Life in Beta

At the end of last year, I was doing a lot of reading but then the holiday season crept up and I didn’t have enough time. Now I have a backlog of books that I’ve either purchased or had loaned to me, and I need to get caught up! Here’s what’s on the shelf (and Kindle) awaiting my attention:

Creative, Inc.
by Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Deangdeelert Cho

I bought this book after I saw some high praise for it on some fellow bloggers’ sites. I finished reading it last weekend but I really want to go back through it and make some notes.

The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
by Charlaine Harris

Another guilty-pleasure for me has been the Charlaine Harris series that the TV show True Blood was based on. My mom loaned me her copy of this book. If you’re like me, you read the books over a long period of time and then watched the TV show, and the storylines are all muddled together — this book recaps everything and also contains a new novella. I need to get this read so I can return it to my mother!

Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson

I’m not typically a biography-reader, and though I love my Apple products, I don’t necessarily worship at the altar of Steve Jobs like some people do. However, I heard great things about this book and was happy to receive a copy from my hunny as a Christmas gift. I started reading it while waiting at the dentist office on Monday (I know, I know – shouldn’t have started another book) and now I’m completely sucked into it. I actually can’t wait to finish this because it’s THAT interesting. (To me, anyway.)

Ruthless (Pretty Little Liars, Book #10)
by Sara Shepard

Young-adult ficition, I know. (Shut up.) I got hopelessly sucked into the TV series during the first season and devoured the series of books. (They’re super-fast reads.) This latest book came out December 6th and has been waiting on my Kindle for me to read it. Now that the TV series started up for the 3rd season, I’m all the more interested in getting back to this series.

All Wound Up: The Yarn Harlot Writes for a Spin
by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I love Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She writes hilarious and heartwarming knitting essays. (Yes, you read that correctly.) This was another book that I pre-ordered and have been slowly reading through. This book seems to have a slightly different tone than her past books — a little less laugh-out-loud humorous — so I think it’s been slowing me down a little because it’s not what I typically expect. (Don’t get me wrong though, it is still well worth the read if you’re a knitter or fiber-artist!)

Room: A Novel
by Emma Donoghue

I downloaded the sample chapter of this on my Kindle last year and read it. It was unique (written from a child’s perspective) and really fantastic, but at the same time a little upsetting. (Read the synopsis to see what I mean.) I had to digest what I read and think about whether it was too upsetting to want to finish. In the end, I decided that it was too fascinating to pass up.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson

This one has been on my Kindle since last year too. I started reading it and found myself really struggling to keep the characters’ names strait (Does anyone else have the issue that if they can’t pronounce the name, they can’t remember it? Maybe it’s just me.) and as a result, I got really lost in the plot. Since then I’ve talked to a few friends who said they experienced the same issue with the characters/plot but they said if you push through the first 30-50 pages, it gets MUCH better. So I really want to go back and read this.

Damned
by Chuck Palahniuk 

I’ve only read one Chuck Palahniuk book before (can’t remember which, but I remember I liked it) and for some reason this one appealed to me.

It’s been sitting quietly on my Amazon wishlist waiting for me to finish some of these other books! (Ha!)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
by Ransom Riggs

I was browsing the new paperbacks section at Barnes and Noble when I spotted this book. Something about the cover really, really caught my eye and piqued my curiousity.

This is another one that’s on my wishlist to read some time soon as well.

What’s on YOUR to-read list?
Do you prefer reading on an e-reader/tablet or from a good ol’ paperback?

I was working tonight and just happened to look down at my desk, realizing that the contents strewn across it are a pretty fair representation of “me” and of what’s going on in my life right now…

(More Wordless Wednesday posts)

• After much debate, I decided on the Amazon Kindle 2, even though B&N’s nook is getting lots of great press. My decision ultimately came down to the pricing on the e-books themselves: for the books I was most interested in, Amazon almost always had cheaper pricing (either by a few cents or a couple dollars), not to mention no sales tax. I’m more than happy with my Kindle and I’ve been reading like crazy ever since I got it.
• I saw decaf 5-Hour Energy shots at the store the other day. Does anyone other than me find that a big strange?
• I have an appointment with Benjamin tonight to get my hair done. Benjamin-days are always good days. He has a way of making you feel like a million bucks after he does your hair. So I’m totally looking forward to that.
• Only eight days till I fly home for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait! It’s my first Thanksgiving with my family in three years. While I’m not looking forward to flying really, I’m giddy at the thought of being home.
• I’m reading the Twilight series. Seriously. I’m almost ashamed to admit that. I finished New Moon and I’m a little over halfway through Eclipse. I still think they’re pretty awful, yet I keep reading them. Train-wreck effect?
• Doing lots of gift-knitting for Christmas. Other than that, I’m completely unprepared for the holidays. I’m too stressed to even give it much thought. Bah-humbug.