Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories

  The other day I was walking around Costco and found myself in the book section (shock!). I came across this wonderful gift box set of Roald Dahl books. I, of course, checked Costco vs. Amazon and since Costco won, I snatched up my set and headed happily to the cash register.
  The set reminded me how much I absolutely LOVED Roald Dahl's stories when I was younger so I went on Amazon and looked up some of his other work.  Through this I came across this magical one...


  I couldn't resist! I of course supported locally and bought a "used" copy rather than pay full price. As soon as I received it I knew it would be a great read and boy was I right!
  There are around 13 stories with a forward from Roald Dahl himself.  He talks about where the stories come from - the book was written in 1983 and he searched for really good "ghost" and spooky stories - from men and women - because he was going to put together a show for television making them live action.  Unfortunately for the world, the series fell through but he loved the stories so much he kept them all in this wonderful quick read.  I started it earlier this week and read about 2-3 stories a night before bed (it's not that scary - more spooky/odd) and had no problems falling asleep.
  Last night I couldn't resist and I finished the last 5 stories and they did not disappoint.  The stories range from 3 to 20+ pages and cover many different topics and locations. I don't want to spoil any of the book but it's definitely worth checking out. Some stories really pulled me in, some made me sad for the main character and others were "eh" but I did not regret reading any of them in the long one.
  If you choose to read it please let me know what you think! I'd love to know if you enjoyed it as much as I did.
  My possible next read is a random one I picked up at the local book sale. If it can keep me past chapter 2 I will finish it this weekend and update shortly.

What I've Been Reading Lately...

  So I've been working hard on knocking out my goal of a book a week. Hasn't quite gone as well as I had hoped, but I'm still working hard.
  Currently I'm half way through two leadership books - Brene Brown - The Gifts of Imperfection (I'm trying not to rush through this and actually take it in), almost finished with James T. Robilotta - Leading Imperfectly.
  I wanted something new to start last night so I could break into fiction (my preferred reading) and picked up Scary Stories - Roald Dahl and I finished about 5 short stories in it within an hour and half of reading.  Not scary per se, but most definitely creepy.
  I also finished a book in 24 hours which is new to me - I picked up Wonder by R.J. Palacio at a local library book sale on Friday.  You know you have an addiction to buying books when you pick up a copy of a book you already have (my friend Sarah lent me a copy) and read the copy you bought. But to be fair, I'm planning to pass it along to my godson or goddaughter next time I see them.  It's a very interesting story - although it didn't full engross me (I was more curious than drawn in) I enjoyed the quick read.
  Last night I also started a new audio book - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I have not seen the series yet but it has intrigued me for a while now and I am definitely a book before the movie/show girl at heart.  I am already into Chapter 2 after listening to it before bed last night and earlier today while I walked across campus to a meeting.  I think it's going to be an amazing read!
  Another book I picked up which I already have a copy of and will be sending to a friend is Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore by Robin Sloan. I have a book club with 2 of my former staff members and I believe this will be a great choice. I am hoping to find one more copy (for $1 like I found my last 2 copies...) and then I can surprise them both with a copy for our June skype date.
  On top of these listed, I still have all the books my staff bought me as well as the 20+ books I've bought recently from McKay's, Amazon and local library book sales. With the library sales I feel like it's ok to spend $25 (or more) because I'm helping them and they are giving happiness to myself and those I buy for (godchildren, nephews, friends). That's a good excuse... right?!
  I believe the audio book for Outlander is about 34 hours which will take me a little over a month to finish (I will listen as I walk campus during the day and night) and after that I think I may do Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee which I recently bought on cd.
  I've really gotten into audio books lately (though not enough to try Audible.com yet) and really find them helpful.  My family lives 8-12 hours North/South of where I am located so needless to say... I have long, boring car rides and rather than go horse from singing that long (it happens... a lot) I've started listening to books in the car. I've found they keep me much more attentive and aware of my surroundings than music does.
  My first audio book which is still my favorite and my go-to is Austenland by Shannon Hale. I just loved how much I could relate to the main character and her love of a written male character as well as her obsession for England.  Since then, I've purchased a few Harry Potter books on cd which I keep in the rotation, and I also picked up The Red Necklace only because it was narrated by Tom Hiddleston and Committed By Elizabeth Gilbert.
  One of my favorite and more recent purchases was Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.  I knew nothing of this book other than I liked the cover.  At the local used bookstore there was the choice between the book itself ($7.99) or the audio cd ($7.50) so I went for the cds.  Definitely don't regret that! The story is heartbreakingly beautiful and although I didn't cry like others towards the end, I did feel the entire story very strongly and it made my 16 hour drive all the better for listening.

