THANK YOU BRECKEN!

I'm excited about two things (of many):

First: Myer was kind enough to send me an email telling me about their current stocktake sale. I went yesterday and came home with a arm-load of baby toys for Neil and me! - for our grandchildren, that is. I'm not going to tell you how much I spent, but I can tell you that I saved $50! :) Do you like them? (The flamboyantly decorated ring-stacker rotates and sings too! It's very cheerful :)

(I felt a little like Meg Ryan's boyfriend in 'You've Got Mail' - when he buys himself a new typewriter and shows Meg, who promptly whips off a cloth to reveal an almost identical machine at the other end of the table... Neil okay-ed the goodies, then asked about the cupboard loads of toys I still have stashed away from our own children... I told him we needed/wanted some more :)

Then, today!!! - I am feeling particularly happy because I logged on to catch up on a couple of blogs, and found a marvellous widget thing on Brecken's site that transported me - like one of the children from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - to a magical new place full of excitement and wonder! (There should be some icon to show you that I am jumping up and down inside :) The link took me to 'goodreads', a land of book lists and shelves, bursting with suggestions galore for good books to read...

... Let me start again, and try to sound more sensible this time. I should explain that I had been going to post an entry today about some books I have been reading in the last few weeks:

'From Log Cabin to White House' - a biography of James Garfield (old, but a really good read - it's one of my books from childhood)

'Mormon Scientist' - a biography of Henry Eyring - an excellent read; really enjoyed it.

'Long Walk to Freedom' - a good biography of Nelson Mandela - informative.

'Boyd K. Packer' - an interesting biography; instructive and inspiring.

... Then, before writing it up, I read on Brecken's blog about a book list site she had joined. I went there to take a look, and I just love it! If you like to read I would just encourage you to go there and sign up!

(Oliver just helped me to attach the widget to this blog. Thank you Oliver!)

I love this site because:

As it scrolls through almost endless pages of books it has reminded me of some wonderful past reads. By rating your past reads, you can begin to compile a personal list of books you have read. (I did find however, that older, lesser known books may not be on the site. You can add books if you wish.)

It's helped me to find a lot of good books to add to my personal 'to read' list. It's great to see what others have recommended, and I found some books by using the 'search' function, for instance by author, that I didn't know existed. There are so many 'lists' and 'shelves' that have great suggestions! :)

The 'search' is great! - You can look up authors of course, plus all sorts of categories and subjects. By searching for 'lds' I have access to titles that I had never heard of, because Deseret doesn't carry them, but which I can now follow up on if I am interested. It's not limited to just one book store, or even to what is still in print.

If you click on a 'friend' you can compare at a glance what you each thought of the books you have both read, and take recommendations from their list of books.

Most good reads have comment left by other site users. Some of them get it horribly wrong (in my opinion :D ) but it's interesting to read their views, and you can join the debate if you're feeling keen enough yourself. (This one could be a dangerous time-stealer option though.)

(Backstory - I just read a review by someone who detests 'Wuthering Heights'!, which I love.. humm! :)

I'm in heaven! I told Neil that I feel as happy as he would if he had just been given season tickets to all of his favourite sports events!! Bliss!

THANK YOU BRECKEN! :)

Happy reading all!

(Jessima, I hope you like that new book :)

Ps Is it just me, or does Cookie really have his eye on that ring-stacker thingy....