Reading the Day Away

Summer is just about here! And that makes me a bit giddy... if only i didn't have to survive through 5+ weeks of summer school, then I would be one happy camper! If only!

Well, with long summer afternoons fast approaching my mind is wandering to reading lazily on my balcony, by the pool, at a coffee shop, or even as my husband is driving! Curled up on the couch wouldn't be so bad either! This also reminds me of the time i spent an entire Friday reading in my mother's backyard just so we could go see the movie for the same book that very night. (It was Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook!)

While I have loved reading the whole day away, it seems that as I have gotten older, these moments of not having to be anywhere to do anything seem few and far between. This will definitely become one of my items on my summer to-do list.... relax and read! 

This weekend I began reading The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve and so far have enjoyed it, though i will say it has a depressing beginning. Let's see if it ends on a high note! 

I have read other books that have led me to llllllllllloooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnngggggg hours with a book in hand. Here are a few titles that kept me more than captivated for hours on end:

The Book of Ruth

The Fourth Hand by John Irving

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

The Dive from Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer

What books have you sat and read the whole day away with? 

Still Going After All These Years

Reading has been a hobby of mine since high school and maybe even before. It is definitely something my mother and teachers helped to develop over time. I remember sitting in my room for hours and hours on end and then eventually moving to the backyard to read and read and read. Pages and pages of books that i just could not put down. I still love to read, but my habits have definitely changed over the years! 

Even though i am still reading the same book as last month, I thought I would still link up and share some of my reading habits! Head on over to Taylor and Lesley's blogs to check out more reading habits! 

What are you currently reading? 

I am still reading How to Bake a Perfect Life and it has finally gotten good! Even still I am not reading as much as i would like! Life just seems too busy and finding time to read can be a bit tough! 

Amazon or brick and mortar? Locally owned bookshop or big name chain store?

I love brick and mortar book stores! Love to go there, but lately I have been buying all my books as digital copies. I feel it is just easier since i have that thing with me pretty much all the time! When i do go to a book store, it's Barnes and Noble for me. It seems like there are fewer and fewer options when it comes to great small book shops! Sad! 

Bookmark or dog-ear?

Typically a book mark does the trick for me! 

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

I order my books randomly! Currently they are in the "however they fit in a box" order! That's right they are all packed away in a box or two in my garage! 

Keep, throw away, or sell?

If it's a favorite book, i tend to want to keep it, but I am learning that i don't want to have to store the dust collectors! Thinking i might begin to sell my books when I'm done with them as soon as we move and unpack that garage! 

Keep dust jacket or toss it?

Read with dust jacket or remove it?

I hate that darn dust jacket! It always seems to get in the way, that is when i am reading a hard covered book! I am usually reading a paperback. I prefer them! 

Short story or novel? Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?

Um, all of the above. I love fiction and biographies are pretty awesome too! 

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

I usually stop when i can't keep my eyes open anymore and if that happens to be when a chapter begins or ends, then great! 

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

Not one for mysteries and suspense in the books i read, so i would say that i lean more towards "Once Upon a Time"!

Buy or borrow? New or used?

Love to borrow and buy used books! I love that the pages are broken in and that someone before you really enjoyed that page and cared to turn it!  I have a few friends that don't believe in keeping books on shelves and often give away stacks of books to share with friends! Love that! 

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?

I like to go off of recommendations from friends, especially ones that have similar reading tastes! My book club gals always seem to have some good ones that I should definitely add to my list! I love to browse too! But finding the right one can be quite overwhelming! 

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?

There's nothing wrong with a little bit of both! 

Morning, afternoon or nighttime reading?

Depends on if I am working! Breaks from work make me a reader of any time! 

Single volume or series?

I haven't read many series, at least not in their entirety. I got to about book 5 in the Harry Potter series and have read a lot by a few single authors but not many series. It seems whne i read a book i truly enjoy that is just a single volume, I then wish it was turned into a series! This is truly how I feel about The Help! 

Favorite series?

See previous question. 

