Books I Read: January

 I didn't have time to read a lot, but I think I made a decent showing - especially since my first book I started at Christmas and it still took me half of January.
Dragonfly in Amber - Diane Gabaldon Dear God, this book took three weeks of my life and I complained through most of it ... and at the end I wanted to immediately get the next book from the library. I'm going to wait so that maybe I can read SOMETHING else, but I think (possibly unfortunately) I'll be reading the next installment.
Wicked Business - Janet Evanovich Well, I needed a fun quick read after that. This series isn't as fun as the Stephanie Plum books (hey, you have your smut and I have this) but it was fun.
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls (re-read) Every time I read this, I am flabergasted by how no one came to these children's rescue. A lot of it I can relate to, but not the downright neglect. Seriously. This was for my newest book club, and I still had a lot to say about it.
Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins I had several work road trips this month, and listened to this during a couple. It was light and airy, but I really liked the voice of the narrator. It was funny and real for a teenager, without being all "like" and "totally" ... except when using them for comic effect.
The Light Between Oceans - ML Stedman Oh man, I picked this for book club which was at my house this month (you pick the book the month you host) and I didn't know ANYTHING about it. It was heartbreaking, and amazing, and sort of easy to read but such complicated emotions. At the end, I just couldn't fault anyone for their decisions, right or wrong.
Notorious Nineteen - Janet Evanovich Fun, fun, fun. Started last night, read and finished on the plane today.

June Books

Untraceable - Laura Griffin I enjoyed this immensely.

The Body in the Gallery - Katherine Hall Page My first Faith Fairchild book, and it a fun quick read.

Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (reread) wasn't as well written as I remembered it, but I still adored it.

Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore I was worried I wasn't going to love this. I loved every page, even the slow beginning. Want. More.

The Body in the Ivy - Katherine Hall Page I know she was going for an homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Was None, but it came off as a rip off to me.

The Body in the Sleigh - Katherine Hall Page By this time I decided maybe four in a month was too many.

The Body in the Gazebo - Katherine Hall Page Redemption, because this one was much better.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (reread) Loved this one more than the first.

212 - Alafair Burke Loved.

The Running Dream - Wendelin Van Draanen I was looking for something to read and went perusing Elizabeth's list from last month. Yep, it was excellent, and just what I needed to kick start my workouts again.

Murder, Mayhem and Mama - Christie Craig Bubblegum but fun.

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins (reread) Harder to read - I didn't enjoy it as much but I still wanted to keep going (yes I've read the series before). I don't like what she did to the series but I still like how it ends. Does that make sense?

The Long Fall - Walter Mosley Meh.

Birdman - Mo Hayder hard to get into, but well written. Now that I've gotten to know the characters I would be interested in reading more about them.

The Vow - Kim Carpenter I was not impressed.

Victoria Gardella - Colleen Gleason I would have liked this short story/novella better if I hadn't already read the whole series, but it was fun.

Battle Royale - Koushun Takami I'm going to be honest here. I dont't know if I'm going to make it through this time trying either.

May Books

Wench - Dolen Perkins-Valdez ** If I had never read The Help I would have liked this so much more. As it was, it was excellent (although depressing). Not the humor of The Help but an intriguing look at the life of slaves who were kept as mistresses.

The Extra-Naturals - Kay Chronister (draft) Interesting storyline, needs some work fleshing out. Great start.

Pillow Talk - Freya North Delightful. Reminded me of Jill Mansell and Marion Keyes.

Shatter (Children of Man #1) - Elizabeth C Mock Loved it. Roughly edited being self-published but good enough that I recommended it to everyone that I know enjoys the genre.

 One Deadly Sister - Rod Hoisington Terrible. Really, truly ... bad.

 Render (Children of Man #2) - Elizabeth C Mock Just as good as the first. Well, almost as good as the first. Kinda upset that the third isn't out yet, to tell you the truth.

Graceling - Kristin Cashore (reread) LOVE THIS BOOK. I actually read some of the reviews online this time I read, and I'm not sure what some of those people are smoking because I loved it and everyone I know (and I forced it on everyone I knew who even slightly enjoyed YA supernatural) loved it as well.

Fire - Kristin Cashore (reread) See above. Love.