Unexpected and Completely Appreciated

  I've worked at my job for 4 years now. I've done this type of job for almost 7. Some days are better than others and some aren't. Today was one of those better than others days.
  We have an appreciation day every year for people in my position and this year it fell on April 5th. A lot of my job is being there for my staff (22 of them) and my residents (688 of them). It can take a lot out of you but can also be one of the most rewarding experiences you'll ever have.  I was reminded of the latter last night.
  In the past on this appreciation day, my staff have surprised me with gifts waiting at my desk. In the past I've received thank you cards, posters, Doctor Who items and other miscellaneous gifts. Yesterday was different. I completely forgot about it being HD Appreciation Day until I arrived at staff meeting and received a mug signed by all of my staff.  I had to laugh because during graduate school my staff did the same thing except their mug was stolen from Waffle House since that was where we spent most of our off-duty time.  This year I received a beautiful white mug with many orange and black signatures all over it. Made my day.
  Then I got back to business and focused on the many things I had to accomplish that day.  Went for a run that evening and then prepared for staff meeting.
  I arrived to find a medium sized moving box with "Stephanie's new apartment in Laurel" on it. I was told I could not move the box and had to wait. So I proceeded to have a staff meeting with a huge box blocking views and lots of self satisfied smiles from my staff.
  When I was finally able to remove the box, this is what I found:

  For those who don't know me... I love books. I have about 200 TBR books. I buy more than I can read and can't stop buying them. But my goal is to read all of these before I start more.
  Each pairing of RAs bought me a book and signed a note about it and/or our relationship (explaining their choice).
  For those interested, here's what I had inside:
The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch (from Jess)
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Spendeck (from Jess and Tim)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (from Felipe and Khianna)
The Beast Within by Serena Valentino  (from Hayley and Charles)
Salem's Lot by Stephen King (from Savannah and Austin)
A Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes (from Khadesia and Chris)
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (from Drew and Alicia)
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (from Ethan and Keith)
Quiet - the Power of Introverts by Susan Cain (from Taylor and Philipe)
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (from Heather and Richard)
Women Who Think Too Much by Susan Nolan-Hoeksema (from C2 and Kennedy)
Coloring Book of Cards and Envelopes (from Sarah and Caleb)
  Many of these books were on my list to buy eventually. I'm beyond excited to start them and will let you know as I progress.  I love that each pairing put so much thought into the reason behind their decision - that was the best part for me.
  But before I can start them... I started Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection. I'm so excited to really dig deep in myself and use this book to figure some things out. I will keep you updated!

Old blog, New focus

So I've decided to try something new with this little blog...
I'm going to attempt (which will be interesting since I can't even keep up with my running blog at times) to keep a book blog on what I'm reading, what I've read and what's next on my shelf.

I've decided to set some personal goals - I have so many books on my shelves that I haven't read and need to while I continue to buy even more books because they sound interesting at that moment.

I'm trying to read one book a week - sometimes it's easier said than done... other times I fly through books. So, who knows where this will end up.

But so far, here's where I stand:
March
Books (actual books)
Jane Austen Book Club (good)
Where She Went (good)
MWF Seeking BFF (interesting and good)

Audio books
Me Before You (amazing)
The Nanny Diaries (eh)
Committed (interesting)

Kindle/other
none

As of right now, I finished my first April book last night. I also downloaded a new audio book so I'll be starting that during my walks at night and I also bought a new Christopher Moore book on iTunes that haven't read yet so I'm pretty excited.

If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know!