[TSS] Taking The Plunge!

I'm very excited today because I've done something I've been kicking around for quite awhile. Now that I've finally done it, I can't hardly wait for it to get here! That's right - I took the plunge and ordered a Kindle! I'd planned to get one later in the year as a Christmas present to myself but when Amazon lowered the price to $189.00 AND offered free 2-day shipping, I just couldn't put it off any longer. Now, don't get me wrong, I am one of those people who thought Yeah, e readers are pretty cool, but I like a real book. And I still feel that way, but I've been warming up to the idea of an e reader for awhile now. Especially since my trip to Ohio, when I had a hard time deciding what book to take with me to read on the plane. I didn't want to take up room in my suitcase, but I didn't want to get stuck with a book I wasn't in the mood for. But the main reason I purchased the Kindle is because I've read where it's so much easier on the eyes and God knows I need all the help there I can get. With my eye disease, my eyes get so tired and it's harder and harder for me to focus on the lines without them blurring. (Thank goodness my eye doctor doesn't read my blog or he'd tell me to lay off the books, but I just can't do that.) I'm hoping this will help with the eye fatigue I've been experiencing. The downside for me is that I love collecting books for my personal library so I will miss having the actual book sitting on my shelf. I'm sure I'll still get a fair share of actual books though, so I can live with that.

I haven't decided what book will be the first I download but I'm planning to spend some time today browsing the Kindle Store at Amazon. I've kind of got my eye on THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin, but we'll see. Any suggestions?

So, I'd like to know - do you use a Kindle, or some other reading device like the Nook? If so, what do you think of it? Or maybe you're one of those people who are against e readers all together? I'd love to know your thoughts.

My Kindle should be arriving Tuesday, thanks to the free 2-day shipping offer, so you know what I'll be doing that day - looking out for that brown truck! Yep, that's right, the UPS man! As for today, I'm taking it easy, staying out of the scorching heat and finishing EAT, PRAY, LOVE. This book has me all over the place - but I am anxious to finish it so I can make up my mind for once and for all if I liked it or not. I hope you are having an enjoyable Sunday with a great book!

Giveaway of April & Oliver by Tess Callahan!!

If you're like me, you've seen this book everywhere on the blogs and have wanted to read it. Good news: You can enter to win a copy of APRIL & OLIVER for your very own! Here's how: Head on over to Jo-Jo Loves To Read!!! and enter her giveaway before July 9th. She's giving away one book for every ten entries with a maximum of three books to be given away. For more details click here! Hurry, don't miss out on this great opportunity! Thanks Jo-Jo!

Booking Through Thursday: Reviews

This week's BTT question is regarding reviews - Do you read them? Do you let them change your mind about reading/not reading a particular book?

My response:

I absolutely read book reviews! I'm always interested in what other people think about the books I'm reading. There have been a couple instances where a bad review has kept me from reading a book. However, sometimes when I read negative or controversial reviews, it makes me want to read the book even more so that I can judge for myself and have a legitimate opinion on the book if I get into a dicussion about it. A perfect example is the book I'm reading now. It's Elizabeth Gilbert's EAT, PRAY, LOVE. Sadly, I let some strong negative reviews sway me away from this book. Recently, though, I saw Julia Roberts on Oprah promoting the movie version and she was describing how the book affected her and how much she loved it and I decided to give it a try. So far, I'm really enjoying it.

I always read reviews before purchasing a book to get a general consensus but if its a book I really want or an author I love, I'll buy the book no matter what the reviews say. When reading reviews I always try to remember that not everyone likes the same thing so what one person thinks may be completely different than what you think.

For more thoughts on this subject, visit Booking Through Thursday.

[TSS] What Day Is It?

No need to double check the calendar. Your eyes are not deceiving you. It is NOT Sunday yet this is my Sunday Salon post. Just a few days late - or early, depending on how you look at it. There are a few reasons my post is out of whack - I've been away on vacation and while I was gone I took my computer to the shop with the intention of having it back the day I arrived home. However, my computer repair man had different ideas. I'll save you from all of the gory details except to say that it has been very frustrating. Suffice it to say the lesson I learned is to NOT tell your computer repair person that you are leaving town because they will undoubtedly wait until the day you get home to start working on your computer. Then you will also have to wait until the part needed to fix your computer is shipped to the computer repair person. Thus making the time the computer was on vacation double the time I was away, which was what I was trying to avoid in the first place. OK, I have that off my chest and can now move on and tell you about my trip. . .

