on my reading list

Last year seemed full, even though a lot of it was spent waiting...on doctors, on insurance, on sales reps, on chair repairs, on van mechanics. You would think I would have been able to squeeze a lot of reading in with all the waiting, but last year holds the record for the least amount of books I've read in the last 9 years.

This year I'm pushing myself to read some of the books on my dresser that I've kept putting off. My goal is a chapter a week in two different books. Here's what I'm working on now:



and



The first one is making me think more than I've thought since Systematic Theology class in college, and the second is a vivid reminder of how terrible war and bad public policies (in this case Southern policies) can truly destroy an economy.

I should finish Whosoever Will by the end of February. The history one will take much longer. And then I'll be more than ready for something fiction.

it made me smile

The ladies in our church do a Bible/book study from time to time. Usually we read 2-3 chapters, or half a book, before meeting to discuss it. This time we're actually doing a Bible study called Life Principles from Women of the Bible. I took the book with me this past week thinking I'd have time to do a little while I was in Alabama for Mom's heart procedure. Mom saw it on the table, and wanted to know all about it. The next morning when I came out to make breakfast, she was working through lesson one. She had also read the introduction of the authors, and made a comment of how strange it was that all three were men. At one point she flipped through the book and saw a quote I had written in the back from our teacher. Last night as I was working on a lesson, I felt a sheet of paper that I didn't remember being in there:

It made me laugh. And I thought it was neat that Mom was leaving Bible verses for me. I'm almost tempted to purchase her a copy so she can work through it as well.

Reading List

One of my blog friends posted a summer reading challenge. She listed 15 categories, asking participants to read at least seven of them. I'm not entering the official challenge, as I seriously doubt I'll read 7 books over the summer with the garden and baby chicks on the way, but I do think it would be a neat challenge to read these before the year is out. I went ahead and listed more than seven of the categories, just in case (haha!).

1. Professional development (can be loosely interpreted): Creating Web Pages for Dummies
I bought this book several years ago so the info may already be obsolete. It's not exactly thin, either, and has exercises included. But still, even if it takes several months to work through it, I think this might be well worth delving into...finally.

2. History: Scalia Dissents Bobby picked this book up at a book sale a few years ago and I've had it on the dresser since he read it thinking I would get to it soon. Since Justice Scalia died this year AND it's his disagreements with the majority on the Supreme Court, I think it will be an interesting, although quite tedious, read. Again, not the type of book I'd read in one or two settings but would take many months to go through.

3. Placed in a country you're not familiar with OR about a country you're not familiar with: Arabia Nights. I know. This one is kind of cheating. BUT I've never read it, it's already on my dresser, AND it IS folk tales from the Middle East. This one I expect to take a little while because of it's thickness, but should read it faster because it's fiction.

4. A YA Book...this one is still blank, though several people have suggested Divergent to me in the past.

5. A book recommended by a friend: Devil in the White City. A friend of mine had just posted this on Facebook two days before this challenge was posted. I may just have to borrow it.

6. A graphic novel...still blank.

7. A book you've been meaning to read: The Ghost Warriors. Another one that's on my shelf and talks about the Israeli soldiers who infiltrated parts of Palestine in the early 2000s during the riots in Israel.

8. A book published more than 100 years ago: Frankenstein. It's a classic this English major has yet to read. Never appealed to me, but figured now's a good time to pull something off my shelf and toss or re-shelf after I read it.

9. A book recommended by a teenager...still blank.

10. A biography - Thieves of Baghdad. Another one on my dresser from a book sell. Accounts from our Marines who tried to track thieves who were stealing and selling the country's antiques on the black market.

11. A play - A Midsummer Night's Dream. Yes, I took the Shakespeare course in college, but this was one of the many plays I read cliff notes for or tried to take enough notes during class that I didn't actually read the play. Yeah. I cheated myself in so many ways those days.

12. A memoir: Decision Points. George W. Bush's book. Another one on my dresser.

13. A book by someone you might not spiritually agree with. Apocrypha.  Yeah. I'm stretching the boundaries on this one. Maybe. But I've never read it, have always heard about it, and we were actually given a copy of it many, many years ago.

