To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
My answers:
What are you currently reading? I am still reading “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Klein. Hopefully will be able to finish it soon.
What did you recently finish reading? I finished “The One Success Habit (You Can’t Live Without)” by Dr. Fred R. Lybrand, a couple of weeks ago. Very good book.
What do you think you’ll read next? I still have “Temptation” by Daniel Akst (a library book) that I’d like to get to. Plus, I have two review books, now on tap: “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock, and “Emotional Vampires at Work” by Albert J. Bernstein (for NetGalley). So, we’ll see. Don’t know, yet, which I’ll pick.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! 
Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!
My Musing:
I have never been one to get into book “fads”… people will rave and rave about particular books, and I don’t usually cave and have to read the book out myself. Sometimes I will have already read the book(s) before they were “popular” — like with Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series (The Da Vinci Code, anyone?), or Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” saga. Other times, if the book being raved about sounds appealing, I’ll put it on my to-be-read list. But, I have a huge, long list of these books that I still haven’t gotten around to reading! It’s almost embarrassing how long it is, actually.
I find it funny… I call myself an avid reader, as I read about 80 books per year. But, when asked if I’ve read this or that (popular) book, I’ll say no, and people will be shocked! “But you read 80 books a year! How can you not have read this?!“, will be the query, as if in order to be an ‘avid’ reader I’ve got to read all of the “raved about” and “now” books. What’s up with that? Apparently, my tastes are just different from the mainstream. LOL.
I will eventually get around to some of these. But I will probably never read them all. And I’m okay with that, even if it’s shocking to others. 
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your musing in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
First off, Happy Cinco de Mayo!
I have really been enjoying the warmer weather, lately. And, this past week had more sunshine than rain, finally, so that was nice, too! I love that the trees are finally blooming (the leaves are returning), and the flowers are showing up, and the birds are singing. Fall is still my favorite season (even though it precedes Winter), but I’m loving Spring, too. I love all the renewal. 
I have really been in a sort of reading slump, lately. I started into “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Klein, and I am enjoying it. But, I haven’t picked it up all week. I just have no desire to read, right now. Instead, I’ve been listening to music, and playing online. This is frustrating, as I want to get that book finished. It’s a review book, and the deadline is technically Monday (yep, tomorrow). Not going to be finished in time.
I also have a few other review books that I need to get to: “Emotional Vampires at Work” by Albert J. Bernstein, and “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock. Plus, a LibraryThing.com review book is on its way to me — “Contagious Optimism” by David Mezzapelle. I didn’t actually expect to win that one, but it was a nice surprise.
Technically, I am supposed to be taking a break from reviewing for a while. The “Emotional Vampires…” book is one I asked for quite a bit ago, and I’d given up thinking I was getting it (from NetGalley). Then the publisher wrote to say they’d approved me. And, “Sweet Mercy” just looked too good to pass up. Ah well. Guess my “break” will come when these are finished, eh? LOL
Our ladies’ Bible study group started a new study, this past Tuesday. We’re doing Margaret Feinberg’s “Pursuing God’s Beauty“, which is a study through the Gospel of John, looking at the life of Jesus. Sounds like it’s going to be really good. I’ve been wanting to read Margaret’s other book, “The Organic God” for some time, now, and just haven’t gotten around to it — despite having borrowed it from the local library on two different occasions! LOL. So far, her speaking in the DVD was great, and the homework is turning out to be interesting. Here is the intro session that we watched this past week:
Like I said, sounds like it’s going to be really good. I really like the artist’s studio that she’s using (actually reminds me of how I pictured the main character’s studio in the book, “The Art Forger” by B. A. Shapiro), and I love that she’s talking about art, too. It’s one of my passions.
Anyway. Hopefully I can get some reading done, this coming week. I’d like to finish “Orphan Train“, at the very least, and maybe “Sweet Mercy“, too. We shall see.
Happy Reading, everyone!
FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).
So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!
My Finds:
“Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable” – Tim S. Grover
“inGenius” – Tina Sellig
“Darius & Twig” – Walter Dean Myers
“Focus” – Heidi Grant Halvorson
“The Magic of Saida” – M. G. Vassanji
“The Purchase” – Linda Spalding
“The Age of Hope” – David Bergen
“The Wishing Tree” – Marybeth Whalen
“Pursuing God’s Beauty” – Margaret Feinberg (Bible study)
“Start-Up Life” – Brad Feld
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Friday Finds post, or share your ‘finds’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
I have to help promote this, as it’s just too cool…
97 of the most popular eBooks available as an eBundle this week only! Click here to learn more!
I am not going to share the whole post here — you can click over to Lara’s blog (also linked above) to read all about this amazing deal! But, basically, you can pick and choose what you like out of the books on offer — and only pay $29.97 for the lot! I’ve checked out the list, and there are a bunch on there that I’ve always wanted to get my hands on, and some new-to-me ones that are now on my To-Be-Read list!
