Distractions From the Cares of the World - In Other Words "Fluff" Reading

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly bookish meme hosted here.  This week's question is as follows,

"You’ve just had a long, hard, exhausting day, 

and all you want to do is curl up with something light, fun, easy, fluffy, distracting, and entertaining.

What book do you pick up?"

When I am exhausted mentally or physically I love to pick up a cozy mystery.  While I enjoy the odd light chick lit such as the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, I also love curling up with a cozy mystery at the end of a long day.  I find them both entertaining and enjoyable while offering a welcome diversion from day to day conundrums.  One of my favourite types is a culinary mystery. Last year I came across Nancy Fairbanks' books, one of which I reviewed, Crime Brulee, which was a fabulous and lighter read featuring food writer, Carolyn Blue, who unwittingly discovers a dangerous mind when she looks into the mysterious disappearance of a close friend and finds herself in danger in New Orleans.  Complete with several authentic recipes of the area.  Loved it!  Another in a similar vein, Sticks and Scones by Diane Mott Davidson, sits at my bedside waiting for just the right moment to be devoured!

I recently discovered Lillian Jackson Braun and with delight read and reviewed two of her fabulous books, The Cat Who Moved a Mountain and The Cat Who Turned On and Off. They are light reads with a touch of humour, generated mostly by the star Siamese cats in the books.  They are not too serious and present a rather refreshing presentation of a who-done-it featuring a journalist and his two mischievous Siamese cats.

Those are just a few examples of how I like to relax and unwind while not partaking of a heavy read.  What do you like to read to distract you from the cares of the world?  Do you prefer a light mystery or chick lit or manga or humour?  A little humour goes a long way.  I heard Tina Fey's memoir, Bossypants, especially the audio book, is fabulous and hilarious, though at times crude.  Perhaps it would be a good "read" at the end of a yucky day.  Suggestions, anyone?

Anticipate This

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly event hosted  HERE.  This week's discussion is based on anticipation.

What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read?  And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it?  Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW?

The last book I was super excited to read, other than the amazing books in this coming IMM (wait til you see my IMM on Monday!), was Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.  I received it as a birthday gift from a dear friend who wanted a copy for herself but settled for borrowing it from me when both I and my daughter had read it.  There had been so much blogger buzz about the book that when I opened the package I am sure the grin was assurance enough of a gift well selected!!  And, yes, the book surpassed all the hype!

Without giving away too much ahead of Monday's post, I am excited about several  new books I received both last week and this week so far.  It's just amazing!  Hint:  something about a little black dress, children in a special home, numbers, and relationships. 

PS  Shilpi Somaya Gowda participated in a Good Reads discussion today with her fans.  She is writing her second novel which she anticipates to be published in one year.   

Whats the First Book You Ever Read More Than Once?

This week's question for Booking Through Thursday is:


What’s the first book that you ever read more than once? (I’m assuming there’s at least one.)

What book have you read the most times? And–how many?

The first book I ever read more than once would have to be Black Beauty.  It was a gift from my grandparents who knew of my love for horses at a very young age, elementary, and knew I would appreciate this novel by Anna Sewell.  It still have that original book, now coverless, and another just like it with the cover intact.  I lost count how many times I read it, but it is likely the book I've read more often than any others I own.  

This photo (above) contains some of my favourite childhood books.  Of course, they are all about horses.  There is one, though, that I have yet to get a copy of and desperately want to.  It is Marguerite Henry's The White Stallions of Lipizza.  It would be a close second to most read book.

What is the first book you ever read more than once?  Can you recall how many times you read it?

Thursday at My Bookshelf

http://btt2.wordpress.com/

What, if any, kind of music do you listen to when you're reading?

I usually prefer quiet so I can totally immerse my senses in my reading.  However, I do have a couple CDs of classical/easy listening music that I will listen to time and again.  I keep the sound down low so it is complimentary background music.  I also like to go sit by the pond/waterfall to read.  It's very soothing to relax there with a great read!

