Busy January

 I've been working nonstop since Sunday when I got home from an unexpected trip to my sister's hometown.  She was in a bad fender bender so I dropped everything and drove three hours to offer support while she was checked out by the local ER.  Good news - she didn't have any internal injuries or broken bones and the accident was clearly caused by another driver.  Bad news - her Toyota RAV4 wasn't so lucky; it was the most heavily damaged vehicle.

I brought her a book to pass the time in the ER but her nerves wouldn't let her focus.  To be honest, I couldn't really read either.  Sometimes a book can offer comfort and escape, but not if your brain won't focus.

Now that I have a busy schedule, I've been trying to squeeze in some time to read.  However, I have trouble choosing what to read when I'm busy.  I want a good escape, but not so great that I can't put the book down and get a good night's sleep.  Sometimes nonfiction will fit the bill, but not at the moment.

I'm currently reading a mystery by Elaine Viets, Murder Unleashed, that's been lingering in my to-be-read pile.  It's fluffy, but fun and I love the protagonist of this series.  Helen has a past she's hiding from, some crazy neighbors and an interesting history of dead-end jobs and dead bodies.  I've also been working on a couple of library books, but I'm worried I won't finish them before they expire.  For me, that's the one disadvantage of library e-books - you can't renew if you're not done before your 3 weeks are up.

So, what kind of book do you pick up when you need to escape?  Mystery? Romance? Humor? Sudoku puzzles?

New Year's Goals for ShamelessReader

Okay, I started this blog, then let it lapse.  So 2013 is going to be my year to really use this blog to share the books I love along with some bits and pieces about me.  First bit - I don't do resolutions.  They never work for me.  I do have some personal goals this year, but I'm keeping them private for now.  Second bit - I really do love to read, so I hope you'll enjoy some postings this year about the books I discover (or rediscover).  Last year, I read 100 books, which probably included re-reading at least 15-20 books that I love.

But enough about me.  This year, my goal for this blog is to write at least 50 entries (I'm hoping for at least once a week).  As a reader, I'm hoping to again read 100 books.  I already finished my first one for the year,  a re-read of Quinn's Woman by Susan Mallery, one of my favorite contemporary romance authors.  I also started a new book today at breakfast - Margaret Maron's The Buzzard Table.  This newest entry in the Judge Deborah Knott mystery series has already grabbed my attention - a missing woman, a mysterious relative of a local dowager and a hint of something sinister have appeared in just the first few chapters .  If I didn't have a long work day scheduled for tomorrow, I'd probably be finishing the book right now.

So, what are your reading goals for this year?  What book are you currently reading?  Is it the first one for the year?