Average Girl Reads

My daughter C1, age 12, got interested in the Alice books by Phyllis Naylor Reynolds after we watched a movie based on them (Alice Upside Down). All I knew about the series was that there were several books and they start with Alice in 6th grade. I'm all about my tweens reading books with characters that are their age, so I checked out a few of the books from the library. C1 is a speedy reader and these books are relatively short, so she was devouring one or two of the Alice books a week.

If you are familiar with the Alice series, then you know where this little tale is going. C2 read so fast that she ended up at Alice On The Outside. In this book, Alice is in 8th grade and is curious about sex and the things she believes her late mother should be teaching her. It has some frank talk about sex in the first chapter that I'm not sure C2 is ready for -- or maybe I'm not ready for her to be reading. Seeing this made me do a little more research about the Alice series and now I realize that the subject matter will probably be getting even more adult in the later books. The author's intention seems to have been for the books to grow with the reader, and I respect that. It is just makes things difficult for kids who pick up on the series years later.

I know that other people would say that I should take this an opportunity to discuss sex with C2. Other mothers would probably hand her the book and deal with the questions that arise. Unfortunately, C2 is a smart kid who thinks she knows everything, so she would read it and not ask any questions. I am just uncomfortable enough that I wouldn't know how to draw her into a conversation. So I put a halt to C2 reading the series for now, to give us both time to grow up a little.

READ: Last week was a good reading week for me; I finished three books!




I have several other quick reads on my stack, so I expect this week to be another good one, reading-wise.

TBR LIST: The list stands at 109 titles. I'm trying to be good about not adding any more titles because I would really like to see the total go down. The longer some of these books sit on my list, the less I am interested in reading them. I start to feel like I already read them just because I've read so many reviews. Isn't that crazy?

CURRENTLY READING: I am still picking at Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible in between other books. His comments on the Bible are mildly interesting, but the book is divided in sections so it is easy to put down and pick up again.

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Genre: fiction, supernatural, vampires
On my TBR list?: yes

Book #2 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries

This is the second book in a series, so if you read the first book you already know whether you like these characters. Here are few things that I like particularly about this installment:

--Harris makes sure to show that there are good and bad supernatural creatures, just as there are good and bad humans.

--Sometimes an author repeats big chunks of the previous books in order to bring a first-time reader up to speed. This can be annoying for the hardcore fans. Luckily, Harris keeps the explanation in this book to a minimum.

--The sex in the book is in plain language but not overly graphic. I would put it between PG-13 and R.

I can see why these books are being adapted for TV; each book is like watching a TV movie. I can't wait to pick up the next one!

View all my reviews >>

. . . I was rather tempted to buy a few paperbacks when I was in Wal-Mart today. I'm almost finished with Living Dead in Dallas">Living Dead in Dallas and I saw that the next book in the series, Club Dead">Club Dead, is selling for $5.97 at my local store. Yes, I know that Wal-Mart is evil and all that. Still, it is hard to turn away from $6 for a paperback, especially since I know that I will have to wait another month to get the book from the library. Temptation, thy name is Wal-Mart!

I am an eyeglass wearer, but I don't go every year to get my eyes checked. When I was younger, it took a long time to convince my mother that I couldn't see; I believe she thought I wanted glasses as a fashion accessory because I had always been attracted to them (Yes, I was the nerdy kid who actually wanted glasses and braces). With six kids in the family, glasses were considered a big expense, so once I got them I didn't go back for an examination until I couldn't see out of them any more. As a result, I never got in the habit of going every year.

The glasses I'm wearing now were purchased nine years ago. I probably wouldn't even be thinking about getting new ones if it weren't for my renewed interest in reading books. Magazines and computer screens don't give me a problem because the type is usually larger and there is more white space, which makes it easier for me to focus. When I had trouble getting into a couple books, I thought it was because the books were boring. I switched to large-print books a couple months ago and told myself it was because I'm a magazine reader and I'm used to big letters :-). This week, however, I have been choosing mediocre TV shows over Living Dead in Dallas, a book for which I was on a waiting list for over a month. Why have I been avoiding it? Because it is in small print. Time to be honest and get myself to an eye doctor!

TBR List: The total stands at 111 titles. I am currently working on Living Dead in Dallas and Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible. The second will be read slowly because I reading is with my Bible readings. I expect to finish the Sookie Stackhouse book today, though -- my pitiful eyes can handle small print better if I stick to daylight hours :-).

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee

Genre: nonfiction, food
On my TBR list?: yes

Read for the Spice of Life Challenge, Memoirs and Essays category



Chinese food (or, more accurately, American Chinese food) is my favorite cuisine, so I appreciated getting a behind-the-scenes look at the industry. That said, the last couple chapters of the book did drag for me. Lee's impetus for writing the book was to solve the mystery of how 110 people had all won the Powerball lottery using the same lucky numbers. It turned out that they had all gotten them from fortune cookies. This story was an intriguing introduction to the book, but then to carry on the supposed hunt for who invented the fortune cookie was a bit much. The fortune cookie sections of the book dragged for me, which is a shame because there is so much fascinating information in this book that I would like to be able to recommend it. As it is, I would only suggest it if you are a person like me who could eat American Chinese food three times a week and not get tired of it.

View all my reviews >>

It has taken a couple of weeks, but I think I am finally settling in to my new routine as a working mom. I've created new schedules for chores and adjusted my bedtime. My days are fuller, but I think I can squeeze reading in again.

FINISHED: I finally completed The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. After I finished, I read some reviews on Goodreads and found that other people had trouble getting through the last few chapters, so I don't feel so bad. My next book, The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough, was a breeze to finish by comparison. It is a series novel and it took me only a day and a half. Being familiar with the characters enabled me to skim through those sections where the author brings a new author up to speed.

