So here I go, first attempt at actually tracking how many books I read in a year...its sad...I wish I had kept track of all the books I have read. It would be interesting to have that kind of a list from my teen years. Here goes:

1. THE SHACK by William Young
2. WISHFUL DRINKING by Carrie Fisher
3. DEAD UNTIL DARK by Charlaine Harris
4. LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS by Charlaine Harris
5. CLUB DEAD by Charlaine Harris
6. DEAD TO THE WORLD by Charlaine Harris
7. DEAD AS A DOORNAIL by Charlaine Harris
8. DEFINITELY DEAD by Charlaine Harris
9. 2009 ACTION PLAN by Suze Orman...

10. CAKE LOVE by Warren Brown
11. ALL TOGETHER DEAD by Charlaine Harris

A huge piece of chocolate cake for your first 10!

Yum! Thanks for the encouragement....

12. THE TURN OF THE SCREW by Henry James

13. THE BONE GARDEN by Tess Garritsen
14. LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER by Stewart O'Nan
15. FROM DEAD TO WORSE by Charlaine Harris
16. SONGS FOR THE MISSING by Stewart O'Nan

I've been so busy reading that I forgot to update...whoops! :)

17. THE BREATHING METHOD by Stephen King

Okay, I'm really out of it today. I guess I need to update once a week!

18. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers

19. CRASHING THROUGH by Robert Kurson

Slow and steady wins the race. I'm hoping to maybe even PASS 50 if I can actually ENJOY my summer this year! (i.e. NO summer school!)

20. KAFKA ON THE SHORE by Haruki Murakami
21. THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON by Stephen King

I'm on my waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy...yeah!

You are sooooooooo right to say that reading is more important than housework . . . caught my eye immediately. You'll remember a cover or a story and perhaps where you read something . . . but that your house was neat and clean on any given day??? Thanks for affirming my priorities!!!

I agree! And I am so happy to see that others feel the same way too.

I must confess ladies, my house IS usually VERY clean...but I always make time for reading, usually by staying up WAY past any normal person's bedtime! Haha But yeah, spending time with my beautiful babies, cuddling with my husband, cooking AND eating great food, etc. is ALL way too important to put off just so the random houseguest can walk in and OOH and AAH at my sparkling floors...lifes too short..thanks for the comments. I love to talk (obviously)...especially about books!

22. DEAD AND GONE by Charlaine Harris

Man, do you ever get in a reading mood where its all you wanna do? I think its coming at a perfect time, when most of my regular tv shows are ending their seasons, and the school semester is almost over. Lots of time for reading soon!!!

I have to add my approval of your title. I neglect not only my house but worse, my garden, when the words catch me. You're also right that summer is the perfect storm for just sitting in a hammock and reading all day.

Haha My garden is a disaster area. The harder I try, the faster things die. I really want a hammock, I've been pricing around for one. For now, I read in the bath or bed after the kiddies are sleeping.

If I can recommend, I got a hammock from this site http://www.mexihammocks.com/ and it is awesome. Fits multiple bodies and was $60. I love it!

Thanks so much...I'm definitely checking that out! Its so hot out here, I don't know how long I will get to be outside (it gets into the 120s) but I figure I can always use it at night, since I'm up so late.

My house used to be fabulously clean . . . now it's populated by three young boys and I surrender!! Thanks a million for the hammock website; think my husband will figure out that his father's day gift is really for me?????????

Haha I checked out that website and am getting one, but I totally didn't think about using Father's Day as my alibi...thanks Kate! Hahaha

23. THE GARGOYLE by Andrew Davidson...

Such a great book! Do you ever read a book that is so good that you feel bad (i.e. guilty-ish) for starting a new one?? This book is a rare jewel.

You know, as happy to consume as our culture is, I'm surprised we don't have a specific holiday for getting yourself a gift in someone else's name! I hope you two love your hammocks!

24. STRAY SOCK SEWING by Daniel

Read this pretty quick...now onto making some of these adorable sock dolls!

Michelle wrote: "23. THE GARGOYLE by Andrew Davidson...

