"she is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain."

thank you, louisa may alcott, for that bit of truth.  i'll be the first to admit that my brain has been turned by books... more often than not.  i'm sure i'm not the only one.  still, people ask me all the time, "when in the world do you find time to read??"  i guess that's a fair question.  and there have been phases of my life where i have not picked up a book for months at a time.  really.  but if i were to be perfectly honest, i am happiest when i am in the middle of some book - so, i make time to read.  i see it as an investment in my mental health.  reading can be a great escape... and sometimes a mental escape can be just as effective (and affordable) as a physical retreat.  however, with four children and a busy household, my approach to reading has changed a bit.  there was a time i could lose myself in between the pages of a novel for hours at a time.  lately, i don't do anything for hours... except maybe sleep - and even that isn't always completely dependable.  now, i keep a book handy and read during those "in-between" moments of my day:  waiting at the bus stop, waiting for water to boil, waiting for the dryer to finish, waiting for the commercials to be over...  you'd be surprised how much reading you can get done during 5 minute intervals all throughout your day.  sunday afternoons still offer a nice chunk of reading time... if you can resist that sunday afternoon nap.

i just finished reading Sarah by Marek Halter.  i love historical fiction of any kind - and i think i've read books from all eras.  lately, i've really enjoyed fictionalized accounts of biblical characters, especially women.  halter wrote a trilogy in which he tells the stories of three such women.  what i like best about this book is that the author does not pretend that just because the people are from the Bible they are refined and polished.  rather, the story tells of characters who are barely civilized - very raw and uncultured by our standards.  and yet, they are real and relatable.  i look forward to reading the remaining two books in his Canaan Trilogy.

today, i'm planning on starting the Harmony books.  i had heard them compared to Jan Karon's Mitford series which i loved.  i read this entire series (plus several other books) during the first trimester of my pregnancy with tucker.  seriously, i think i cleared 11 books in less than 3 weeks.  talk about an escape from reality - i have tried every anti-nausea medication known to man but nothing gave me a break from morning sickness as much as sitting perfectly still with a good book (and a belly full of protein... when i could keep it down).  but i digress...  the mitford books are charming and entertaining and endearing and so well written.  i loved them so much that i also listened to the audio books last year (enjoying audio books while running errands can make your most mundane tasks so much more bearable) and was able to introduce them to my children.  patrick, especially, loved them and i think he'll enjoy reading them one day, too.  i am in the midst of collecting the series (ie, looking for them cheap in various and sundry places) and think that by the time i have all of them i'll be ready to read them again!  so.... i'm really hoping that the Harmony books are just as good.  i'll let you know.

and, lest you think i am purely a self-indulgent reader of fiction, i also have at least one non-fiction book i'm reading at any given point.  i just picked up She's Gonna Blow by Julie Barnhill.  i find that parenting and marriage books keep me reading, since they are most applicable right now.

so, what are you reading these days?