Do you listen to music while you read?

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly bookish event, hosted by Reading Between Pages, open from one Thursday to the next.  Anyone can participate!  

The rules are simple:  A theme will be posted each week on Thursdays

• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you  are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)

This week's theme is "male"

 From Reflections of a Successful Wallflower, page 45:

Mark was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.  He was thin....Intelligent, quick, very verbal, very bohemian and talented....Also he was very boyish, and made no attempt to hide it.

Join in with this week's fun meme and share your quote from your current novel.  Please leave a comment with a link to your Theme Thursday and/or Booking Through Thursday so I can return the visit. 

Would You Rather Own or Borrow?

This week's Booking Through Thursday question asks...

All things being equal (money, space, etc), would you rather own copies of the books you read? Or borrow them?

This is an easy question for me because I love books and love to accumulate them!  If you saw my living room right now, you'd see books on the coffee table and end table, there are books at my bedside and on the bookshelves in the family room.

I do borrow books from time to time, especially if I am needing a book for book club but it isn't my particular taste or style.  If in doubt, borrow.  That's my motto.  Sometimes I will come across a borrowed book that I simply must add to my collection; then I will purchase it.  So, it goes both ways for me sometimes.  But I do love the option of being able to check over my bookshelves and finding some of my favourites there.  There's nothing like it, to be able to just pick up a book on a whim and read or re-read, as the case may be.

Do You Read Book Reviews?

This week's Booking Through Thursday question asks...

Do you read book reviews? Whose do you trust? Do they affect your reading habits? Your buying habits?

I do read book reviews and have found some of my most favourite reads because of them.  Take for example, my favourite read of 2011, Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, of which I read several reviews before adding it to my wishlist.  It turned out to be a phenomenal read and one I highly recommend.

I have favourite book bloggers whose reviews I trust, but I also read reviews in the New York Times, O Magazine, and the local newspapers.  Once I've read several good reviews for a book, generally I top-list the book for reading.   A good positive review definitely influences my reading and buying habits.

Have you read any good reviews lately?  What makes them so?  Is it the reviewer, their style, or the book, or a combination of all of the aforementioned?  Do reviews influence your book choices?

Age Appropriate Reading: Booking Through Thursday 5/12/11

If you'd like to join in on Booking Through Thursday, just click here.

This week's question is: Do you read books “meant” for other age groups? Adult books when you were a child; Young-Adult books now that you’re grown; Picture books just for kicks … You know … books not “meant” for you. Or do you pretty much stick to what’s written for people your age?

I read to suit my mood and tastes.  As a book reviewer, I read books for all age groups, from young children's books to adult and all in between. For my personal enjoyment, however, I read adult books with the odd exception of a YA novel. Case in point, I've read and re-read the Harry Potter and Twilight books. Those are my favourite YA reads to date. My adult preferences include anything by John Grisham, Carolyn Hart, Agatha Christie, Michael Crichton, Nicholas Sparks, Richard Paul Evans, Laura Lippman, to name a few.  I like to read the works of debuting authors as well. Shilpi Somaya Gowda's Secret Daughter is my favourite read of 2011. If you haven't yet read this amazing novel, you simply must! (I should be on the PR team for all the gushing I've done about this masterpiece!! ;))

As a child, I often read books that were "old" for me. For instance, in grade four I had read an adult/YA novel called Midnight by Rutherford Montgomery (a horse story, of course) and loved it so much that I coerced my teacher into reading it aloud for our in-class reading time. She did so but it didn't keep the others' attention so she quickly ditched it saying they weren't ready for a book that was written for an adult audience. Not that it contains "adult" content, but that the style of writing and the verbage was beyond their comprehension level. I did read a lot of age appropriate novels then too. Especially anything written by Marguerite Henry. She wrote horse stories, mostly, and I love horses, so it was a natural pairing. From childhood, though, my favourite book was Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.  I enjoyed, also, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, especially since, at the time, there was a regular tv program based on the two series. 

