Happy 2007

Happy 2007 to everyone - hope you all enjoyed the holidays :) I was sick for Christmas and didn't really move from the couch. My husband and I were forced to forage our cabinets for food since all of the stores were closed (we of course didn't think to food shop ahead of time because we thought we'd be traveling). Some interesting meals were had. Thankfully my husband is an excellent cook and can pretty much make a gourmet meal out of water so we survived. I was able to take advantage of the downtime too and get through the stack of library books I had waiting for me.

First on the list was From Baghdad, with Love by Jay Kopelman and Melinda Roth. For those of you that are animal lovers, you'll want to read this book. It's a personal account of what one Marine went through to rescue and transport a puppy found among wreckage in Fallujah back to the United States. Photos included.

Next I needed something a little lighter so I turned to Carole Matthews' Welcome to the Real World. For chick lit, Matthews is probably my favorite. Bartender and aspiring singer Fern Kendal finds herself subbing for handsome opera singer Evan David's personal assistant. Romance ensues and the story is complete with comical parents and a trusty sidekick who always seems to come to Fern's rescue.

After that it was John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This is definitely on my top 10 list of books for 2006. Cleverly done, it's a must read. Nine year old Bruno and his family move from Berlin to a place Bruno thinks is called "Out-With" (aka Auschwitz) where the "Fury" (aka Furer) has big plans for his father's career. While at "Out-With" Bruno befriends a young boy who lives in the nearby concentration camp and their friendship develops as they talk to each other from opposite sides of the fence. I read this book in one sitting - it's that good.

Then it was onto Jed Rubenfeld's The Interpretation of Murder. This one seemed to have gotten a lot of hype, but it lived up to the hype. A psychological thriller set in early 1900's NYC complete with prominent roles played by Freud, Jung, and other historical figures. A great read especially if you have an interest in the field of psychology.

After reading all of these, I started to feel better, but then my husband got sick with what I had so it was a quiet New Year's too. More reading :)

And since this is my first post of the New Year, thought I'd list some New Year's resolutions. At least some that I actually have a chance of keeping.

1. Refrain from buying so many books everytime I walk into a bookstore. The ILL at my library works pretty quickly - I just need to learn to be more patient when it comes to new releases.

2. Read more of the books I already own instead of always buying more, checking more out of the library, etc. Hopefully the From the Stacks Challenge will help me with this.

3. Make more time for my writing. I have so many things started, but none finished. This year I am determined to finish a couple of those pieces and submit them to literary magazines.

That's it for me. I could of course make the resolution to eat less junk food but given my history, that will never happen so why bother? :)

Reminder to everyone to go out and get their copy of Colleen Gleason's The Rest Falls Away - I ordered my copy today!

Happy Reading in the New Year!