What Exactly Have I Been Up To Lately???

Yes, I have been being a mom, mostly. But I have learned that just because I can't craft as much as I would like to, doesn't mean that I have to forget about myself completely. So I have picked up again on one of my all time favorite hobbies, reading!!! Not only do I read, but I am also addicted to audio books. It's great, because I can listen to them while I am at work too. So I have to mention what I have been reading lately. As I am sure many of you out there have also read, I am so addicted to the Twilight Series!!! It consists of Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. Not only do I have these in hard back, but I also have the audio books too! I just finished re-reading Twilight. I think that was #4. Once I finish a couple other audio books, then I will have to also listen to New Moon and Eclipse again. So far Eclipse is my favorite of the three. But the fourth installment comes out in less than 2 months. I can hardly stand to wait!!! It is called Breaking Dawn. I have already got it pre-ordered through Barnes & Noble. I am extremely excited that it comes out August 2, which happens to be a Saturday. I know I will have it finished by that Sunday!! Here's some pictures of the covers, if you aren't familiar with them. They are a definite must!

I think the new cover for Breaking Dawn is pretty cool. I have liked all of the covers though. Stephenie Meyer, the author, has used classic literature for inspiration of her previous books in the series. She has mentioned getting inspiration from Romeo and Juliet as well as Wuthering Heights. She mentioned that Breaking Dawn is partly inspired by A Mid Summers Night's Dream. The whole basis of this Shakespearean Play is that everyone falls in love with the wrong person. Now, not to give anything away, but Bella, the main character has had to chose between 2 loves in her life, her vampire boyfriend, Edward, and her werewolf best friend, Jacob. I can tell you, if she doesn't end up with Edward, I will be extremely sad!

I am definitely on a series kick. Last summer, I read all of the Harry Potter books. I listened to them on audio books and read them to try to get through them faster. It worked great! I love all seven of them! Next to Twilight, this is my next favorite series. I hear there is talks of a prequel book!!! I hope it goes through!!

I also re-read the Chronicles of Narnia. Also one of my favorite series. This is definitely #3. All of the books are so good. I know that these are all children's and young adults books, but I can't help it. I love all of these authors!!

In the fall, I started listening to a series that I never thought I would. And I have to admit, it was due to encouragement from my friend at work, Kambri. She also loves Harry Potter, and convinced me to try it. It is called the Sword Of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Okay, so it is science fiction/fantasy. Cheesy, I know. But I do really like them. I have just been listening to the audio books. I haven't finished the series all the way. There are 13 books and I have gotten through about half of them. I think I left off on #7. From what I understand, these are kind of a rip off of Robert Jordan's series called the Wheel of Time. I plan to get those as audio books as well to listen to. Probably won't read the books, but will listen to them at work and in my car.

Kyto's (my brother-in-law) girlfriend, Steph, has been helping me feed my reading habit. I think she loves to read more than I do! We have even talked about starting a book club! I think it would be a blast! I got her to read this series, that the same friend that got me to read the Terry Goodkind books, Kambri, got me to read. It's also a teen series. It's called Sweep. There are actually some similarities to Twilight. But instead of being about vampires, it's about witches. I know, I am a dork! Just because I will be 30 in less than a year, doesn't mean though that I can't read teen books, right?! Lame justification, I know. These aren't as good as Twilight. But they are good for in between books. And there are 15 total. All of which are less than 200 pages, so they are a fast read. The last one though is just over 300 pages. So I do recommend them if you are looking for something similar to Twilight. Not the same, but still good.

I just finished The Host today. This is also by Stephenie Meyer. It was hard to get into. It's 619 pages. I was about to give up on it when I was about 140 pages in. Unlike the Twilight series, I wasn't completely sucked in right away. But boy, am I glad I didn't give up! Once I got to about page 150, I couldn't put the book down! It is so good! And it had me in tears almost the whole rest of the book! I definitely recommend it! This also appears to have the makings of a series. I am crossing my fingers! Check it out for sure.

On my Ipod, I have Atonement (this is the current one I am listening to. It was a Christmas present from Steph and Kyto), the Harry Potter's, Wuthering Heights, The Kite Runner (I haven't finished this, but the first couple chapters of the book were really good. It's coming up on my to listen to list), A Thousand Splendid Suns, All of the Twilight books out so far as well as the Host, Great Expectations, All of the Sword of Truth Series. I think that's all of them. I am always looking for audio books though. I just love how they help pass the time, and the fact that I can do other things, like crafting of course, while I am listening.

Since I finished The Host today, I am now reading Dead Until Dark. This is also part of a series. It's also about Vampires. But unlike the Twilight series, this Sookie Stackhouse series (the main character) is actually for adults. I know, it is so unlike me to read books that aren't for children or teens. The author, Charlaine Harris, has a pretty cool writing style. The books seem light and full of humor. I will let you know how I like them. They are about 300 pages, so they should be a fast read also.

I have three whole stacks of books that are on my side table by my couches, waiting to be read. Wicked, Princess Bride, The Golden Compass, Persuasion and many, many others. I can't help it. I pick up new books every time I go to Barnes and Noble! I am just as addicted to reading as crafting. So let me know out there if you like any of the books I have mentioned, or if you have others that I haven't that you recommend too! I am always looking to discover new authors!!

Happy Stamping and Happy Reading Everyone!!