book it is. Mary Gooch and her husband Jimmy are about the celebrate their twenty fifth anniversary when he suddenly up and disappears, leaving her in the small Ontario town of Leaford. This is Lori Lansen's third book set in this area of southern Ontario, complete with colorful characters and an abundance of plot twists and turns. When I finally dragged my aching body out of bed to turn the light off I was halfway through the book and Mary had wound up in some place in California, hoping she'd find her husband at his mother's house. She has just lost her purse which was basically the only thing she had in her possession and only had enough cash on her to spend three more nights in a hotel. I can't wait to see how it all turns out tonight when I flop into bed this evening. I am thinking it's going to be a nice quiet day at the Howie house so maybe I'll get a few pages in this afternoon during nap time too :) Have a good day everyone! What is everyone else reading at the moment?? I just realized I may be adding another to my list depending on when it arrives at the library. I had ordered Colin Thatcher's book, Final Appeal, Anatomy of a Frame and it looks like I am third on the list now, so probably within six weeks, it should be here.

Ready to start book three tonight!

Good morning everyone! I finally made it through Karen Kingsbury's book, Take One. I spent most of Sunday afternoon reading about the making of a movie and all the distractions and set backs that happen along the way before they finally finish filming. Since I've already read the sequel, Take Two, I'm anxious for the third book in the series to be released! If anyone is a fan of Karen's books, the Above the Line Series as this one is called is sort of a branch off of her three previous series which I believe are in this order : Redemption Series, Firstborn Series and Sunrise Series which focus around the Baxter family in Bloomington, Indiana. Check out her website at: http://www.karenkingsbury.com/

I think I'm in the mood for some Lori Lansens tonight. I will hope to start her book A Wife's Tale. I think I'm still on schedule, if it hadn't been for the fact that I've caught another cold/cough from my 12 yr old, I wouldn't have spent the day in bed yesterday after church. Oh well, off to take some cough syrup!! Have a good day!

One down, 49 to go!

Well, it's official, I have finished Jodi Picoult's book, Songs of the Humpback Whale. Does anyone know, was this book her first novel? I really should check out her website again, I know it was one of her earlier ones. Speaking of Jodi Picoult, I was perusing her website the other day and her new book which comes out sometime in 2010 sounds really good! It's called House Rules and it's about an autistic teenager. She has a few chapters posted on her website and what I read is great! It's just frustrating to have to wait for one of her books now that I am so close to finishing her entire collection. After finishing this latest book, I want to jump right in to her novel Handle with Care, but alas, the library books await me! Perhaps this afternoon while my munchkins nap I will delve into Take One by Karen Kingsbury. I can usually get through one of her books in one day, but like I mentioned before I found I couldn't get into this one since I had already read the sequel to it since it arrived at the library before this one did! Well techically, it didn't, the fact of the matter was that I waited too long to get my butt down to the library and when I finally did, to my dismay, Karen's book had been shipped back along with a couple of others, on to the next person on the waiting list. Sad but true. You snooze, you lose in this case! Well, I'm off to turn the coffee pot on as I will be welcoming in a couple of neighbors soon for our daily morning coffee. Another perk to providing childcare from my home. How many other occupations are there out there in today's world where one can do that almost every day?

So many books, so little time.....

So I was able to read for about two hours last night before I started to fall asleep. In those two hours, I managed to read over 100 pages. I was also helping my 8 year old do his homework so we'll test that theory again this evening since I have a shade over 100 pages left in my current book. Two hours and I should have it cased!! I'll be able to say one down, 49 to go. I also realized last night after stopping at the library to pick up not only the two books I knew were waiting for me but when I got there, they had a third waiting as well, so I will have to revamp my list, take one book off and add this forgotten one to the list. When we were in Regina two weeks ago, we stopped at the Book and Briar Patch on Albert Street. While perusing the shelves I came across a series called Stamping Sisters, written by Terri Thayer. (Trina I thought of you when I saw these books) Anyway, like a good girl, I put the books back on the shelf and decided before buying I had better order the first couple from the library to make sure I enjoyed the series. So the first of the books has come in. It is called Inked Up. Now I just have to decide which of my fifty books I will delete off the list in order to read this book before I have to return it to the library!

