There are three things I love most about breaks from law school.
#1 Traveling
#2 Reading (for fun)
#3 Crafting
Since I've already shared a lot of my travels and crafts....I wanted to share another aspect of my summer. READING!
What sorts of books do I read? Eh...it really depends!
First, I'm one of those people that once I read a book...I usually end up reading an entire chunk of things from the same author. Trying new authors is a tough thing for me.
I've been through through popular book phases..... just like the rest of the America. From Harry Potter, to the Hunger Games, Twilight to Lord of the Rings and you can't forget The Help. I've read every Jane Austen book, and put a pretty huge dent in all the other "classics". I went through a 3 year phase where I wouldn't read anything that wasn't considered a "classic".
As of right now, I'm finishing the Janet Evanovich- Stephanie Plum series.
Hysterical.
My mom and sister have talked about them for years, and I couldn't bring myself to start reading them. I never wanted to read anything classified as "mystery"
Well much to my surprise, I tried my first mystery book over winter break- A John Grisham book- And loved it. I've read about 9 of his book since then. And have a stack of 6 on my shelf still to go through this summer.
So I figured, my mom and sister talked me into the Hunger Games two years ago...so I should give another of their suggestions a chance.
Back to my original thought- if you're looking for a pretty funny series, try Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum are the good ones. She writes romance novels too...which I cannot vouch for) I'm one of those people that laughs outloud when I'm sitting at home alone reading, and I love the characters in this book.
I also like to keep a book in my purse. One of my favorite authors of all time was Madeleine L'Engle (Author of A Wrinkle in Time). I am almost through with her book "A Circle of Quiet" which is really a nice read. Its alot of her thoughts about life. If you're religious, I believe it falls in the religion category, but its more a book of thoughts and I love that she talks about bits of her life while writing her more popular books.
For someone who loved "A Wrinkle in Time", its like watching a commentary of a movie, you feel like you understand it all a little bit better. Its written alot like "Blue Like Jazz" (another popular spiritual book) incase you enjoy reading a book similar to that.
Also, I'm 100% one of those snotty old farts that says I will never use an e-reader. I love the smell of books. I like used books the best, and I like to fold pages and write in them when I feel like it. As of last year, I always stick my book label in them, because I like thinking that someday someone will see it and wonder who I was. The same way I prefer to have a used book, with a stranger's book label in the cover, and their hand written notes on them. Also, the best part about a tangible book, is that it costs me a couple bucks at the used book store, and I can lay it on my shelf until I get to talking to someone about it, and I can hand it over in hopes they will like it as much as I do, write their own little thoughts and hand it off to someone else.
So that is just another one of the aspects of Kitty I had yet to share!
Please feel free to suggest any books that you love- I'm always open to hearing what other people enjoy
7 comments:
I thought I wouldn't be an e-reader person, but I absolutely LOVED my Kindle (until a child who shall be nameless dropped it in water). At any moment, I have over 500 books to choose from to read. I read rather fast, so it isn't unheard of for me to read more than one book a day. It's lovely not to have to add to the weight of my purse with books. I'd estimate that over 90% of the books I've downloaded from Amazon for my Kindle/Kindle app were free.
I love how you like to give them away. I am a hoarder of books. If I have a book I particularly like, I am more likely to buy another copy to give to someone rather than give it away. I don't much like to mark up my books, either. That is something else I like about the Kindle... is being able to highlight text and write notes in it without marking up the pages. I am very anal about books... no dog-earing the pages, either. If I had enough bookshelf space for all my books, I'd probably label them and file them like a real library.
Books I enjoy.... for a mystery series, Diane Mott Davidson writes some fun whodunits involving a caterer named Goldy. The stories are set in Colorado and include recipes.
I never thought that I would like a kindle either, but I downloaded the kindle app on my tablet, and I LOVE it. I started reading the "game of thrones" series, and they are really good. They are kind of gruesome, and have a lot of killing, but over all they are good. I agree with you on the "Stephanie Plum" series, I read the first few books and loved those too.
Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is great until you get to about the 14th book and it seems like she gets lazy and keeps recycling the same story line.
I haven't read any Grisham, but will have to give him a try.
I'm really into the dystopian novels right now (like Hunger Games). I'm reading Divergent now, and it's a real page turner.
I'm slightly embarrassed that I have an e-reader, as I feel the same way you do about a REAL book...there's just something about them that can't be replaced. But I got one from my in-laws as a gift and I feel guilty for not using it!!! haha So...I will say that it is convenient to take with me on long trips so that I don't have to pack multiple paperbacks :) But I am in no way suggesting that it is better than a REAL book, hear me world, hear me.
My parents got me a Kindle for my birthday last year and I was really hesitant about it because I love reading actual books. I still end up reading lots of actual books but have enjoyed my Kindle more than I thought I would. It's great for trips so I only have to pack that rather than hem and haw over how many books to bring with me and what I think I'll want next if I think I'll finish the one I'm reading while I'm away. I'm also finding that I can still read a lot for free or dirt cheap, but am not contributing to a ridiculously large stash of books with books that are only okay. I have ended up buying (or plan on buying) copies of actual books I've loved (like the Hunger Games), even though I have them on my Kindle, so that I can loan them or just have them in my library someday.
As for good books now... I've also loved the silliness of the Stephanie Plum books! My mom, aunt, sister and I buy one and pass it around. A friend recently gotten me hooked on John Green as an author - his novels are seriously incredible and are on my list of books to buy (I borrowed all the ones I've read). I suggest starting with "Looking for Alaska," "The Fault in Our Stars" or "Paper Towns." Nick Hornby is a great author too, you'd probably recognize a lot of his books as they were made into movies - "About a Boy," "Hign Fidelity" and "A Long Way Down." Lastly, "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak was really good.
Seems like we have a lot of the same reading interests! I finished The Hunger Games series right before the movie came out & was mad that my friend didn't make me read them earlier! I'll have to try the Janet Evonovich books.
One series that I'm hooked on is the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse books (HBO's True Blood is based off these books). The first books are funny - especially if you like vampires (me!).
Finally, I love real books, too - including the smell (think that's why I like them). I'm not a fan of e-readers and won't own one. I do have a Kindle app on my iPad and will download free books from Amazon for when I want something brainless to read, but haven't actually spent money on an e-book (I refuse). If I'm going to spend money on a book, it's going to be one I can hold and touch and smell.
Big reader here too! My goal is to read 52 books this year and I am at 27 right now.
I like physical books too and it works well for me since I do most of my reading at home or in the car. I might get an e-reader someday for on the go but as of right now I have no use for one.
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