reading challenge 2008

I have been remiss in posting about books...I promise I still read, though I actually didn't crack open a single non-Lonely-Planet book during my entire vacation.  Anyway, I think I forgot a book or two that I read right before vacation, but here's what's happened since..

Lamb: the gospel according to biff, christ's childhood pal

This is a re-read, of course--I read the whole thing on the plane on the way home from Scotland.  I laughed, much to the chagrin of people seated around me on an 8 hour transatlantic flight.  I love this book.  It was particularly amusing to read it when we're in the middle of the Bible in 90 Days.

The First Harry Potter Book (British Edition)

also a re-read--I felt I needed to read more Harry Potter after I'd been in Edinburgh and everything looked like an HP set, and after seeing some of the places where Rowling did her writing.

Knots and Crosses, by Ian Rankin

Hide and Seek, by Ian Rankin

(and currently reading, probably will finish by bedtime) Tooth and Nail, by Ian Rankin

Ian Rankin is a Scottish author, some of whose haunts we visited on the literary pub crawl in Edinburgh.  Several of the places we visited are places his novels happen, so I decided it was an easy fluff way to relive my vacation.  These are crime/mystery novels, the type my mom used to love, all in one series with the same Inspector (Inspector Rebus).  They thankfully aren't the kind of books (so far) that cause nightmares when read right before bed, or the kind that make me stay awake until 2am trying to finish the book so I can know what happened.  While I do love those can't-put-it-down page turners, I'm exhausted and need to be able to read a few chapters and then go to sleep without seeing serial killers in the shadows on my wall.  These fit the bill nicely and I can picture the places he talks about!  Fun.

The Willoughby's

This is a children's book, I think--of the chapter variety, of course.  It was amusing and a quick-read--there are intrigues and stereotypes and fictional history...plus the glossary in the back cracked me up.

The Friendship of Women, by Joan Chittister.  This is the book for tomorrow's RevGalBookPals discussion, so I read it this afternoon.  While I think some of the symbolism she sees in the women of the bible is a stretch, I enjoyed thinking about my friends and what biblical woman archetype they might fit in.  Plus the book was short, had big margins and wide spacing, and is divided into manageable chapters.  I'm all about books I can read entirely on a Sunday afternoon without compromising my nap as well.

I know I've read something else but this is all I can remember for now...and now back to my crime novel!  :-)