BTT: Weeding 'em out

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?
Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)
And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

I would say that the last time I really weeded down my library was when my mom moved out of the house I grew up in and all my stuff had to either fit in my and my husband's (then boyfriend's) 600 square foot apartment or a handful of bins in a storage unit. It was rough. Most of them ended up in a garage sale and some went to my sister (without my knowledge...ugh...don't even get me started. Her bookshelf full of MY books that she won't give back just makes my blood boil). So, for a couple years I really had to keep my book collection in check which was a little easier than it is now because I wasn't reading quite as much and space was an issue.

Once we moved into our house, a little over a year ago, I really got to enjoy having books again. I've now dug all my books out of storage and have collected new ones from library sales and other (more expensive) means. I still try to keep the collection in check though. I post ones that I'm not in love with on PaperBackSwap (so I can get new ones), pass others around to friends and family, and have sold some duplicates. I don't think that I've ever actually thrown a book away though...Even the horribly water damaged copy of Middlesex is still hanging around!

More Supernatural Reading

So I'm still going on this "It's October, which means Halloween, which means SPOOKY! VAMPS and WEREWOLVES and CREEPERS! Oh my!" kick so my reading choices have fallen under the supernatural realm as of late.



Dead and Gone
by Charlaine Harris
312 pages

The ninth Sookie Stackhouse book. Finally. Not much different with this one from the other 8...but it's still entertaining. And I still can't decide which of Sookie's many suitors I like best. For now, she's just stuck with Eric though so I have no choice! I do feel oh-so-bad for Quinn after this book though. Life is so not fair in the supernatural world.

7 out of 10 stars. Good, wholesome (yea, right) vamp-y fun.




Halfway to the Grave
by Jeaniene Frost
358 pages

So this is a new series that I picked up from PBS because it suggested that I would like it since I like the Sookie books. Plus, I wanted some fluffy summer reading (which of course kept getting pushed back in the TBR pile and is now fluffy fall reading). Cat is a half human, half vampire (her mother was raped) who now dedicates herself to killing vampires, since her mother bore into her that they are all evil and BAD. Then she meets Bones, a 200-some odd year old vampire who also kills vampires. Interesting...So hijinx ensue, Cat and Bones get it on, and the bad guys are killed. Oh and some secret government agency is now after Cat so they can use her abilities to help them out. It was entertaining, action packed, and had a little loving splashed in there for good measure. It gets a little smutty in a couple parts but at least the cover isn't TOO embarassing to have out in public!

7.5 out of 10 stars. I'm glad that I have the other 3 sitting on my shelf waiting.

The Post in Which I Catch Up.

Well, interwebs, it's been a while. I have no real excuse for why I've been slacking majorly with the blogging! BUT, I have been reading some (whenever football season doesn't take me away) so here's my hopefully quick recap of the past three weeks.

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving

617 pages

I originally picked this up at a library book sale because The Book Lady talks about it quite a bit! I enjoyed it for the most part and really loved Owen's character but the narrator, John Wheelwright, just felt not real enough for me I guess. Also, this book took me FOREVER to get through. I would think this book would have taken me 5-7 days to get through but it was more like 2 weeks. It was definitely worth a read though. 8 out of 10 stars.

Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir by Bich Minh Nguyen

253 pages

This was my book club's book for September. I found it funny in some parts and fairly relatable, even though it was about a Vietnam refugee trying to fit into American culture. I guess as kids we are all just trying to fit in with the "cool crowd" by having, eating, and doing the cool things, regardless of our ethnic background. We had a pretty interesting conversation about the book but I don't know that there was anyone who really LOVED it. I felt pretty "eh" about it by the end and barely skimmed the last 40 pages. 5 out of 10 stars.

The Last Summer (of You and Me) By Ann Brashares

306 pages

Eh, good summer chick lit. The characters left something to be desired, as did the ending, but I enjoyed it for what it was: total fluff. Not much else to say... 6 out of 10 stars.

Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbot

301 pages

I've had this on my shelf since last Christmas and just now FINALLY got too it! I don't know why, but I wasn't thinking that this book was pure non-fiction, I was thinking historical fiction, but still it was interesting! I had no idea that a lot of the stuff in it even happened. I really enjoyed this one. 8.5 out of 10 stars

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

312 pages

The 8th of the Sookie Stackhouse books. The usual Sookie getting in trouble because she's involved too deeply in the supernatural world. Entertaining and with the addition of vampires, Weres, and other supernatural creatures it's a great way to start out my October reading! 7 out of 10 stars.

So there you have it! My super-quick recap of the last few weeks. Hopefully I'll start keeping on top of this blog a little bit better now! *See* you all soon!