This morning as I sit here, my living room is filled with little people who of all things, are fighting over a book that one of the girls brought in with her this morning. It is called Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses. We just finished reading this book aloud, complete with fancy sounds. Now that's one way to grab a kid's attention. Even the boys thought this was indeed a fantastic book, for it was two of them who were arguing over the book and not the girls. Luckily this book is made of sturdy cardboard and therefore it should outlast the bickering that goes on in this house between friends. I'm glad my husband and I don't fight over our books. Of course, he, unlike myself actually reads his books right away after purchasing them. He obviously can control his impulse to buy every single book off a bargain table that looks even a bit interesting. He is a good influence in my life and hopefully after almost six months without purchasing a single book to add to my collection, I will have broken free from the compulsive purchases and will have learned to enjoy the books I actually HAVE lying around my home! Now hopefully I don't fall asleep early tonight, there's reading to be done!!

167 days....50 books

The snow is lightly falling as I write this. I still say it's much too early for snow, but if it does have to stick around until spring now, I think I can live with it. There is something to be said about curling up on the couch with a warm blanket and a good book and with winter just around the corner, I plan to spend many hours in the near future doing just this. To prepare, I have thought about ordering one of those 'seen on t.v' blankets, what is it called, a Snugli? My husband laughs when we see that infomerical on t.v because I always tell him that I 'need' one of those things. Doesn't he know that I am hinting that a Sungli would be an ideal gift for me for Christmas which is also fast approaching!? And if it's too embarrassing to dial the 1-800 number on the screen, I noticed in the latest Avon catalogue that they are selling an imitation Snugli for a few dollar more! Of course, I would prefer he call that number because he might receive two for the price of one and then we could match! Plus don't forget about the little night time reading lights that are thrown in as a free gift!!

Anyhow, I am thinking I need to devise a plan in order to accomplish the challenging task of ready 50 books in 167 days. Lets do the math.... if don't get started soon, it's not going to happen!! I mean what if some of the books don't hold my interest? And Christmas happens during those short five and a half months! It's a good thing I plan on staying home for Christmas, more time to read! Based on my calculations, if I start tonight I have to read a book every 3.34 days! That's a lot of reading. Perhaps I need to log my hours spent reading as well. This blog is becoming more complicated by the minute! Anyone ever wonder how many hours it takes the average reader to get through an average book? And just how many pages does an average book contain? My mind is spinning with all these questions that I must find the answers to. On top of it all, the library just called and I have two more books ready for pick up that I must run down and grab sometime this week before they ship them back. The books that are waiting for me are Anita Shreve's latest book, A Change of Altitude and.....and.....I'm trying to think what the other title could possibly be, I have quite a few on order at this time, most of which I've tried to include on this list even if they are not books that I own myself.

Oh, I've remembered!!! It's a Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens. This one, I am really looking forward to! Funny how when I think of books by Jodi Picoult, (like the one I am currently reading) and Lori Lansens, I think of Pharmasave in Estevan, which is really the only place to buy books in our city of Estevan, other than Walmart. I discovered both these authors while browsing the books, waiting for a prescription to be filled. I impulsively purchased Lori Lansen's book The Girls one day and it was one of the best books I have ever read! To learn more about Lori and her books, check out her website! http://www.randomhouse.ca/newface/lorilansens.php

Now Jodi Picoult I didn't just rush into. This was simply because Pharmasave had about 8 titles of her novels on display and every single cover jumped out at me, and all the back covers of the book sounded really really good! So what I did was rush home, hit the computer and order half a dozen of her books from Amazon.com. And like what normally happens in my house, these books arrived one day and I tore them open, so excited to have them in my possession, and then off to the shelf they went!! I don't think I picked up my first Jodi Picoult book to read for another six months at least!! But when I finally did, I was hooked. Like many of her fans that I've encountered since discovering this author, the first book of Jodi's that I read was My Sister's Keeper. And like I mentioned earlier in my ramblings, I only have two books of hers to finish before I'm all caught up!

