Hi! I am the happy mom of two busy kids, a wife (married to my summer-after-graduating-high school sweetheart, Greg) of 8 lovely years, and a self-proclaimed book nerd. I graduated from Beloit College in 2007 with a degree in English Lit/Secondary Education. I taught high school English and drama for one year and then switched gears to enter the...more »

Hi! I am the happy mom of two busy kids, a wife (married to my summer-after-graduating-high school sweetheart, Greg) of 8 lovely years, and a self-proclaimed book nerd. I graduated from Beloit College in 2007 with a degree in English Lit/Secondary Education. I taught high school English and drama for one year and then switched gears to enter the world of publishing. I worked for over three years as an editor for a Madison-area trade newspaper for the dairy industry (I DO live in Wisconsin, after all) and then I moved on to another three years as an editor for a Madison-area trade magazine for the wood flooring industry. I left my magazine-job with mixed feelings. I adored my job and the people I worked with, but I wanted to stay home with my son (age 2 at the time). So, I left the job behind. Now, I watch my two kids as well as one other child. Reading is one of my hobbies when I have some downtime from all of the child-related activities ruling my time!

Reading has always been ny passion. I used to be dedicated to the classics (Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters being some of my favorite authors) and "old books." I only read literature that was from 1950 or before. I only read other types of books when required for classes. Now, I continue to read all the time, but I am not as picky with my reading. There are still some genres that I don't read (Harlequin romance-type books, westerns) and some I don't enjoy much (political commentaries and philosophy books), but I am not too picky about what I read. I can read "fluff" with as much enjoyment as something more detailed and lush. I usually try to finish what I start, even if it means putting a book away for a year and then coming back to it. Some may say that it's silly to waste time on something that I am not enjoying, but that English-major, word-loving, former-teacher, I find it hard to break that habit. And, sometimes, I find that I like a book that I thought was horrible when I first picked it up. To me, there's always at least one thing -- even if just one expertly crafted sentence -- to redeem a book.

So, you'll find all kinds of books on my reading list and on this virtual bookshelf. I'll leave my opinions as I have time. Most books on my shelf are ones that I would really recommend. I'll be sure to comment on any "stinkers."

Happy reading! « less