The Internetz are coming!

We haven't had internet since we got married. Pretty much everything we need to do on a daily basis we can do from Dan's phone. Then Christmas came and Dan got Uncharted 3 and... he can't play it because the PS3 requires certain updates which can only be done with internet. So, in about a week we should have internet in our apartment!

I have actually really liked not having internet at home. I spent my time more productively! Reading, cooking, laundry. It will be a challenge to not get sucked in to wasting my time away, but the pros of having internet at home are starting to outweigh the cons.

I am looking forward to, hopefully, blogging more. Also, being able to use tools like AllRecipes more frequently. And of course watching our favorite shows on Hulu and Netflix. Plus, it will be really helpful to have internet at home when Dan starts school in the fall.

So here it comes!

(Fictional) Books I Have Read in the Last 6 Months

I love reading. It is a part of who I am. I am always on the lookout for a good book. I tried to figure out where the local library was before we even moved down to Texas.

But, I hadn't been doing much reading probably for years before I got married since my vision was just blurry enough to make reading difficult and tiring, even with my glasses. The, as a secondary effect, my vision instantly cleared up after seeing a new chiropractor last March. I was walking around for weeks amazing at how great everything looked! I hadn't even know my eyesight was so bad. I visited a dear friend in Georgia that month and devoured a book from her shelf.

 The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I am not going to spend time reviewing this book now, but I did really enjoy it. 

I wasn't able to read after I got back from that trip since I was so busy and completely stressed out with the upcoming wedding. However, I started reading again on our honeymoon and haven't stopped since! Following are the fictional books I have read since July 2011. 

A Song of Ice and Fire 

Books 1-4

by George R.R. Martin

I know. These are terribly popular right now. When I decided to read them I didn't know how popular they were. I had simply happened upon a trailer for the HBO sereies and thought it looked like something I would be interested in. Soon thereafter my husband's cousin bestowed upon us books 1-4 (and the first season of the show). I almost immediately started reading them and kept up a slow but steady pace of one book a month until I hit book four. I thought I had been paying good attention, but not I was so lost that reading became painful and I gave up not even half way through. Not to mention, my favorite character (who at this point is actually still quite alive!) isn't even in book four at all! I enjoyed the series while I could, but I don't know if I will ever finish it. 

Till We Have Faces

by C.S. Lewis

I am a fan of Lewis. He has a way of putting profound theological concepts into words simple enough to understand, yet without watering down the concept in the least. I have read his Mere Christianity and a good portion of Screwtape Letters, throughly enjoying both. So, when I happened upon his retelling of the Psyche myth my curiosity was aroused. Now, I am going to be completely honest. I don't know if I missed the point of the story or if I was simply expecting more from it than it was intended to give, but I was disappointed.  I know this is a favorite of many and if you are on of those feel free to enlighten me on what I clearly missed. 

The Doctor and the Diva

by Adrienne McDonnell

I picked up this book when stranded in the airport for a day in November. The cover appealed to me, my favorite genre is historical romance and the topic of historical fertility procedures intrigued me. Overall I enjoyed the story. The characters were well developed. Although, I wish I knew more about opera/singing because much of the book also focused on this through the diva, Erika. The book was a bit anticlimatic and the continual use of short sections within short chapters seemed amateur (this is McDonnell's first book), but it was a nice read for a day stuck on an airport. If this author writes anything else I would check it out. 

The Lost Wife

by Alyson Richman

I didn't really connect with the characters. They go from kissing to midnight rendezvous in a matter of days. The in and of itself isn't what irritated me though, it was the fact that their relationship was based so much in the physical (this is not an explicit book at all, in case you're wondering) that immediately following their marriage it becomes painfully obvious that they know very little about each other as real people. The wife is then "lost" and the rest of the book chronicles there separate life stories. This part moves forward slowly and starts to seem a bit repetitive. I am somewhat confused as to why they pine so much after each other when they really barely knew the other and spent very little time together. However, the ending was touching and did make me tear up a bit. 

DISCLAIMER: These are my personal opinions on books I have chosen for myself to read. Some of the books contain harsh language, violence and/or sex. Please do your research and decide for yourself if a book is right for you. 

 The End! For now. I am still reading. I got three books for Christmas. Yay!

 And of course I always have a hold list at the library. 

So, you can probably expect a similar post in a few months.