So I suppose I have already come up with somewhat of an order that my books will be read, for at least the first four anyway! I will finish up Songs of the Humpback Whale, then moved on to Karen Kingsbury's Take One. I have this one already on hard from the library and I'm having a rough time getting into it since I've already read it's sequel, Take Two! Next the two books I'm picking up from the library this week by Lori and Anita will be read. Okay I feel good about this, it's a pretty good mix of authors in my opinion! For sure, four of my favorites, already tried and true novelists that never fail to disappoint! One book, every 3.34 days. That will then bring me to the end of March by which time, Rachel Vincent's new book should be in stores! Rachel is another one of my favorites, but that's a story for another day! For now I have to stop typing and pick up my book!!!

I'd rather be reading!

Good morning, a new day has begun as I listen to two small children scream at the top of their lungs, both being consoled by their older siblings. My son has managed to make both these children cry in the span of about 30 seconds. And thankfully, as I have typed these few words, all seems well again in my home, the screaming has turned into a steady whine which can be solved by a cup of milk placed in this small child's hands. Then ten seconds later, the tippy cup hits the floor, and more drops of milk again stain my area rug like they do each and ever day of my life as I know it. Some times I wonder why I do this?

An a more happy note, my question mark key on the laptop seems to be working this mornings. As two more children sitting next to me on the couch ponder about which of the smaller kids is poopy, I can sit here and smile knowing I am warm in my home this cold, almost winter morning and that unlike many of the working parents, those who bring their precious cargo to me each and every day, I don't have to start my van and scrape the windows. There, I've answered my question with one of the many reasons why I look after kids for a living!

So last night, instead of curling up with a book I had some television to watch. Tuesday night line up for me includes The Biggest Loser, 90210 and Melrose Place. There was no time to read, hopefully tonight I can get back into the book I am currently reading, which also made the number one spot on my list. (Maybe I should read these books in order after all). Jodi Picoult is probably my favorite author which for me after I've completed my list, is unfortunate in the fact that after Songs of the Humpback Whale and Handle With Care, I have read her entire collection of books thus far. Who knows, maybe by the time I get through all fifty books, she will have published yet another of her thought provoking novels. I have yet to read a book of hers that I didn't like! And so tonight, I will set out to finish her book and cross off the first title on my list of 50 books!!!

Why wait for the list....

50 Books

Jodi Picoult Songs of the Humpback whale

Jodi Picoult Handle With Care

Julie Kenner California Demon

Julie Kenner Carpe Demon

Julie Kenner Deja Demon

Karen Kingsbury Take One

Lori Lansens A wife's Tale

Anita Shreve Light on Snow

Anita Shreve A Change in Altitude

Luanne Rice Crazy in Love

Luanne Rice The Secret Hour

Beverly Lewis The Postcard

Beverly Lewis The Redemption of Sarah Cain

Beverly Lewis The Beckoning

Beverly Lewis The Englisher

Danielle Steel Sisters

Danielle Steel Honor Thyself

Danielle Steel Toxic Bachelors

Lavyrle Spencer Spring Fancy

Lavyrle Spencer Bygones

Lavyrle Spencer Home Song

Carol Higgins Clark Fleeced

Carol Higgins Clark Iced

Carol Higgins Clark Decked

Carol Higgins Clark Snagged

Carol Higgins Clark Jinxed

Carol Higgins Clark Hitched

Candace Bushnell Lipstick Jungle

Susan Wiggs Table For Five

Susan Wiggs Snowfall at Willow Lake

Janet Evanovich Manhunt

Janet Evanovich Full House

Janet Evanovich The Rocky Road to Romance

Lori Wick City Girl

Lori Wick Bamboo and Lace

Lori Wick A Texas Sky

Ian Rankin The Flood

Lisa Jewell One Hit Wonder

Lisa Jewell Thirty Nothing

Ted Dekker Showdown

Frank Peretti Piercing the Darkness

Jude Devereaux Summerhouse

Jude Devereaux Return to Summerhouse

Bram Stoker Dracula

Joy Fielding Missing Pieces

Karen Marie Moning Bloodfever

Rachel Klein The Moth Diaries

Mary Higgins Clark I'll Be Seeing You

Mary Higgins Clark A Stranger is Watching

Bryan Gruley Starvation Lake

Day one

Well, creating a blog was not something I ever thought I would do, however when I went to create this one, I discovered that back in 2004 I had started a blog on this same website apparently. This blog consisted of one entry which commented about how crappy a year 2004 had been and that I was going to journal the next year or something. Well perhaps there was nothing to write about in 2005 because here I am almost five years later discovering that not only did I not finish what I had set out to do back on New Years Eve 2004, that no one of any importance read that one and only post! I am hoping this is not the case with my new blog, 50 books.