14. A book that won an award.  Wicked. Everyone I know who has seen the musical raves about it. I've seen the book it's based on (which I think actually has a different title) but have never purchased it or read it. YES. This is actually a book that I don't already have or do not know anyone who owns. If I choose this book as one to actually read, I'll either have to find it at the library or break the book moratorium we are under and buy it. GASP!!! Let's hope the library has it.

15. A book you read years ago and have meant to reread. Will Cather. I read it in middle school and other than thinking it was very boring remember absolutely nothing about it..well my high school teacher mentioned it quite a bit in some of his lectures. So perhaps it might be one of those books that actually means something now that I have a little maturity on me. That, or either the Great Gatsby. I read that in high school and hated it. A UAB professor told our class he quit requiring it because my generation didn't get it and sympathized with the wrong characters. Maybe now that I'm older it might make more sense. Maybe.

And that's my crazy list. I may not get them all read. But even if I only finish five of them, that will be five books that weren't high on my priority list that will not longer sit on the shelf/dresser collecting dust.

Awe

In the midst of life's insanity that we're calling 2016, the ladies at church are reading a book titled Awe. Even though I've not been able to attend any of the meetings nor have I kept pace with the group, the content of this book has been SO timely. What could be a better time to be reminded to focus on having the proper awe of my creator than in times of upheaval? When my plan A, plan B, plan C mind desperately craves to organize just one aspect of my life and all it gets is "maybe, maybe not", what better time to have my focus sharpened on the One who is sovereign and truly has things organized and in control?

Between all the uncertainties and questions with Bobby's health, my Mom's deteriorating health, a very crazy election cycle (but thankfully calm classes so far), and just trying to juggle everything in life, I've been reminded how much that I am NOT in control of my life, no matter how badly I want to be.



I'll wait until I've finished the book to give a review, but I don't think I've ever been as thankful and appreciative for a non-Bible study Christian book as I am for this one.

keeping pace

Last year I read or completed reading (meaning I started it before 2015) about 19 books. This year, I hope to keep that pace. Ideally, I'd love to read more than that, but I know with the schedule for this upcoming year that's not going to be very likely.

I have two books from last year that I've not finished, one a science/past current event book, and the other a church history book. And lined up on my dresser are several history books, several biographies/autobiographies, a few fiction, and a few church/Bible study type books. My goal is to knock quite a few of them out, and unlike last year, not replace the stack with news ones to read. I'd like to have all books off my dresser unless they're in the process of being read within two years. And that's a steep goal.

Several years ago I joined some friends in a book club. I enjoyed almost every minute of it (there was that one book that I literally had to make myself read) and it pushed me out of my boundaries to read some things that I wouldn't have otherwise picked up. But at the end of that year as I evaluated my time and resources, as much as I enjoyed the process, the reality is I need to read what we already have and not spend anything on new books. Hopefully there will come a day when I fell caught up and streamlined enough in the book department to do that again, but I'm just not there yet.

And almost as exciting as having a lot of books to read, is the fact that Duck Dynasty starts a new season this month. About time!

I can't believe I didn't go!

Every year Wake County Public Libraries has a used book sale. Some of the books are culled from library shelves (meaning they haven't been checked out in a long time); the vast majority are donated. Over the last ten years the sale has grown and grown and grown to the point it's now held at one of the buildings at the State Fairgrounds.

Between buying books for each other for Christmas and birthdays and the annual library sale, we've also purchased some books on vacations (museum bookshops have the best historical selections). And after seventeen years of that, our shelves are very close to capacity. They're so close, that books, like fabric, are on a "no purchase" list in our house (which means I buy 2-3 a year instead of an armload ;).

Thankfully we had too much going on this weekend, or the temptation to head over to the sale would have been WAY too tempting. My goal for 2016 is very similar to this year's. Read what I have. If it's not something I wouldn't share with someone or read or reference again, get rid of it. And while most of my reading list this year has been non-fiction, next year I think I'll add a little fiction to the reading pile. I probably won't have all the books cleaned off my dresser by the end of 2016 either, but hopefully it will be a much smaller stack.

