Monday Musings

This week's Monday Musings:

"How has your reading changed over the years? Have you started reading more “meaty” books (books with more substance)? Or, have you gone to more “fluffy” reads? Perhaps you’ve done neither, and you’ve just always read the same type of thing! If that’s the case, why? Are you willing to step out of your reading ‘comfort zone’ and try something new? What would you recommend to someone who needed to “branch out”?"

My reading taste have flucuated over the years, bouncing between fluffy works and meaty works. Currently, I feel like my tastes are right down the middle.

When I was in grade school, I enjoyed reading serial books because I loved following the same characters through different adventures. I loved following Trixie Belden and her friends on each new mystery adventure, the Three Invesigators as they worked through a case, or Betsy's adventures with her little sister, Star.

In my teenage years and early 20s, I was into the paranormal, especially the vampire and horror genre. Stephen King was the author I read the most. Salem's Lot was the first vampire book I ever read and I was totally hooked. I also loved The Shining, Carrie and the extended version of The Stand. I also enjoyed Anne Rice's vampire chronicles, especially Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. I was also hooked on Rice's witch trilogy: The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos.

During my early adult life, I was all about the romance novel - devouring 5 to 6 books a week. Johanna Lindsay's A Pirate's Love remains one of my favorite books and I've probably read it several dozen times. Kathleen Woodiwiss held me captive with her first book The Flame and the Flower. Although I never got caught up in the Harlequin Romance craze, I have read a few of these, but I always considered them candy for my sweet tooth instead of nurishment for my soul.

Then in my 30s, I turned to self-help books and inspirational reads. Dr. Phil to help me with my "Relationship Rescue", Bob Greene to help me "Get with the Connection", Susan Powder screaming at me to "Stop the Insanity" and Rick Warren telling me to live "The Purpose Driven Life."

Now that I'm in my 40s, I am reading more non-fiction - recently books about the Iraq War and President Bush. The Secret White House War: 2006-2008 by Bob Woodard and The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi have been two books I've recently read and reviewed and they have made a huge impact on my life.

Of course, I still love reading serial books, but the subject matter has changed from my childhood. Laurell K. Hamilton's two series, Anita Blake Vampire Hunter and Merry Gentry are my current favorite series. I also enjoy Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series, Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries and Janet Evanoich's Stephanie Plum series.

So all in all, even though my taste in reading material has varied over the decades, I still enjoy reading the same types of books. I do read books recommended to me, especially if they are out of the "norm" for me. I would also recommend to other readers to branch out; if you only read fiction books, try reading a non-fiction. If you only read non-fiction, give fiction a fair shake. I realize someone who reads Christian fiction may not want to read something from the vampire genre, and vice-versa, but there are so many different types of books and authors that it's a shame not to give a few of them a chance.

Monday Musings

This week's Monday Musings prompt:

What are you reading right now?
Why are you reading what your reading? For pleasure? For review? Something else?
What did you most recently finish reading?
What do you think you'll be reading next?
What was the best book you read this month and why?
What was the worst book you read this month and why?

I'm currently reading Dark Curse : A Carpathian Novel by Christine Feehan (as you read this, you will notice all the vampire themes). This is the 16th book in this long running series and I never get tired of reading them. This book is totally for pleasure.











This weekend I finished reading the first 3 books in the Casa Dracula series by Marta Acosta. This is a wonderful new take on the vampire genre, with a feisty Latino woman as the heroine. These books are spicy hot and hilariously funny and I'm eagerly awaiting the 4th installment.







Also this weekend, I read a wonderful new children's book, The Dragon in the Sock Drawer by Kate Klimo. This will be the first book in a new series called The Dragon Keepers. It's kind of like Harry Potter meets the computer age and it provided me with a few hours of unadulterated fun reading.


I'm also reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas for my on-line book club. The story is very good (and there's a lot of it at 14500 pages!), but I'm having trouble with the Ye Ole English. This is the main reason I'm reading Dark Curse at the same time - to give my brain a rest.

I will be starting a re-read of The Coal Tatoo by Silas House for my October face-to-face book club. This book is a joy and pleasure to re-read.

This month, I started a new feature on my book review blog, Way Back Wednesday, and I'm going to be re-reading and reviewing books from my past. I have started with the first 2 Trixie Belden Mysteries - The Secret Mansion and the Red Trailer Mystery. These were my favorite books when I was a young girl.


This month, I also read the first 2 books in the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast - Marked and Betrayed. This is another fairly new vampire series for young adults and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the ups and downs of these teenage "vampires in training." I'm currently on the library waiting list for the next 2 books in this series.






Probably the best book I've read this month has been The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Believe it or not, I read this book 3 weeks before Oprah announced it as her new Book Club book! It is a spectacular story of survival and revenge. This is the first book by Mr. Wroblewski, but I'm eagerly awaiting his next novel.


My least favorite book I've read this month is The Fifth Dimension by Rory Macaraeg. This was a book I did for a review, and although the story was okay, it was written by a novice and you could tell. The language and the dialog were faultering and hesitant, and many times I had to read the same passage over and over again to understand the meaning.

Monday Musings

Today's Monday Musings from Should Be Reading asks the following questions:

"So, what do you do when you find yourself in a reading slump? How doyou get out of it? do you keep trying different books until you find one that draws you in? Do you just give in to the slump until it passes, and do something other than reading for a time? Do you ask for help? And, if you ask for help, what great (or, not so great) advice have you been given on how to get out of a slump?

Typically, when I'm in a reading slump, I will pick up an old friend - that one book that always makes me happy and I can read it over and over again. Many times I will return to Laurell K. Hamilton, either her Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series or Merry Gentry series. She is my favorite paranormal writer and her books always make me feel like reading. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga has the same effect on me. Two other authors I usually fall back on are Barbara Kingsolver and Bobbie Ann Mason.

Ocassionally, I will just keep trying different books, but when I'm in a slump, this doesn't always help. I have a huge TBR pile and many are waiting on book reviews, so I'll try reading through the pile. There are many, many times when I am reading 3 or 4 books at a time, taking notes or jotting down thoughts.

Usually, it takes that one great book to jar you out of a slump. It may be in the TBR pile or it may be at the library. It may be a recommendation from a friend or just a recommendation from Amazon.

My reading slumps don't last as long as my writing slumps, so that's a good thing. And I agree, there is nothing worse for a reading than not being able to read.