~Booking Through Thursday~

It’s the last day of the year, and you know what that means … nostalgia and looking back.

What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)

I have read a lot of good books this year. The ones that are most memorable to me (and I have highly recommended to others) are:

The Unseen by T.L. Hines

Tomato Girl by Jane Pupek

Who Do You Think You Are by Alyse Myers

My Cat Spit McGee by Willie Morris

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

Driving With Dead People by Monica Holloway
What were some of YOUR favorites of 2009?

~Booking Through Thursday~ Celebrities~

Todays BTT question:

Suggested by Callista83:

Do you read celebrity memoirs? Which ones have you read or do you want to read? Which nonexistent celebrity memoirs would you like to see?

I certainly do read celebrity memoirs. I am picky about which celebrity - it has to be someone that I really like and admire. I won't waste my time reading a celebrity memoir just because it is on a bestseller list or highly advertised.

Three of my favorite celebrity memoirs are Gilda Radners "It's Always Something" (although while reading it, I was convinced that I had ovarian cancer) Dolly Partons "My Life and Other Unfinished Business" and Mary Higgins Clark "Kitchen Priviledges".

I am not sure of any nonexistent celebrity memoirs that I would like to read. I am on the waiting list for "Poisoned Heart: I Married Dee Dee Ramone" by Vera Ramone King (although that may not count as a "celebrity" memoir since Vera is writing it about her husband who was the celebrity). On its way to me in the mail from PBS is Melissa Gilbert's "Prairie Tale" I have read many mixed reviews about it, mostly being negative. Of course, I will need to check it out for myself! :)

Which celebrity memoir is your favorite? Who's celebrity memoir would you like to see written?

Booking Through Thursday ~ Niche

Today's BTT question is:

There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read. (Novels, for example.)

But then there are books that only YOU read. Instructional manuals for fly-fishing. How-to books for spinning yarn. How to cook the perfect souffle. Rebuilding car engines in three easy steps. Dog training for dummies. Rewiring your house without electrocuting yourself. Tips on how to build a NASCAR course in your backyard. Stuff like that.

What niche books do YOU read?

I love to read cookbooks, any kind. I have a few that I love that are stories AND recipes. My favorite one is The Cake Club: Delicious Desserts and Stories from a Southern Childhood by Susie Quick. Susie's mom, aunts and other family members were know as the "Fancy Frosters" of Charleston, WV. They got together once a month to swap recipes and stories. The recipes are from earlier times, when everything was made from scratch and usually every recipe had a story attached to it. These recipes and stories remind me of my granny....full of good things, love and humor!

Other than cookbooks, I really don't read anything else, except novels. :)

What about YOU?

Gluttony ~Booking Through Thursday~

Mariel suggested this week’s question

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

I would definitely say yes, I suffer from Book Gluttony. My TBR pile has steadily grown over the months to the point where I find myself questioning "will I even live long enough to read all of these books?"

Books are my greatest weakness. About once a month, I go through my TBR pile, and read the back covers and flaps to reintroduce myself with the stories. Often times I find that I am not interested in the story anymore...it doesn't hold "the spark" it did when I first bought and or traded it. When that happens, I donate those books to the Senior apartment complex library where my mom lives, or the county libraries.

At the rate I'm going, I will never run out of books to read. I have a full stocked library to last me a very long time. :)

~Booking Through Thursday~ Which Is Worse?

Which is worse?

Finding a book you love and then hating everything else you try by that author, or

Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?

I would have to say finding a book that you love, then hating everything else that you try by that author. That has happened to me, unfortunately, more than once. I might completely fall in love with an author's first novel, only to be bitterly disappointed in their second. Or any of their others, for that matter...it is just sad. I have had that experience with author Kristin McCloy. Her first novel, Velocity, just blew me away. I own it, and have read it several times. Her second novel, Some Girls, was such a let down. I couldn't read it. I tried, several times, thinking maybe it was just me. Well, it could actually be a combination of me and the story not being very appealing to me, I guess. To my knowledge, she has not written another book since Some Girls which was published in 1994. I keep checking periodically to see if she has something new in the works, that maybe will be as good or even better than Velocity.

Which is worse for you?

~Booking Through Thursday~

This week's question:

Yesterday, April 15th, was Tax Day here in the U.S., which means lots of lucky people will get refunds of over-paid taxes.

Whether you’re one of them or not, what would you spend an unexpected windfall on? Say … $50? How about $500?

Buy more bookshelves and books, maybe take a trip to a city that was having a huge book fair or festival.

What would you do?

~Booking Through Thursday~

Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…

1. Are you currently reading more than one book?
2. If so, how many books are you currently reading?
3. Is this normal for you?
4. Where do you keep your current reads?

Click here to see more.

Right now, I am reading only one book, The Wish House by Celia Rees. It is normal for me to read only one book at a time. I have tried reading 2 at a time, but I seem to get stories/characters/settings confused. I can concentrate much better and get more out of a book if it is the only one that I am reading.

My current read stays on my bedside table while I sleep. Then it goes to work with me so that I may enjoy it on my lunch hour. :)

How many books do you read?

~Booking Through Thursday~

What is the best "Worst" book you have ever read? Suggested by Janet.

This is a book that you really liked, despite it getting poor reviews....

Mine is "The Summer Fletcher Greel Loved Me: A Novel" by Suzanne Kingsbury.

This book got some poor reviews from both critics and other readers. Since I happen to like storylines such as this, set in the rural south, I loved it. I usually don't read romances, either...but this one is certainly worth reading!

5 Stars