I don't know if I'll be able to go to the book sale in 2016 or not. We may have to wait a few more years before making that a habit again. And I don't feel so bad for putting a few book titles on my Christmas wish list...he did it, too!

a slight variation from my norm

Growing up, I almost always read fiction. When I read fiction, if it's interesting, I read cover to cover, only stopping for what life demands (food, sleep, people, laundry, etc.) Non-fiction was something I read because school or work required it.   But the last five-six years I've found myself reading more and more non-fiction. I don't read it cover-to-cover like fiction. Some books I pick up and put down and start again later. As a result, I have more than one book going right now. I don't think I could have ever said that in my earlier years. Reading more than one book at a time was the most absurd thing I had ever heard. And yet, the last several years, that seems to be how most of my reading has been done.

Why am I talking about this? I've been encouraging one of my young nieces to read 5 minutes a day while on summer vacation. (HELLO Aunt Monica! This is SUMMER! NO SCHOOL!!!) I've not been successful yet. The last time I brought this subject up (last week), she turned the tables and asked "So what are you reading right now?" And I listed the three books I was working on. She said nothing for a few minutes before finally replying "You can't do that. You're only supposed to read one book at a time."  It sounded like something I would have said as a child/teen/young adult. (I told a kid to get down of the railing beside me in a restaurant recently, and realized I am now officially a bossy old woman. Not a very flattering conclusion to face.)

And to add to the insanity, I realized today that I have more than three books that I've started. I found The Love Dare and How to Change Your Church Without Killing It in the study today, both with bookmarks 1/3 of the way through. One of them has been sitting there for about 10 years. I forced myself to read another chapter, and for once in my life, I'm seriously contemplating throwing it away without finishing, something I have NEVER done...not ever. Meanwhile, First Ladies of the Presidency is still sitting in the living room, and I don't even recall how far I read in that book. And in the bedroom...still working on a book on Islam (2/3 of the way through), a historical book (about 1/2 way), and a book on dog-training (Ceaser's Way) that a dear friend just knew was going to help me, and I'm still only 1/3 of the way into it after a year. But at least it's picking up the pace.

We have SO many books here in the house, not read, that I'm forcing myself after a read to seriously evaluate whether I would ever a) read it again, b)loan it to a friend, c)use it as a reference.  If it doesn't meet one of those criteria, then it's gone. I've hauled a few bags of books out of the house this year as a result. And we've stayed away from book sales the last few months, so not quite as many are coming into the house as before. Oh.  I did order two church history books last week and started one at the kitchen table when I opened the mail. I've already finished the first chapter. :)  I don't think I'll revise my statement to my niece, though. If the sun hasn't rattled her brain yet, how many books I'm actually reading would.

motivation

It never fails. Anytime I help a person move, I feel like I need to go home and immediately start cleaning/purging the house. Or I start thinking about an unknown time in the future when for some unknown reason we might need/want to move, and where we might go and what that would look like.
I know that most likely, if we ever move, we will be down-sizing considerably, and this time I actually walked through the house and pondered what we would keep/get rid off.

I don't know if this train of thoughts come about from moving some growing up, or being a semi-vagabond during my young adult years, or if anyone who's never moved ever thinks these kind of thoughts.

But since these thoughts started last fall (when my friend Mary moved), I've been even more adamant that I read the books we have instead of checking out any from the library, and if it's not a book that I'll read again or share with someone, then it has to go. In January I actually took a box of books to the thrift store, and I have five more on my dresser that I'm debating whether to swap at a used store (which defeats the whole purpose of purging) or to simply donate them to the thrift store again.

But in the midst of all these thoughts, life (nor the clock) doesn't stop. There's grass to cut and a garden and animals to tend and projects to work on. So maybe by the year 2020 I'll have read a good chunk of the books in our house (provided I don't restock every year at the library sale).

Considering that when I helped my sister move (about five moves ago), she had as many books as I do now and I saw very few boxes of book when I helped her move last week, there may be hope for me.

