what i'm reading and listening to

A few weeks ago, I listed some books I'm planning to read. Here's how I'm doing:

• Sunset by Karen Kingsbury. Finished it the day after my reading post. It "wraps up" the Baxter saga, which is sad, but I was very excited to learn that two of the characters will be in Kingsbury's next series.
• On A Whim by Robin Jones Gunn. I read this in two evenings. If you read the Christy Miller books, you'll want to read this (and the one that comes before it). The only thing that's a little odd to me is that when I read the Christy Miller series in junior high and early high school, Christy and Katie were older than me. Now, even though like 15 years have passed in the real world, only 5 have in the Christy Miller universe. Still, it's a fun read.
• Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? by Carolyn McCulley. I've only read the intro and the first chapter so far, and I'm already doing lots of underlining . . . and I don't normally mark up my books! I feel like this woman really gets me. And I loved her definition of extended singleness: "One day past the marriage of a close high school friend, your younger sister, or even your own niece or nephew." I'm looking forward to finishing this one!

Now for the music. This is how I've spent $10 of my $15 gift card:

• "Everything"
  by Michael Buble. I considered buying the whole album, but I could think of too many other songs I wanted! This song was featured in the recent Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Loving Leah. As soon as the movie comes out on DVD, I'm totally buying it.
• "Return To Pooh Corner"
  by Kenny Loggins. I've loved this song ever since I first heard it on Delilah about 12 years ago, but I never before thought of it when I was trying to spend free music credits.
• "Total Eclipse Of The Heart"
  by Bonnie Tyler. This is one of those songs that I don't know why I like so much, but I do.
• "Dragonheart--Main Theme" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" from 100 Greatest Film Themes (6 CD SET)
  If anyone is looking for a gift for me, this CD set would be perfect . . . I certainly can't justify spending $60 on CDs!
• The Forecast EP by B.Reith. Yeah, you read that right--I bought hip hop!
  
• "Ultra Violet"
  by Joanna Pacitti. Thus continues my obsession with music from What I Like About You. Interestingly, Joanna is a contestant on American Idol this season. I don't watch the show, so I haven't seen her, but it seems to me that she shouldn't be eligible, considering she's already had a record deal. But I don't know their rules . . .