I'm one of those irritating people who read 6 books at once, depending on my whim of the moment as to which one I'll pick up. This drives some of my friends crazy, as they are the type to read one book through, then read the NEXT book through, very orderly and thoroughly. I've never been able to focus that long on one book, really. Nor do I want to. For instance, if I'm reading about someone in World War II and I can't bear the weight of it, I'm so relieved to have The Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League to fall into, to lighten the thoughts in my brain. If I read a travel book, I like to be able to balance it out with a cookbook in the next room, bringing me back to this present time and place. Moody readers are the worst, aren't they?
Here's what I'm reading:
(My friend, Joni, gave me this little tote and it's perfect for corralling my books by the couch.)
I've been grinding away at Cutting For Stone for at least 6 weeks, now...maybe longer; it has very explicit surgery descriptions and I have such a vivid imagination that I can almost feel them. But I work away at it and when I'm done, I have friends to discuss it with and THAT is the reason I continue.
The time management and organizing books were for my workshop and have helped me IMMENSELY. I continue to read and underline and mark, then turn around and apply to my life in as many ways as I can. I knew I was differently wired than many of my friends, and these books are helping me learn to make changes to the way I organize in order for my habitat (so to speak) to work with the way I naturally think.
The John Grisham, Chris Bohjalian, and Racing in the Rain books are my fiction challenges to myself. I have to FORCE myself to read fiction. Isn't that crazy? But true. So I try to include a couple in my pile and pick up at least one, once a day.
The fishing book is feeding the passion, of course. Loch and River is an illustrated journal of an avid fisherwoman who was born in England in 1884, but fly fished mainly in Scotland and Ireland throughout her years. It has her notes from each day, illustrations of the flies she used, observations of the countryside and weather...it's incredible.
Eat, Pray, Love is almost done...I'll write more of that in a future post, as it smacked me upside the head earlier this month, oddly enough. Pass the Butterworms is about travel, mostly to inhospitable places like Mongolia and it's more of a collection of writings than anything. I'm afraid I read too many travel books and now grow impatient with the dozens of Tuscany writings. Mongolia is a refreshing change. :)
Finally, Confessions of a French Baker is a little book with recipes and techniques for making good french style loaves of bread at home. I'll try some of the recipes, but think that truly...the only place to get perfectly French bread is in France. Let's go there, now.
This is what I'm SUPPOSED to be reading for book club:
Confession: I've only read about a chapter of the Marilu Henner Memory Makeover book. It was for last month, for heaven's sake!!! And this month is Sky of Stone by Homer Hickam who will actually be attending our book club meeting! Can you believe the thrill? I can't wait. But I've read the book about three times, so don't feel a huge sense of urgency right now. I WILL be frantically reading it for the fourth time about three days prior to the gathering.
This is what Maggie is currently reading:
A pet book, a dragon book, a horse book and a fairy book that she's just finishing up as I type.
These are the books Angus is looking at:
Very eclectic mixture of a mystery, a fable, an adventure and a nature book. Hmm....
And finally, the magazines:
So....what are YOU reading these days?