reverb12 :: day 9 :: books

I do love that today’s prompt is asking about favourite books, as I was planning a post about “books to read” after a blog archive read brought up lots of posts from the 2009 50/50 reading challenge. Sadly, I haven’t read nearly as much as I would like to this year, instead my time has been channelled in other directions, and the books I did read barely rate a mention, aside from yet another re-reading of The Time Travellers Wife (quite possibly my favourite book, but more on that in a bit). I do hope to rectify this in 2013, starting with the beginning of my holiday reading pile:

The Book Thief – I am hearing so many people rave about this book, and I’m keen to get hooked in. This copy is actually Miss Car’s, swapped at quilt camp for my (very well loved aka falling apart) copy of The Time Travellers Wife.

Utopian Man – this one is a library book I discovered via the library’s “lucky dip” table. A bunch of books are wrapped up in brown paper, with the only markings being a bar code. I haven’t really had the chance to get stuck into it, a quick skim of the first couple of pages reveal a somewhat quirky writing style, so I’m hoping to find a good hour or so to get into the rhythm of it. But I intend to embrace the spirit of the lucky dip and give it a good chance.

The Casual Vacancy – I put this one on my list after seeing Kylie’s review on it. Then my mum mentioned she’d read it and wasn’t impressed, so she was more than happy to pass it on to me. #winning. I’m around 100 pages in, and really liking it. But then, since I seem to be the only person in the world who has read neither Twilight nor 50 Shades (by choice), maybe I just have a weird sense of what is enjoyable reading.

And as for the prompt. My favourite book. This is a tough one, because I’m such a book-a-holic. Different books move me at different times and in different ways. The Time Travellers Wife is up there. I have re-read it so many times, it is falling apart. But I have other books that remain entrenched in my mind. Bryce Courtney’s Jessica. Mary Grant Bruce’s Billabong series. Anne of Green Gables. Science books. Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy. To name just one seems almost like being unfaithful to the rest of my literary harem. Yes, I’ll admit it. I’m a book polygamist. There is a reason we have a full wall to wall built in bookcase. My husband once suggested we could get rid of some books. I pretended I couldn’t hear him.

After church today, we ended up popping over to have lunch with friends, which was delightfully enjoyable. Part of which involved chatting about books, and left me with a few more to add to my list, such as Tim Winton’s Cloud Street, and the Bourne books. A storm is just rolling in now, which means I can’t work as planned, though thankfully I sacrificed a much needed nap for working this afternoon. Tonight, I hope to finish the face and hopefully hair of my Waldorf inspired elf, so I can make her clothes tomorrow. Then, I plan on pulling out my book and getting sucked down the rabbit hole that is my tunnel vision when reading. The sound of rain on the roof, some craft, some reading. Sunday night delightful.