Barnes & Noble...

Last night, Andy and I went to Barnes & Noble after dinner to pick up a few good reads for our upcoming weekend at Lake Anna. Andy went in with a good idea of what he was looking for, I, on the other hand, was going with the old "judge by the covers" standby.

I have been pretty terrible about my reading lately, in that I haven't been doing much of it. By the time I get to bed, I'm so exhausted that I read one page and I'm out. One page a day does not make for a quick read, surprisingly enough. I suppose when I've got a book that I'm really into, it makes it easier to either stay up later or to find time throughout the evening to read, but the issue seems to be finding a book that hooks me.

Over the holidays I started reading "P.S. I Love You." Boy was that a mistake. For those of you who are not familiar with either the book or the movie, it is about a woman whose husband dies but who had prepared all these love letters to be sent to her after his death. And yes, it is as depressing as it sounds. I barely made it through two chapters before I realized that this was not quite what I wanted to be reading, especially on a business trip away from my own husband.

I then decided to pick up "Atonement" at the airport. I'd heard great things about both the book and the movie, so figured I'd give the book a try first. I got further into this one, but still, I'm just not hooked.

So last night I purchased some old standbys, a Mary Higgens Clark and a James Patterson. I'm hoping I picked up two books that I haven't already read, though I must admit, I have certainly done so in the past (I can't be getting that old!). I know these books aren't going to make it on Oprah's book club, but I know they'll grab me from the get-go and I'll be finished with both before the weekend is over.

In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions for some good page turners, I'd love to hear about them. I suppose I can't continue picking out books based on their covers and honestly, I think I've already contributed enough to James Patterson's yacht fund!