#29 Read 30 new books

I really enjoy reading.  I have a bookcase in my bedroom that is packed with books - some that I have read, but mostly those that are waiting for me to devour them.  I can lose myself completely in a good book.  Finding a good book can dominate my entire weekend - I'll curl up on my side in bed and just read, read, read, until I know how things turn out for the characters.  Sometimes I'm satisfied, and sometimes I wish the story would go on forever. 

I typically plow through several books when I'm on vacation, as there is typically time spent lying by the pool sipping on a margarita... but I definitely don't read enough when I'm not on vacation... I don't know if it's because of the long hours at work, the extra responsibilities of things I have to do, or the fact that I'm distracted by the TV, internet, and iPhone... I just don't make it a priority to read, even though I love it so much.

So that's why I wanted to challenge myself with #29 Read 30 new books. I wanted to take a time out on the TV, and put some reading back in to my domesticated, non-vacation life.  And this one definitely was challenging!

First off, 30 books is a lot... especially in 13 weeks... If you figure 1 book a week, which is doable, I'm going more than double on that... so yeah... I had some trouble :)  But here's the run down of what I read:

1. "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi (I really liked it... makes you appreciate freedom in the USA)
2. "Game of Thrones" by George R R Martin (I saw the HBO show first, then read this book and loved how the show was true to the book!!  Great book... but at 800 pages, not the smartest choice for me to be reading during this challenge)
3. "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E L James (Umm, I had to know why everyone else was going crazy over it...)
4. "Galapagos" by Kurt Vonnegut (Read right before I left on my Galapagos trip, and it was a great, short read)
5. "Groundswell" by Katie Lee (An interesting, light chick lit book)
6. "Elemental" by Brigid Kemmerer (A new series coming out that's teen romance/angst, similar to Twilight)
7. "Storm" by Brigid Kemmerer (The second book... Brigid is one of my work colleagues, so I wanted to support her, and I liked the series... can't wait for the next installment!)
8. "Clash of Kings" (Book #2 of the Game of Thrones series) by George R R Martin (SO GOOD... this one was 900+ pages, and I read it while on the airplane back from Ecuador, so was able to finish it up in a timely manner!)
9. "The Paper Princess" by Marion Chesney (a free book through Amazon.com that was good)
   
10. "Anathema" by Megg Jensen (also a free book through Amazon.com, an interesting story)
11. "Fifty Shades Darker" by E L James  (the story is starting to get better...)
12. "Fifty Shades Freed" by E L James  (and then it becomes the same story... she does something he doesn't like because he's a control freak, he gets mad at her, she gets mad at him for getting mad at her, they have a fight, they end up making up because they just love each other so much, they have make up sex, repeat.)
13. "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay (I LOVED this book.)
14. "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton (I LOVED this book too! Started out a bit slow and then it developed into a really great story) 
15. "Huff and Puff" by Tish Rabe (yup, this one is a children's book... I have no shame.  It took 2 minutes to read... but hey, I'm practicing my reading skills for my future nephew!)
16. "Lifeboat No. 8" by Elizabeth Kaye (short, interesting, factual read on the story of the survivors of one of the lifeboats from the Titanic)
17. "Sober is my new drunk" by Paul Carr (another short, interesting read on how he stopped drinking cold turkey... and why he doesn't believe in the AA's "12 step" program... Interesting story that's probably not applicable to all of us, but the general theme of the book is about do what works for you...)
18. "The Demise of Guys" by Philip Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan (verrry interesting... this might explain why guys text instead of preferring one-on-one convos.  Highly recommend it...)
19. "Swim" by Jennifer Weiner (this short story actually grabbed my attention to the point where I didn't want it to end... may need to purchase the follow up book soon!)
20. "Anthology of nude photography" by Dani Olivier (beautiful photos... and I promise, there were words... in the intro... ha... this counts, right?!?)
21. "You got a boogie" by DJ Corchin (Wow.  Another kids book, about having a booger hanging out your nose and no one telling you, and it's a PSA to be nice to each other and to let them know instead of walking around all day.  Will NOT be sharing this one with my future nephew)
22. "Twinner one and Twinner two" by Toni Zundel (This was a cute kids book about how even though twins may look the same, they have different personalities and hobbies and should feel free to be unique and individuals)
23. "The question" by Scott J Langteau (Another cute kids book about the ultimate question that kids want to know when it snows...)
24. "Fishy tales" by DK Readers (Nice, informative kids book about the different fish in the sea)
25. "Fire Fighters" by Angela Boyston (Awesome kids book about how firefighters do their job.  I like firefighters!)
26. "Dinosaurs Day" by Ruth Thomson (Informative kids book about what life was like in the time of the dinosaurs)
27. "This is Dot" by Bjorn Ansbro (very cool kids book with lots of great pictures) 
28. "Everyone's Reading Bastard" by Nick Hornby (an interesting short story about an ex-husband's point of view when the ex-wife starts harping on his faults in a weekly newspaper column titled "Bastard") 
29. "The Goddess Hunt" by Aimee Carter (a story that brings together modern times and reinvents the ancient Greek gods... kinda cool!)
30. "The Imperfectionists" by Tom Rachman (a series of short stories about various staff members working at an almost-bankrupt newspaper... surprisingly good!)

Most of the books were read on my shiny new iPad, but some I had in physical form!

So there you have it folks... the list of 30 books that I've read in 3 months.  Yes, I did read some easy ones beginning with book #15... but I never specified what type of books I had to read for this challenge, just that they had to be new books... Lesson learned, next time I make some silly challenge, I need to be realistic with it... one book a week is realistic, and if the challenge had been "13 books in 13 weeks," well then, I definitely succeeded!  But since it wasn't, I found a way to succeed, and I'm OK with that.

Now... I can't wait to get back to reading non-kids books!!!  Amber and Linda, I'm starting with your suggestions first!!! :)