Literary Link Up! Count me in....

I am an obsessive reader. I can devour a book. Sometimes I have spent an entire day curled up reading from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep. I get very attached to the characters and their story. I love a nice long series and I have a kind of mourning when it's over and there's no new story for my characters. I've cried my eyes out for characters (thanks Nicholas Sparks) and felt happiness when a story works out well.

I don't watch a lot of TV. I have certain shows that I watch and that's it. When my husband is out of the house the TV is rarely on. He was recently away for two weeks and I turned it on twice. I don't like the sounds and the movement. I am usually doing something else when I am "watching" TV like reading or embroidery because I can't focus and just sick there and watch the giant screen blink at me.

Books take the place of my television. And I am 100% okay with that. Not only does it keep me mentally engaged and relaxes me, but it also helps to improve my memory, my language skills and my vocabulary. I have always been a reader. My husband became a reader because of me and he can attest to it helping his language skills and his vocabulary. It doesn't matter what you read, just read something.

Encourage your children to read. It pains me when I hear kids say that they hate reading. Or reading is boring. Usually one of the first things I say to them is, "Did you know that in the original Peter Pan the character of Tinker Bell is mean and swears all the time?" This usually gets their attention enough that they will start to talk about that book or about other books they were curious about reading. You have to make people realize that books are interesting and find what would make them curious enough to read something. For kids, it's going to be that they can read a book with a couple of naughty words in it. There are secrets hidden in books and they should want to find them!

All of that is what made me extra excited when I saw that By The Porchlight and Goings On In Texas were doing a Literary Link Up. Meeting other people who love reading and reading their thoughts and answers to the link up questions is a great way to get to know someone.



Here are my answers to the Link Up Questions!

1) What book are you currently reading? Give us a little synopsis and your review.

I just finished book 12 in the Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris last night. I needed a mental break after reading all five Game of Thrones books in six weeks and this was the perfect way to go. I started book 1 on Sept 24 and finished book 12 on November 19.

The books are paranormal romance. I wouldn't say they are written well or with any sort of flair but the characters are fleshed out enough that you don't hate reading about them and you can get a good mental picture. Each book is laid out in the same format. Introduction/Re-Introduction of main character and where the last book left off. Start of books main plot (i.e. - Something bad happens.) Mystery is attempted to be solved. Mystery is solved usually in some climactic way that involves a lot of violence. End of book with a vague enough ending that you want to read the next one.

I obviously enjoyed the books well enough to read twelve of them. They would be good beach or vacation reads, or in my case sometime to read after you've been reading something heavy and involved.

2) What are your 3 favorite books of all time?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Enough said, right?

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I bought this book because I loved the cover and I've probably read it over a dozen times.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Great read. I can't even describe how amazing this story is every time I read it.

Runner up? I really needed about 20 spots here but I went with 4. Good omens from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's humorous and satire at it's absolute best.

3) What is your "approach" upon entering a bookstore? Where do you immediately head after entering through the front door?

Mostly I buy books from Amazon or electronics books for my Kindle. But I do like to wander around Barnes and Noble. When I first enter I head straight for the bookcases up front with the Bargain Books. You never know when you're going to find a gem there. After that I make my way through Fiction and over to the Craft sections.

I hope you all sign up for the Link Up. If not please leave a comment of some of your favorite books!