Drinking The Kool-Aid

One of my unofficial resolutions for 2012 was to read more books and so far, January has started off swimmingly in that aspect! I've officially read 5 books so far and I'm just gaining momentum!

I'm pretty proud of myself, I finally got through The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and while I haven't started the next book yet, I have it and I'm going to read it, soon.

I can't read it right now, though, because I'm really busy reading something else. I started the Harry Potter series last week and I'm steadily making my way through it. I'm really enjoying it so far and I can see why everyone likes the series so much. I'm thoroughly entertained and with each book I read, I'm getting more into it and more excited to finish the series and see the movies at the end.

I decided that since I've never read any of the books nor seen any of the movies (yes, I have been living under a rock for the last 15 years (and yes, the first HP book came out 15 years ago, man that makes me feel old!)) that I'd read them all and then watch all the movies afterwards (probably somewhat consecutively while D is away at training).

I don't know about you, but I am a big fan of book series. Even if there aren't movies made (like the Twilight series, the Millennium series, Harry Potter, etc.) I really enjoy reading series. I think its because I tend to "miss" characters after books are over and with series, the story continues over lots of time.

Part of the reason I've been reading so much is because I finally joined the masses and got an e-reader! I bought myself a Kindle touch with some Christmas money and I'm liking the freedom it gives me to buy a book online and be able to start reading it immediately.

Reading

I know I posted about my official New Year's resolutions last week, but one of my unofficial resolutions is to read more books. I was an English major in college and I've always really enjoyed reading for pleasure (as opposed to for class). There were certainly a lot of required books that I did enjoy reading as well.

I joined goodreads.com the other day and I have slowly been rating books I've read and marking the books I want to read. I had a list of about 25 books when I started and now I'm up to about 250. Ha! Between finding new books and remember others that I wanted on my list, I think I'm going to be reading for the next 50 years or so!


So far I'm trying to read the Stieg Larsson books so that I can justify seeing the movies. I've been "reading" the first book (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) for about a year now and I've had a really hard time getting into it, but a few friends have told me that once you get into it, it gets really good, so I'm trying.

I also recently read The Hunger Games series at the urging of a few friends. I'm so glad that I read them. I absolutely cannot wait to see the movie when it comes out in March. This series has been added to my list of all time favorites. If you haven't read them yet, I suggest you do so immediately.

In keeping with the series theme, I have decided that its time I read the Harry Potter books. I haven't ever read any of them or seen any of the movies, so I'm planning to read all 7 books and then watching the movies. I'm a hater hold-out and I just think that since so many people seem to be obsessed with Harry Potter, I should at least give them a chance.

It seems like lots of book series are being made into movies nowadays and I was surprised but also intrigued when I saw that Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is being made into a movie (at least the first book is). Katherine Heigel is playing Stephanie Plum, which is not who I would have picked, but who knows, maybe it will work.

The Stephanie Plum series is really just a fun, easy-to-read series that I started a while ago. I haven't made it all the way through and now I can't remember what book I left off on, but I might get back to reading them again.

So, what about you? What are some books you read last year that you enjoyed? Are you on GoodReads? Let me know so I can add you!

Book Club

Yesterday AJ and I hopped in the car and headed down to post. It was the first time I have actually driven around on base and it was kind of fun to explore a little bit. We were headed to the gift shop run by the wives club to meet a few people from the area and we found it!

While we were there, the ladies invited me to their book club meeting they were having last night. I informed asked D and got the go-ahead to head out! So last night I met up with about 10 ladies at IHOP to talk about a book I haven't read the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. ;) Okay, there was some talk about the book, too!

Before you go thinking that I'm super brave to walk into a group of 10 strangers, I should let you know that several of the ladies there were people that I know from an Internet wives group I've been part of for a while. Anyway, I had so much fun! It was great to meet lots of people I've been emailing with for a few years and also to meet others as well! All of the ladies were so friendly and I felt like I fit in with them, which is nice. This particular group also does a Mexican night every so often in addition to the book club, so I'm hoping that hanging with this group will be a regular thing for me.

Its so nice to have time to myself and be able to get out of the house without AJ for a while. Sure, I go run errands on the weekend while D stays home with AJ, but this was actual ME time where I wasn't trying to get anything done and get home. I got to just sit, gossip about reality TV and laugh with {new} friends!

I am also excited to have a book to read for the next book club meeting! Its part of a series and after reading the blurb, I'm not sure how much I'll like it, but the last time I read a series (ahem, Twilight) I didn't think I'd like it either and I ended up enjoying it.

What do you do to meet new people when you move? Do you belong to any book clubs or other groups?

A Bookshelf Full of Unread Books...

Before D and I got married I worked for a publishing company. I was an English major in college and love to read, so this was basically the ideal job for me. One of the perks was that as employees, we received a copy of every book the company published, for free (seriously, best.job.ever.). I only worked there for about a year, but during that time I accumulated quite the collection of books.

I was going through my bookshelf the other day and I realized that there are quite a few books that I either acquired while working for the publisher or bought myself and then never got around to reading. I decided to make a goal to read them. I realize that it might take me a while to actually complete this goal, but personally, I think its kind of lame when people have tons of books on their shelves that they haven't actually read. I think its rather hypocritical of me to feel that way and have lots of unread books displayed for all to see.

Surprisingly, quite a few of the books on my shelf are what would be considered "classics" that I was never required to read in any of my English classes. Or, if I'm being honest, was assigned and just didn't read. Being an English major is tough. Each one of your professors knows that you're taking 4 other classes just like his (or hers) and still assigns a book a week. Who has time to read all of them and then write the papers on them?!

I kind of feel though, that someone who holds a degree in English should have read most, if not all of the classics (geez, snobbish much?). Thus, my collection. I mean, who really has time to sit down and read Great Expectations or Pride and Prejudice in real life, when its not required? I purchased the books, and never took the time to read them.

I'm not going to list all of the books on my shelf that are yet-to-be-read, but I will state that there are more than 50 titles on my list. There are a few books that I don't have on my bookshelf that I added to the list because I want to read them as well, so there are not actually 50 unread books on my shelf.

But, I'm wondering, do you have books that you bought (or somehow acquired) that you haven't read? What are some of the classics that you think are important to read, English degree or not? Any in particular that are your favorites?

While writing and especially re-reading this post before I hit "publish" I realized that I am a judgmental person when it comes to books and reading, which is ironic, because I love a sappy romance or chic lit book as much as the next person. Please note: I won't judge you for what you read, but what you don't read. ;)