Novel Approaches

Is there anything better than sitting in a sunbeam reading a good book? Maybe so, but this definitely make the top ten for my list of favorite ways to relax. I've slowed down a bit on my reading lately, but mostly because I've been too tired to read before going to sleep at night. I am hoping to catch up on some pages next week during spring break when we won't be running around so much.
I've been keeping a blog of my thoughts of all the books I've been reading this year. Some good, some not so good, but if you are interested, check out my BiblioFiles blog. Remember my 2010 Resolution to read 50 books? I'm definitely making progress, but as I look at Lord of the Rings and War & Peace, and realize I've been trying to get through The Stand since January, I'm wondering if I'll make it through all of them or not. I am going to do my best and try to enjoy the process, so in the end, I'll still have broadened my horizons and read a lot of great books. And our library has grown, too. As of now, I am borrowing one and there is only one we don't have yet, but the others -- we've got 'em.

Not including magazines or books I've read to the kids, I have read more than 4500 pages this year. Here is what I've read so far (from "The List") in order of completion:

• The Secret Garden (Burnett, 1911)
• Wuthering Heights (Bronte, E, 1847)
• Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck, 1937)
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Lewis, 1950)
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Shaffer & Barrows, 2008)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Dick, 1968)
• The Kite Runner (Hosseini, 2003)
• Beloved (Morrison, 1987)
• Winnie the Pooh (Milne, 1926)

I've attempted Lolita (Nabokov, 1955) and I read about three-quarters of it before deciding I'd rather be spending my time reading something I was enjoying. I decided not to finish it and I am working on being okay with that. Right now, I am reading Memoirs of a Geisha (Golden, 1997) and The Stand (King, 1978). All in all, I am still averaging a book a week from the list, but have also read some others [not on my list] at the same time.

I am enjoying this reading project a lot. Many of these novels are English, and I do get tired of reading about England so often. Many are historical fiction, and that is not a genre I usually read, yet I am enjoying it.

As the sunshine brightens and warms the days, I'll probably slow down the reading to spend some time in the garden, but I'll get back to the books soon enough. Now. . . I'm going to start dreaming of the days I can swing in the hammock sipping lemonade and reading a novel while the kids run and play in the yard. . . .