The shows on television have been so boring and all of my television watching has come to a standstill since the writers strike. But instead of moping about the television, I started turning into some new shows and have reignited my love for a hobby that I once lost… reading!

I kept blaming my kids for my lack of reading when I should have blaming my own lack of motivation and laziness. Why read when I can flip on the television? It just seemed so much easier. Since nothing has been on television though, I flipped my remote back to reading.

It has become an evening ritual for me. I curl up into my glider chair and escape for the evening with a little snack. Candles are lit in my room, a comfy pillow behind my back, my feet propped on the ottoman, a warm quilt wrapping in me… and I crack the binding to my library book. Do you hear that? Sweet silence! The children are in bed and the only sound that I am hearing is the flipping of the pages.

First to get read was my first James Patterson book. I know, I know…I have just not found his material all that engaging, but I could not put down, “The Quickie.” And lest you think I am reading pornographic material, as my husband eyes danced over the title and I confessed my addiction to porn just for kicks, this book is less about that and more about a thrilling witnessed murder that happens quickly and takes over a detective’s life. Why would that take over her life? Why, her lover was murdered by her husband and she is put in charge of the case. Oh, it was a thrill ride that reminded me a lot of one of my favorite thrillers, “Derailed,” by James Siegel (that got turned into a sub par movie that did little justice to the book) and I hung onto the roller coaster ride for two days. It literally took me two evenings to flip through and I could not put it down. My mother-in-law read it (as did a bunch of the people she worked with!) and she had the same experience as me. She has read other Jame Patterson books though and said none were as good as this so she said I made a good first choice. If you are looking for a quick mommy read, this is it!
The next book I read was also out of my normal genre, but it was so good that I could not put it down. “Heart Sick” by Chelsea Cain reminded me a lot of, “Silence of the Lambs.” Instead of a male serial killer though, a detective is tracking a female serial killer. She is on a killing spree and ends the spree with her last victim…the detective. Instead of killing him though she tortures him and then lets him go, knowing that she is going to prison forever. The detective can’t understand why she has let him go and it tortures him more because he doesn’t know why. Apparently, this is the first book in the series and I am looking forward to more novels to come. If you don’t have the stomach for stuff like this though, I wouldn’t recommend it. Like I said, this is not my normal genre, but I just found the premise of the book to be quite fascinating.
I also finished, “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” by Audrey Niffenegger. This has been a book that I have wanted to read for a long time, but had never set aside the time to read it. I am so glad that I waited though because I don’t know if I could have appreciated this book as much as I did now. This has to be one of the best books I have ever read. It is about a man who time travels, but not in a science fiction kind of way. He is born with a condition that causes him to time travel and he arrives to all of his destinations completely naked, starving, and with no money. He has to become resourceful and find ways to eat and live when he travels to these new destinations. Who he comes to visit often though ends up being his future wife at different stages in her life and they form a friendship and then later fall in love. I don’t want to give too much away, but I noticed that it is being made into a film and I am hoping it does more justice to the book than other films I have seen in the past. Without giving anything away, my husband came into our room to see me bawling like a baby…dripping nose, mascara running, hiccuping….the whole works. I am rarely moved by a book in this way, but this book did it for me. If you haven’t read it run, run, run to the library and get it.

I got an early release copy of “The Sweet Potato Queens’ Guide to Raising Children for Fun & Profit,” but hadn’t had a chance to sit down and read this until now. I really love the Sweet Potato Queen books and have been a big fan of Jill’s for a long time now. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t half as good as her first couple of novels. There are some funny parts in it, but it wasn’t what I had been hoping for. There are some great recipes in it though that are full of butter and calories- yum!

Now I am starting the Janet Evanovich books and of course I had to start with, “One for the Money.” I have been wanting to read these for awhile now and I am looking forward to reading the entire series. The good part about starting a series late though is that you don’t have to wait for the new releases to come out to finish. I think she is up to book thirteen so that gives me plenty of reading material to get me started.

Sound Off: What books have you read lately- anything you could recommend? I am going to have to hit our library again soon so I would love some new suggestions!