Pickings from my book basket...

Mmmmmm books! How I love a new book and the ability to dive in to my hearts content. I'm a fast reader but life with a toddler doesn't always lend itself to nightly reading like it use to. Most days I read a lot but it is done on the computer. I read the national, state, and local news several times a day in addition to watching it through out the day. I also read a lot of blogs on various topics.

So a week-long vacation = lots of reading for Katie. Here is what I read this past week:

A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin

A wonderful historic fiction piece set during the summer of 1893 in Chicago at the World's Fair. I have yet to read a piece by Lynn Austin that I didn't enjoy.

Searching for Pemberley by Mary Lydon Simonsen

I stumbled across this particular title in the Barnes and Noble in Oahu. The backdrop is post World War 2 London with pieces of Pride and Prejudice woven into the story line. Most of the time I can zip right thru a book and this book required me to think and recall from Pride and Prejudice. (I think the last time I read it was in high school...after finishing it made me want to dust off my old copy and reread it.) This was a fabulous change of pace and the author did a phenomenal job for her debut novel. I'm just happy that I stumbled upon it while in Hawaii.

Take Three by Karen Kingsbury Above the Line Series

Always a quick read I enjoyed the newest book in this second spin off series from the original Redemption Series.

Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella

My sister, Meg, and sister-in-law, Caroline, both are fans of Sophie...I hadn't read anything by her and decided to try a stand alone title before jumping in to the Shopaholic Series. Simple and very enjoyable "beach" read.

Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser

This book I started at the end of our trip on the flight home. Hopefully, I'll finish it in the next day or two. I LOVE Elizabeth Musser's books. Her story telling is perfection and I love that everything she writes takes place in and around Atlanta and North Georgia. This novel is set around Lookout Mountain which is fun for me since we live not too far from there. If you have never read anything by her start with The Swan House. I promise you'll be hooked.

In Search of Self-Governance by Scott Rasmussen

I'm about half way done with this title and read some while in Hawaii. It's a published essay and is very straightforward and no non-sense. In a day and age where we seem to have lost sight of what our forefathers created this is a refreshing read.

The rest of the Family...

-Andy has started reading the E-Myth series and is thoroughly enjoying it.

-AG...now that we are home I need to pull out a new wave of books from our home library for us to read. I've started pulling stuff in themes for us to read daily. I started this at Christmas and placed all our books in a basket. From there we read books from the basket before naps and bedtime. So far we've done Christmas, Winter Snow and Ice, Love, and then Spring/Easter. I'm thinking I might pull a bunch from a particular author for this next go round. Fortunately, we have quite the collection of childrens books and lots of options. I'm not going to lie I'm pretty picky on what we read to him...guess it can be attributed to my EDU classes at Berry and hearing the phrase "quality childrens literature" a million times. Since turning one AG has begun to develop a sense of humor and he will laugh when we read certain books. Usually it is a Mo Willems book and he always laughs in the appropriate place. Which makes Andy and me laugh.