books « Popping Bubbles

Books and Reading and Stuff, Oh My!

July 14th, 2010

It's July 15th. The year is half over. Already. What.the.hell? On January 1, I said I was going to read 100 books this year. I was officially a SAHM, there should be no reason I couldn't do it. Prior to being a mom, I used to read three or four books a week with no problem. 100 should be a piece of cake! Ummmm……

I am a wee bit behind. OK a LOT behind. I have only read 22 books this year and I need to catch up. I have over 200 books in my TBR piles (somehow they keep growing) so the problem is not a shortage of materials. I was reading a lot for school, but I'm taking a break from classes for a few months so I can't use that as an excuse either. I should be 50 books into my challenge and I'm not even halfway there.

I'm going to buckle down and get caught up. I have hard cover and paperback books overflowing my bedside cabinet and drawers. (I even have some hidden in a secret compartment that I'm not sure Rob knows about. Sssshhh) I have books on my phone thanks to the Kindle app. I add new books constantly since the lovely TopSurf pointed me in the direction of the lists on Amazon that update all day long.

I have classics, I have mystery/thrillers. I have my favorite SciFi/Horror thanks to the Laurell K Hamilton books that I burn through on the Kindle. Fiction, Nonfiction, Fantasy and Autobiographies are all represented in my stacks. Maybe I should clarify…I think the only autobiographies I have in the stacks currently are Russell Brand's My Booky Wook and The Confession by James McGreevey. Gay politicians and dirty hawt comedians make up the extent of that section of my library. *ahem* Don't judge me.

Somewhere in the list are Harry Potter and Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help that Aido Tato and I are reading. If I can twist his little arm, we will also be reading the Chronicles of Narnia series before the year is out, but his arms are pretty rubbery so we'll see who wins.

There are 16 days left in July. I hope to knock out a few more books and then I'll post my progress report and the list of books that I have read so far. Don't expect a lot of heavy, intellectually driven tomes. When I read for fun, I like to read light books that let me get lost in another world for five minutes or five hours and not think about anything that is going on in my real life. Looking at the list so far, it's full of cotton candy fluff and luscious juicy fun. Pull up a chaise, slather on some sunscreen and grab a pina colada. I've got a summer reading list that will knock your bikini top right off! I'll meet you back here in two weeks with all the details!

Comments ( 3 )

books, hobbies, reading

Books, I Haz Them

March 24th, 2010

I know I have talked about my love of books, my bookshelves and my many stacks of unread books once or twice before, but I'm going to say it again – I NEED MORE BOOKSHELVES! I have officially run out of room for books. Today, I am going to rearrange some tchotchkes and other assorted stuff to make room for more books in our bedroom, but what I really need is space for more bookshelves.

A few people have suggested that I get rid of some books by selling them to a used bookstore or donating them to the library, but I have already done that with everything I am willing to part with. The truth is I am a book collector. I don't care if they're rare or first editions. I just love sitting in our little library and looking at all of the books lining the shelves. They are chock full of books and can't fit anything else….so I've been planning.

I want to turn the wall behind our bed into bookshelves. 14 feet wide and 8 feet high. Oh yes…the ceilings in our bedroom are vaulted and we could actually build shelves to the ceiling, but I want to be able to take shelves with us when we move and not every house comes equipped with 18 foot ceilings, but I digress. I want to build shelves to fit around our bed like a giant headboard. They could take the place of nightstands! Aaahh…a girl can dream.

I also want one of these for our den…

Until I can work my magic into getting more shelves, I'm off to rearrange. More knick knacks may need to go into boxes to make room……

Comments ( 5 )

books, dreaming, things i love

Hundreds of Books Upon the Shelf

January 9th, 2010

I love books, that's not a secret. I do not remember a time when I did not enjoy having a book in my hands, letting my eyes dance across the words on the page and watching as they became the screenplay for a movie playing in my head. My mom has a picture of me taken when I was about 4 /2. In the picture, I am sitting in a corner with Cartman, blanket tucked over our little knees and I am reading him a book. I remember being six years old and lying in bed at night, long after I was supposed to have shut my light off, debating whether to risk getting in trouble for staying up by going to ask my parents what a word in Misty Of Chincoteague meant or if I should just go to sleep and ask in the morning. I usually got out of bed, pretended to have dreamed the word and asked very sleepily for an explanation. I was almost always given the meaning of the word, walked back to bed and forced to give up the book until morning. I got my first dictionary when I was seven and never had a problem again.

