• Working
• Sleeping
• Reading a Stephanie Plum novel

I started reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich the other week and am completely hooked. I just got books 7-15 in the mail yesterday morning and am now onto book #11 (yep, the 5th book in under 48 hours). I have really been procrastinating on everything except reading (because I want to), working (because I have to), and sleeping (because I have to). It’s probably not healthy* but every now and then being so into a book (series) is really fun too! And the books really are great and frequently make me laugh out loud.

I just wish there was an endless supply of Stephanie Plum novels, because at this rate I’ll be all caught up with the series by the end of next week. And then what will I do? I’ll probably go into withdrawal and cry for a weekend.

Good thing #17 will be out in June. Two days before my birthday too, coincidence? I think not. And if all fails, I have the next Sookie Stackhouse novel (out in May) to tide me over.

I am about to go and pack for a three-day business trip, and you bet I will be taking a couple (and by a couple I mean three) of the Stephanie Plum novels with me.

Are you a fan of the Stephanie Plum series? Are there any other books you get a little crazy about?

* Probably neither is my, let’s call it infatuation, with Morelli and Ranger from the Stephanie Plum series. Or with Eric from the Sookie Stackhouse series. How old am I again?

The year 2010 will be a big year for me, what with my graduating from university with an MA and just in a couple of weeks I will be handing in my thesis, a 70+ page research paper which has been taking up most of my time in the past few weeks. It has been nearly two months since the last time that I read a book for fun. I have been doing so much reading for my thesis that I have not had the time or nerve to pick up yet another book when I am having some spare time.

And I really really miss reading. I have been doing so much reading but I still miss reading just for the fun of it, just because I love doing it. And the list of books that I am planning to read once I have handed in my thesis has just been getting longer and longer.

For Christmas, I received two books from my parents and one from my brother than I cannot wait to start reading.

My brother gave me the latest book by Cecilia Ahern, The Book of Tomorrow. I used to look down on chick lit as ‘not proper literature’ and I remember a few years ago Cecilia Ahern was actually at a local bookstore signing books. I happened to be at the bookstore while she was signing books for a huge crowd of people and I had no clue who she was. She was popular already then, but as I said, chick lit was not my cup of tea. At some point I started reading chick lit and I have not stopped since. I would guess that roughly 50%, maybe more, of the books I have read in 2009 (and there have been many of them, my GoodReads account counts 75 books in the 2009 category) have been chick lit. It provides a relaxing contrast to the often demanding literature I have to read for school. I have read most of the books by Cecilia Ahern, Sophie Kinsella, and Marian Keyes, and I’ve loved most of them. I also read a book by a German chick lit author, Kerstin Gier, a few weeks ago, and I definitely want to read more by her.

My parents gave me two books by the Catalan author Maria Barbal, Emma and Inneres Land (Inner Land/Country). Both are novels about strong women* and as some of you may know, I spent a year living in Barcelona, so my mom thought I might like them. I expect them not to be the kind of novels you can read in one sitting but I am very much looking forward to reading them.

*My thesis topic is also related to the finding of an identity for women in a patriarchal society, so that is a topic I have been dealing with a lot lately.

There are several other books I am looking forward to reading this upcoming year. A friend of mine is going to lend me the Aunt Dimity mystery series by Nancy Atherton once I have handed in my thesis (she made this a condition and that was probably an excellent idea). In May, book #10 of the Sookie Stackhouse novels will be released (and I cannot wait for that one!) and I have a whole list of other books I want to read this upcoming year saved on my iPhone. I am almost more excited about all these books I will get to read when I am done with my thesis in a couple of weeks than about finishing this mammoth project that my thesis has been. Though that is definitely exciting as well!

I am about to leave for my friend’s house where we will be celebrating New Year’s Eve, and have yummy raclette, so I am going to end this here, and wish you all a

Happy New Year 2010!

Have a great time tonight and be safe!