Sunday Salon - Getting back on the reading bandwagon

Don't know why, but for some reason I got off the reading bandwagon. It felt odd and different and even though I wanted to read, I just didn't have the urge to pick up a book and even if I did read, it wasn't for long periods of time and it was things that I had to read for a few book review tours that I had signed up for during the summer.

But for whatever the reason, the 24-hour Readathon a couple weeks ago energized me to start reading again on a regular basis.  I guess what I needed was some sort of focus in my reading for a sustained amount of time and that really jump started me again into reading on a more regular basis and to enjoy reading again and less of a chore. It's kinda of funny, but I sense another lull coming, but I suppose it depends on how many required books I have to read and whether I am enjoying the books that I am reading for enjoyment. And how I am feeling physically.

I am also hoping to make a vegetarian lasagna today that I will split up and freeze on a cookie sheet before I put them in containers or ziploc bags for easy lunch (don't know how I missed the mozzarella when I went to the grocery store the couple times I made trips).

Here is what I finished this past month:
• Yellow-Billed Magpie by Nancy Schoellkopf (review)
• Port of No Return by Michelle Saftich (review)
• In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
• Birds of Passage by Joe Giordano (review)
• The Dead in their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
• Mãn by Kim Thúy
• Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume by Jeff Smith

Here is what I am hoping to finish in November:
• The Buried Giant
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
• The Orphan Master's Son
• The Accidental Empress
• Circling the Sun

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday, however you choose to spend it.

My other passion

As those that read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I have a passion for all things reading and books; it was something that was instilled in me at an early age and something that has carried on for about 30 years.

But there is something else that I am equally passionate about and even though I have only followed them on a regular basis for the past 17 years, they would be considered to be my second passion in life.  They have caused me great consternation at times, but also they have caused great joy and great anticipation.  They have caused me great heartache and made me wonder why I even bother follow them at times and have made me to lose sleep on a number of nights wondering if they will ever live up to my expectations.  Well, not just my expectations, but they are probably largely responsible for my nails never to really grow to a length that I would like (there are other reasons as well too, but they are the main reason).

They are the never ending soap opera at times, especially when things are going really bad and the light at the end of the tunnel seems to never appear.  With a book, I know there will be a beginning, a middle and end.  With this one, I know the beginning, but I don't know where the middle is nor do I know where the end will be and nor do I want to know what the ending will be.  Its a never ending story of sorts.

If you haven't guessed by know, my other passion is a sports team that is 4 wins away from its first league championship.  It has been to the league championship 2 other times, the last one being 17 years ago.  So before I sign off, I will say this:  Go Canucks Go.

Bad week

I know when I have had a bad week when I haven't read a lot. It seems that whenever I am having a bad day that I can hardly focus on a book and that whatever is bugging me bugs me even more when I am reading. Sometimes it happens when I am watching TV, but usually helps with the distraction and I can more likely forget about what is bugging me. It seems that while I love to read, I seem to be more distracted with my problems when reading and that bugs me. That happened to me a few times this past week and I just couldn't concentrate on what I was reading and was more concerned about whatever was bothering me. And trust me it was bad week and hopefully these will be few and far between.

And if you are interested, I am hosting a readathon in a month's time. If you are interested, you can find the sign up by clicking the button for the read-a-thon underneath my profile. I hope you are able to join. :)

Reading update

Despite the fact that I haven't been updating my blog, I have been reading. I just haven't been reading as much as I had hoped to. I think I am half-way to my goal of 50 books at the moment and will get as close as I can. Hope you are all well and reading lots.

Update

I am so sorry I haven't been updating my book blog lately. While I have been reading and finishing a number of books in the last month or so since my last update, I have been rather neglectful in updating, which I hope to do sometime soon. Currently I have been reading "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis and I can hardly wait to get the book finished. I almost felt like quitting the book and returning it to the library half way through and now I am within about 50 pages of finishing the book.

I will update sometime within the week. Have a good weekend :)

New Author Challenge

I am going to attempt to read 15 new authors in 2010. Most likely they will be books that I all ready own and haven't attempted to read. I am also considering reading authors in genres that I don't particularly like, ie. fantasy.

Why I love reading

I was reading a book on the way home from work today and I started to think about why I love reading. There are many reasons why I love reading but I suppose the main reason is that I enjoy escaping to a different time and place; to be transported to a place or a time that doesn't exist in my own world, that is a part of my daily routine. I sometimes love being transported to a warm, summer's beach on one of the many cold and rainy evenings during the fall and winter. I like being transported to a time that I couldn't possibly even go back to and to a place that I can only dream of visiting. I sometimes get a little sad when I have to part with characters that I have grown to love and cherish, almost as though they are a part of my own family and circle of friends.

First Post

This is a blog about the books that I read. I will likely link to my LiveJournal account, where I have also posted about the books I read. If I post there, I will post a link here and vice versa.