Day 5: Guilty Pleasure

I have quite a few guilty pleasures these days. Just to list a few:

• My favorite $8 bottle of wine, Pink Polka Dot
• Peanut butter M&M's, or anything peanut butter for that matter
• Sleeping in, especially when I have kids that also love to sleep til 9:30 or so on the weekends
• Reality tv, such as Bachelor Pad currently 

The list can go on and on.  But there's one that has been keeping me pretty busy lately....my new-found passion for reading.  Let's just say that the family iPad has unofficially become mine.  While I also use it to write blogs, browse Facebook or Pinterest, play games like Words with Friends, my favorite is the Kindle app.  Who knew one little app could spark a love for reading again.  I used to read all the time (and not just my weekly People magazine!), but then I got busy with work, raising two kids, and trying to keep my husband happy.  Well, sometime in the past six months, I decided to start being a little selfish and make time for me to read again. And boy, have I!  (Don't worry, I still have a job, the kids are alive, and the hubby has a constant smile on his face.)  These days, I would much rather curl up with the iPad on the couch to read, rather than watching tv.  It's relaxing, I enjoy it. In fact, I think I read every night before drifting off to sleep. This has also resulted in me having purchased waaaaay too many books on Amazon.  Needless to say, I feel like I'm paying someone's salary over at Amazon.  

With my love for reading, I've also somehow created to JHo Book Club, with a few followers wanting to constantly know what they should read next. I like to think that I find some fantastic reads, and can't wait to share my unofficial book review with them.  The members and I are constantly sharing texts about little what we're currently reading, having inappropriate conversations about books over lunch, and even reading hilarious excerpts aloud while in the car on the way to Canton! This past week I even put all of my books in fancy little spreadsheet with ratings and everything.  After putting the list together (in Excel, of course!) I noticed how extensive it was, and I couldn't believe how many I had read! Anyways, I have the list, in case you want any recommendations; I currently have a few open spot's for Book Club members. :) I'd say that almost every single one of them has some sort of romance element to them; hey, I'm a girl!  Some of them have more conflict and angst than others, but I definitely have read some awesome ones.  And I won't lie and try to say that some of them aren't a little......ahem, risque.  But I'll leave those off my blog; well, except for Fifty Shades because that's a given!  I'll list my top 10 here for you, and not necessarily in order. :)

• Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, by EL James (book #2 was my fav!)
• Thoughtless Series, by S.C. Stephens (Oooh, Kellan Kyle gets me excited! And patiently awaiting the final book Reckless in the Spring!)
• The Breathing Series, by Rebecca Donovan (this one was so intense! anxiously awaiting the 3rd book!)
• Avoiding Commitment, by K.A. Linde (I was literally yelling at this book, and can't wait for Avoiding Responsibility!)
• Beautiful Disaster, by Jamie McGuire (incredible, and it's being made into a movie, too!)
• The Mighty Storm, by Samantha Towle (who doesn't love a hot rock star?!)
• Love Unscripted, by Tina Reber (it was a long one, but worth every bit of the 659 pages!; ready for Love Unrehearsed due out next week!)
• Broken Fairytales & Buried Castles, both by Monica Alexander
• Crash/Clash, by Nicole Williams (who wouldn't love a badboy named Jude Ryder?!)
• While It Lasts, by Abbi Glines (I think I cried in the first 5 pages!)

Geez, it's hard to put together a top 10, and even at that, I combined some into trilogies. :) Sneaky, I know. And as you can see by my notes, I get lost in the books and can't wait til the next one.  It has definitely been my guilty pleasure!