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

Hmm... tough question for me. A lot of what i read is pretty well known. That and I'm having some difficulty figuring out what i have read! Ok so, here's one not many know about: 

Loved how funny and educational this book was! It really made me think twice about how things are presented to people who are new to our country! It isn't always a pretty picture no matter which country one is trying to assimilate to! 

I may have different habits than what I had when i first began enjoying books, but i still love to read and this summer, with a whole 4 weeks off, I plan to read a bunch! Can.not.wait! 

What are some of your reading habits? 

Random Thursday: Top 3 Books Turned Movies

I think I can ... I think I can ....

This is my mantra this week! 

It is definitely the epitome of a teacher's life for me: parent teacher conferences, report cards due, lesson planning, professional development, and getting ready for a new student! 

Needless to say, this Random Thursday is definitely a welcome break from the icky rush before spring break! 

The topic this week:

Let me just say that I love to read a GREAT book, but it saddens me when they don't come out that great. I always wish my favorite parts of the book would make it into movie form but usually they dont! Let's just say that alot of times the books turned movies are not that great... there are definitely bad options out there! 

Either way here are my top 3! 

|one|

This is based on one of my favorite books by one of my all time favorite authors: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

|two|

The Secret Life of Bees

Loved both the book and the movie...

 

...but i still loved the book more! 

|three|

One of my all time favorite books! 

 

I loved both the movie and the book... but i think i still love the book much more! There are some details that they can't fit into a movie! 

I can't wait to read what other people post! 

My guess is that there will be a few references to Twilight and maybe even some Lord of the Rings? Or even Harry Potter? Hmmm... see if I'm right by clicking below! 

Sleepy Book Worm

boy am i tired! 

early Mondays with late evening activities sure do put me in a not so bloggy mood on Monday nights... so much so that i am not even gonna make any letter capitalized. too tired to hit two keys at one time. 

so if you recall a few months ago i participated in Taylor's literary junkies link up and this month, i thought i would share my newest book club read. we have moved on from our suspenseful read of gone girl, to how to bake a perfect life by barbara o'neal. here's a look at the cover:

i am about half way through, or maybe close to half way and i am really enjoying this book! I love the characters and the perspective they lend to different life situations. the characters are definitely likeable and the situations could definitely be real life situations. I have never read anything from this author before, but i think i could like her! Oh and one other part of the book that i have enjoyed, is the discussion of bread. Bread is a theme woven through out hte story. There are even recipes stuck into a few chapters ... it's almost like you can smell the bread baking in the oven! 

What book are you reading? 

Share with us! 

Oh and while you are hopping around from blog to blog... be sure to go and enter the birthday giveaway over at You're Meaghan Me Crazy! 

ps. so i never realized how hard it is to avoid capitalizing. I snuck a few capital letters in there ... for good measure of course! Off to bed! 

Literary Junkie For Sure!

Today I am officially a "Literary Junkie" because I am participating in a new monthly link up with Taylor and Lesley.

So here's the deal, every month these ladies will be hosting a link up to discuss books and as long as i have been reading, i will be linking up! Taylor has been my pen pal for the last few months and she is just swell! I truly look forward to her letters and love that she is so down to earth! Lesley writes a blog that i am new to! And just from the get go, i cannot wait to read more! So here are the questions for this month:

1) What book are you currently reading? Give us a little synopsis and your review.

I just started "Gone Girl" and am really excited about this book! It seems really intriguing so far. It is a mystery that is about a husband and a wife where the wife disappears. Each chapter is from either the wife's perspective or from the husband's perspective. So far, it is interesting and I am waiting for it to get to where I cannot put down!

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2) What are your 3 favorite books of all time?

My first favorite book of all time is from my favorite author, John Irving! I love his book called "A Prayer for Owen Meany."It was a book assigned to me by my senior English teacher! I loved the book! To this day it is one of my faves!

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The next book that is in my top three would be "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. I really love literature that takes place in the time period of the 60s. It love the way life seemed to be! This is a great story about a young girl who leaves her abusive father to live with three amazing black women.Have you seen the movie staring Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifa?

