Books I Read in March

Yesterday’s Love by Michele Ashman Bell. A fluffy romance about a woman who find herself in a major depression and recovers with the help of a long lost high school friend. It was one of my "treadmill books" this month!
Rating: B +
Genre: Romance

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. About a devil giving advice to his nephew, a new devil, on how to win the soul of a man on earth. Lots of profound insights.
Rating: B +
Genre: Religion? Hmmm...

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. This one won the Pulitzer Prize a few years ago. It’s about an old man who is nearing death, and he’s writing this memoir of his life, and things he wants to tell his young son after he’s gone.
Rating: A-
Genre: Literary Fiction

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. One girl’s terrible, frustrating nanny experience in New York. I thought it was very obnoxious and depressing. (My 2nd treadmill book of the month!)
Rating: C+
Genre: Literary? Fiction

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George. Wow, a huge book! I loved learning about this time in history and all the fascinating characters surrounding Cleopatra. I NEED to go there and visit now!
Rating: A
Genre: Historical Fiction

Booking Through Thursday: Location Part 2

I'm excited to start participating in the Booking Through Thursday questions!

Location, Location, Location, Part 2
Booking Through Thursday

Where do you do most of your reading? Your favorite spot? (Show a picture, if you want to!)
(And yes, I understand that these might not be the same thing--your favorite spot could be the beach, but you do most of your reading at home . . . in which case, tell me about both!)

My answer:

I have two favorite spots at home. The first is on a little loveseat sofa in what we call the "piano room"... the little living room that is set away from the main living area of the house, so it's sometimes quieter, less activity, less through traffic, etc.

The second place is in my bed, late at night, or early-ish on Saturday and Sunday mornings... or on sleepy afternoons, or mid-mornings... or maybe even right in the middle of when I should be making dinner!

Books and Movies and Concerts and TV Stuff Coming Up

There's lost of stuff coming up this summer that I'm so excited about. Here's all the dates I'm trying to keep in my head:

April 23: Hereos starts up again.
April 25: Josh Groban on American Idol
May4: Spiderman #3 release date


May 25: Pirates #3 release date.


May 29: Shannon Hale's latest book, Austenland, comes out.
July 13: Release date for Harry Potter #5 movie

July 21: Harry Potter's final episode is out!
August 6: Seeing Rush in concert... maybe....


August 7: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer hits the book stores.
August 28: Josh Groban in concert... I REALLY better be there!



Anybody know when the next Eragon book is coming out? I can't find any info on it and I'm thinking it's time! PLEASE!! The cliffhanger for Eldest is... is... unbearable!

I still feel like I'm forgetting something here. What else is happening this summer that I need to add to my books/movies/music/TV list?

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

Wow! I loved this book. I've had it on my "mental" to read list for a couple of years now, and finally got to it with the push of the Historical Fiction group. It's only taken me... three months or so to read this 950 plus page book, but I have been fitting it in between other books too. However, for the past week, this one has consumed me.

Obviously, it's a fictional account based on the life of Cleopatra. However, the author lets the reader know what things she based on well-known accounts, and what stuff she totally made up. I found it fascinating to read about this time period, these characters, the culture... everything. (Sometimes the war talk and politics bogged me down, but it was interesting too!) Now I'm really hoping to see Rome, Egypt, Greece, The Nile... some day. Add that to my to do list!

Treadmill Books

The other day while at the library, I did something I haven't done in a long, long time. That was to browse through the shelves and pick up a book that I knew nothing about and had no intention of reading before walking in that very second. I used to do this all the time before joining online groups, reading blogs, and subscribing to book magazines. Now, my list of books to read is huge, as most of you know, and I go into the library usually with the intention of grabbing a certain book, or if not that, then a book or author I've heard of will jump out at me and I'll add that to my bag.

The reason I found myself browsing was because I was in the large print section, just trying to find any old large print book. The reason for the large print? (No, I'm not THAT old yet! :) ) But I have taken up treadmill walking, an activity I find I actually enjoy IF I have nice fast-paced music blasting AND a nice book to read. And I've found that the larger the print the book has, the easier it is to read as your head is bobbing up and down!

So, that made me think of yet another list... what qualifies for a good treadmill book?

1. As already mentioned, large print is very nice. Thus, the great idea I had to check out some "real" large print books.


2. Also, hardback books work much better in the little book holder, I've discovered.


3. The less amount of concentration needed the better! So, it's a go for fluffy books, YA books, just for fun books....


4. I need to be able to stop reading after 1/2 hour. If it grabs me too much and I want to keep reading after walking, this is not good.


5. BUT.... if it grabs me just enough that I can't wait for walking time the next day, this is good! Great exercise motivation!


6. Short books are better, so can I get done with them fairly quickly and see lots of progress.

So, are you wondering yet what book I picked off the large print shelf for my next treadmill book? It's called Willowwood by Mollie Hardwick, published in about 1980 I think or something. Anyone heard of it?

But the thing that caught my eye? On the front it says "a Victorian romance." Now how could I pass that up?

The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus.

It's not very often that I read a book that I don't really like at all. I only made it through this story, about a nanny's experience, one just to see what happens to the little boy that she takes care of, and let's just say it wasn't a happy ending. On the front of my book The New York Times says about this book, "devilishly funny." Sheesh, I found nothing AT ALL funny about it; in fact it was overwhelmingly sad and depressing.

I came close to just bagging it several times, but it was my treadmill book of the week, and since I was there, walking, and it was there, waiting to be read, I read it.

Book Bloggin' Buddies List

So I've started another side bar of links to book blogs that I'm slowly discovering. If you see yourself added to my list and would rather NOT be... please let me know and I'll take you off! If you aren't there and you'd like to be, please let me know and I'll add you in! I'll just be slowly adding to it as I find people!

Thanks for the bloggin' fun so far!