Monday, September 20, 2010

A Post about Reading

I have been working through my summer reading list and am finally down to the last 4. It may not sound like a triumph, but when you consider that at the beginning of the summer, I ordered 4 books from Amazon and already had 3 in my pile to read. Add that to the 4 or 5 my sister lent me and I am well on my way. Needless to say, I love to read.

In any free time that comes my way—early in the morning, on the treadmill (no, I don’t get sick), free minutes in the afternoon, and especially before bed every night—I am reading. For as long as I can remember I have always had a book I was reading; The Babysitters Club series and Sweet Valley High books took up the majority of my bookshelf growing up, and then as I got older I began reading books like Christy and Julie by Catherine Marshall. When I started blogging, it opened up a new arena for me to learn about books from all genres and as I came to love the writing of certain blogs, I found that their reading selections/recommendations were not to be missed (Chatting at the Sky and Flower Patch Farm Girl). I have my all time top 10 books that if anyone asks for a recommendation, those are the ones I am quick to refer.

Thankfully my husband shares a love of reading (although he tends to read more theology and apologetics, then switches to Louis L’Amour) and we have, since we decided to start a family, been growing Anna Claire’s library as well. She has caught the book bug as well and we are thrilled!


Okay, now on to the point of this post, I came across a blog somewhere (I have no idea where, who, what….) and she was reviewing a book. She explained that she received FREE books from publishers and in exchange, because she had a blog, they requested a short review of the book. In addition to posting it on her blog, they also require you to post it on another order site (amazon, Christianbook.com, etc.).

Now, for me FREE + BOOKS = an opportunity to not pass up as we build our family and personal libraries. And with having a blog…well that works out perfectly. I began thinking about what books I might like to read and review and I think this will give me a great opportunity to read outside of my comfort zone. I don’t read a ton of non-fiction and I will be honest when I say, I do judge a book by its cover, it has to be pretty for me to read (anyone? anyone?), so I think this will be good for me to read and expand my reading repertoire (I don’t think I’ve ever used that word). Rest assured, Nesting in Pleasant View isn’t going to become all books, all the time, I just figured that since I already read, I’ll just share what I’ve been reading. So, if you enjoy reading, and I’m kinda under the assumption that you do on some level since you are reading this, there might be something that I come across that interests you as well.

I received my first book over the weekend and will be reviewing it tomorrow. Head’s up…it’s a children’s holiday book.

6 comments:

Karen said...

Dropping by from your sister's. I hope to get back to reading when cooler weather gets here and I curl up in my chair.
Enjoyed reading and looking,
Karen

Cat said...

loving this! so cool! I love to read, too. And my son LOVES to read. We read a whole basket of books every day, sometimes twice a day. That is wonderful to me! :) Your little girl is precious!

Amber said...

I loved the Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High series when I was younger too! I just saw one of the old SVH books (before they redesigned the cover) at a garage sale last week that brought back memories of hours and hours of reading growing up. I used to make my mom take me to the book dept when we arrived at the grocery store so I could pick out a book to read through the store. I don't read as much as I'd like to these days, but I still really enjoy reading. I look forward to your reviews! Out of curiosity, what books are on your top 10 list?

Julia Parker said...

What are some of your current favorite books? Have you read Francine River's Mark of the Lion series? I think you would like it if you haven't....

Were you at church Sunday? Missed seeing you if you were. Guest pastor brought a fabulous message.

On another note, I have a few things to run by you about wedding decor...I'll ask you next time I see you.

emily freeman said...

I so lived off The Babysitters Club and SVH. In fact, I just found all my Sweet Valley books in the garage. I cannot part with them. They were my friends!

Our Great Adventure said...

Hi Sarah!
Found your blog from Emily's.. (I really hope that doesn't creep you out!) :)and after hearing you say a little about reading today at their house, I thought I'd see if you had posted anything on here about what you read. I find that I read more non-fiction than fiction, so would love to hear what your fiction must reads are!
-Katie