In My Reading Bag

It's no secret that I love to read. I mean, I dedicated a whole blog post to my first true love, books :) Contrary to popular belief, librarians do not sit at the branch's reference desk and read all day. My day usually consists of working the desks, answering phones, researching information for reference questions, and assisting with workshops. I usually get my reading in while I'm on a piece of cardio equipment, during my lunch break, or right before I go bed..very rarely does it actually take place inside the library :)

I thought I would share with you some of the books I've read recently. While I tend to gravitate towards fiction and mystery, I'm trying to explore other genres.

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Our library system has a blog entitled "Ravenous Readers" and one of the staff wrote about this particular book. It sounded intriguing so I put a copy on reserve and had to wait about 2 weeks before it arrived.  Let me tell you, it was totally worth the wait!!! The story is set in time when men die at the age of 25 and women die at 20. Girls are kidnapped and married off to rich men to help repopulate the world. This book focuses on  Rhine, who has been kidnapped and how she deals with the marriage she has been forced into.Click here to read an excerpt from Wither. As soon as I finished it, I put the next book in the series on hold. It's called Fever and you can read an excerpt from the author's website here.

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Here's something you should know about me - in my eyes, Robert Crais can do no wrong! I have loved this author since the first time I read one of his books (it was The Watchman, in case you were wondering!). Joe Pike is the man of my dreams (don't worry...Tom is ok with it...lol) and I love any book in the series where he is featured prominently! Robert Crais does not churn out books so you have to wait usually about a year between books. I get antsy...I finish the latest book and I'm ready for the next week one...I start whining...I complain...I go back & re-read...I complain some more...it's a vicious cycle! Anywho, Taken is about a girl and her boyfriend that are kidnapped by bajadores and follows Elvis & Joe as they attempt to rescue them. You can read more about the book on Robert Crais' website. I highly recommend this series and all of the other books written by him.

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I began reading Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series when I was in high school. I was intrigued by all things criminal justice and this series about a medical examiner & her police lieutenant partner grabbed me instantly. Over the past few years, I have not loved the Scarpetta books that have been published. They just didn't hold my attention like the earlier books in the series did. It got to the point where I knew new books were being published and yet, I made no attempt to read them. When I saw a copy of Red Mist sitting on the Express shelf at my branch, I picked it up but debated for about 20 minutes about actually checking it out. I bit the bullet, checked it out, and I'm so happy that I did! It was like being reunited with a long lost friend. As I was reading it, I was reminded of why I feel in love with this character and series. You can read a brief summary about the book on the publisher's website.

Here's a list of books I have currently checked out but haven't read or finished reading:

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf
Letter from a Stranger by Barbara Taylor Bradford
At Hell's Gate by Ethan Black

What about you? What have you read recently or are currently reading? Any book recommendations for me??