Welcome to My Reading World

I love to read and to write, so I thought I'd enjoy writing about the books that I read.

I've always loved to read, since I first mastered GO, DOG, GO! and devoured NANCY DREW books a few years later. As an adult, though, my reading tastes began to seem somewhat stale to me a few years ago. I read a lot of suspense novels, some popular mainstream fiction that my mother lent me, and not much else. My reading list has expanded considerably in the past couple of years, due to several positive influences.

The most exciting change has been my involvement in two book groups. I love the variety of books I now read as a part of these groups and enjoy discussing what I've read. It's exciting to share wonderful books with other book lovers.

I also have more time to read now than I used to. This is one of the very few positive outcomes of my battle with a debilitating chronic illness these past five years. I need to rest each day now and am unable to do much of anything on the worst days. I used to get depressed when I "crashed" and had to spend the day lying down, but now I try to view these unplanned down days as a chance to lose myself in a good book.

Finally, my freelance writing has taken an unexpected turn this past year as I've begun to write reviews for FAMILY FUN magazine. I review all sorts of family fare - movies, music, toys, and games - but I most enjoy writing reviews of books. My 11-year old son is also an avid reader and is thrilled with my new career. Together, we pore over publisher's catalogs and choose what books we want to test next. We're grooming my 8-year old son into a book lover as well.

So, my reading list is now an eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction, with a good dose of middle-grade children's books added in. I read the selections for my two book groups, books that my son has enjoyed that might work for a review, and anything in between that catches my eye. I still throw in an old favorite thriller author here and there as well.

In this blog, I hope to share my thoughts and ideas about the books I'm reading. For starters, here are some of the books I've most enjoyed in the past 6 months:

- RUNNING WITH SCISSORS by Augusten Burroughs - a compelling and astounding memoir
- YA YAS IN BLOOM by Rebecca Wells - the humorous and heart-warming sequel to Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
- THE BOOK OF JOE by Jonathan Tropper - a unique story with memorable characters
- MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult - a haunting, multi-faceted novel by one of my favorite authors
-THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN by Phil Doran - a humorous and poignant combination travel book, memoir,and love story
- THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho - a brief novel that won me over with its insights
- LAUGHING BOY by Oliver La Farge - a 1929 Navajo love story

From now on, I'll add entries to this blog about the books I'm currently reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the books I'm reading, as well as books you've loved.