 Hollywood Scandals - Gemma Halliday I got this and the other two for 99 cents (boxed) on my Nook. Predictable but worth the buck for six hours and 2000 pages. Enjoyable fluff.

Hollywood Secrets - Gemma Halliday See above.

Hollywood Confessions - Gemma Halliday See above.

Awakening - Karice Bolton Just started ... it's full of cliches but it shows promise. I'll let you know next month what I think.

April books

Is it really already halfway through May and I'm only now posting my April books?

Broken - Marshall Buckley I think I really liked this. I don't know if I remember anymore. Yes, yes, I liked it.

Cereal Killer - GA McKevett nothing about this had literary merit, but it was fun.

Shoulder Bags and Shootings - Dorothy Howell same here. This is what happens when I wander about the library after picking up the books I put on hold.

The Glamorous (Double) Life of Isabel Bookbinder horrible, abandoned

The Sly Company of People Who Care -Rahul Bhattacharya ** this was our bookclub book, and it was horrendous. I had such high hopes, too.

Dare to Die - Carolyn G Hart I got this free from Nook, and I rather enjoyed it. It's #19 in a series and I kind of want to go back and read the other 18, but I never understand how an author can put a series on a small town-island area and then come up with 30+ murders for the area. Isn't that a little high for the national average?

The Devil's Cradle - Sylvia Nobel I read the first last year and enjoyed it. This was also a good book. I think I got both of them free for Nook.

Leaving Before It's Over - Jean Reynolds Page very very good.

The Third Floor - Judi Loren Grace Wretched.

March Books

Besides these books, I also finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I thought it was okay, but I wouldn't really recommend it. I didn't identify or connect with the characters at all, and once I could predict what was going to happen I didn't want to read anymore. I did, but I didn't care about it.

World I Never Made - James Lepore I enjoyed this a lot. It was slightly predictable but fun.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares I needed some light reading.

Second Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares ditto

Girls in Pants: The Third Summer - Ann Brashares and again

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer - Ann Brashares you know where this is going, right?

Red to Black - Alex Dryden I picked this up at the library because I downloaded the sequel, Moscow Sting, for free and wanted to get to know the characters before I read the second. I haven't finished it yet - it's actually really boring. I don't know if I will finish, or if I'll bother with the second. At least they were both free.

The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides I started this but haven't finished. I'm liking what I've read so far.

Explosive Eighteen - Janet Evanovich More light reading. Not as good as the previous ones, but it's not like it's great literature or anything.

Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand This isn't something I ever would have picked up on my own, but I absolutely loved it. Fascinating look at the Pacific POW camps and one man's journey through WW2. Excellent.

February books

I've been terrible about reading this month. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to sit still long enough to read. Here's what I've got:

Girls in White Dresses - Jennifer Close ... it was okay.

The Snowman - Jo Nesbo ... I tried to read this last year and couldn't get into it, but after seeing another blogger rave about it I tried again and loved it. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I had read the series from the beginning, but since none of the others have been translated into English I guess I'm outta luck.

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer ** ... I liked it okay. Bunch of crazy people. (non-fiction)

A Room With a View - EM Forster ** ... Hated it. Have I mentioned I hate classics?

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer ** ... More than halfway through, and I'm not sure how I feel about it still. I'll try to let you know next month.

And that's all she wrote. Or at least, all she read.

(**book club books)

Fall Into Reading – the final wrap-up

I wish this could be longer but I just don’t seem to have time for anything these days. You can find my intermittent posts here and here and here and here and here.

So? I wanted to read 19 books. I finished at 25 and a half. Good? Good. I didn’t read everything on my list, but I read other things and SOME of my list. I still having finished Just My Type but it’s still in my purse. I read another Rachel Caine book (Ghost Town, I have a problem).

And what did I learn?

I don't know that I really learned anything, but it did help me keep on track to finishing up the year strong. It helped me structure my reading resolutions for next year. It helped me make a list of books and then be strong enough to not follow it when I really didn't want to.

A few of the books I didn't read these three months will go onto January's list:

Swamplandia! Karen Russell
Someday This Will Be Funny, Lynne Tillman
Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, Stephanie McAfee

So there's my reading! And still, I'm hoping to finish reading Just My Type by the end of the year. That's not asking much right? I swear I'm enjoying it!

