My sister and I launched our Sisters Book Challenge last month. She's done really well, finishing three books from the list already. Me? I read one and then got distracted. It happens all the time. I plan to read a book and then find three more to read in the mean time.
This time I can blame Call the Midwife, the BBC miniseries that aired on PBS. I read the book a few years ago and was thrilled to hear that it was being dramatized, but when it aired on Sunday nights at the precise time that Brian and I set aside to watch The Amazing Race together, I knew I was in trouble. I was a good wife and skipped it when it aired, but you better believe I kept my eyes peeled for the library to offer it on DVD. I ended up watching the whole series, plus the bonus features in three evenings when I was sick with a sinus infection. I loved it so much (funny, touching, fascinating...but not for children!) that I was compelled to re-read the book, Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times. Then Brian gave me The Life and Times of Call the Midwife: The Official Companion to Season One and Two for Valentine's Day. He knows me well because, while I love flowers, I love books more.
I determined to get back to my book list and begin another book for the Sisters Challenge. Of course, that was before I went out to dinner with my friend Flo and we began talking books. She told me about the latest book from Ted Dekker that was being released in "episodes" for Kindle. The first episode Identity (Eyes Wide Open, Book 1) 
was free so I was able to try it out without commitment, but who am I kidding? I finished within a day and promptly bought the second episode
... and the third
... and the fourth
! (You can also purchase it as a complete set for Kindle with the title Eyes Wide Open 
for about a dollar more or buy it in print copy.) For those who know me well, this was momentous! I am generally too thrifty to download anything for my Kindle that isn't free so you know I was hooked.
I finished that series just in time for one more obstacle. I won a $50 giftcard to Amazon. I rarely buy new books for myself. School books, sure. Used treasures from the Goodwill, yes! But I rarely spend money on books for me.
I knew immediately two books I wanted to spend my money on: both sequels to Call the Midwife that I've been checking my library's website for almost daily, Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse and Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End
(which releases to US markets tomorrow).
I'm being proactive in my effort to read another book from my Sisters Challenge, though. I also purchased a used copy of All Creatures Great and Small 
by James Herriot.
Dare I ask (and tempt myself to add more to my list)? What are you reading?
by James Herriot.Dare I ask (and tempt myself to add more to my list)? What are you reading?
I also keep finding more books to add to my reading list. I've stuck with actually reading books from my list fairly well, but I did squeeze another one in because I could get it free to review :)
ReplyDeleteHere's what I've read so far this year. Not nearly as long as your list, but it is an improvement for me. I'm also using the excuse of moving, having four kids under 6, and being 5 months pregnant :)
Hope you find a little extra reading time today.
I've been intending to watch Call the Midwife on Netflix or Amazon Prime but keep forgetting to look for it. Thanks for the reminder :-). Now I need to read the book(s), too.
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago I finished the third book in a series called The Hangman's Daughter. Right now, I'm reading a novel published as a series called Shift by Hugh Howey (I think the last name is right). He also wrote one called Wool which I really enjoyed. They are post-apocalyptic fiction, so not for everyone, but Matt and I really like them.
Amazon ran a deal the other day where each of the Narnia books were $1.99 instead of $6.99 so I just got all 7. I'd been wanting to read them for awhile. I had never heard of the first one, The Magician's Nephew, so that's what I'm reading & will just read straight through them all. The Magician's Nephew tells the story of how Narnia came into being.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a book called Allerdnic right now. I saw it on one of the ebook sites and since it was free and the story looks interesting, I thought I would give it a try. It's pretty good.
ReplyDeleteJust started watching Call the Midwife through Netflix! Very fascinating. Those DVDs can't get here fast enough!
ReplyDeleteI just finished Cleopatra's Daughter which is historical fiction and LOVED it. I love a really good, mostly accurate historical fiction. And was completely captivated by this one set in Rome. So good! Not Christian, but very clean. Rome is completely immoral, and I felt like she dealt with all of that in a clean, non-shocking way. Add it to your list. ;)
I just discovered "Call the Midwife" on Netflix and I love it! I read the book several years ago and plan to re-read it now.
ReplyDelete