Every summer there is a to-do list that I make. All the things that I hadn’t had time to do or was just too exhausted when I got home to do when school is in session. I try to get most of those things crossed off my list as soon as possible so I can have that needed down time to rejuvenate for the start of the next year. Even with a late start due to vacation NOT in Washington, summer cold that kicked my butt and the loss of our pet, my list is slowly whittling down. All that’s really left is the fun stuff. You know, cleaning out the gutters, washing the windows and skylights. Things when I was 10 years younger I never thought twice about because getting on and off the roof didn’t seem so daunting. What happened to the girl that would skip across decks that were nothing but skeletons (no floor boards), two stories up without a second thought? Funny how age and mortality, or the understanding of it, coincide.

There is one thing that is sort of holding me back from finishing my to-do list a bit faster, and this happens more often than it probably should. I love to read. (I know! Shocker, right?) Well, there is a downside to this. If I am really enjoying the book, nothing gets done until the book gets done. On laundry day that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Start a load, read my book until laundry done, switch to dryer and start another load in washer, read my book…you get the idea. When the kids were home and laundry was an all day thing, it was great! Unfortunately the kids have moved out and laundry ‘day’ has shrunk down to laundry ‘couple of hours’. Not a lot of time for the quality reading I want to do. And if it’s a series…well then we have a problem because there is more than one book to a series.

The worst I think was when I started reading Laurell K Hamilton. A friend lent me the first couple of books of the Merry Gentry series to see if I liked them, so I blame the lack of anything getting done for WEEKS on her. If any of you have read her series you know they are loooong. I think her Anita Blake series is now up to book number 28 with a couple of side stories. Then there is Sherilyn Kenyon. There is not enough o’s to put into the word long for her Dark Hunter and League series, and all the connecting series to those series. If I like the characters and the storylines I want more. It always saddens me when I come to the end of a book I really like and there is nothing more to read about the characters in that book. The two writers I mentioned above have not disappointed when it comes to more. There are a few more writers that I keep tabs on for the next book to be published in a long series, but these two are my favorites.

This summer I found a new writer I have come to like. K M Shea. My husband read one of her series and liked it so recommended it to me. I was looking for something to read so I decided why not. What I didn’t realize was that there was more than the three books that were connected to the particular storyline/world I started. The Snow Queen trilogy, Timeless Fairy Tales series, and The Fairy Tale Enchantress series all intertwine. When I finished that seventeen book series (there is more because the actually storyline is not finished, she just hasn’t written them yet), I found out she had more. The Magiford City has two trilogies that connect, the first being Hall of Blood and Mercy trilogy. The stories are written well, clean love stories with the supernatural elements (which I love!) and funny. That last part kind of gets me into trouble. Especially in the middle of the night when I giggle and it wakes my husband up. He’s not so amused.

There are a couple more trilogies/series from K M Shea that I haven’t read yet, but I decided if I wanted to get anything done they will have to wait. Since I do need something to read before I go to bed I decided to reread something. I do that a lot with books I like. I want to experience a certain feel, if that makes any sense. This series I have read many times. It has helped me through a time in my life when an event threw me for such a loop it took years to stop the world from spinning. Harry Potter. I was reading it when a tragedy that I won’t get into right now hit my family. I hadn’t realized I had kept rereading the books until my husband asked me how many times I was going to read them. I thought about it and realized I was on number 7 of rereads. I think it was because it was safe. There were no surprises and I knew what the outcome was going to be. It actually scared me to read a different book, but I pushed myself to and in a way that new book full of surprises helped me to begin moving forward in my life. I love this series either in book or movie form. I’ve watched the movies many times too, but it’s been a while since I’ve read the books. So, I’m hoping that because I know what is going to happen so I don’t have to keep reading I can put my kindle down and finish my to-do list a little faster. Because on that to-do list is writing and editing my own book. We’ll see.

Have a great afternoon!

Heidi