Fall into reading - almost the finale

I’m obviously so behind in my FIR updates that it feels silly to update today right before the last week. BUT I have done a fair bit of reading since my last update so here’s where I’m at:

Untouchable: This was my book club book a few months ago and I read half but not all. I finally finished it, and I really enjoyed it.



Beauty Queens: I tried. I really did. But I could actually feel my brain cells dying so I called a day. Officially off my list of ongoing things to read.

Lords of Misrule
Carpe Corpus
Fade Out
Kiss of Death: all by Rachel Caine. More of the Morganville vampire line. Fun reads, not exactly brain food but enjoyable.

Boo: this was a light Christian romance. I think I enjoy Rene Guttridge – doesn’t beat you over the head with the Message. Light good read.

City of Ember: I wanted more, so I guess I’m glad there’s more in the series but I thought there wasn’t enough meat to this first book. I’m interested enough to keep going though, so here’s to my future reading of People of Sparks!

Gap Creek: I read most of this. I’m not sure I care enough to finish it.

Just My Type – a book about fonts: I love it! Still about half way through, but really enjoying.

My goal for the final week is pretty simple – I want to finish Just My Type. I have a couple more Rachel Caine books from the library that I’ll read if I have time, but I definitely read the AMOUNT of books that I wanted to read. I didn’t read all the books I put on my list, but I read the important ones and I feel good about how I’ve finished the year. It has made me think about what kinds of reading resolutions I’ll put on my list for the coming year. Stay tuned for that!

My goal for FIR was 19 books, and I've read 25. Anything else is just gravy, right?

Fall Into Reading – my bi-Wednesday post on Thursday

So! I’ve been trying to write this post since Tuesday, but sickness has made it impossible for the cloud in my head to lift enough to sit in front of a computer outside work long enough to type anything. However, I have made more time for myself to read over the last couple weeks. Here’s what has been on the agenda:

Season to Taste: I finished this one, and it didn’t disappoint. I liked the combination of memoir and informative context of what your sense of smell means. To me, right now, it means my house smells like pine and cinnamon.

Bossypants: I was not as big a fan of this one as everyone else. Dare I say, I just don’t find Tina Fey that funny? Parts of it, namely the motherhood parts (A Letter to my Daughter, the Teat Nazi), were hilarious. But I’m not a fan of SNL generally, and I have never watched 30 Rock. I just felt like she was trying too hard to be funny.

Beauty Queens: I tried listening to this book while I ran, and It. Was. Terrible. The most inane book I’ve ever tried to listen to, and if I had to listen to one more ridiculous footnote I thought I was going to scream (if I had enough breath left to do so while running). I didn’t finish it. BUT I kind of want to know what happens so I’ve requested it in print from my library so I can finish. How sad is that?

Night Road: I do love Kristin Hannah, and this one didn’t disappoint. I love how real but how beautiful her stories are. Things aren’t perfect, and tragedy happens, but there’s still hope. I also love how she brings the hope and then let’s the reader imagine where the story goes afterward. Love it.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: I wanted to love this book. It has such an amazing premise, and every time I would try to explain the book to someone they would say “But it sounds so interesting!” … but it just wasn’t very well written. I hate to say that – it had such promise. I kept waiting for the magic, but the end just went downhill.

Third Quarter books

I meant to post this in October, but nothing seems to have gone exactly as planned. Here are the books read third quarter.

July

Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Smokin' Seventeen - Janet Evanovich

Cocktails for Three - Madeleine Wickham

The Hunt - Jan Neuharth

(re-read HP and Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling)

(re-read One Day - David Nicholls)*

Black Echo - Michael Connelly

The Blue Light Project - Timothy Taylor

August

Faithful Place - Tana French

Mort - Terry Pratchett

Iron Crowned - Richelle Mead

The Lost Hours - Karen White*

The Boyfriend of the Month Club - Maria Geraci

Last Train from Liguria - Christine Dwyer Hickey

Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin

Beguiled - Deeanne Gist & J Mark Bertrand

Please Ignore Vera Dietz - A.S.King

Angel Falls - Kristin Hannah

Ruby Red - Kristin Gier

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

September

Run - Ann Pratchett

The Scorch Trials - James Dashner

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs *

Heaven is For Real - Todd Burpo

Bloodlines - Richelle Mead

Succubus Revealed - Richelle Mead

Bright Young Things - Anna Godberson

Glass Houses - Rachel Caine

Dead Girls Dance - Rachel Caine

Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine

Reading, a two-week update

I was disappointed in myself regarding my reading for the past couple weeks, until I finally reminded myself that sometimes life gets in the way. Life takes priority - my KIDS and HUSBAND take priority. My running sometimes takes priority. Sometimes, my DVR takes priority.

