Fiber Fool

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen sometime. My reading slowed this week. I have only one finished book. But the timing is right since this is the last day of January. I can sum up the month and look at February’s plan!

A Creed in Stone Creek (Montana Creeds book 5 or The Creed Cowboys book 1) by Linda Lael Miller – 4 stars – Amazon | B&N | iTunes. I suppose in many ways, this book is a pretty typical romance plot. Man and woman face off against each other but somehow fall in love despite their individual protestations. That certainly sums up the plot of this book. But, there was much more to it. The male protagonist, Steven Creed, is a new father, to a five year old. He’s also new to town, to owning and running his own ranch and to small town defense lawyering. Our female protagonist, Melissa O’Ballivan, is an upstanding citizen of Stone Creek, Arizona where she serves as an inflexible but fair county prosecutor. Sparks fly the first time they cross paths, but the fire really flares when they go head to head on a case.

The characters in the book weren’t quite what I was expecting, having seen the book listed on some sites as being part of the Montana Creed series. Once I got over that I enjoyed the book. I’m curious where the next book in the series will go and which characters will be in it. But since I have yet to be disappointed in Linda Lael Miller’s books I will continue on with the series. I am, however, debating if I should fill in the rest of the Stone Creek books I haven’t yet read though before carrying on? See the full review on Goodreads.

What did you reading this month look like? Did you stick to a particular genre? How many books did you read?

Now, how did I do with my reading plan this month? Not too shabby. Only one book was on my list that I didn’t read. I added a few others that weren’t listed as alternates for various reasons, but I’m okay with that. You can’t fully anticipate what titles will capture your attention and interest at a given point in time. The plan did keep me reminded of what I’ve been wanting to read which was really a large factor in my giving it a try. With the majority of my reading being in electronic format or borrowed from the library I can’t just glance at a stack of books I’ve been wanting to read.

This plan, coupled with my master list of books I’d like to read this year definitely made me more efficient in moving from one book to the next. I no longer wasted a day or three not reading while I waited to find time to comb through my Kindle archive looking for something interesting. In fact, I think that definitely helped me get so far ahead on my reading goal. At 10 books read in the month of January I’m 5 books ahead of pace (8% according to Goodreads)! I know my reading rate ebbs and flows so I’m glad for some cushion.

While I’m pretty pleased with my new system I know there is always room for improvement. Do you plan your reading? How do you decide what to read next - especially if you mostly read ebooks?

So, what’s up for February? Well, I’m over 1/2 way done with The Trouble with Cowboys by Melissa Cutler (Catchers Creek Book 1) and Real Food Fermentation. I expect I’ll finish those by Monday at the latest. I’m also now getting up to publication dates to some of the NetGalley titles I’ve been given for review so there will be a couple of those on the list. For the curious, here is February’s plan with the titles linked to their WorldCat.org page:

Fiction

• The Trouble with Cowboys by Melissa Cutler, Kensington, 1st in the Catcher Creek series, contemporary western romance. On Kindle.
• Cowboy’s Texas Rescue by Beth Cornelison, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, received via NetGalley.com on 1/1/13 with a publish date of 2/19. On Kindle.
• Death Without Company by Craig Johnson, Penguin, Western Mystery, book #2 of the Walt Longmire series. Via Overdrive.
• The Curse of the Pharohs by Elizabeth Peters, Robinson, historical cozy, book #2 of the Amelia Peabody series. On Kindle.
• Cowboy for Keeps by Cathy McDavid, Harlequin American Romance, received via NetGalley on 1/1/12 with publish date of 3/5. On Kindle.
• Second Chance Cafe by Alison Kent, Montlake Romance, contemporary romance, received via NetGalley on 1/3/12 with publish date of 3/5. On Kindle.

Non-Fiction

• Real Food Fermentation: Preserving Whole Fresh Foods with Live Cultures in Your Home Kitchen by Alex Lewan, Quarry. Checked out from library.
• The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs: Techniques for Creating 80 Yarns by Sarah Anders, Storey, received via NetGalley 1/24 with publish date of 1/29. PDF format only. Downloaded.
• Is It Me or My Hormones by Marcelle Pick, Hay House, received via NetGally with publish date of 3/5. On Kindle.

Alternates

• Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton, Warner Books, Scottish cozy mystery, book #1 of Hamish McBeth series. On Kindle.
• RX From the Garden: 101 Food Cures You Can Grow by Kathleen Barnes, Adams Media Corporation gardening. On Kindle.
• Cardio Pilates: Pilates for Beginners, Gaim, Fitness short with videos (links to Amazon). On Kindle.
• New Vegetarian by Yvonne Duivenvoorden and Robin Asbell, Chronicle, vegetarian cookbook. On Kindle.

What’s at the top of your reading list for this week or month?