Where Is Your Bookmark? (11/24/2015)

My reading has turned to the upcoming Holidays as you saw from by last week's teasers.  This week is no different. I actually am sharing the opening of the first Christmas book I read this month, the review of which I will be posting in the next few days. I have since finished Jennifer Chiaverini's Christmas Bells, which mixes a present day story with a historical one, and a contemporary romance novella by Sara Richardson called One Christmas Wish.

Here are the first two paragraphs from A Cold Creek Christmas Story by RaeAnne Thayne, which is about a librarian turned children's author and her childhood crush who has temporarily returned to town with his young daughter, hoping the change will do her some good after all she's been through: 

If she didn't have thirty children showing up in the next half hour, Celeste Nichols would have been tempted to climb into her little SUV, pull out of the Pine Gulch library parking lot and just keep on driving. 

She shifted the blasted endlessly ringing cell phone to the crook of her shoulder while she sorted through the books scattered across her cubicle in the offices of the library to find what she would be reading for story hour.

Teasers from A Cold Creek Christmas Story at 39%: 

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just can't see how getting up in front of a bunch of strangers and singing about peace on earth will help a young girl suffering from PTSD."

and at 53%

"We don't get to choose the circumstances of our birth families, do we?" she said softly. "The only thing we have control of is the life we make for ourselves out of those circumstances."

What do you think? Would you keep reading?  

What are you reading at the moment?  Is it anything you would recommend?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Broke and Bookish.

This week's  Top Ten Tuesday theme is Ten Bookish Things I am Thankful for. It seems fitting given the time of year. I am most thankful for my family, but since that doesn't fall under "bookish" they didn't make my list. My family really is what is most important though. We recently got some bad news; my husband lost his job. It has cast a shadow on the holiday season. It is not the end of the world, of course, And we will be all right. At least this is what I tell myself when I start feeling overwhelmed. Deep down I know it is true, but it has still been a blow to us. Anyhow, keeping it positive, here are some of the bookish things I am grateful for:

1. Books ~ This one really is self explanatory. Book have been my inspiration, my escape, kept me entertained, and have helped educate me all my life. They have been there for me through all the ups and downs.

2. My E-Reader ~ If you dig deep enough on my blog, you will find statements I have made about e-books, and how I could not imagine reading them, especially not preferring them to print books. Then I gave birth to my daughter, and e-books suddenly became my main way to read books. My e-reader goes with me everywhere, even when I have a paper book with me. The ease with which I can hold it, turn pages, prop it up, read in the dark, carry multiple books in its small form, highlight and bookmark favorite passages, and adjust the font and size of the words, well, it's proven to be quite convenient.  Not that I will ever give up reading paper books--because I still love those too.

3. Book Blogs ~ I discovered book blogs over nine years ago and they have been a source of not only great book recommendations and book discussions, but also provided the opportunity for me to meet people and make new friends. The book blogging community is a large part of why I continue to blog today.

4. Long Waits ~ At least when I am alone. If I have a long wait and I am alone, I do not mind at all really (unless I have some place to be). I can just pop open my book and settle in and read. If anything, I get a little annoyed when I have to close my book in a particularly tense spot because it's finally my turn.

5. Libraries ~ Libraries are the heart of a community. They provide a variety of services. For me, they are places of fond childhood memories and have the makings of many more with my own daughter.

6. Writers ~ Because they write the books I love so much, of course!

7. Books That Make Me Cry ~ I love books that draw out my emotions.  Not that it's hard to do. But still. A book that can make me cry is one that I am invested in. It means I care about the characters and what happens to them. It's a sign of a good book.

8. Herald Vanyel Ashkevron ~ My husband (then boyfriend) introduced met to Vanyel through author Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar fantasy novels over twenty years ago. While I had read fantasy novels here and there before then, it was really this series that sparked my love for the genre.

9. The Squeal Factor ~ There are, of course, books that just are not a good fit for me. And that is okay. Not every book will appeal to everyone, right? Even so, I tend to like what I read more often than not--whether it is because I am not as discerning a reader as I should be or simply because I know what I like and choose what I read accordingly. Yet not every book earns a squeal or exclamation of "Oh my gosh! I love this book!" as I am reading it--or even as I finish it. It is actually quite rare. I love that feeling.

10. Reading to My Daughter ~ There are times when my daughter seems more interested in her tablet or toys than her books, but she does like to read--or rather to be read to. There are still books she loves to listen to over and over again. That hasn't changed as she's gotten older.  She's become quite the story teller too. I love listening to the stories she comes up with.

What bookish things are you grateful for this year?

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© 2015, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.