So here's what I was thinking about on my last run. I love to read. And this year, while I read a lot, was also my time to prove to myself that it was okay to love cheesy chick lit and YA. Which I did. A lot. In between though, I've read some really GOOD books. And so while I complete my goals for Fall Into Reading, I'm also working on what my reading goals for next year will be.

But here's what I've been reading:

-- I didn't get back to Untouchable. I still need to finish this, and I want to. I have books from the library that are due and can't be re-upped, so it's been on hold.

-- The Sword-Edged Blonde - Alex Bledsoe. I was getting bored listening to Pandora while I ran, so I downloaded my library's app to listen to audiobooks on my phone. This was my first listen, and while it's not at all my usual read I really enjoyed it. And I REALLY enjoyed running while listening to a book.

-- Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine. Another in the Morganville vampire line.

-- Forever - Maggie Stiefvater. I enjoyed this. I didn't hear good things about it, and while No, it was not as good as the other two, I still enjoyed it.

-- Season to Taste: How I Lost my Sense of Smell and Found My Way - Molly Birnbaum. I'm 60 pages in, and it's due back at the library today. It's excellent, so guess what I'm going to be doing in my "spare" time today.

So I'm up to 94 books, and of those I still need to finish 2. Six full books and two halves left to go!

Fall Into Reading

I had a poor showing on my reading this week. I finished Simply From Scratch, which was still mopey but turned out pretty good. I also started (but didn't finish) my book club book, Untouchable by Scott O'Connor.

I had a hard time getting into this book at first. I think it was the style of not using the main character's name (everyone calls him "Kid" and the book refers to him more often than not as "The Kid" which is simply irritating to me). However, once I finally pushed myself to start reading, I really enjoyed it and now I'm looking forward to finishing. It makes me think a lot about bullying. The kid (The Kid) is heavily tormented, and this is one of my big worries for my kids. How do you watch for that? How do you prevent it? I was tormented by a couple girls that I had no excape from (my babysitter's daughter and her best friend) in my formative years, and I was strong enough to get past it but it still left marks. How do I keep my sons from having to endure such torment?

Anyhow, once I get through Untouchable, I have a few lighter reads to get my mind off such heavy ideas. I'm sure there's a vampire book or SOMETHING in there. Happy reading!

Fall Into Reading - update

So two weeks ago I pledged to update myself on my reading every Wednesday for Fall Into Reading, and then it didn’t happen. To be fair (to myself), I was packing last Wednesday to leave before the buttcrack of dawn to head to the airport with little ones. To be fair to you, I feel I should also disclose that I was drinking beer and watching the season 6 ending of Grey’s Anatomy while I packed and then had a slight nervous breakdown when Derek! Got! Shot! and Meredith! Had! A miscarriage! Right before I didn’t have time to watch any more episodes so I had to wait nearly a week to see what happened (it’s okay now, I watched a few episodes last night and I’m much more serene about the whole thing).

But anyhow! I have been keeping up on my reading list, and I’ve even been reading! Too! Here is what I’ve read:

• Glass Houses - Rachel Caine


• Dead Girls Dance - Rachel Caine


• Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine

These are the Morganville vampire books. There are 10, and I could probably read all 10 in less than a week because they aren’t exactly meaty. But they’re fun books, and I enjoyed the first few. I might pick up the rest at the library so I can supplement my reading when I don’t feel like thinking too much.

• Julie and Julia - Julie Powell

I bought this at the library a few weeks ago, and I really didn’t expect to like it (I did love the movie) but I did enjoy it a lot. I passed it on to my manager, and I have a feeling that she won’t enjoy it as much as I did. Such is life.

