Whatcha Readin'? February Edition

After my January post I had several inquiries (printed and verbal) about how fast and how often I read so I decided to track my reading a little bit. I read less than an hour most days, although I do have my can't put this book down moments too. I took a reading speed test 3 times and answered the comprehension questions at the end to ensure that I wasn't cheating and found that I read at "above average" speed, but not by much. Apparently average is 200-250 words per minute and I tested all three times at 250-300 words per minute. And I don't watch TV (except for football when in season and I will be watching DWTS this season) so reading is my only form of home entertainment.

I don't know why I get self-conscious when people ask me about reading. I know most people mean no harm or judgement but there are a few people who say where do you find the time....in just the right way and I am convinced that they think I am a terrible mother and a lazy human being. Just today I was telling my friend Kennon how I was wondering if I should post my books again or if it just made people judge me. She jokingly told me to just tell the snarkies the following. I am not on Facebook, so I have plenty of time to read. Of course no judgement upon you if FB is the way that you use your free time, but it did help me realize that we all have our different ways to relax and feed our own souls and for me, it is reading, so I don't and I won't feel bad anymore.

That said, my book list is actually a lot shorter this month anyway. I didn't have so many kids books and quick reads and I took a few days off in the middle of a couple of my books because they couldn't reel me in. I am not the type to book jump. I start something and read it until it is done.

So on to what I read. Reminder: * means I had read the book in the past as well.

To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi Swinton
I almost bought this awhile ago but it was $35, even the Kindle version. My friend Kira read it and loved it so she encouraged me to read it. The Kindle price had been reduced to $10 so I decided to give it a look. I hate to say this because I love the prophet, but I thought the book was a mess. It was so disjointed. I don't mind that it was told topically instead of in a linear fashion, but it didn't stay on topic. I would be reading a paragraph and trying to figure out what it had to do with the one before it, or after it. It never flowed for me at all. President Monson has more stories about following promptings and being in the right place at the right time than anyone and I enjoyed those stories but honestly I had heard most of them in conference. I will say that since I was reading this book when I got asked to help with camp it made it easier to just smile and say yes. I would have said yes anyway but when I thought of how much President Monson has sacrificed in service to the church I knew that very little has been asked of me and that I needed to be willing to serve.

Fablehaven 3: The Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull
Still plugging away at this series per Alyssa's request and oh my did this book drag for me! It has it's fun moments but it never really gained momentum for me. I generally don't like fantasy so I tried to figure out what it was about Harry Potter that drew me in that this series lacks. Harry Potter went in to so much more detail about everything and brought a world to life. Each character and creature was explained and put thoroughly in context and the characters were so real. I think that the HP movies have some of the best casting and sets of any book to movie I have ever seen and I think that is because Jk Rowling made it incredibly clear who the characters were and what their world looked like. I also think Hogwarts sounded fun and so it made Potter so much more relateable. Not fair to compare, I know, but I guess I need to stick by my original claim that I don't like fantasy most of the time.

Canon EOS Rebel t2i for Dummies by Julie Adair King
I went to Barnes and Noble one day looking for books about my new camera. Sidenote: I hadn't been to B&N in months, you know, because of the Kindle, so it was almost emotional for me to be back. It smelled like coffee and fresh paper, so basically, like heaven. I love Barnes and Noble! Okay, so there were a handful of books about my camera but I only chose two and I had to buy this one because a) I have always wanted a Dummies book and b) the authors name is Julie King (which of course is my maiden name in case you are new around here and didn't know that). This was much more reader friendly than the users manual that came with the camera and I did learn a handful of tricks but I actually feel more overwhelmed by my camera now than before I read it. There is so much to know and so much of it is technical, math minded stuff. I am somewhat creative so I thought I could learn the art of photography (at an amateur level of course) but there is so much more than creativity involved in this art and some of it is WAY over my head. But I am not scared off yet. I will put some of the tips and tricks I have learned to the test soon. Not much to take pics of this time of year.

* East of Eden by John Steinbeck
My friend, Cheryl picked this for her book club this month and since I hadn't read it since last February it was time for another look anyway. You already know I love this book in a way that almost borders on religious. I have quotes and thoughts and all kinds of stuff I could say but I have done that before so this time I will just remind you that this is the best book ever.

So that's all for February but I am going back to the gym. I took summer, fall and winter off so it is time to go back. I went back Tuesday, Wednesday and today and remembered that I kind of like it because I get to read while I am there and as an added bonus my butt shrinks. So here's to more reading and less cellulite in March!

If you are reading anything good let me know so I can add it to my list. Oh and by the way NONE of the people who commented on last month's post did I think were even a little bit snarky. Just wanted to make sure none of you were wondering if I took offense to your comment. I did not. I think most of the self-consciousness comes from right inside my very own mind, to be honest.