Such a great book! Do you ever read a book that is so good that you feel bad (i.e. guilty-ish) for starting a new one?? This book is a rare jewel."

Michelle, The Gargoyle has been my favorite book for 2009. It was absolutely mesmerizing. I turned my book club onto it this month after I had been introduced to it on the Busy as a Bee Book group. I get excited when I find other people who share the same enthusiasm for a good book as I do.

So do I...that's part of the reason I'm addicted to goodreads! When we moved here, I was so lonely and isolated not knowing anyone and I read ALOT since my husband worked nights and we didn't have kids. Now that we have two kids and my life is CRAZY busy, I've finally found other people in town who share some hobbies and its great, but I wish I had found this site years ago. It would've made my life much better. That's the end of my sob story, thanks for listening...haha!

My 22 yr old son invited me to join Goodreads; now he makes fun of me because I'm so addicted to it. I can't walk by my computer without logging on to see if any new comments have been posted.

Haha Tell me about it. My bestie Kathryn and I make dates to sign on and chat on here every night AFTER we read, but often, I sign on here BEFORE I even read and then spend so long talking to her that I never even crack my book open...sad, sad, sad...but fun! I'm doing a couple of reading challenges from another group this summer, so that should help me stay focused.

Is there such a thing as Reader's ADHD? I think I have it!

No, but I think there is something called Reader's OCD;)

25. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

Congrats on reaching the halfway mark!

Thanks guys...and I'm over the hump, because...

26. CORALINE by Neil Gaiman

Just finished this last night. I'm telling you, these two last books of his are Juvenile Fiction, but they're pretty good and spooky even for a seasoned horror fan like me.

whoo hoo, you did it! i love seeing all those covers

Aren't they pretty...I'm proud of myself. It was easy after your awesome instructions. Thank you so much!!

27. THE WHITE by Deborah Larsen

Blah, blah, blah, BRUTAL, BORING, DEPRESSING...would rather have read something else...anything else, actually.

Looks like we both struck out this go round.

Yeah, better luck next time.

Michelle, I'm reading The Hunger Games now and so far it's a winner. I can't put it down!

28. THE WHISPERING STATUE by Carolyn Keene

29. NIGHTS IN RODANTHE by Nicholas Sparks

30. THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon

Such a great book! It took me a little while to read it all, especially considering that its pretty short, but I was really enjoying and didn't want to rush it.

31. DINNER AT MY PLACE by Tyler Florence

Totally didn't notice that I forgot this one on here...read it with CAKELOVE. Different for a cookbook, was almost a biography/memoir/cookbook. LOTS of stories and reading, and the recipes are simple but GREAT!

You're on a roll. I love reading cookbooks!

Yeah, me too. I have quite a collection. I only count the ones I read all the way through though. Otherwise my count would probably be at 45 or so...I love to cook! And EAT! haha

32. THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY by Oscar Wilde

This was an excellent book. I'm glad I finally read it. I'm letting my review steep before I talk about this book. Won't do his wit justice.

So I told myself tonight that if I complete this challenge and the other 2009 challenge I'm in in another group, I can spend $20 on books at half.com...now I have even MORE of a reason to stay up ALL NIGHT reading! HELP!

I heard you! I can't seem to get to bed before 2 a.m. because I don't want to stop reading. I need to go buy more Sookie books.

33. GOOD OMENS: THE NICE AND ACCURATE PROPHECIES OF AGNES NUTTER, WITCH by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Excellent, hilarious...actually makes me want to go back and reread parts of the Bible, which is good I guess. I realized I'm on a little of a Gaiman habit lately, better switch it up before I get bored...

34. THE WOODEN SEA by Jonathan Carroll

Excellent book...loved the main character, definitely a "classic status" guy. Will be reading more of Carroll's books for sure. This was one where I was sad that it ended because I felt like I was kicked out of the world I had become familiar with...ever get that feeling with a book? It's rare for me.

35. RELENTLESS by Dean Koontz

Had so much more potential...great pacing and the ending just was thrown out there way too quickly, like he added it on while standing in line at the printing house. I did like the first 85% of it, and it was a lot more gruesome than some of his other books have been.