• Simply from Scratch - Alicia Bessette

I started this before my trip and then couldn’t finish it and didn’t want to bring a library book on the plane, so I need to get back to finishing it. I haven’t decided if I like it – a little bland, a little sulky (the main character’s husband dies before the start of the book so it’s about her finding her way to move on … she’s very sulky) but the neighbor girl is fun and hopefully it will get more interesting, if not predictable.

• The Fallen - Liz Braswell


• The Stolen - Liz Braswell


• The Chosen - Liz Braswell

These are the Nine Lives of Chloe King books, which I had on my Nook. Look! I read something on my book list! I liked these. Obviously not brain food or anything, but fun reads.

So my goal was 19 books by the end of the year, and so far I’ve gotten 9 down (well, 8.5). NEXT (after Simply from Scratch) I really need to read my book club book (Untouchable by Scott O'Conner) . Since you know, I’m the one who picked it for book club this month.

Fall Into Reading

I've been reading pretty steadily this year, but I don't want to fall off here at the end. I think I've realized that I won't meet my goal of 125 book considering at this very moment I've only read 82 books (mid 82nd, actually). But I'm going to hope I can make 100 at least, so I've decided to do the Fall Into Reading challenge to keep me reading through this very busy holiday season (and who am I kidding, the very busy prime time television season, and football, and baseball if our team gets its act together). And of course, those two toddlers running around. Here are 19 books (including the one I'm reading now) that I hope to read between now and December 21:

Bright Young Things, Anna Godberson
Untouchable, Scott O'Connor
Bossypants, Tina Fey
Swamplandia! Karen Russell
The Fallen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
The Stolen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
The Chosen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
Gap Creek, Robert Morgan
Until Proven Guilty, JA Jance
Someday This Will Be Funny, Lynne Tillman
Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, Stephanie McAfee

Okay, so that's only 11. I will add the other 8 when I come up with them, but my goal is 19 books. Over three months, that really shouldn't be that difficult for me.

Famous Last Words. Happy Reading!

Second Quarter Books

I seemed to have a hard time getting centered on reading this quarter, and I read a lot of chick-lit. I'm over apologizing for my love of chick-lit. I do feel like I should have been reading something a bit more meaty. Maybe next quarter.

April

Stuck in the Middle - Virginia Smith

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen*

For you Mom, Finally - Ruth Reichl

Wings - Aprilynne Pike

Divine - Karen Kingsbury

Hero at Large - Janet Evanovich

Medium Raw - Anthony Bourdain (abandoned, forgot what a pompous ass he can be)

Born Round - Frank Bruni

Motor Mouth - Janet Evanovich

May

Before Ever After - Samantha Sotto

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay*

Wicked Appetite - Janet Evanovich

Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah

Uncharted TerriTORI - Tori Spelling

Four Corners of the Sky - Michael Malone

13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson

Heart of the Witch - Alicia Dean

Blood Crimes - Dave Zeitserman

June

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling (real version)

Such a Pretty Fat - Jen Lancaster

The Passage - Justin Cronin* (abandoned after 250 pages, hoping to pick it back up next month)

Life's a Beach - Claire Cook

Can You Keep a Secret? - Sophie Kinsella

Perfect Timing - Jill Mansell

Bitter is the New Black - Jen Lancaster

*Book Club books

It's my fault I'm boring

I feel bad that I have nothing to talk about these days, so I'm reducing myself to show you a picture of my poor favorite pair of wooden-soled madden girl shoes which cracked through this morning. It kept feeling like I had something in my shoe, and I took it off and figured out that it was broken. I'm now trying to figure out if they can be fixed, and if it's worth it to do so. I've had these shoes for 6 years or so, and I love them love them love them.

Book Club met last night at a hoity-toity wine bar which I wasn't too impressed with. The discussion was pretty good, and I was overturned on our next book, but that's okay. We're going to read The Passage by Justin Cronin. A "post-apocalyptic vampire tale." I have actually had it since before it was released and I tried to read it but couldn't get into it. So I guess I'm trying again!

AND! I needed new pants because none of my old ones fit, but I didn't want to spend much on them and Loft is having 50% off their clearance so I got two pairs of jeans for $15 each, and a cute pair of dressy goldish-tan slacks that are too short for heels but i could wear with snazzy flats for $7.45. Seriously. I'm so excited to have something that fits properly besides the one pair of black crops that my manager gave me.

