Fiction Addiction

Do librarians know books? Yes! Check out the latest fiction reviews from an Indiana librarian!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

How do you keep track of your reading?

A question I always like to ask reading friends is "How do you keep track of your reading?" If you're like me you may be in one or more book discussion groups in addition to the regular list of books you'd like to read.
Many friends have shared their book logs with me and it has always been fun to see how different their "systems" have been.
For myself I have two different composition notebooks. One book has all the information and discussion materials for the book discussion that I lead. Is is totally seperate from the other book that I keep. In the other one I have listed all the books that I have read by year. This goes back to 2002. Wish I'd started it earlier it didn't occur to me. I also keep lists of books that I want to read. That is an ongoing list. I also have a section for "reader's advisory" notes. I am a mystery fan and sometimes it's hard to keep track of all books in a particular series. So I have a section that I devote to that. One other section is a list of books that I'd like to give to others for gifts. Numerous times I've read a book that I have thought would appeal to a friend or family member and forgotten about it. By writing it down I don't forget and always have some "potential gift" ideas right on hand.
Not everyone keeps track of these things in the manner that I do. Maybe it's the "Librarian" in me that possesses me me to do it in this fashion. Any way you do it is perfectly fine. There are no rules to this . Some friends keep track of their reading in a small spiral book that they keep in their purse. Others keep their list on index cards. Some even devote a whole page in a notebook to making notes about each book read. Frankly I haven't been able to stay motivated to do that on a steady basis but I admire those who do.
No matter how you choose to keep track of your reading, or maybe you don't keep track at all, don't forget the whole point of reading..the enjoyment of new ideas and stories.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Great Titles from past book discussion meetings

I am the facilitator of a long running book discussion group at my library. Over the past 10 years I have enjoyed leading many animated discussions. I thought you would enjoy reading some of the titles from our list. Here they are:

The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards
Forever by Pete Hamill
The Girls by Lori Lanseus
Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Red River by Lalita Tademy
Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Bean Blossom Dreams by Sallyann Murphy
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

All of these titles have proven to be good choices for book discussions.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I'm a repeat reader!

I seem to be in the mood to make book lists these days. Todays' list is a short list of some of the books that I have read more than one time. Most of these remind me of a particular time in my life. So not only am I revisiting a favorite title I'm remembering what was going on in my life at that time.

Here's the list, in no particular order:

1. The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart- I enjoy anything written by her. I checked out all her books from my high school library when I was a freshman.
2. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery-I read this series when I was in Junior High but I re read them again when I was hugely pregnant and bored at home. Anne kept my mind off of my swelling ankles!
3. Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd-This is a recent additon to this list. I read it the summer that it came out and have revisited it several times. Great story! Great characters.
4. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand-This was reccommended to me when I was a Sophmore in college. It took some doing but I compulsively read it. I confess I "skimmed" the 200 page political theory that the character "John Gault" presented toward the end of the book.
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte-I read this when I was in 7th grade and has always been a favorite of mine.
6. To Kill a Mocikingbird by Harper Lee-Who doesn't love this book? I also read this in 7th grade while sitting on my front porch one summer waiting on the "paper boy" who I also had a crush on. The book had a more lasting impression on me than the boy did.
7. An Unfinished Woman by Lillian Hellman-I read this during my college sorority days when I was exploring books written only by women. Hellman's writing is so lyrical and riviting that I would read her work after a long evening of studying.

I still have my original copies of the books on my list above. Some of them are a little shabby looking and some of the pages are yellowed, but they'll never be thrown out!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Vacation Reading

Last week I read 6 books while on vacation at our lake house. All of the books were picked solely for their entertainment value. Included in this list were mysteries, romance and general fiction. All of them were winners in my book because they kept me turning pages and were very entertaining.

Here's the list:
The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White
Polar Shift by Clive Cussler
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
The Search by Nora Roberts
Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die by Nancy Martin
A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff