Books, oh books.

This is the stack of current reading beside my bed it is a testament to the fact that I am not making enough time for reading in my life at the moment and also that I have a 2 year old and therefore reading time is in short supply- unless of course we are reading; Shirley Hughes, Lynley Dodd, Lucy Cousins, Gypsy Stockley or Pamela Allen- Will's current favourite authors.

It's a very eclectic selection but utterly me;

A selection of magazines including 4 issues of Next, various parenting, various paper crafting and multiple Healthy Food Guide issues.

The books also include crafting; scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking, collage, altered art and various technique style books for paper arts. As well as Keri Smiths book how to be an explorer of the world which I got at Christmas and have yet to have a good look at. There's also Amada Soule's Handmade Home and a Knitting book.

There's various kids books; The Little White Horse which I brought for Merenia but have fond memories of and so want to read again. The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy which I love and a rather cool looking sophisticated picture book called, Caleb, which I will admit I brought for it's cover- but I feel pretty confident about as Gary Crew worked on it- and Kieran picked it up and read it when I brought it home and spoke well of it.

Another Soule Book The Creative Family which I REALLY want to take a week off to read, absorb and plan to apply.

And while I am at it a week off to read, process and apply another book in my pile would be a great idea- The Happiness Project Book is by Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project Blog- she spent a year doing stuff to make herself happier and just generally studying happiness. Sweet.

The last on the pile and probably will be the last to get read is Six Frames for thinking about information by Edward deBono- I like his six thinking hats concept and picked this one up because of that and the fact it was cheap.

So what of all that pile of books brought by me for me am I reading?

Artemis Fowl The Time Paradox (the last in the series until The Atlantis Complex comes out later this year0. I read the first three after I got them for Kieran last year and then got the next three on Trade Me earlier this year- I wasn't in the mood to read them then- but happened past them on K's shelf recently and thought "Ooooh yeah!" Written by Eoin Colfer the series is about a teenage criminal mastermind/genius and his adventures. Eoin Colfer apparently described the books as "Like Die Hard with Fairies" which is a funny and relatively apt description- except I'd add that it's like Die Hard with fairies for 10 year olds+. I guess the books would appeal more to boys but there are probably a bunch of smart girls out there who'd enjoy them too and there is a good strong female character. I guess if you wanted to give the books a genre it'd be Science Fiction Fantasy. I like The Lost Colony Best so far but I'd happily recommend them all to the right readers.

Oh for just a bit more time to curl up with a good book or two or 32!

♥