In my teenage years I read a bit of Stephen King with Firestarter being my favourite of his works.  I tried Harlequin romance but quickly got bored with it as it seemed to be the same story repeated again and again, only with different characters.

The best enjoyment comes from reading that which you find satisfaction from.  I like to branch out into different genres, including business books occasionally, to broaden my horizons.  I still have those favourite genres that I will return to time and again because that's what brings gratification.  And you, dear reader, do you read beyond your age?  Do you go back and re-read childhood/YA favourites?  Or, do you stick with age appropriate reading?  Please take a moment to leave a comment.  I'd love to know what you have to say.

Women Relationships in Books: Theme Thursdays 5/12/11

Theme Thursdays, hosted by Reading Between the Pages, is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it.  This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

We just celebrated Mother's day so this week's theme had to be a celebration of women. Go ahead and post on ........

WOMEN RELATIONSHIPS

Relation that one can have with a women like Mother, Aunt, Grandmother, Sister, Girlfriend, etc.

My THURSDAY THEME for WOMEN RELATIONSHIPS is below.

The following relates to a conversation between the parents of one of the book's (Minding Frankie) characters, Lisa. Beginning with Lisa's father: 

"She seemed upset."

"I can't imagine why."

"She doesn't have your sense of detachment - that's why."

"She hasn't gone for good.  I see her door is open.  She's left all her things here."  Lisa's mother spoke as if she were talking about a casual acquaintance.

"Of course she hasn't gone for good.  Where would she go?"

Lisa's mother shrugged her shoulders again.  "She'll end up doing what she wants to do.  Like everyone..."she said and walked out the door that her husband had just come in.

~ pages 130-131 Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

The author, Maeve Binchy, writes relationships extraordinarily well; and is known for her meticulous attention to character and relationship development.  With the myriad of characters within her novels, some that carry over from another, she has carefully woven an intricate life for each person.  Sometimes lovely and uplifting, at other times, downtrodden and dismayed; the characters face real everyday issues and struggles, with similar problems that the reader might face.  Some do it better than others and are often a work in progress, as in Minding Frankie. 

This quote reveals in small measure the relationships of this family.  Disinterest, detachment, and disbelief are mutual among the father, mother and daughter (who is an adult, by the way).  All is not so disheartening, though, in Minding Frankie.  One must read the rest to see all the small miracles that occur amongst the characters in this Ireland town.  

Won't you share your Theme Thursday answer in the comment section or please leave me a link so I might come visit.  (It's rhetorical;  I assume a return visit is in order)

Booking Through Thursday 3/24/11

If you'd like to join in on Booking Through Thursday, just click here.

This week's question...

Series? Or Stand-alone books?

I like them both.  The first series I recall reading was the Trixie Belden mysteries.  Childhood memories also include The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries.  Where would we be without those? 

Today there are several famous and fabulous series too including Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling), Twilight (Stephanie Meyers), Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis), Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery), Jurassic Park & Lost World (Michael Crichton), culinary mysteries by Nancy Fairbanks, Mitford series (Jan Karon)  and so many more.  Don't you just love a series that draws you in, making it a part of your life, so that you simply must get the next book and soon!  You actually count down to the release of the next one!  I think it's the whole anticipation thing.

I also enjoy stand alone novels like Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), Black Beauty (Anna Sewell), The Pelican Brief (John Grisham), Fire Starter (Stephen King), Granny Dan (Danielle Steel), To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) and so many, many more!  The great thing about a stand alone is it is a shorter time investment.  They're great for something new and original to read.  It's often nice to have everything tied up neatly at the end so there's no frustration knowing you have to wait a year to read the next one.

So, to make a long answer short, I love them both!!!  Sorry, I simply cannot choose.  It depends on the series, my mood, the author, and available time as to whether I feel like a serial or stand alone read.  I'm just that complicated.

How about you?  Do you have a preference?  Stand Alone or Series?