When the time does come for us to downsize, I do think we'll have one huge consolation (or two so we can each have one): kindles. :)

birthdays

My husband is usually an excellent gift giver. There's only one area where he's failed, and it's become something of Bryan family folklore. My husband, like me, loves to read. When he was about my age, he realized there was no one to pass on his favorite childhood books to (which were quickly becoming antiques) so he started gifting them to his nieces and nephews as birthday or Christmas presents. The problem? Most of them don't like to read.

 

His family, like my father's family, has generational layers within each generational branch (cousins getting married while other cousins are just being born, creating subgroups within the grandchildren and great-grandchildren).  The third set of nieces and nephews are now reaching their teen years. A few years ago, we were at a loss what to give Glory for her birthday, so we simply asked. Her answer? "Not a book."  We laughed, and ever since then we've been on a search for a book that Glory would actually read. As a joke, we wrapped her present in one of those empty decorative books. Here's her facial expression before she realized it wasn't really a book. :)

Who says you can't have fun giving presents?

book characters

A friend of mine recently loaned me 8 books by author Jennifer Chiaverini...all quilting novels. I didn't pick them up the first week, as there was simply too much going on, but by the 2nd weekend I was exhausted and in need of a resting break (as opposed to a nap).  I know this is crazy to many people, but to me there's nothing more restful than to totally lose yourself in a book. Non-fiction and devotional books are not the genres where I can totally lose myself, and while books like the Hunger Games or Jodi Piccoulti are good, they're not exactly restful reading to me.  All that to say, I intended to read for three hours, and almost three days later I finished the third book in the series.

I can resonate with one of the main characters, even though I am nothing like her. She hates her sister's quilting (from the past and both currently looking at her old quilts) because her points in triangles are often chopped off, her seams don't totally line up, and her finished blocks are never the same size. It sounded a lot like some of my quilting, and the character's comments reminded me a lot of my quilting friend Bonnie, who is patient, direct, and very matter-of-fact in her quilt reviews. (And I must clarify before I type in...she's one of the sweetest souls I know and would do anything for a person in need...she just wants her quilts done right. :)

The fourth book struck a chord in so many ways - the researching of family history and finding things weren't as you thought, the honest sentiments about not having children and yet helping others who do have kids, etc.  For Christmas I got a DNA kit through ancestry.com, and my results finally came back last week. I know very little about our family history, but I was surprised when I got the results back, both by what was and wasn't there.  I'm hoping in the next month I can delve deeper into some census records to see what can be verified, though I think most of what I'm looking for can never be validated. But it was still neat to read a book where the thoughts of the characters, even though set in the 1800s, where mirroring thoughts I was having today.

two up; one down

Earlier this fall I bought three books to give one of my nieces for Christmas. (Before you gasp in horror, this is for one of the nieces who enjoys reading as much as I do.) Two of the books were based on recommendations from World Magazine. One of them I haven't finished and I'm quite appalled by it (I won't be gifting it); the other, Letters to a Young Progressive, I actually enjoyed reading and am happy to gift it.

The third book I picked up out of curiosity in a Christian bookstore. A college friend of mine works in Afghanistan, and has for the last 13 or so years, and several of my high school classmates have spent time serving with our military in Afghanistan. Needless to say, their viewpoints and experiences are very different. It has taken me a while to work through the book, but In the Land of Blue Burqas has to be one of the best Christian non-fiction books I have read in a very long time. So many times I interrupted Bobby's reading to share a passage with him, and I have repeatedly found myself thinking on passages of Scripture and thinking back to George W. Bush's autobiography where he talked about how the Bible's influences on our society and our lives are profound. Reading this book has made me appreciate my faith on a deeper level, as well as forced a new appreciation for how dramatically worldviews alter society.

