Attention Book Readers

In case you didn't know, I am a major bookworm. I love books. I love the way they smell. I love when you crack open a new book and the bindings are super tight. I love getting into a plot and trying to figure out what will happen next. Books may be my absolute favorite luxury in life. I love the silence. I love books stores, new or second-hand.

I spend a lot of time reading. Probably more than 90% of the population of the United States. In the past month I have read 7, 184 pages. That is the literal number. Yes, I ready very, very fast, and I read every single word. My husband makes the remark that I should teach a speed reading class, but I am not a true speed reader. I just have a lot of focus...

Those things being said, I will preface with these things:

1. My children are not neglected. I mainly read while they are asleep. They are however instilled with a knowledge that reading is good for you and your soul. My almost 5 year old knows that if we don't know what a word means, we look it up in a Dictionary. All 3 of my kids love reading. I think that seeing me read has something to do with that.
2. Yes, sometimes reading is more important than sleeping. I have insomnia a lot of the time anyway, so who cares, right?
3. No, everything I read is not what you would call wholesome. It's also not the provocative romance trash either. I tend to really like dark, sort of violent, books...hopefully that doesn't say something about my personality. That being said I also really like Christian fiction...especially if it's written by Francine Rivers. If you've never read "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rives, I HIGHLY recommend it. It may be the best book I've ever read.

Those things being said, I'll tell you what kind of books I read. My favorite? Mystery. Without a doubt. If it's not dark and intense with some humor thrown in for good measure, I will not read it. I also love books about the unknown. I've been on a vampire kick the last 6 months or so, but I am not reading exclusively vampires either. I love books who have very strong, decisive, yet vulnerable female leads. I like when the lead is confident in herself, yet knows that she is not a man. Does that even make sense? I hate with a passion fluffy romance novels. I have met my Prince Charming, married him, and have a very happy marriage, so I don't feel like I need to supplement that relationship with the men written into romance novels. I do like when there is a hint of a romantic subplot that adds to the tension in a book though.

If I find an author that I like, I tend to read everything that author has ever written before I move on to someone else. Here are just a few of my favorite authors that I have recently read: Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse Novels -aka- Trueblood, The Aurora Teagarden Series, The Harper Connelly Series, and the Shakespeare's Landlord Series: All of them are FANTASTIC.), Elaine Viets (The Dead End Job Series), Stephanie Meyer (Twilight Saga and The Host.), Mary Higgins-Clark (too many to list), and P.C. Cast (House of Night Series - I love everything I have read by P.C. even though sometimes she is a little more provocative in her books.).

So, here I am spilling my nerdy guts to say this: Internet, I am going to start a book review on this blog. Every once in a while I will sit down and give my thoughts on books I have recently read. I am also working on being a librarian. For real. Have I said that I am too old to be sitting in a classroom yet? I digress, another post for another time. It's about time someone put the "cool" back into being a reader and librarian, so I took the challenge. Doing a book review will give me a chance to practice recommending books and stuff. :-)

So my first book review will come later this week. Be there, or be square! ;-)