Booking Through Thursday 3/10/11

Are you a multi-tasker?  Do you multi-task when you read? Do you do other things like stirring things on the stove, brushing your teeth, watching television, knitting, walking, et cetera?

Or is it just me, and you sit and do nothing but focus on what you’re reading?

(Or, if you do both, why, when, and which do you prefer?)

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Yes, I do sometimes multi-task while reading.  I've been known to eat a meal with a book glued to one hand, eyes on the pages and only occasionally swivelling toward the meal at hand.  (That was pretty much before children came into my life, though.)  Sometimes I check my email while reading,  or watch a tv program while reading.  In this last instance it truly depends on the book and the tv show.  If either are truly rivetting, nothing else takes my attention.  Oh, yes, and I have stirred a thing or two cooking on the stovetop while in the other hand is my book.

Sometimes books are so captivating that menial chores get forgotten or, if I absolutely must cook or eat, it'll be with book in hand.  Come to think of it, I need a captivating book like that.  It's been too long since I've done double duty or done without thanks to a riveting read.  Suggestions, anyone?  (Don't worry, the children are all grown now and my waist won't mind a missed meal now and then;))

Comments are gladly received.  Please leave a link or the answer to this week's Booking Through Thursday in your comment.  Remember to link up with Booking Through Thursday Blog.    Chow!

Booking Through Thursday 3/3/11

Do you cheat and peek at the ends of books? (Come on, be honest.)

Ok, I'll come clean.  I have peeked at the end of a book or two.  I've read some books where I just have to know...does so and so live...do Dick and Jane get together....who dunnit?.....  Sometimes the temptation is too great.  I haven't done it lately, but who's to say I won't give in again.  True, it does somewhat ruin the ending, but often the story has held its own despite me.  I shouldn't do it, but we are being honest here.

What about you?  Have you ever flipped to the back of the book to see how it all ends?  Please leave an answer in the comments or a link to yours.  Remember to link back to Booking Through Thursday.

Booking Through Thursday - Something Old, Something New

All other things being equal–do you prefer used books? Or new books? (The physical speciman, that is, not the title.) Does your preference differentiate between a standard kind of used book, and a pristine, leather-bound copy?

Good question, though difficult to provide a definitive answer to, honestly.  I love to browse through new and used bookstores.  I love the smell, the sights, the feel of both.  Given the choice, I would fill my shelves with new books, but I cannot afford to be a book snob.  So here's what I do.  If I am shopping for something for bookclub, which necessitates a new book each month, I gravitate to the second-hand bookstore.  For that special book, one I am dying to read and cannot wait for, I go for a new book.  I love to check out the shelves of both.  If I find something I like in a new bookstore, I will buy it if the price is reasonable.  I have to confess, though, that I often buy more books at a second-hand bookstore.  The price is right and quite often the variety is excellent. 

PS  I do love a good leather-bound book, new or used.  Who doesn't? Sometimes the patina of a used leather bound book, softened with use, is more attractive.  So there, how's that for definitive? 

Given the choice, what is your preference?  Please leave a comment below with a link to your BTT post or answer in the comment itself.  Don't forget to link with the originator, Booking Through Thursday.

This Something Old, Something New theme of the week is hosted at  Booking Through Thursday, a book and reading blog.

Heavy - Booking Through Thursday

What’s the largest, thickest, heaviest book you ever read? Was it because you had to? For pleasure? For school?

That is the question Booking Through Thursday asks of readers this week.  I think about this for a moment.  Yes, the Bible is definitely a heavy read, in more ways than one.  I've read and reread it both for pleasure and for Sunday School. 

The next heaviest/largest read, if I recall correctly, is Gone With the Wind at 733 pages.  This I read for pleasure and loved it.  There may be others, heavier than this, but not that I recall nor have in my current library. 

So, what are you reading?  Respond in comments below with a link to your blog and follow up with Booking Through Thursday by doing the same.