Booklover meets true love

This week, I decided to try a site that I'd heard a bit about, but had not yet explored - PaperBackSwap.
First, I went through my bin of books that I had not found space for on my bookcase in over a year since I had had to empty it for work on the living room.  I posted my first ten books, then 9 more.  I ordered a book with my two credits I got for joining and posting my first ten books.  Since Tuesday, I have posted 46 books, mailed out eight of those to other members, have another six pending requests I need to mail out, and have received a book I requested.  Not bad.  The cost to mail out each book has averaged over $2.50, more than I expected, but that's ok, because I'll receive other books in return. 
This has given me a great chance to declutter.  As of tomorrow, that bin, a 55 gallon rubbermaid container, will be emptied and likely back in the attic.  Next step will be the other boxes that I think are lurking in the basement since we moved in June 2008.  Yay!  I love my books, I love to keep books I have read and enjoyed, but not every book I read needs to be kept, and not every book I receive ultimately holds my interest and gets read. 
So in addition to the three books I have posted that I am currently reading, I now have two others on my to-read list - one from PBS, the other purchased from Amazon with some gift cards.  I'll post my book reports as I finish the books. 

We interrupt this blog...

Hmmm, haven't posted in a while.  Not because I have stopped reading (I'd have to be dead first), nor because it's February and I've given up my resolution.  I just had trouble finding something to read.  After I finished the Kite Runner, I tried two books that I put down within 10 pages, knowing I couldn't finish them.  Then I skipped around, and currently I am reading three books at once - The Lying Stones of Marrakech by Stephen J Gould which is in hardcover, The Simple Dollar by Trent Hamm, on my Kindle app on my computer/phone, and Body Clutter by Marla Cilley and Leanne Ely in audiobook form on my iPod.  I'm behind, but a couple of other books in my collection have caught my eye.  I also may have found a source for additional books at very low cost.  When I have evaluated my discovery, I will post a report here. 

Love and a yummy cup of decaf pumpkin spice tea in my Tigger mug,

Mair

Three's a charm!

I was worried, because I realized when I opened this book up that I had a lot more of it to read than I had thought.  I was only about a third of the way through.  However, I had no need to worry.  I finished it in about two days! 
It is a riveting, though at times difficult, tale.  The descriptions are very detailed, from Kabul, to LA and back.  There is of course, a surprise during the climax, and a sweet wrap-up at the end, though not so sweet as to spoil it.  I was surprised to find out that this was the author's first book. 

Next!

Next up, starting tonight - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I don't have a lot of this book left to finish it, but I started reading it two years ago, and haven't finished yet, so it is definitely a challenge. 

Book 2 done!

Book 2 was finished rather quickly - it was an easy, light-hearted read. 
Dewey's Nine Lives, by Vicki Myron with Brett Witter. 

DH picked up Dewey, the first book to read during an epic trip from NJ to Chicago (what should have taken less than 3hrs took more than 12 thanks to delays and reroutes due to storms) in October.  I read it when he got home, so naturally when he purchased and read this one, he passed it along to me.  It is a cute collection of stories of special relationships between different cats and their owners.  Some are laugh-along, some are tear jerkers.  It would be a pass-along book, except any cat book stays in this house, per hubby request.  So it will go on his bookshelf.  Both this and the first book, Dewey I highly recommend as light reads if you see them in the library or a 'give away' collection, especially if you are an animal lover.

Book 1 down

Last night, I finished book #1 - Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.

This book is a biography of Dr. Paul Farmer, starts and ends in Cange, Haiti, where he started his life's work of bringing healthcare to the poorest of the world.  Dr. Farmer took a novel approach of not just treating someone's illness but treating the underlying lifestyle that led to the illness - in Haiti, he would treat the tuberculosis, then visit the victim in their home, often finding a family with tuberculosis, and that they were living 10 in a one room shack, so he would cajole money from somewhere to build them a larger home, put a floor and a roof on that home, which they did not have before, build a school so the children could be educated, provide a job at Zanmi Lasante, the clinic compound, and so on.  As a medical student then resident, and later attending physician at Duke, Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital, he continued to travel to Haiti, and often carried samples back to Boston with him to diagnose illnesses, then would finagle the medications to treat the patient.  In 1987 he cofounded Partners in Health, and slowly the efforts of him and PIH expanded, to Peru, then Russia, and beyond, and literally revamped the treatment of TB by recognizing the huge threat represented by MDR or Multi-Drug-Resistant TB. 
I found the book to be a thought provoking but relatively easy read.  It held my interest, which is not surprising given my interest in the scientific and medical realm.

Book 1 - Mountains Beyond Mountains

My first book is Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder.  It is the story of Dr Paul Farmer, who changed international medicine.  From what I've read so far, his work centers in Haiti.  I will discuss more when I'm finished reading it.  I picked it up in a 'free book' pile in the main break room at work.  I will probably put it back when I am done with it.  It is good, but not one I want to keep to reread or reference.  I will post a picture when I can find one that doesn't save all blurry. 
In the meantime, here is a link to it: Mountains Beyond Mountains.

M