My posts may include paid links for which I earn a commission.
If you asked me what relaxes me more than anything else, I would have to say a good book. An enticing book will take my mind away to another world and allow me to focus on something besides working, the kids, the house, or my other responsibilities. The only down side to really good books is that if I get taken away too far, I don’t want to do anything else!
I’m not against reading business books, biographies, or even self-help books. I like learning in general. I’ve read everything from books about how not to be co-dependent to a history of the Conner Family in Indiana. They do say that variety is the spice of life (or at least I think I read that somewhere).
Despite all of that, I still find myself wanting to get lost in fiction. In the last year, I’ve even gravitated toward what they call “young adult” books, something that I would have never imagined. But after 4 Twilight books, 7 Harry Potter, 10 Sookie Stackhouse, 2 Hunger Games, 2 Vampire Diaries, and 6 House of Night books, I’m beginning to gravitate more and more toward the fantasy genre. After years of “chick lit” and legal thrillers, I have found my true escape.
This weekend I read a brand new YA fantasy called “Beautiful Creatures” by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. While I was first getting into it, I read it off and on when I didn’t have anything better to do. By the halfway point, I was reading on every commercial of the Steelers game because I literally didn’t want to put the book down. Although the book is about high school students (and witches!), I was captivated by that feeling of danger mixed with the purity of first love that you only find in YA books.
Something else that I have discovered is that I am particularly drawn to the series books. I think it’s because I never want a good book to end. When you find a good series and can keep reading week after week after week, it’s like you really become a part of the world the author has created. Now I anxiously await not only the next Sookie Stackhouse novel, House of Night novel, and the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy (all coming this year) but also the remaining 5 books of the Beautiful Creatures series.
If you have any interest at all, I recommend checking out some of the books listed above. Even if you think to yourself “I don’t read kid books,” you might be surprised at how entertained and relaxed you will be when you enter the world of wizards, witches, vampires, or werewolves. If you are already a fan, let me know what I might be missing!
(**Note that the Sookie Stackhouse novels are NOT Young Adult like the others. They are similar to Twilight but with a lot more sizzle!)
I have not. I just added the Hunger Games and Sookie Stackhouse books to my reading list so maybe after I finish them I’ll read the House of Night books. I love good, quick reads so maybe I’ll get to them by June LOL.
I’ll go check out the YA Book Challenge. I know that I already have quite a few books on my list for next year. Have you read any of the House of Night books? I’m hooked on those now, too!
OMG I could have written that post myself! I am finding myself hooked on YA books and series books. I love series because the characters and stories seem to live forever. I am only on book 4 1/2 of the Princess Diaries series and I am already sad that it will end at book 10. I do hold out hope that Meg Cabot will continue it later as she keeps Mia’s blog going though it is sporadic.
I have been reading about the Sookie Stackhouse & Hunger Games series on other book blogs so I think I’m going to go ahead and add them to my TBR list and Amazon Wishlist. I need to read the Stephanie Plum books though but I’m hoping they will be interesting and will go by fairly fast. I think there are 15 of those to date so far.
Oh and since you are reading YA books you should join the 2010 YA book challenge -> 2010 Young Adults Book Reading Challenge might as well get some credit for all of the reading you are doing. Plus you might come across some more series to read like I’m hoping to do.
Happy reading!