This was my first vacation in several years and my first trip to my home state of Ohio in 23 years. I traveled with my mom and we had such a fantastic time visiting with family and friends. I grew up in a small town outside of Columbus called Canal Winchester, which isn't so small anymore. It is growing rapidly but maintaining the beauty I remember as a teenager. We visited our family home, which my dad built on a seven acre mini-farm. The house holds wonderful memories for us and I have to admit to getting a little choked up when we pulled into the driveway. The same people live in the house who bought it from my parents in 1979. They raised their kids there and love it as much as we did. It was a bittersweet feeling being there after all these years but I'm so glad I went. There is a song by Miranda Lambert that sums it up for me called The House That Built Me and I tear up every time I hear it. It may sound silly to some to get so emotional about a house, but it is a very special place to me and my family. While visiting my home town, I even had a night out with some of my friends I went to school with. Most of us started Kindergarten together and they are some of the sweetest people in the world. We had a night of laughter and tears that I won't soon forget.

The rest of the time was spent with my family. My aunt even took us to a quaint little boutique winery called Camelot Cellars, in north Columbus, where we sampled many different wines. Did I say many different wines? I'm not admitting to anything other than having a wonderful time! And of course, I did manage to do some book shopping as well. My aunt loves books as much as I do so I knew we'd be browsing the books while I was there. Between the books and the wine I brought home, my suitcase was bulging! Fortunately everything made it home safely.

The day before my trip, I had finally decided to read EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert. Honestly, I had resisted reading this book for so long mainly because of the reviews I had read. It seemed to me that you either loved it or hated it. I had read some opinions that thought the book was fantastic and others that thought it was completely self-indulgent and shallow on the part of Ms. Gilbert. I even read where one book reviewer/blogger had renamed it Eat Pray Puke to reflect her complete distaste for the book. I hate to say it, but that kind of sealed it for me. It wasn't until several weeks ago, when I saw Julia Roberts on Oprah promoting the movie version that my feelings about the book changed. I'm not a big movie goer so I doubt if I even watch the movie version, but the way Julia described the book and how much she loved it drew me in and piqued my curiosity. So I decided to read the book and judge for myself. Even thought I didn't spend a lot of time reading on my vacation, I did put a dent in the book. So far, I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I'm enjoying it. One of the flight attendants on my trip even asked me how I like it because she had been given a copy from a friend and was also reluctant to read it. I suggested she give it a try.

I bought a paperback copy of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO while on my trip and I'm very excited to get started on it. The reviews have been great and so many of my blogger buddies have raved about it and I don't want to miss out. I also picked up a hard cover copy of Mary Alice Monroe's LAST LIGHT OVER CAROLINA from the clearance table. I've heard good things about her writing and was really glad to be reminded of this book. It doesn't hurt that it's southern fiction, which I love to read. I also found this really handy Recipe Keeperbook on the clearance table. It has some recipes inside and blank pages to write my favorite recipes and pockets for recipes I clip from magazines. Now I can finally clean out that drawer where I usually toss stuff like that. My aunt reads a lot of murder/mystery books and she gave me one by Linda Howard called DEATH ANGEL. She assures me in will be a good one.

My trip to Ohio was amazing and I'm already making plans to go back next summer. The weather was fabulous. Not too hot and humid and the evenings were downright perfect. It even got down into the low 60's one night. We spent many evenings sitting out on the deck and it was so nice. One thing that struck me was the vibrancy of the flowers. Here in Florida, the sun tends to scorch everything and bleach out the colors, but it wasn't like that in Columbus. The flowers looked and smelled fabulous.

Now that I'm back home and my computer is finally fixed, I'm ready to get back to my normal routine of reading and blogging. I've also missed visiting my favorite blogs and participating in the weekly memes. I hope you will return soon for my review of EAT, PRAY. LOVE and all of the other great books to follow. I hope you are enjoying your summer and are finding some interesting books as well. Until next time . . .