i love to read, but ...

I can't remember a time that I didn't love reading. In fact, my mom tells a story about finding me crying as a young child because I didn't know how to read. Once I could read, I hardly ever stopped. As an elementary student, I flew through all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books I could get my hands on. I read every Baby-sitters Club book the local library had; while I waited for new titles, I also read the Baby-sitters Little Sister books, which were admittedly geared at much younger children. I even got the Baby-sitters Club game for Christmas one year.

In junior high, I started reading Jeanette Oke's books--my first foray into the Christian romance genre. I also read all of the Anne of Green Gables books, and I distinctly remember crying my eyes out on my parents' bed as I read about Anne & Gilbert's son Walter dying in WWI.

In high school, I read a lot of Lori Wick and Robin Jones Gunn, and I read just about every Christian romance I could get my hands on. Admittedly, those were probably not the best books for me to be reading ...

College is when I discovered Karen Kingsbury. She's still my favorite author. Then after college, a friend got me started on Ted Dekker. I could go on and on, but you get the point--I read a lot!

Obviously, I gravitate toward fiction, mainly the Christian variety. So one thing I really appreciate about the book review programs I participate in (booksneeze and Blogging for Books) is that they've caused me to branch out and read some non-fiction! (In fact, two of the best books I've read have come from these programs: Fearless by Max Lucado and Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. You can see my reviews here and here.)

However, these programs have caused a new problem--or maybe exacerbated an existing problem. I simply don't have time to read everything I've agreed to read! Oh, I'll finish the books and get the reviews in on time, but at what expense? I simply have a difficult time passing up a free book if it sounds even remotely interesting. Thus, I have two reviews to post yet this week (and I still have to finish reading one of the books) and two to post two weeks from now (and I haven't even opened those books yet). And I'm pretty sure I have another review due the week after that, and it's for a book I haven't received yet!

Perhaps the best question to ask myself right now is this: Why am I blogging instead of reading???

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lazy blogger

I've been an incredibly lazy blogger recently. The reasons for this are many, but basically I feel I don't have enough of interest to say to create an entire blog post. So, I offer you yet another bulleted list of randomness.

• I saw a commercial the other day illustrating how much food we throw out each year. I think the average was $500-worth. While I'm sure I don't throw that much out, I could certainly identify with the commercial. I can identify with it even more after cleaning out my refrigerator. Spoiled milk? Check. Old lunchmeat? Check. Moldy cheese? Check. Hard-as-a-rock bread? Check.
• In case you hadn't noticed, Lost is back! Tonight is the third installment of the final season. So many questions, so little time for answers!
• My dearly beloved desktop computer, which one of my brother's college friends built for me, exploded the other day. Maybe "exploded" isn't quite right ... I heard two loud pops, smoke shot out of the back, and it died. I'm so glad I decided to buy my laptop last summer! My brother thinks the data on the hard drive should be salvageable ... I sure hope so!
• I love the Olympics! The "inspirational" stories they run between/during competition always make me cry. And the actual competition is so fun to watch! Back in junior high/high school/college I was absolutely obsessed with figure skating. Funny, I'm not even sure I watched it at all during the Torino Olympics. I recognize the names of the American male skaters and one pair of ice dancers, but I don't know much about them. I think I've just found a new favorite skater, though: Takahiko Kozuka of Japan. He skated his short program to Jimi Hendrix, and he was so fun to watch!
• How is it that I went 28 years without realizing how wonderful cayenne pepper is? It's my new favorite spice. Just a little goes a long way, and it flavors without adding fat, which is excellent for my diet. Yum!
• Val and I are contemplating a trip to see Lifehouse and Daughtry in May. Really, Daughtry is the headliner, but Lifehouse is more important to me :-) We could see them in Wichita or Kansas City ... either would require a 4-5 hour car trip, but I've already proven I don't mind traveling to see my favorite artists!
• My next Blogging for Books review is due sometime next week. I have two books to read this time, and I'm about halfway through the first. The problem? It's a sequel, and I didn't read the first book. I was incredibly lost for at least the first 60 pages. I finally decided I didn't need to understand what was happening; I just needed to make it through. And now I think I've sort of figured out what's what ... and I really need to start speed reading!

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"lost" explained ... sort of

Just came across this video of people who have never watched Lost trying to explain it. I love some of their guesses as to what's happening!

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