That stack of books got me through a long, very cold winter when I was eight or nine. Little Women was my favorite. Oh how I dreamed of being a March sister. Then there was Heidi. She lived on a mountaintop with her grandfather, I lived on a mountain down the street from my grandfather – we were practically twins! Those classics are still on my shelf today. I might go back and read them again when I have time.

Time? What's that? Before I had Aidan, I would spend entire weekends doing nothing but reclining on the couch reading book after book that I had picked up from the library. In the past few years, the time I have to read for pleasure has eroded away until I barely have time to read for five minutes at night before my eyelids slam shut. One of the promises I made myself when I quit my job was that I would make more time to read. I even set myself the lofty goal of reading 100 books in 2010. so far, I have finished two books and am well into my third, but I would like to have another two or three books done by next Friday, January 15th.

This past week was supposed to be my week of decompression. The week I did nothing but let all of the yuck ooze out of my brain, taking with it the stress keeping my spine ramrod straight. It didn't happen. I had one thing after another this week and found myself racing around like crazy with hardly any time to pick up a book. Next week is going to be different. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I have nothing on my agenda. I plan on dropping Aido off at school and coming home to sprawl on the couch and read.

Cross your fingers for me that everything goes according to plan, I have almost 200 books in my to be read pile and need to make some room on my nightstand!

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books, goals, things i love

In the Beginning

January 4th, 2010

Hmm…Monday. The first Monday in FOREVER that I haven't woken up dreading what the day will bring. I need to get the Tato up and ready so I can toss him out of the car at school and them I'm freeeeee until 2:30. Oh, the possibilities are endless…or they would be if I didn't feel like crap.

Double ewe tee eff????? My first day out of work and I'm sick? That's not right! I want to stand on a hill like William Wallace and belt out FRRRRREEEEEEEDDDDDDOOOOOOOOMMMMM at the top of my lungs, except I'll have better hair and my face won't be blue unless I have a spur of the moment desire for a facial, but I digress.

I am sick. My nose holes don't work, my lungs are trying their hardest to escape through my mouth and I'm exhausted. But, oh no sickness! I will not be down with you! Hells to the no. I am going to take you by the leash and make you my bitch. Fine. I feel lousy? Can't take a deep breath without hacking like an emphysema patient? Need tissues every 14.2 nanoseconds? You're no match for me!

I have a GIGANTIC pile of to be read books in my room. I'll spend the day wrapped in a blanket on the couch, taking little shallow breaths. Lungs, prepare to stay in place. Nose holes, I've got a Neti pot with your name written all over it. I'm giving you 24 hours to clear the premises before I call in the big dogs. Oh yes, I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday afternoon. Don't make her give me antibiotics again….

Sickness, you're going down and I'm not going with you. Buh bye.

Comments ( 7 )

books, down with the sickness, SAHM'ing it!

Thank Goodness for….

November 23rd, 2009

Since Thanksgiving is on Thursday, I am going to spend the week telling you all about thing that I am thankful to have. I mention on a regular basis how much I love Rob and Aido Tato, so there will be no mushy family posts this week (maybe at Christmas.) These will be purely things that make me happy and bring me joy.

First on the list, books. Yes, I am thankful for books as if you didn’t already know. In addition to books, I am thankful for the Kindle app on my iPhone. Without it I would be lost. I never go anywhere without a book. Ever. Sometimes though, I don’t want to lug my big purse around and if I carry a smaller purse there just isn’t enough room for a book and that’s where the Kindle app comes in handy. I just whip out my iPhone and I’m good to go. I can read in the doctor’s office, in line at the grocery store, at the DMV, anywhere I happen to be. I still prefer a hard copy of a book, but in a pinch I do love the app.

I currently have about 150 books in my to be read pile. It just keeps growing and right now it takes up two drawers in my nightstand as well as the three shelves in the cabinet above it. The list spreads across the shelf behind our bed and goes on. I still have to clench my fists to avoid buying new books every time I go into a book store.

I have tried to behave myself and have started adding books to my Amazon wishlist instead of buying them. At last count there were 536 books on the list, but who’s counting? Is there really such a thing as too many books? I think not. I could live in a library and as long as there were a few big, comfy chairs I would be good to go!

So yes, first on my list is books. I am thankful that there are people out there creative enough to write the words that take me away. Whether it’s to a different country or a different time, I love the adventures I have taken while getting lost in a good book.