So if you're looking for a graduation gift next spring, especially if that graduate is heading toward a secular university, Letters to a Young Progressive, written by a M.Adams, a UNC-W professor, will make an awesome gift.  But if you're wanting to read to be enlightened, entertained, revived, and challenged, then I highly recommend Kate McCord (not her real name)'s In the Land of Blue Burqas. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

difference of opinion

A few weeks ago the News and Observer ran an article by a designer about the proper way to decorate your bookcases.  Included were two pictures, a before and after, (I think on the web you have to click on a thumbnail to get the before shot), and I like the BEFORE picture better.  Maybe that says I don't have good taste, but I just think that picture looks overdone and cluttered. That big vase on the right side? It's too big to be up there. It's almost touching the ceiling. And that picture from straddling the two cases? That's a collapse waiting to happen the first time a person starts to exercise or a wheelchair drives by at 45mph trying to get to the phone. And that bust sticking out in front? That belongs between the bookcase and the wall, and those pictures on the floor need to be hung somewhere or stashed inside a shelf. I put things on the floor because I don't have time to get to them. Trust me. That's not an artistic statement.

Granted, I don't think the before picture looks great. It does look bare. And I'm not opposed to have momentos or gadgets on a bookshelf. I have stuffed animals and ceramics and super cool bookends on ours (and for the record, our bookshelves in one room looked very cluttered because of too many books and need of cleaning time, but that's a different matter all together). I totally agree with the concept that it's okay to put other things besides books on a bookshelf, and decorative things give a focal point. But this designer went over the top the other way. She has more decorative stuff with books added to them, and there's no symmetry or unity (other than popping whiteness) in anything she's done.

And yes, a month later, this article still rankles. So maybe I'm boring. Maybe I'm too simplistic. But I'd choose that first before photo any day (except I would slide my books to the ends of the shelves and not leave them smack dab in the center). But I suppose at the end of the day, that's what makes a person's home theirs: they can organize the bookshelves however they desire.

Wake County Library Sale

This weekend I had the opportunity to do something fun/dangerous. Many of you know that I like to read. You also know that my husband likes to read as well. What you may not know is that between books for each other as gifts and the annual Wake County Library Sale, we've accumulated a little too much. So much so, that I've opted out of a book club I really enjoyed and we put ourselves on a moratorium for buying books. (Can you believe I have to wait for an anniversary or Christmas to get the Ducky Dynasty book?)

And I was making progress in my reading...

 Our dresser (my "to read" list) was becoming less daunting, and I was eliminating books that I would never read again or loan out from our stacks.

And then came the annual library sale. I almost didn't go. For those of you not familiar with it, library patrons donate books ALL YEAR long to the library just for this sale. And each library in the county pulls books from the shelves that haven't been checked out in three years or the extra "best-sellers" that they no longer need, and sell them. It takes hundreds of volunteers to pull this off, and in the 13 years I've been here, it has moved to a larger location each year, until the last few years when it wound up at the State Fairgrounds. And I came home with all this, plus 6 more books that didn't make the photo:

And I spent a whopping total of $20.

So the stack on my dresser now extends to the end of the dresser (again) and there's still a small pile on the kitchen table. I probably won't make my New Year's Resolution of finishing all the books on my dresser now that I've extended them, but I do hope to put a very good dent on some of those books that have been there for a few years.

And as if on cue, I'll be riding in a vehicle 4 hours this week, which will hopefully help me knock out a book from the stack. Can life get any better? :)

a good but crazy week

Since my last post, a LOT has happened.

On Wednesday we received word that a friend of ours lost her husband. I've never met him, but we were among many who prayed for his salvation. He grew up in a pastor's home and wanted absolutely nothing to do with faith. His wife didn't grow up in church, and found Christ, after marriage, to be the missing piece in her life. Within a few months of his cancer diagnosis, he came to Christ. So I hurt for my friend and her loss, but am rejoicing that we know where her husband is today. His funeral is tomorrow, and I can assure you that the wife's church will be rejoicing to an answered prayer of over 20 years.

On the other hand, my heart is still hurting for a family in our church in a similar situation, but with a different outcome. It's definitely a double loss for them.

Thursday - the insanity began. We returned to healthy eating (by our standards - making sure we eat the required amount of fruits and vegetables and less meat and bread, and for me going back to myfitnesspal and counting my calories). I am giving myself official holidays and birthdays off, and that's it. It's not been easy. At all. I don't have a timeline, but I need to lose 110 pounds. That will still have me overweight on the charts, but since I've never matched the charts, that doesn't bother me. The longest I've ever lasted on this journey has been three months, but I'm trying not to think about the future and just worry about today.

