I regularly make trips to Half Price and buy books on clearance or paperbacks. I love to browse the shelves to see if I can find classics or quirky books that were once popular. If you are an educator/librarian, you can get a 10 percent discount card for all purchases. You just need to show your employee ID. I also purchase books on my Kindle and download free e-books from NetGalley. I am supposed to be writing reviews for at least 80 percent of my requests, which is a goal I am working towards. If you are interested in starting a book blog or just have a Goodreads/Amazon account, you can sign up for NetGalley as well to be approved for free e-reads in exchange for reviews. Authors really do appreciate it as it is free advertising for their books. I also borrow books from the library where I work and our sister colleges. I usually have a stack of library novels next to my bed and on my desk.

I love novels that were written in the style that Fannie Flagg writes in. She is the author of the popular novel and movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. I found one a few days ago that I am looking forward to reading titled “Big Stone Gap” by Adriana Trigiani.

I collect Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts novels. So far, my daughter does not have much interest in reading. She will let me read aloud to her, but she doesn’t typically read on her own. I am assuming at some point she will want to read romance novels, as most girls do, so I’m saving those for her. I want to read Gone With the Wind and “….And Ladies of the Club” which was a popular novel when it was first published in the 1980’s. Some of my most favorite books have been published in the 80’s and I am going to make a list at some point. My parents purchased the entire Beverly Cleary books for Ella. They were my favorite series as a kid so also kind of purchased for me too! If you haven’t read Judith McNaught, you should. Her romance novels are AMAZING. I will be writing more about her books later.

I have mostly randoms on this side of the shelf. I want to finish Marilyn Monroe’s biography by Donald Spot. Saint Anything by Sara Dessen is supposed to be amazing. I’ve only read one of her works thus far. Belva Plain is another gifted writer who I highly recommend. Her works were popular in the 70’s and 80’s. Barbara Taylor Bradford and Rosamunde Pilcher were also very popular during that time. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is another classic I want to finish reading. I have a leather bound volume of all of Charles Dickens works given to me by a friend for Christmas which I treasure. I started the Ken Follett Century Trilogy, but have not finished the last book yet. I know. I’m terrible at finishing series. In my opinion, the first novel was the best. Mary Kay Andrews and Elin Hilderbrand are women’s authors whose books I consider to be modern day beach reads. I’m kind of bad at getting around to reading those, but I did finish a few that I received from NetGalley, which I will blog about later.

My closet floor. It’s terrible. Most of these were purchased at Half Price. I have a few novels by Lori Wick, a Christian author. I’m going to be honest and say that I don’t read Christian novels that often. They aren’t typically my favorite unless it’s Lori Wick or Karen Kingsbury. I also like Frank Peretti, who writes Christian thrillers. Lorna Landvik is another one my favorite authors whose books are humorous. I’m reading Patty Jane’s House of Curl and it’s a really fun read for summer. Fern Michaels and Jude Deveraux’s works are fun reads for summer as well.

What do I do with all these books after I’m done reading them? I donate them to our little free libraries located around campus.

I would LOVE to hear what you enjoy reading. Leave a note in the comments on my blog or on my FB page!