Go check this out! The deal only lasts until May 4th!
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
My answers:
What are you currently reading? I am reading “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Klein, and so far, it’s pretty good. Better than I had expected, actually.
What did you recently finish reading? I finished “The One Success Habit (You Can’t Live Without)” by Dr. Fred R. Lybrand, last week. Very good book.
What do you think you’ll read next? I still have “Temptation” by Daniel Akst (a library book) that I’d like to get to. Plus, I have two review books, now on tap: “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock, and “Emotional Vampires at Work” by Albert J. Bernstein (for NetGalley). So, we’ll see. Don’t know, yet, which I’ll pick.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!
My Musing:
Something that has always bugged me about books and the industry is the cost of childrens’ books. I go to Wal-Mart, and the childrens’ books are about $6.00 each. Yes, it costs money to produce a book. But… In my opinion, if you priced the books lower, you would sell more of them, thereby making money. But by pricing them higher, not as many people are willing to pay the money for them, and you lose out. This is just my theory.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your answer in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
Last Monday, I finished reading Seth Godin’s “The Icarus Deception“. It was okay, but not as good as I’d been hoping it would be. Then I quickly read through a free eBook that I found called “The One Success Habit (You Can’t Do Without)” by Dr. Fred R. Lybrand, and it was excellent. I took a lot out of that one! But, ever since finishing that, I just haven’t been able to find the oomph to sit down and read for any length of time.
I have started into “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Klein, and it is a good book. It’s a bit different than I’d been expecting. And, that’s good. I am enjoying it. But, for whatever reason, I just haven’t had a lot of interest in sitting down to read, the past few days. I’m having to force myself to do so. And, it’s not like I have other things to do. I’m actually finding myself somewhat bored… and then I’ll think, “Well, I could read my book…” LOL. What’s up with this?
Anyway. My mom and I went shopping on Thursday, and that was fun. I was able to get two new blank journals, and I’m glad, as I’d been without one for several weeks. It was driving me crazy. I like to sit and journal in the afternoons, so being without that pleasure was starting to grate on my nerves.
Speaking of family, my sister and her husband have revamped their website! Northwood Rings is a company that makes handcrafted bentwood (wooden) rings. If you want to learn more about that process, you can click {here}. These rings are absolutely beautiful, and more comfortable than you’d expect! I love mine! I have a walnut ring that has a maple liner. I hope to get a new one soon, that is made of the same woods, but has an inlay of jade-colored sand.
The really neat part about Northwood’s new website is their Build page… It’s interactive, and you can click through the different wood and inlay choices and actually see what your combination could look like! It’s too much fun — go check it out!
So, yeah. I am hoping that this afternoon I can get some more reading done. I’d like to finish reading “Orphan Train” by Wednesday, and then I hope to start in on “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock (which came in the mail, this week), or “Temptation” by Daniel Akst (which will have to be returned to the library soon).
Happy Reading, everyone!
FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).
So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!
My Finds:
“Five Days” by Douglas Kennedy
“Learning to Stay” by Erin Celello
“Yesterday’s Sun” by Amanda Brooke
“The Lola Quartet” by Emily St. John Mandel
“Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops” by Jen Campbell
“Maya’s Notebook” by Isabel Allende
“The Conditions of Love” by Dale M. Kushner
“One Minus One” by Ruth Doan MacDougall
“The Comfort of Lies” by Randy Susan Meyers
“Amity & Sorrow” by Peggy Riley
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Friday Finds post, or share your ‘finds’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
My answers:
What are you currently reading? I just started “The Orphan Train” by Cynthia Baker Klein, last night. So far, it’s pretty good!
What did you recently finish reading? I finished “The One Success Habit (You Can’t Do Without)” by Dr. Fred R. Lybrand, yesterday, and I finished “The Icarus Deception” by Seth Godin the day before that.
What do you think you’ll read next? Well, I just got “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock in the mail, yesterday, so I might read that. Or else, I’ll read “Temptation” by Daniel Akst (a library book).
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
This book was FREE for Kindle, yesterday {still is, today! – 04/23/2013}, so I got myself a copy. I was curious.
Turns out, this is an excellent book! There are a lot of great principles inside.
I wasn’t completely blown away by this “one success habit“, but more so by the other tidbits that preceded it. In fact, the habit itself was almost a let-down after all the rest of it.
Some of the things that I really liked were how the author talks about how our thinking influences our actions — which I knew, previously, but hadn’t really seen it the way he puts it — and about how habits are things we can choose.
The author also touches on motivation, action, honesty, and systems thinking {though, don’t be scared off by that last one — he makes it easier to understand}.
Overall, I think this is a really interesting book, and I definitely recommend it.