That night at our ladies book club at church (we're reading Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges), I found it SO applicable to the day (not being thankful for my healthy vegetables, anxiety over whether or not I'll fail again, etc) and I love being able to laugh with the ladies in our church. I love their openness and the honesty, and the fact we can talk about areas in our lives that need improvement without fear of condemnation. That is such a blessing.

And while I was at the meeting, Bobby's last remaining aunt (the youngest of his Dad's siblings) was at the hospital undergoing a partial hip replacement. We had seen her Saturday and she could barely walk, so I wasn't terribly surprised to hear she broke her hip. I'm thankful for the care she has received where she lives (and I'm making myself a note to blog about it soon). I don't know what the future will hold for her now, but as I watch her I often wonder will I one day be in her shoes (she doesn't have childen and never married...totally on her own).

And today is my Dad's birthday. I got to talk to him this morning, though I don't think his card will make it to AL today. It's hard to believe I have a parent who is 71. I think my younger siblings will get together Sunday for lunch to celebrate with them. I don't think his cake will be as cool as mine that my sister got for me (see below), but if my 8 year old niece and 11 year old nephew have any say, it will be uniqe.

And now I need to sign off before I start craving chocolate chip cookies again. Bernina quilt sampler information will have to wait for another day.

authority

The ladies in our church have started reading through Jerry Bridges' book Respectable Sins. I'm on chapter four and so far it has been both an easy and difficult ready. It's been easy in the sense that Bridges is not preachy nor theological deep in this book, but difficult in that he's not hesitating to deal with the areas of our lives where we actually live.

Early on, he addresses the fact that disobedience to the commands of God is actually rebellion against the authority of God. We're challenging his laws and decrees, which He has the authority to make.  I've always pondered the verse from King David that said, "Against you and you only (talking to God) have I sinned."  The sins of King David impacted many, many people, but in all honesty, God is the only one we can truly sin against. People may wrong me or hurt me, but their sin is against God's laws, not against me. That's not an easy thing to digest.

And along those same lines, while reading and watching some of the inaugural highlights yesterday, Bobby made the comment that he was bothered by the number of people, specifically Christians, who showed disrespect to our President and his authority. We mentioned Daniel, and how he served a King with a different worldview, and yet Daniel was always respectful in his speech. For that matter, the three Hebrew friends who faced the fiery furnace were respectful, even after being threatened with their lives. Their refusal to obey was even respectfully stated. There was no rudeness nor sassiness in how they responded to his commands.

I normally struggle through reading non-fiction, but this is a book that I'm enjoying, even though it's very convicting. We won't finish our study until March, but if I finish reading early I'll try to give a final review. But so far it's all thumbs up!

stealing

One of the things I love about America is our public library system. How incredible is it that I don't always have to buy a book if I want to read it. I'm not a student, but there is still a library available to me, free of charge, to read books as often and as much as I want.

Recently I bought and read a book that is very popular. There are more in the series, but to check one out from the library, I would have to go on the waiting list, where I would be number 896. I googled the book to see if I could find it cheaper online (as opposed to Target's hardback only copy) and found where someone had actually posted the book online. I know those books are the authors income. To post something like that online is to essentially steal the book. But I read it anyway.

Since then, I've been pondering that whole scenario. Had I waited and checked it out at the library, that author still would not have earned one penny from me. Had I borrowed it from a friend, that author would not have earned one dime. Had I found it at the used bookstore where I occasionally go and swap books, that author would not have received even a notification. So is it really all that different for someone who has purchased the book to post it online for people to read?  I'm still debating that fact.

September 27

It's been updated...JKRowling's web page.