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The last book in my top three is "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I love this book and in my last 100 pages who reading it, I actually slowed down in my reading to make sure it would last longer! I truly fell in love with Skeeter and Abileen! I loved every part of this story and hated what each character hated as well! It was such a good book! I highly recommend this one, for sure!

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3) What is your "approach" upon entering a bookstore? Where do you immediately head after entering through the front door?

 When I enter a book store, I go straight for the new paperbacks! I also look for the books that have been recommended by employees of the book store. I know Barnes & Noble does this and I often enjoy reading the commentary on each book. I can't say it has pushed me one way or the other when it comes to my choice, but it is fun to read! I also like to check out the biography new releases and then head to all the wonderful fiction! I also really like to look at the Abel's where they display books being read by local high school students. It is neat seeing some of my faves get added and also remain on these lists! I then usually rund it my visit with a trip to the clearance and also to check out the journals! 

So, what are you reading? What are your favorites? How do you attack a book store?

 Don't forget to see what others are reading! 

Random Thursdays: Fun Summer Reads!

Phew... Almost done with the first week of the school year!

And .... 

Oh boy this blog hit 100 followers last night!!!!!!

I could write what an amazing journey this has been, and boy has it, but instead of typing away I am gonna get right to scheduling an awesome giveaway! (i have been saying this for awhile, but truly have ideas that have not gone much farther than that!)

So, today's my first link up for random Thursday! The topic this week is 

So here we go ...

This summer I actually joined a book club with some of my co-workers. It has been fun to try different restaurants and discuss books with girls that I work with! All this while we may or may not have been trying a few drinks! 

We began the summer with the book 

...... And I HATED IT! 

I usually am determined to finish a book i start, but in this case I did not like it and ended up putting it down! Plus this was my first experience with reading on the iPad. Not a great beginning! 

Then we read Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I truly enjoyed this book. It was good to talk about and the story, though not very light, it was definitely a good story. 

Then my book club moved on to this book:

This book has been pretty stinking hilarious. Those of you that might like a few swear words, funny rants and really long sentences ight ike this bloggers memoir. It has been great thus far. I have laughed out loud on several occasions, including ones in public! I even read a portion out loud to my husband and he thought it was pretty funny and ridiculous. This is also my second try at reading on the iPand and have thus far enjoyed it! 

I also started another book (that my book club is not reading) from my favorite author. (I believe i have ready every single one of her books except for In her Shoes and that is just  because i refuse to read a book if i have seen the movie!) So I am still working on this one: 

I have enjoyed his story so far, but i think it is a given. I love this author and wil lread anythign she puts out! It's great light summer reading. 

I also love to read Real Simple. I am a bit behind so I have been reading the May issue of this magazine! But usually i read them really quickly and then i feel as though i have none to read for weeks! This time i am behind and it will take me a couple times to actually read them! 

In addition this magazine has great digital copies that have been really handy. 

In addition to all of this reading I have been following a few blogs. Here are a few that I love: 

Somewhat Domesticated

Linny's Vault

Just Stuff for Fun

Lovely Little Things

Trial By Sapphire

Emmy June

Baking, Crafting, Teaching... oh my!  

la, la, love, learn, laugh

the {mr.} and the {mrs.}

and Brayden makes three

Daisy Girl

The Vintage apple

Somethin bout a truck

I know there's like a ton more ... but that is all i am willing to put into tonight! there are so many blogs i love! 

So that is my list of fun summer reads for this summer! 

What have you been reading? 

Check out what others have been reading here:

And be sure to visit our hosts' blogs! 

and then 

Sunlight After Rain

This might become a regular post... thinking about replacing one of my link ups each week with this one. Its kind of time to switch things up! What do you all think? 

PS. I decided (on purpose) that i m not going to read 50 shades of gray. My mom then told me last night that she was gonna buy it and that after she was done she would lend it to me. I am not sure about this one, but it most definitely made me crack up!