The rails are going up on the deck today. How exciting is that? Otherwise, the only things in my discussion arsenal is "teething sucks" and "yay for upcoming 3-day weekends". Anything going on for you this weekend?

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Chronicles of Mom-nia

I hate when things get so busy around here that I feel the need to chronicle everything. I don't know why, because I have no problem reading other peoples' chronicling, but I feel like such a lazy boring blogger when I chronicle my lives. Who wants to read that crap? I get bored writing it!

So here's the poop in bullets:

-- I'm ridiculously proud of myself for my 22 mile bike ride on Saturday. The furthest I've ridden in my adult life is about 14 miles when Spencer was about a year and we used to go on family rides. Still waiting for Henry to hit the magic one-year mark so we can start family rides again (the time passes when I don't want it to, and doesn't for the reasons I do want it to). I used to ride all over when I was young, but somehow you lose that drive when you get older. I didn't make it home (25 miles would have been home) but when I was dying, lying beneath that tree roadside while people looked strangely at me in the grass, I was glad to have gotten as far as I did. AND I was glad my FIL was at my house with his truck so Hubby was able to rescue me from said roadside.

-- True story:
Spencer likes to close doors. Spencer likes to push the button on the handle. Spencer does not realize that this locks the door.
(Hubby tries to get into our room): Spencer, come open this door.
(Spencer comes to open the door and finds it locked) I can't, it's locked.
H Did you lock it?
S Umm, yes.
H What does that mean?
S That means I go to time out.
H Okay, you go to time out.
(Spencer walks to his room with his head down)
YES! We have him trained! Now to train him not to lock the @(#&! doors.

-- I, who rarely ever reads more than one book at one time, am in the middle of three (3!) books. One, brainless: Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich. Two, pretentious: Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain (holy JEEBUS is he a pretentious ass; somehow in the couple years since I last read/saw him, I forgot this). Three, Darn good: Born Round by Frank Bruni. I have 3 days to finish them all so I can put them on my woefully inadequate April reading list.

-- I've been toying with going to the doctor for a full physical because I haven't been feeling that good. I've had a nagging stomachache for over a week, and my 99 hours of Grey's Anatomy have taught me that maybe something is something and not just nothing (thank you fictional tv). However, I am also almost sure that it's low-level anxiety because it went away over the weekend.

-- If you are interested in where I am in Grey's, George is dead. I think they just went to his funeral.

-- If you aren't as far as I am in Grey's, I'm sorry for the spoiler.

-- If you want to follow along at home with my Book Club, our next book is Sarah's Key. I picked this all on my own, so it's my fault if it sucks. Has anyone read it?

-- The kids both went to bed with no whining (Spencer) or crying or hysterical fits (Henry). This might be a sign of the apocalypse, but I prefer to think that maybe my daycare lady needs to drag the kids to Chuck E Cheese every day, like she did today.

The Hodgepodge

1) This has been the worst week at work in a really long time. I was on the verge of tears yesterday, I've been on the verge of quitting several times (which I cannot do, obviously), I've been working 12 hour days several times this week and last ... it's been bad. I've been overwhelmed and busy and with neverending work ... I'm hoping to get through today so I can move on to next - it has to be better, right? It has to get better. I know it gets better but I'm not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel right now.

2) I brought home about 3 hours of work last night, and then stopped at the library and got seven brainless books ... and read one (Hero at Large - Janet Evanovich) and took out a second to start (Medium Raw - Anthony Bourdain) before getting into my many Words with Friends games and not starting Book #2. Or the work.

3) Every day there are about five moments, conversations, etc, with Spencer that I want to document and then I don't write it right down and something else happens and I forget exactly what was said. But here's one: yesterday morning I was in the shower sitting on the floor shaving. Spencer came into the bathroom and it was a lot earlier than he usually wakes up. He went directly into my closet and closed the door (did not say anything to me). A few minutes later he came back out, left the bathroom and closed the door. When I finished my shower, I opened the bathroom door and he was standing there waiting for me, and asked me to walk him back to bed.

4) Here's another thing which is so endearing to me: every single morning, Spencer waits until his brother wakes up and then he climbs into Henry's crib with him and plays for a half hour or so. Most times he brings his pillow and blanket (which make for a crowded crib) and lays down to "cuddle" with Henry. I always check to make sure that every one is safe, but he really takes such good care of his little brother.

