My Reading List for 2012

When I was a kid, when we put more on our plate than we could eat, my dad would say, "Guess your eyes are bigger than your stomach." That's the way I feel when I survey my bookshelf and plan what books to move to the top of my reading list. I want to read them ALL! And I want to re-read my favorites. So making a list is an exercise in delusions of grandeur. Although I desperately want to devour them all, I have to narrow it down to a few dozen choices, knowing that there will be new releases and "hot" books hitting the bookstore shelves again this year. And that one-click button on Amazon is sooooo easy.

So this list is a loose outline of what I hope to read in the next twelve months, words that will nourish my spirit, give me a laugh or two, and prod me to be a better writer myself.

• When Sparrows Fall by Meg Moseley (I've already started this one and am loving it)

• The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

• Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (on last year's list - didn't get to it)

• There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

• From This Day Forward by Margaret Daley

• Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (also one I didn't get to last year)

• The Girl Who Chased The Moon and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (recommended by a friend whose literary taste I trust)

• Mother of Pearl by Kellie Gilbert (will have to wait as this is a September release)

• Lilacs in Bloom and The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick

These are the books I have or know about. Charles Martin has a new one coming out and will likely move to the top of the pile the minute I get my hands on it. I also have three of Elizabeth Berg's books that I want to sink into - I love her voice and lovely stories.

I also want to revisit my Anne Tyler collection - I'm thinking The Accidental Tourist and Back When We Were Grownups. It's been too long since I've enjoyed one of her books.

Now for a fun surprise:

What books were on the NYT Bestsellers List on this week in January, 1952?

No. 1 - The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
No. 8 - From Here to Eternity by James Jones
No. 12 - The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Sixty years and these are still beloved. Classics, I suppose, by now. I'll think I'll add The Catcher in the Rye to my 2012 list.

How do you choose what books you want to read? Friend recommendations? Best-seller lists? Classics? Do you ever read books more than once?

2012 is off to a great start! What's the first book you want to read?

Love and Laughter in SAVE THE DATE by Jenny B. Jones

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Save The Date Thomas Nelson (February 1, 2011) by Jenny B. Jones
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I write Christian fiction with a few giggles, quite a bit of sass, and lots of crazy. My novels include the Katie Parker Production series and So Not Happening. I would also like to take credit for Twilight , but somewhere I think I read you’re not supposed to lie.

When I’m not typing my heart out (or checking email), I teach at a super-sized high school in Arkansas.

My students are constantly telling me how my teaching changes their lives and turned them away from drugs, gangs, and C-SPAN.

Okay, that’s not exactly true.

Some facts that are true include:

I've always been refined!

A. I got my camera confiscated by big boys with guns at the American Embassy in Europe this past summer. O la la!

B. I once worked in a seed mill office and cleaned out mice on a regular basis. Ew.

C. I’m a former drama teacher.

D. I didn’t pass my drivers test the first time. Or the second…

E. I attract stray animals like a magnet.

F. I used to assemble and test paint ball guns for a local factory...

Since my current job leaves me with very little free time, I believe in spending my spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits such as:

-watching E!

-updating my status on Facebook

-catching Will Ferrell on YouTube and

-writing my name in the dust on my furniture

I’d love to hear about you, so drop me a note. Or check me out on Facebook.

ABOUT THE BOOK

You’re invited to the engagement of the most unlikely couple of the year.

When the funding for Lucy’s non-profit job is pulled, she is determined to find out why. Enter Alex Sinclair, former professional football star and heir of Sinclair Enterprises—the primary donor to Lucy’s Saving Grace organization. Alex Sinclair has it all . . . except for the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Both Lucy and Alex have something the other wants. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancée in return for the money she desperately needs. Bound to a man who isn’t quite what he seems, Lucy finds her heart – and her future – on the line.

Save the Date is a spunky romance that will have readers laughing out loud as this dubious pair try to save their careers, their dreams . . . and maybe even a date.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Save The Date, go HERE