*Lovely artwork by fhrankee*
January isn’t a short month, but it still seems to have flown by. It’s the month of exciting things – a new start to the year, perfect to set those personal goals and New Year’s Resolutions. For readers such as myself, it’s also an opportunity to finally snatch up those 2012 book challenges and start all over again. Some repeats from last year, egging myself on to do better, while others offer different, refreshing twists.
January turned out fun. As usual I was late delivering Christmas presents to my best friend. I didn’t know we’d exchange this year, but of course there was the inevitable awkward pause when she showed up on the doorstep with mine. It was easier than usual to gift her something this time, for she had recently become a big book devourer. She’d always enjoyed reading but it seems that at the end of 2011, the urge to own, collect, and experience a variety finally sunk in big time. She has been trading feverously on Paperback Swap in the forums for book deals, and I had been holding the carrot of fun telling her about the paper sacks at the local bookstore, 50 romances for five a pop.
As her gift I bought her the bag of fifty romance books, three new Stephanie plum novels she was missing from the collection, and then tossed in some extras from my bookshelf I didn’t need. I wrapped five of the books individually, and then wrapped the large bag with paper. It was priceless seeing her reaction.
As for myself, I keep collecting against my better judgment. I have found a new weakness which supplies my hobby-drug, this being dollar general stores. Two of them offer amazing deals on books you really do want for such a cheap price. Cozy mysteries topped with tantalizing covers, most part of series which are a sub-drug all on their own. If you follow any of my Mailbox Mondays, you’ll notice the gem mine of Hard Case Crimes I get at a steal there too. Every time I stop in, I must browse, and every time I browse, I must buy.
January was a month I planned to catch up on some of these Hard Case crimes. I fell a bit short of my goal, reading only two of them. In my defense, January turned out to be a borrowing month. The same best friend I dished out fifty-five books for loaned me several as well – The Help, The Hunger Games, and Flowers for Algernon. All were wishlist books and I read the first two with flourish, currently reading the third to wrap the month up. A new change was also the school library where I work, I borrowed Pride and Prejudice and an audiobook. Not wanting to step on readers toes here, but I could not finish Jane Austens classic and will not be reviewing it for this reason.
The audiobook was something I’m interested in, but I never got the chance to get to it and have returned it (promising to check it out again later.) I still to this day have not “read” an actual audiobook.
My adorable 10 year old son is into reading Garfield now, and I’m currently reading a book borrowed from him, a collection of comics in color. It makes me want to revisit my old Garfield books I snatched up as a tween, fun times.
