Sunday Salon

This has not been a very good reading week for me. I just have not had the time. Plus my mind has been racing which means I can't settle into reading. Ugh.

However, I finished The Good Thief which I mentioned last week and am about halfway through Wiser Than Serpents by Susan May Warren. I hope to spend some good time today just reading, I have several books that need to be read and reviewed. It feels like a good day for some lazy summer reading.

So sorry this might be the lamest Sunday Salon post ever! But I am leaving my giveaway open for another week, so check it out if you haven't aleady!

Sunday Salon and BAFAB

I'm currently reading two books. The first one is The Boat by Nam Le, which is actually a collection of short stories. I've read two of the stories, both of which are pretty good. It's been awhile since I've read any short stories, but the endorsements for this particular book were incredible. The funny thing about short stories is that you just feel like you there...really into it and then it's over. :)

I'm also reading The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti which I received from Book Browse's First Impressions program. I am really loving this book so far. It's different from my normal reading fare, which is always a good change. It seems it will be available in August, so you might want to keep your eyes open for it, if you haven't already scored an ARC.

And finally, I'm a week late with Buy a Friend a Book Week, but I'd like to join in the fun anyway. So if you leave a comment on this post, I'll enter you into a drawing for one of my favorite books of the year so far. You can read my list here. To double your chances, blog about your favorite books of the year so far and sign the Mr. Linky on this post.

There are just a few modifications to be made to the list. Songs for the Missing is not available yet, so it cannot be chosen for this giveaway. The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen and My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay are both books I forgot to put on that list, so they can both be chosen!

Sunday Salon (on Monday): Best Books of the Year so Far

I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the best books I've read so far this year since we're halfway through it. (YIKES)

These will be books that I read this year, not necessarily published this year. I linked to the review if I had one.

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman
A heartpounding epic romance. Of course I love it!

Trouble the Water by Nicole Seitz
I thought this was a beautiful book of healing. It really connected with me emotionally as well.

Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
This man can write. He took a somewhat tired story idea and breathed such reality into it, that you truly felt like you had walked in the shoes of the characters. Outstanding detail and characterization.

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
What can I say? I loved every scandalous page.

Names my Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane
I love Megan Crane's writing but feel this book far surpassed the others. At times serious and other times funny, it's a keeper.

And now the BEST books I've read so far this year...

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
I loved this book because it explored some hard questions. Author's intention or not, I feel like she put flesh onto some of the difficult questions we face in our time about the nature of charity and the true definition of poverty. This book and its characters resurface in my mind long after I finished reading and that to me is success.

Silence by Shusaku Endo
This book makes the list of my favorite books of all time. I couldn't put it down while reading, when I did it was only to contemplate the story. I remember that I got goosebumps while reading the last few pages! Like TGWSS, the characters and story have come back to me long after reading. It's accomplished what so few books can do and has become part of the fabric of who I am.

What are your favorite books so far this year? Are you also blogging about it? Leave a link below!

Sunday Salon

I read some interesting books this week, The Hunted by Mike Dellosso, The Memory of Water by Karen White, and now I'm reading Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. These books are all quite different from each other and very enjoyable.

Today I went to Barnes and Noble to browse and spotted a book shelf they were selling that you use to hold a book while you read. I thought about it for my students, because some of them like to prop the books up as they read and this would make it easier. Then I wondered (of course) if maybe I would like to have it. Generally, I don't have a problem with just holding a book, but I thought it might be interesting.

I broke down and bought The Host by Stephanie Meyer I've been eyeing this book for awhile and decided to take the plunge. But the store clerk said...oh I need to try to read this again. I almost wanted to put it back immediately. She said she found it slow and hard to get into. I really don't think store clerks should say such things if they want to sell books! But worst is that I read so much that a slow book just isn't going to cut it unless I'm terribly committed to it.

So have any of you read The Host? Was it good or slow and hard to get into? Need feedback! By the way, I haven't even read Twilight yet!

Sunday Salon

I know it's Monday. But my internet access is having major issues, so basically I'm trying to post when I can.

Today I'd like to talk about a little problem I have called book-a-holism. Basically, if you offer me a book, I'm going to want it. So many times I have discovered that I enjoy a book when I didn't think I would, that I simply can't refuse them.

So when Penguin Classics offered a free random book as long as you agreed to submit a review in six weeks, I was like...yeah!!!

Guess what book I ended up with? Trafalgar: An Eyewitness History. Um, ok.

Here's the book description: On October 21, 1805, Admiral Horatio Nelson dealt a crushing blow to a large French and Spanish fleet, forever dashing Napoleon’s hopes of dominating the seas. Edited by Tom Pocock, the world’s foremost authority on Nelson, this extraordinary book gathers eyewitness accounts of the historic event, many of which have never before been published. Vivid correspondence and documentation offer glimpses of history in the making, from the two-year campaign leading up to Trafalgar, to the explosive clash itself, to the aftermath of this most famous and strategically important victory.

Right, so yes I like a lot of different kinds of books, but I'm almost a hundred percent certain that this is going to be a chore to get through. And I got it two weeks ago, so I only have 4 more weeks to read it! Aaah!!

So please leave me some encouragement for making it through this book and reminding me that I'm not alone in my book-a-holism and if you have any consequences you've suffered from your book-a-holism, please share them as well. :)

(Meanwhile, I started Ink Exchange, and it's great!)

Sunday Salon

I'm really late to this again, sorry! The whole moving not having internet kept me from participating the last few weeks, but I'm back!

I am currently reading Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan which so far (and I'm not very far) is interesting. I love when a book sucks me in, and this has certainly done that.

I finished Wicked Lovely, which I also loved. It was the first YA book I've read just for fun since I was in junior high. I have to say as much as I loved it, if I had a teenage daughter I wouldn't be thrilled with her reading it. But as a teenager I can guarantee I would have loved it. So much angst! (so basically it looks like if I'm ever a parent I'll be overprotective. :)

I would like to say something about YA books being hardcovers. What's up with that? I think that YA books should all be trade size or mass market paperbacks and cheap! To encourage more reading! Because I read YA when I was in junior high and living off what you earn as a baby-sitter. By the time I had my own job, I had graduated to the world of Hermann Hesse, Carson McCullers, and any other literary fiction I could get for a few bucks at the used bookstores. But I guess since so many adults are reading YA books now (and I'm probably going to become one of them) they figure they can get away with charging ridiculous prices.

Lastly, I'd like to announce my book winners for Skid, Carole and Tara! Thanks so much to all you for making me laugh. I think I already have your addresses ladies, so I'll get those in the mail to you sometime this week.

Sunday Salon

This is my first time to participate in the Sunday Salon, so if I don't do it exactly right..apologies!

I think generally I'm supposed to talk about what I've been reading and I can't think of anything more enjoyable!

This week, I read Ransomed Dreams by Amy Wallace. I was hoping to finish it in time to also read and give Healing Promises a proper review, but as I've mentioned before, I'm moving this week, so my time has been very limited. Ransomed Dreams is a romantic suspense, and fairly entertaining. I have to admit I got slightly bogged down by the point of view changes and couldn't always remember whose POV I was reading! Also, the pacing at times was a bit sluggish, but overall it's a pretty good novel. It reminded me a lot of Dee Henderson's work.

I am now reading Embrace Me by Lisa Samson. Lisa Samson is one of my favorite authors--she's got such a quirky unique voice. This novel is no exception, and I'll review it later this week!

Speaking of that, I have several books I need to read right this minute! An ARC of Stealing Athena is next and Sigmund Brower's Broken Angel along with Sherri Sands Leave it to Chance.

What's on your reading agenda for the week?