Her new novel, an adult fiction, will be released on September 27 and is titled "The Casual Vacancy".  The blurb posted on the web sounds great, and I look forward to reading it!  Hooray for new books!

april

It seems like yesterday I was frantically realizing April was upon us, meaning I had a passle of kids coming to play for a morning (we host all the jr church age kids almost every spring for an Easter party). The crazy thing is that I was tired. Not sleepy, but exhausted, as in every thing I did required twice as much energy. We got through the party. And this week? My blood pressure has spiked out of control again. Today has been the best day so far, but I've still got a ways to go. I gave myself 2 weeks to attempt to corrall it again, and agreed that if I was unable to do so, then off to the doctor I'd go and would submit to taking medicine for it. (Do you know how much I both hate going to the doctor AND taking medicine of any kind?)

I thought the rest of the month would be routine things (prep for the May election, homeschool testing), but yesterday I received a phone call asking me if I was still available to work early voting. I hesitated, then said yes. It will be an on-call basis as opposed to all 9 days, which I think I like a little better, but that also means I have to do yet another training session, and it's 8 hours this Saturday. A part of me is glad. One of the things I don't like about being a coordinator is that I'm not actually doing the job and feel a little out of the loop on election day as I troubleshoot and supervise. The extra training, and hopefully a few work days, should help me feel a tad more comfortable in addressing situations on the actual election day. I believe in what we do, and I think it's important for citizens to do their part in keeping our democracy active and honest. But at the same time, there are days when I think this will be my last year as a poll worker. The job itself is not hard, but the hours are long and tedious. I can only imagine how tired of everything the families of officials running for office must be.

Meanwhile, I'm reading the Hunger Games. I like the fact that the characters are well-rounded and not quite so static as Lord of the Flies, but having read an interview with the author also makes me question a lot of what I'm reading. Knowing that many of her premises are based off of 9/11,  the Iraqi War, and reality tv, it makes me wonder if certain characters are based on President Bush. Given the fact that she's also a writer for television, I found it quite ironic how she described the people in the capitol (can we spell Hollywood?) and the rest of the nation's view of them. So far I'm finding the first and the third book to be the best, with the third also being the hardest to read.

And, I had a chance last week to have a lesson on a large quilt machine (the kind that uses a frame). I hope to go back next week and rent it to finish a quilt top.

 So after next week, if I'm silent through May, you know I've been called in to work at an early voting site  or am frantically trying to stay afloat on some projects. Life has way of doing that.

a fun day

This morning I got to combine two of my favorite activities: walking with a friend and shopping. Exercise is not high on my list of fun things to do, but walking with a good friend helps take some of the focus off the aches and pains. Some ladies in our church are in charge of a consignment sale that started at the mall today, so we walked the mall before the sale started. Then we had fun browsing and looking, then headed to the State Fairgrounds for the annual Wake County Library Book Sale.

Every year, books that haven't been read in a year or more (or best sellers where they need multiple copies in the beginning but after a few years only need one or two copies) are culled from the shelves. Patrons donate books from their own shelves (which they claim make up about 60% of the books), and sell them for small amounts.

This year, I was pleasantly surprised to find 9 Trixie Belden books.

2 of them were hardback, like the above, and the others were paperback. Two years ago for Christmas I was trying to find this book (the first in the series) for a niece. We finally found a used one for about $10.  I was shocked. I keep reading that they are going to bring the books back into print, but I've yet to see them anywhere. I thought the price of $2 for paperbacks and $4 for hardbacks was reasonable, and then I found out ALL children's books are $2, regardless of whether it is hardback or not. Yes, I was very happy. I even stayed under my allotted spending amount for the day.

And to make the day even better...the repairman delivered our lawn mower this afternoon and I was able to get 2/3 of the yard cut.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow afternoon, maybe I can finish the last part and do all the trim work. :) and if not, I might re-read some old friends.

the most shocking Christmas book

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham has to be the craziest, most thought provoking, and insane Christmas book I have ever read. It's short. It's not a legal thriller or a "call to reform the justice system" as many of his books are. It's simply about what happens when a modern American family who celebrates Christmas in the traditional American way decides to skip Christmas. Literally.

Like anyone who's ever seen a show on hoarding suddenly decides to clean house, this book will totally flabbergast you into evaluating what you do that is and isn't important about the holidays.

a blow-up Frosty for your roof, anyone? :)