The idea for 50 books came about yesterday on the way home from Thanksgiving Dinner (Canadian) yesterday. During that 4 hour drive home I had time to reflect upon the ridiculous amount of books I own and have not read. In fact, during our little road trip this past weekend, my family and I hit two bookstores in Saskatoon, the wonderful McNally Robinson with the tree in the middle of it, as well as a used book store called Tramps. In total our family spent about $200 on books between the two stores and I would say 75% of the books purchased were for me! Now all of us love to read, my husband and two sons, however I am what I would call a book hoarder. Books are becoming an issue in our home, the room we have devoted to our books (our kids call it our library) is not a large room by any stretch, it is a small bedroom on the main level of our home which I normally would like to be able to use as a guest room, but there really is no room for much more than a playpen in this room due to all the books on shelves, falling off the shelves, in boxes on the floor, in the closet, everywhere!

So enough is enough. I told my husband after the novelty of purchasing new crisp books at McNally Robinson and some very gently used copies at Tramps had worn off, (kind of like coming off a high) how silly I had been to buy every single one of those books! And of course this is not the first time we have had this kind of conversation because I am a compulsive shopper in addition to book hoarder. So I told my husband halfway to Regina from Saskatoon that I am NOT going to purchase a single book until March of 2010, this being of course when a new book from one of my favorite authors comes out. So here we are, mid October I challenge myself with the help from my husband, to sit down between now and then and read at least 50 of my books that have been patiently waiting in my library.

So to prepare myself for this challenge, I grabbed the only paper I could find in the truck (other than the books themselves sitting at my feet recently purchased, and I began to write down the titles and authors of 50 books that I knew for a fact were sitting at home in my cluttered reading room. It did not take as long as my husband thought it would. Well knowing how many books I have purchased recently at used book sales, book stores, and online it really was not that hard to remember the titles of fifty of them.

When we arrived home, I filled in the blanks on my list, names of authors I had forgotten and titles that had slipped my mind but my list is complete, there are fifty books on my list waiting for me to read them. I am not planning on reading them in the order in which I wrote the list, I just plan to plug away at fifty book in hopes that I have them read by March of 2010 when Rachel Vincents next book in her werecat series is on bookstore shelves! Do you think I can actually do this.....I write without using a question mark since at this moment I can not figure out how to change my laptops settings to get rid of the french è when I want to use a question mark!! At least I can still use my exclamation point!!!!!

So tomorrow, I will offer any readers of this blog my list of fifty books. I feel overwhelmed at the idea of having to read fifty of them in less than six months. I am an avid reader, but life happens, I have two busy boys and a busy house at the best of times, some weeks I go without picking up a book, others I can read two or three in the same amount of time. For now, I am going to relax in a nice hot bubble bath, anticipating many winter nights ahead of me, reading the collection of books that is only the tip of the iceberg in my library of unread books. I just can not help myself, if i see a title that looks good sitting on the used book table at the library I will pick it up for 50 cents. I want you all to know I also judge books a lot by their cover and rarely am disappointed by my choosings, of course this includes reading the back cover as well :) But over the years, books have taken over my house and although I love them dearly, I must learn ways to overcome my compulsion to buy them and leave them sitting on a shelf in hopes that one day I really will read them.

I am also a library user, dont get me wrong, I am at my library picking up books I have special ordered in at least once per week. The librarians all know me by name and I am probably one of their most frequent users. I have often thought of asking one of the ladies at the libary just how many books I have taken out in a year, perhaps I will do this at the end of December.

For now, I welcome any questions my readers may have and I would also love suggestions for future books for me to eventually read once I wade through my fifty books!