5) Henry is cutting an eye tooth. Never mind that he has NO OTHER TEETH so this is not really the proper order of things, but his gums are misshapen there into a weird little point. My child might have a fang here soon. This might be why he cries and laughs so much at the same time.

6) Today is Good Friday. I wish I took today off simply for my mental health, but I also hope that every single person I would otherwise hope to call takes it off so I can work in peace. Peace for Good Friday. Peace for Earth Day. Peace, please.

7) I had book club on Wednesday night and it was SO. Much. Fun! It was a little weird that all but one member are people that I either work with or used to work with, but we got through the night without it being a giant complaint-suck about things right now. As a matter of fact, I'm the only one who mentioned work at all because I had gone straight from one to the other. Now I need to figure out what we are going to read for next month. Pronto.

Ten on Tuesday - Books, books books!

1. When someone asks you for a book recommendation, what is your go-to book?
It really depends on what kind of books the person likes. Food Porn? Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. Non-fiction? Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson or The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot or Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell. Classic literature? McTeague by Frank Norris or Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald. Modern novels? Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Young adult? Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater ... I probably have tons more recommendations if you really want them.

2. Do you buy your books, or are you a library patron? I hate to spend too much money on books, so I download a lot of free and cheap ones. Before I got my Nook I had a lot of books from the library, but now I frequent the overdrive website (ebook library) and download almost every free or discounted book spotlighted by Nook.

3. E-readers, yay or nay? Up until Christmas I would have said no way, but my MIL gave me a Nook (she wanted to get me an eReader and I researched the major brands to decide which I wanted) and I LOVE it. So yay e-readers!

4. What was your favorite book as a child? Harold and the Purple Crayon as a toddler. A Wrinkle in Time and The Face on the Milk Carton when I was a little older. I can't remember a whole lot of books from my childhood, but I devoured them more than I do now.

5. If you could be any character in a book, who would you be? Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time. I identified a lot with her when I was young.

6. What book would you love to see turned into a movie? I honestly never think of books in terms of what would make a good movie. When I find out that a book I've read is being turned into a movie I wonder how it will be, but I never read a book and wonder how it would look as a movie. However, when I found out that they were making Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series into a movie the first thing I thought (after the fact that Heigl didn't make a good Plum) is that I think it would be a much better tv series.

7. What is your all-time favorite book? McTeague by Frank Norris. Or anything by Fitzgerald. Or almost anything by Nick Hornby (Not Long Way Down. Juliet, Naked would have been fantastic without the last chapter or two).

8. How many books do you read at once? Usually only one, occasionally two.

9. What is your favorite book genre? Memoir or supernatural, these days.

10. Which Harry Potter book is the best? Or haven’t you read them at all? I don't have a favorite. I enjoyed the series although I read them really late - just around December/January. I finally decided that maybe I should check them out, given my propensity to read YA lately.

For more, see Chelsea.

First quarter books

January

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling

My Horizontal Life - Chelsea Handler

Strange Bedpersons - Jennifer Cruisie

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling

Deathly Sanctuary - Sylvia Nobel

Last Sacrifice - Richelle Mead

The Demon Girl - Penelope Fletcher

February

Alone - Lisa Gardner

Truly, Madly - Heather Webber

One Day - David Niccolls

Baltimore Blues - Laura Lippman

Holiday Chick - Amber Carter

Will Grayson Will Grayson - John Green

Arm Candy - Jill Kargman

Married with Zombies - Jesse Peterson

Listen - Rene Gutteridge

March

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

Matched - Allie Condie

Spying in High Heels - Gemma Halliday

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr

Seven Year Switch - Claire Cook

The Recipe Club - Andrea Israel (abandoned)

The Pact - Jodi Piccoult

Love Overboard - Janet Evanovich

How to Marry a Vampire Millionaire - Kerrelyn Sparks

Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

Millie's Fling - Jill Mansell

The Vampire's Image - BV Larson

Camille - Tess Oliver

Kiss Me, Kill Me - HP Mallory, et al

Metro Girl - Janet Evanovich

Baby Led Weaning - Gil Rapley & Tracey Murkett