By My Bed…..

Thursday, May 1, 2008, by Leigh Anne

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Inspire - Page 047_phixr 

“The things that make you feel, think and laugh”

As a child I loved books and I loved to read.  Thanks to a mother who loved to read I have been a life long reader.  One of my favorite childhood memories was our weekly trip to the library in my hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin.  In fact, Kenosha had a seperate children’s library, an old church that was turned into a library just for children.

As a child I loved all the usual - Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, Pippi Longstocking etc.  I also loved biographies  I remember some of my favorite were Helen Keller, Jane Addams and Florence Nightengale.

I still love to read - my favorite genres now are memoirs, historical fiction and anything by Jane Austen or other authors of that era!

My declutter project this past week has been to clean out and organize all the books that have accumulated around and under my bed.  I try to keep our master bedroom clutter free but my side of the bed just seems to be a magnet for books. In fact when I gathered up all the books this is what I found…..

 

There were 36 books by my bed. - o.k.  -so they weren’t exactly this neat and tidy!  

I guess I am a bit optimistic about how much reading I can actually get done each night before I fall asleep.

That pile includes my current “read” which is Eat, Pray, Love and the book I need to read for book club that is in a couple of weeks Three Cups of Tea.  There are business books, church books, current best sellers and two little known novels by Louisa May Alcott Inheritance and  A Long Fatal Love Chase along with the third book in the Vampire series by Stephenie Meyer, Eclipse, that I need to get read before the fourth one comes out in August!

So many books, so little time…..

You may have noticed a new little feature I added to my blog -a listing of my most “Recent Reads.”  (Scroll down on the right hand side) I hope you’ll enjoy this new little feature and if you’re looking for a good book - check out my list.

One of my favorite questions to ask people and one I’ve been known to ask everyone,  even complete strangers, is “What’s the best book you’ve read recently?”  I keep a running list of their answers in my little notepad so I am never wanting for a good book to read!

I’d love for you to share with me “What’s the best book you’ve read recently?!”  Just leave a comment below and let me know.  Remember, if you are reading this in a rss reader or through an email update you will need to click through to the actual blog to leave your comment.

I look forward to hearing from you and adding your favorite book to my “To Read” list!  Happy Reading! 

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13 Responses to “By My Bed…..”

Funny! I can see one of them is an organizing book & another is titled “getting things done” LOL

I’ve been on a reading break. Just reading magazines lately.

I love reading too and since there were too many books and not enough time, I switched to Audiobooks when available. It’s been wonderful and I love to hear the different voices speaking to me. A couple of the books you have by your bed that I’ve listen to are Getting Things Done and The Purpose Driven Life — both are very good BTW.

The best book I’ve read (listen to) this year would be the audiobook “Snowflower and the Secret Fan: A Novel” by Lisa See. It’s very moving.

Happy reading!

I love the book, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
by Louise Murphy. It is a World War II twist on the classic tale (fiction). Highly, Highly recommended.

I also really enjoyed Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II’s Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides (non-fiction with pictures).

And for whatever reason, I keep rereading Jemima J by Jane Green. My DH has threatened to get rid of the book; he says I have it memorized so there is no need to keep it.

Brenda,

I read Snowflower and the Secret Fan too and absolutely loved it! I recommended it to my book club and they loved it too. Have you read Woman of the Silk and Language of the Threads - if not, I think you would love those too.
Do you download your audio books from the internet, buy them or get them from the library? Thanks!

Leigh Anne — Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll check those out.

To answer your questions, I get my audiobooks from the library and also Paperbackswap.com. I have had a subscription from Audible.com but for me it was a pain to burn to CD.

I buy the audios if it’s a new one that I just can’t wait to read; if it’s a self-help type book where I think I’ll listen to it more than once; or its from a favorite author like Nicholas Sparks.

Gypsie
Thanks for the recommendations - will definitely add them to my list.

Oh, I love to read, too, and usually stay up way too late at night doing it because it is my only chance. My favorite book recently is hands-down “These is My Words” by Nancy Turner. I already can’t wait to reread it!

As for favorite books of ALL-TIME (and not just ones I have read recently), my number one book is Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald (daughter of Ernest Hemingway). Fabulous historical fiction set in India.

It is so fun to get good recommendations - can’t wait to read what other commenters recommend!

Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, the Father Tim series by Jan Karon. I tend to find an author I love and consume everything by her. Am currently reading “How to Start a Home-Based Professional Organizing Business” which is good reading for me, but probably not so much for you! :-D

The book I am reading right now is “The Little Black Book of Connections” by Jeffrey Gitomer… pretty good one about building rich relationships (which is really what makes someone “rich,” in this life… wouldn’t you agree?)

I am DYING for Stephanie Myer’s 4th “Twighlight” book to come out! I also need to read the next in the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull which just came out last week, I believe. I have really enjoyed that series even though it is written for teens.

A book we read recently for our book group was a historical fiction novel about India. It is called “The Twentieth Wife” by Indu Sundaresan. We all really enjoyed it. The sequel “Feast of Roses” is good also.

Currently I just started a book called “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. I’m really enjoying it.

I’m excited to read everyone’s favorites. Thanks for sharing.

I haven’t ever really read novels, but my favorite author is Alexandra Stoddard. She has like 25 books now. The early ones were about house decorating and evolved into how to create a HOME, and now she writes shorter essays on different aspects of Happiness. I gave myself permission to buy nice sheets and towels for myself after reading one of her HOME books. (She pointed out that we spend a lot of time in bed and that we deserve to be pampered in the bathroom!)

Melanie,
I haven’t heard of either of those books but they are definitely going on the list - especially with such a high recommendation.

Tina,
I loved the Mitford Series so will definitely check out the Father Tim series and the others you mentioned.

Rachel,
I’m going to have to fight my 13 year old daughter over our copy of the new “Twilight” book when it comes out! Thanks for sharing!

Tauna,
Thanks for the suggestions. I have read The Alchemist and love it - I have tried not to buy as many books and use the library more but The ALchemist is one I had to own! It is one I will re-read on a yearly basis just like Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Karen,

I adore Alexandra Stoddard and own many of her books - but not all 25! She is delightful. Thanks for sharing!

I LOVE to read too. I haven’t had much to read or go to the library and get audiobooks. My sister took pity on me and gave me Love Eat Pray on CD just because…
Aren’t sisters great! I loved it and I’m listening to it again already.

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