I have been spending too much time in court rooms lately. On my birthday at the beginning of the month (in August), I spent the day in traffic court to take care of a speeding ticket. My first in over 20 years, that is to resolved by online traffic school and paying the fine.

Then just last week, I was back in court for the house. Luckily, that case got dismissed but it still wasted my time having to go there for something so minor.

This week, I am contemplating more lawyer time for something even more mundane but like an irritating itch that can’t be denied, has to be scratched.

So I’m wondering whether I should have taken this month off and just hibernated. Think that would have helped? Would it have helped to curl up and wish everything away?

I doubt it. So tackle them head on it is! And try to do it with a smile because in the end, it’s all in how you handle yourself and your situations that matter.

I still had a couple of mini hibernation weekends though. The last two weekend I stayed offline. It meant no social media or blogging, but sometimes we need some down time. I did get to read quite a bit though, so that’s good. Now I only need to write them up for the review blog. But hey, if I don’t get around to it, that will be no big deal either.

There is something about the winter months, despite its low lights, that makes me want to curl up and read. Sure, I live on the internet and most days you’ll find me with the laptop on… you guessed it, my lap. But nothing beats the time you spend inside the pages of a book when it comes to relaxing your mind and purging it of problems for a while.

Next to my easy chair in my bedroom, I have a stack of books that I’m reading. Some, I’m reading simultaneously and others I knock off in one sitting.

Here are two books that I just finished reading:
This Much is True by Jackie Lee Miles is the story of 13 year old Andrea (Andi for short) St. James, a rich Southern girl who goes through some pretty challenging events in her life. First, her favorite brother dies, which drives her mother to drink, which then drives her father to sleep with another woman. Her older sister is being mean to her as she gets ready to get married and her only refuge is her best friend, the cook and the gardener. That is until her best friend has to move away and so many other twists and turns to the story that you wonder how this girl is coping with it all. That’s the beauty of the story. She does cope, and she does a lot of growing up.

Storm of the i is an Artobiography by Tina Collen. This is one book that you can enjoy beyond the first read through. It is a biography of Tina Collen but it is also a scrapbook of her life. Her own artwork populate the pages but so do works from her friends, her favorite artists, and her children. It is a fascinating way to compile one’s biography. The collection of memorabilia and artwork would probably been able to stand alone as a coffee book but couple that with her clear, easy to read writing and compelling story telling, and you have a book that cannot be put down.

I honestly recommend the two books above. The first, This Much is True, is appropriate for the same age group as the heroine, around 12 on up. While I would let my 13 year old daughter read or flip through the Artobiography, other parents may be more conservative. Some of Ms. Collen’s artwork labeled ‘fleurotica’ are quite beautiful but also a bit risque as are some other images within the book. The story itself though, the text, I think is appropriate for teens.

Today, a post from author Molly Harper about how she came up with the idea for her upcoming book, How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf. Interesting title, huh? I’m getting a review copy of this book so I am looking forward to reading a novel that came out of being stuck home without power during an ice storm.

I have been reviewing books for the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing and have been having a great time doing it. In addition to their Blogging for Books program, they also sponsor some awesome giveaways. Here’s a few of them: (click on the links below to enter)
The Great Christmas Gift Giveaway – win $500 for yourself and $500 for the charity of your choice. Ends 12/10

Blogging for Books Best Review Contests – Post the best Blogging for Books book review in the month of December and you could win an eReader, Nook or Kindle. If you win – you pick which one you want! Ends 12/31

Win a copy of Too Rich for a Bride by Mona Hodgson – To win your copy of Too Rich for a Bride , simply click here to submit your entry. In the “contest code” field enter the code “ALLYOU”. Ends 12/1

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest – If you’ve got something hideous for Christmas in your closet, this may be the time you finally get some benefit out of it.

Do you ever read books simultaneously? I do. I’ve gotten up to five books at a time. I read each according to how much time I have and what mood I am in. Often one of the books in my lineup would be a collection of short stories or a book of poetry. That book, I save for when I have a limited amount of time. That way, I can read through one story or poem in one sitting. I save the books with hard to read content for weekend mornings when my brain is well rested and can better absorb what I’m reading. The easy to read novels, I save for just before bedtime to relax me and get me ready for sleep.

Right now, I am reading two books at the same time but I feel like I am reading one. I am reading one to review and the other for pleasure. Confused? I’m close to getting confused myself.

Their story lines are not quite similar, but can I say complimentary? It’s almost as if one book is answering the other and vice versa.

I am reading for pleasure Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love in anticipation of watching the movie of the same title starring Julia Roberts. I’ve also had several friends rave about this book so I had been looking forward to reading it.

To review, I was sent an advance copy of The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook by Matt Dunn. I’m only a few chapters in and I’m already hooked and at the same time highly amused that as soon as I started reading the book I started connecting it with Eat, Pray, Love. You see, Eddie’s girlfriend just left him to go to Tibet. In Eat, Pray, Love she goes off to Italy, India and Indonesia in essence to find herself after a divorce from her husband and a breakup with her boyfriend.

I like the way the Handbook is written already. Even the style reminds me of Eat, Pray, Love although the tone is of course vastly different.

For instance, in The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook, while commiserating with his best friend Dan at a pub, the following funny exchange ensues:

“Funny creatures women. Do you think Mrs. Einstein was impressed with all that stuff about Albert’s relatives?

Relativity, Dan

Exactly. Nope, she was more concerned whether he remembered her birthday, or forgot to put the toilet seat down.”

During Dan and Eddie’s conversation about the breakup, they come to the conclusion that maybe the girlfriend wants to be won back. That maybe if he makes some changes he can somehow convince her to come back to him.

While in Eat, Pray, Love during one of the many introspective moments (and in this instance also a moment of weakness), where she had just emailed her ex-boyfriend saying that they should end things now and should he find someone else, she would be happy for him. Even though the email she sent is full of bravado about moving on, she writes:

“I’m trying to ignore the part of me that is dying to find that he has replied: ‘COME BACK! DON’T GO! I’LL CHANGE!’ I’m trying to disregard the girl in me who would happily drop this whole grand idea of traveling around the world in simple exchange for the keys to David’s apartment.”

I almost feel like the two books are answering each other and I find it really intriguing. Sort of like a ‘He said/She said’ situation. I can’t wait to finish both books and I can’t help but swing from one to the other then feel a rather strange satisfaction when they end up responding to each other.

Watch for my book reviews when I finally finish them.