Best Intentions

I made a list on Friday of things I was going to get done this weekend. I came home energized that night with the idea that I would be sitting on Sunday with every single task crossed off my list. I had the best intentions.

But not a single task was finished. Not a single chore was done. Heck I didn't even keep up with my online reading or blogs. Instead I've spent my weekend curled up knitting with Jeff or reading. I curled up in the house and read like books were disappearing tomorrow. I read three books this weekend. And I couldn't be happier. It has been a blissful weekend.

On Friday I started The City of Ember, a young adult novel about a town surrounded by darkness. For a long time the town had been supplied by endless storehouses and lit by gigantic floodlights on top of the buildings. But the storehouses are being exhausted and the lights are starting to flicker. Two brave young adults decide that they have to find a way to save their city and find a way to save the light. I put this book on par with The Hunger Games, which is pretty high praise. Those two books have kept me gripped from beginning to end. They both have strong characters and odd plots that I really got into. A good read.

I just finished the third installment of The Penderwick series. I don't normally read series. I generally have rules against doing so. I have boxes and bookcases filled with books waiting to be read. So I tend to avoid reading authors over and over. Particularly when they are talking about the same characters as before. The same way I hate sequels I hate series. But the Penderwicks are different. I read the first book years ago and feel completely in love with the sisters and their family. It is like reading Little Women over and over but with modern characters. And wonderful dialogue and plots. Jeannie Birdsall even throws in some fun Latin phrases to keep me entertained. I am completely in love with these books. They are stand alone books but I just can't pass up a new installment of the sister's adventures.

The last book I'll be doing a full review of later. I'm not ready to talk about it. Needless to say I read it straight through, only stopping for showers and dinner (and even sometimes not the latter). I grew up reading at the table and in the bathroom and stretched out on the floor and before bed. This weekend I've read in the morning and most of the evenings. I've gotten nothing done but I wouldn't trade these days for anything. What a wonderful time.