My Favorite Thing to Do

weeelll...i absolutely love books! i have a strong belief that books keep your mind active and smart and that one of the best ways to inspire your kids to read is if they see the parents reading.

superman and i read ALOT. we read completely different genres though. he prefers to learn and read in religious studies. my preferences tend to be more varied because i basically read what i have questions about or want to learn about a.e. i have had major interest in the english monarchy so i have been reading alot of historical fiction related to that. another time i didn't believe what my dentist told me about cavities so checked out a book about dental hygeine and when i got pregnant with Q., my first-born, i read a text book called "Reproductive Biology" from cover to cover so i could know exactly what was going on everyday from day zero.

i really love historical fiction and if i get stumped with finding something to read next, i turn to the best seller list.

my friend Ashley recently asked for some suggestions and opinions on some books so i decided to post this. i'm open to more suggestions as well about good reads cuz i am always looking for stuff to read. superman wants me to read about Teddy Roosevelt but i haven't got to it yet. sorry love.

a couple summers ago i read "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" and it's one that i still recommend and sticks out in my mind. i thought it was great! Anything written by mitch albom is at the top of my list. ALL of his are awesome and short, easy, inspiring reading.

there is a really interesting book that stood out to me called "the glass house". i don't remember the author but it was autobiographical and wonderful.

i've been hearing tons of raves about the twilight series (even superman brought this one up cuz the author is LDS) and wasn't really impressed by the subject matter but after one of my BF's read them and suggested it to me, i caved and am waiting for it to arrive from half.com

i watched what i think is the best movie of the year..."p.s. i love you". it is based on a book so i'm gonna read it and i'd recommend reading it first before the movie. that's usually better.

i am serious about my disclaimer there above what i am currently reading. i don't read a book if its really bad but a love scene or two and a couple swear words typically don't turn me away if its in context with the writing and not obscene. a good example of a book like this is "The Horse Whisperer." there is a really bawdy, nasty love scene that must be skipped over lest you want it engraved on your brain forever after. i learned my lesson from that one when i was 17. there was this book once written about this amish guy who murdered someone (it was non-fiction); about half way through it started getting really heavy into nasty details about this guys really nasty private life so i quit reading it. my MIL lets me know too if some books have lots of swear words...especially the "f" word. i don't understand what that adds to the context of the book. usually if a book is gonna have alot of cussing it almost in every sentence so you can tell just by glancing at a few lines if its appropriate.

after a chapter or so i feel i can usually get a feel if the book is gonna be rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. i don't consider the ones i've recommended to be that but that is my own opinion.

some authors also go overboard with details and some books i'll just skim or skip a few pages. if i'm having trouble with a book dragging on, sometimes i'll just graze through it...i hate to start one and not finish...i try not to get em that way in the first place though.

some books come highly recommended like "Love in the Time of Cholera" and that same author has another book he won the Pulitzer Prize for but i am really struggling. i am trying to give it an honest chance but i'm not sure if i can keep on going with it. i'm not sure what's wrong with the writing besides its not going anywhere fast enough for me. i keep wondering if the guy is gonna start getting into the story or if he's just gonna build character for half the book. anyone else read him?

i'm gonna follow some of the leads through Ashley's other comments too.

OH! my MIL is reading some stuff by Dean Hughes (he's LDS)--i think its the Children of the Promise Series. it didn't really look interesting to us (its based in world war II) but she started them and can't put them down.

if you want to know if i've read something or heard reviews about something, just ask. my MIL works for a library so i am always asking her about books. and please, if you have any books or subject matter you thought were great post them in the comments. i google stuff all the time too to find who's written the best about stuff i want to learn about. and amazon offers tons of reviews on books too. g'day and happy reading everyone!