Sunday, January 4, 2009

Sunday Salon

The Sunday Salon.com

Hmmm. . . what shall I read first?

Days leading to 2009 I spent debating which book to read first. My choices were Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch or The Host by Stephenie Meyer. My next thought was: maybe I should just read something else. I don't know why I make such a big deal about which book to read at the start of each year. May be it sets the tone for the rest of the year, who knows. What I do know is I just want to read a really good book. After several days of debating and no reading, I finally made my decision: Time of My Life. I love the cover--it's very cute and wintery (not to mention the colors are pink and green, my sorority colors) and I've read great reviews about this book. It sounds like a fun book to start the year with. I like that the book deals with the "what if" question. Actually, isn't that what we think about in the new year with resolutions? "If only I did this, then may be my life would be better..." "If I didn't make that decision, then may be I wouldn't be on this path leading me away from my dreams..." Aren't resolutions ways to learn from and correct (if we can) our past mistakes?

Moving on to The Host. Numerous people have told me that if I like the Twilight series, then I would love The Host. On the flip side, numerous people have told me if I liked Twilight, then I would be extremely disappointed with The Host. Um... okay.... So I decided to keep both in mind and just read it with an open mind. When I read the book description, it didn't appear to me that they can be compared, but maybe I'm missing something because I haven't read The Host yet and I'm not sure what exactly they are comparing (Ms. Meyer's style of writing, characters, plot, etc.) Anyway, I think I may hold off reading this one for a bit. I'm waiting for the Chunkster Challenge to start so I can include this book to my list.

I'm not sure where my reading will take me after I finish Time of My Life. I may start reading a new-to-me young adult series or continue reading books I've purchased, but yet to read. One of the reasons I find it difficult to read books I've purchased is that I'm reading more library books. I absolutely love going to the library!! The problem with that is I find myself checking out more books than I can possibly read in a 3-week period. So, I renew and renew until I reach my renewal limit and often take back books unread. So, I ask you (well, okay... may be I should be asking myself this question...) why do I put myself through this? Honestly, there's no answer...

My main project (I no longer do resolutions; I do projects. I respond better to projects.) for 2009 is to get organized! I really need to let go of unused items, clean out drawers, my closets, throw out clutter, etc. I need to release those things that I am allowing to trap me. I now see that continuing to check out more library books than I can read is producing unnecessary stress. I will admit it... I have no discipline with this, so it's time for me to work on it. Maybe I can learn something from Blockbuster: I can only check out so many at a time and when I reach that limit, then that's it. When I return a book, then I can check out another. I know this may sound kind of "structured", but maybe that's what I need. Even as a young girl, I never had a limit placed on me about how many books I can check out. My parents just allowed it. That thinking has spilled over into my adult life. Not that I'm blaming my parents. I just haven't factored in all the responsibilities I have now in my life combined with the amount of time I can read versus what I had then.

Yesterday I returned books and today I plan to sort through more to return tomorrow. Let's see, I need a deadline date to have the books returned by and I need to start thinking, realistically, how many books can I read in a 3-week period. Baby steps, right?

How are you spending your Sunday?

4 comments:

  1. I do the same thing with library books -- renew and renew and then return a few unread. The main reason I do it is because I want to make sure I have something to read in case I abandon one or two of the books. Now that my husband makes a library pick-up every week, I have a rotating buffet of books, so I can afford to make the list a little shorter.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved "The Host" and I haven't read any of the Twilight series yet (although the books are in my TBR).

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have the same problem with the library. I love going there and always check out more then I can read. Then feel bad when I return them unread. I lamented about this to some friends and they helped me see it in a positive light. That I was giving the books a vacation for the lonely dusty shelves of the library.

    Since you love the library so much you might like the Support Your Local Library challenge hosted by J Kaye. You can find more details about it here:

    http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/2008/11/2009-support-your-local-library.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. I enjoyed both The Host and Time of My Life. I've actually thought people might like The Host who don't like Twilight because it's a bit more grown up.

    ReplyDelete