TBR LIST: My list currently has a total of 112 titles on it. I did say that I would try to avoid adding new titles, but I'm in the middle of three series right now (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Sookie Stackhouse, and the vintage pulp Sue Barton nurse series) and I decided I should add the remaining titles to the list since I will definitely be reading them. I have several books from my list on hand and I am in a reading mode, so I expect to see my total go back down quickly.

UP NEXT: I'm not sure what I want to read next. There are four books from my TBR list at hand --



The first two are series books that I know I will zip through, but I'm not sure if I want to read them first. I'm still working my way through the B90X challenge, so I thought I might read Good Book next to stay in that same vein. Untangling My Chopsticks has a melancholy aura jumping off of it, and I'm not sure I'm in the mood for that right now. I guess you will find out next week what I chose!

Jemima over at The Reading Journey gave this blog a Splash Award. According to the description, this award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs. Wow! I don't know what to say. I don't usually think of myself as making a splash with this blog; most weeks, it is more like a tiny ripple :-). Thanks for thinking of me, Jemima!

It is customary to pass the award along. However, I know that many bloggers don't like memes such as this, so I don't want anyone to feel obligated to participate. I just want to acknowledge my gratitude in being recognized by one of my readers.

This weekend, I spent some time with my best friend and her sister. They live an hour away from me so I don't get to see them often. It was fun, but it reminded me that I don't have people in my day-to-day life who share my passions. None of my friends or acquaintances read the books I read or watch the shows I watch. When I was a teenager, I used to take this as a sign of my individuality. Now, though, there is a sense of loneliness in not having someone you can discuss the latest episode of Mad Men with or someone that you can recommend a good book to and know that she will read it.

The problem is compounded by the plethora of choices in today's society. There are so many more entertainment options than there were when I was a kid, but there are still only 24 hours in a day. Even with the few people I know who do watch shows I watch, we don't all watch at the same time. There is no such thing as "appointment television" anymore. With DVRs and streaming internet options, there is no urgency to watch a show the day it airs which dissipates some of the excitement surrounding it. I may be excited to discuss Tuesday's episode of Biggest Loser on Wednesday, but if I have to wait until after you watch it on Friday it isn't as fun.

I think this is one reason that social networks are so popular. They give you a forum for talking about your passions when you don't have anyone in your neighborhood to discuss them with. I use the forums on Ravelry to discuss various things and I enjoy them. However, I still miss the fun of being at a table with a friend and a cup of tea discussing a passion that we both share.

Do you have anyone in your real life who shares your passions, or do you rely on the internet to scratch that itch for you?

Several posts back, someone commented that I should read instead of watching TV after work to relax because TV makes people more depressed. I know that studies have been done on the link between TV and depression (this is the most recent one) and people reference them from time to time, but I have mixed feelings about them. I think whether you get depressed from TV depends on what you watch and how you watch it.

Just looking at my own viewing habits, I know that my mood is worse when I have a heavy viewing schedule of news programs and cop shows. As a matter of fact, I gave up watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit reruns because it was giving me nightmares. On the other hand, I feel enlightened when I watch CBS News Sunday Morning because I always learn something new. Also, when I watch shows that I have recorded, I feel a weird sense of accomplishment like I've finished something on a to-do list. Shows that spark a good discussion between me and my husband make me feel energized. To me, the purposeful viewing that has been made possible by VCRs, DVRs, and streaming internet video is different than the mind-numbing channel flipping that I used to do when I wanted to watch something but my favorite show wasn't on yet.

What does any of this have to do with reading? Well, for me a good TV show fills the same need that reading does: the need to listen to a story. I don't view one as being superior to the other. It's just that there are days where even the thought of holding a book open sounds like too much work, so I opt for watching TV to relax.

TBR List: The list hasn't budged; it is still at 97 titles. I may have to abandon Fortune Cookie Chronicles and try one of the other books that I have. As I said before, I'm enjoying the book but it isn't something I can read quickly. I've got two novels on hand that I know I can speed through and get them finished before they are due back at the library. Wish me luck!

I started my new job on Thursday, and already I am falling behind on my reading! It's not that the work is difficult; I haven't even gotten into the thick of it yet. It is the mental adjustment that is wearing me out and keeping me from doing anything. Either that, or the fact that I've gone from 9 hours of sleep to 6 hours of sleep a day :-). The kids early in the morning, the husband needs me late at night, and I'm working in between. I already miss my mid-morning nap!

CURRENTLY READING: I'm still working on The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. There are fascinating tidbits in this book, but it is one that I can put down at the end of a chapter and wait a few days to pick up again. It is difficult for me to finish such a book because I am easily distracted by TV and the internet. I need a book that grabs me and makes me forget other leisure pursuits.

I'm also trying to get into my Bible study group's challenge to read the Bible in 90 days. Sadly, I am 6.5 days behind in the reading plan. I'm not much of a re-reader, so it is difficult for me to read large chunks of the Bible in one sitting without getting bored. That may sound blasphemous, but I'm being honest. I may have less trouble when I get to less-familiar books like Nehemiah, but I've got to push my way through well-known books like Genesis first.

UP NEXT: My turn finally came up in the waiting list and I got the second book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, Living Dead in Dallas. I'm moving it to the top of my stack so that I can finish it before it is due to be returned to the library. After that, I need to find a food-themed novel to finish off the Spice of Life challenge.

TBR LIST: The tally stands at 98 titles right now. Unless the quality of the fall TV season takes a nosedive, I don't think the number will be going down any time soon. When I work outside the home, I tend to veg out in front of the TV rather than pick up a book. That should be good for my knitting, but bad for the TBR list.