"The love of learning, the sequestered nooks and all the sweet serenity of books."

As I mentioned in this post, I received a Kindle for my birthday from my sweet husband. I always said I didn't want to go electronic with my reading because 1.) I like the feel of BOOKS (I know, it's cliché), and 2.) I didn't want to get roped into having to BUY my books again (I'm a proud library user). But Dan decided to override me on this one because he always hears me complain about wanting to knit and read at the same time (it's awfully hard to find a good way to keep the book open and flat while using both hands for knitting...) and thought the Kindle would prove to be a nice hands-free compromise.

< < ding, ding, ding!! > >

Major points to Dan for 1.) listening well (I guess I did complain about that a lot), and 2.) making the executive decision that truly revolutionized my reading life.

Kindle, oh Kindle, how did I ever live without you??

Real paper books? Over-rated. They get dusty and then you loan them out and forget about them.

Library? Still grappling with that one, but at least I didn't have to wait in line behind 760 other people to read The Help.

I just looked at the list of books on my Kindle that I've read since my birthday and was astonished at the number. Ten. I've read 10 books since December 17, 2010. That's pretty much a book a week. I always thought those people who do the 52-book challenges over the course of a year must do nothing but read, but I guess I could totally do it. (And I do way more than just read...)

So, it's time for a running tally of these books. Because, well, I'm like that.

• The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

• The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

• Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

• Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

• The Guernsey Literary Society and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer

• The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children, by Ross W. Greene
 
• Friend Like Henry: The Remarkable True Story of an Autistic Boy and the Dog That Unlocked His World, by Nuala Gardner
 
• The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery, by Alan Bradley

•  The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery, by Alan Bradley

Currently reading:

• A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Mystery, by Alan Bradley

• The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan

Next up and already awaiting me on my Kindle:

• The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver

I would love to describe what I thought about each and every one of these titles, (Oh! The Mockingjay! And can I have just a little more Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, please?), but that would go on and on and would, frankly, take me away from my reading. Because this is when I read these days: late at night. I am a college student again, after all, and remain a more-than-full-time parent which keeps me quite busy. But the studying shuts down at 10pm, and while the parenting does not shut down, it's at least semi-quiet in the late hours. So this is my time. And it's way more logistically satisfying to read a slim, no-pages-to-turn Kindle in bed than have a bulky hardcover (textbook) balanced precariously on your chest.

Now, off to see what Flavia is up to tonight...

*Quote in title from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, of course. 

P.S. It is SO TOTALLY AWESOME to be behind in the times enough that when you read the first book of a trilogy and fall majorly in love, the second and third books are already published and just waiting for you to download them via wifi directly to your Kindle. The removal of the need to actually locate the paper book (at the store or library, which means having to WAIT for them to open for business the next day) is the super awesomest part. Finish one at 11:30 p.m., download the next at 11:31 p.m., continue reading.