My New Stash.

Stash o' books, that is.

I may or may not have mentioned it before, but I absolutely LOVE to read. I learned how to read when I was 2 1/2 and have been obsessed ever since, often times staying up way too late, getting lost in another world. I can literally spend hours in books stores pouring of every genre, trying to decide which books I want to take home, while inhaling the warming scent of an untouched book. Freak alert: I always sniff books, they smell so good! Anyway, I've read more books than I can count and am constantly looking for new ones to add to my collection.

Border's bookstore declared bankruptcy recently and I am so depressed. I feel like you're either a Border's or Barnes & Noble person. I? Am a Border's girl all the way. The store in my city is having a major closeout sale and everything was 20-40% off, so I sought some book suggestions from my friends on Facebook & headed over to Border's this afternoon. I made out like a bandit! Twelve books (one for my brother) and two new reading lights!

I plan on doing a book review for each one, so hopefully there are some that you can add to your reading list, too. Below is what I purchased (some recommended, some of my own choosing) with links to descriptions, in case some of you are interested. As you'll notice, the genres are pretty varied.

1. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (Another blog friend has this on her list and a lot of people commented on how good it is. I had never heard of it, but I'm ridiculously fascinated by true crime, Mormonism, and polygamy; this book is about all three. Another interesting book about a Mormon cult & crime is Prophet of Death: The Mormon Blood Atonement Killings by Pete Earley. Read it in college and finished it in 36 hours.)

2. Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult (I've never read Picoult some I'm curious to see if I enjoy her as much as everyone else seems to).

3. Honolulu by Alan Brennert (chosen for obvious reasons. I've heard it's really good, though, & a few people recommended it to me recently.)

4. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (see above.)

5. House Rules by Jodi Picoult (recommended by a college friend.)

6. House of Evil by John Dean (true crime that happened in Indiana in the late '60s. Shockingly, I'd never heard of it & was happy when I randomly pulled it off the shelf.)

7. Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

8. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (Surely you've heard of this. James Frey claimed it's a memoir and all true, Oprah put it on her Book Club list, raved about it for.ever, only to be made a fool when it was revealed that much of it was embellished. Nonetheless, I've heard it's decent, true or not.)

9. Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

10. Fabulously Fashionable by Holly McQueen

11. The Aqua Net Diaries by Jennifer Niven (It kept catching my eye, so I'm curious to see what I think-- the reviews on Amazon aren't that great, though. It takes place 40 minutes from where I went to college, so that also has me intrigued.)

I finished Beautiful People by Wendy Holden in Florida & was not a fan & still don't know why it got such good reviews. I started Little Bee by Chris Cleve, but haven't read much and will probably restart it, but so far, it's good, and has gotten rave reviews, so I'll let y'all know what I think of that one when I'm finished.

What's on your reading list?

Also, thanks for all the suggestions of what you'd like me to blog about. I have them saved and will be doing each and every one of them :)