Sunday, May 17, 2009

My Reading Room

For my Valentines Day present my husband Michael REALLY went out of his way to give me the one thing that every avid reader wants, their own reading room! I decided to share my room with you because I spend most of my "home time" here. The colors and furniture are spot on! He even thought to buy a futon so it could still double as a guest room.

Instead of pictures on the walls I chose to decorate with letters that represent some of my favorite authors. Here is my Leaning Ladder book shelve. The letter 'C' is for one of my two favorite contemporary authors Jennifer Cruise. I love Cruise because she mixes mystery with romance! I have read almost all of her books.

Taking a closer look at the second shelf you'll see a few of my contemporary reads that include: Jennifer Cruise, Sophie Kinsella, and Susan Donovan. I also have Leslie Langtry and Gemma Halliday because I like a touch of mystery in my romances.

On my third shelf I have a few borrowed books that range anywhere from Jane Eyre to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On my bottom shelf I have my Harry Potter collection which I have yet to get through and one of my favorite series the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I am SO TEAM ERIC! I haven't read the latest book Dead and Gone but I read some spoilers and OMG OMG...that's all I can say!

Beside my bookshelf is where I keep my little laptop. Sammy my cat seems to be checking my blog. ;o)



Walking over to my other wall I have my letter 'G'. I shared this letter with two authors. My first author gets me SO giddy. Its Rachel Gibson! WOOT WOOT! I absolutely love all of her books! In fact I just finished True Love and Other Disasters and it was amazing. It honestly doesn't surprise me because her best books are always the hockey books.

My other 'G' author is Diana Gabaldon. I fell in love with her Outlander series. Jamie and Claire's love is inspiring! The books are SUPER long but to me sometimes its nice to have those characters for a lengthy time.

Also sharing the shelf are the two newest additions to my book collection which are Mary Balough's First Comes Marriage and Lynsay Sands Devil of the Highlands. I can't wait to read them both.

Behind my futon I have a variety of books to talk about. First of all I have to pull your attention to my awesome floor lamp that kinda reminds me of a light tower. Also we have my FSU bears! My hubby went to FSU and we are originally from Florida.

My 'E' stands for Janet Evanovich. I have all her Stephanie Plum books (1-14) which includes her Between-the-Number novels. I also have a signed copy of Plum Lovin' that Mike got me for Valentines Day! And FYI as much as Ranger is a total turn on I am a Cupcake all the way! :o) Some of my favorite books of Janet's are her pre-Plum books which were romances! They are short but very funny and fast paced. You should check them out!

On my other shelf I have a few paranormals. I really enjoy the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Its filled with werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and like everything I read, a bit of romance. Next are my Steven King books. I honestly have never read his work and am not sure if it would be my cup of tea but I bought Salem's Lots on an impulse because it had vampires and someone gave me Lisey's Story for free. I'm never one to turn down a free book! I also have one of the Black Dagger Brother books! I loved it and can't wait to continue the series as soon as I can catch up on all my other books. LOL Lastly are my House of Night books by P.C. & Kristin Cast. Don't be put off by these books being under Young Adult. These are really great books!

Lastly is 'M' for Stephanie Meyer. Unfortunately I have loaned out all of her books! In my Meyer collection I have the entire Twilight Saga and her latest The Host. Everyone and their mama has read Twilight so I wont even talk to you about them except to say I am the typical little girl when it comes to them. And yes that is the Twilight Deluxe Blu-Ray DVD set! LOL Now as for The Host...its an awesome books about what its like to feel and to be human. Its a moving book honestly. Dont get thrown by the talk of aliens because its not as Scifi as you think.

And here is my futon...its comfy and ya I have fallen asleep on it many of times! BTW that's my cd player under the bed.

I love this room so much! When I need to get away or want quiet time or just want to write I come in here and it inspires me to no end! What inspires you???

<3 Monroe

18 comments:

~ames~ said...

What an awesome room! It looks like a wonderful space. And the letters is a good idea - very neat.

I am team Eric too. And Dead and Gone is good good good! :P

Which Crusie is your fave? I love Bet Me and Crazy for You.

May 17, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

Ames,

Thanks I LOVE that room. The hubby did good I guess I'll keep him around! ;o)

Man-o-man I love Jenny Cruise! Bet Me is probably my favorite. And I liked Tell Me Lies, Fast Women and Charlie All Night. OH and the first book I read of hers which is also one of my fav's is her collaboration with Bob Mayer, Agnes and the Hitman! There aren't to many of her books that I don't like! lol

About Sookie, man I'll be reading it soon but OMG the spoilers I read...the death of the person who is close to her (don't wanna give it away)I think I may cry b/c I really liked her! :O(

May 17, 2009 at 5:21 PM
~ames~ said...

I know - I read all the spoilers before I read it too and I still wasn't really prepared for all that went down in that book. A lot happens, some of it good. :P

I haven't read Tell Me Lies or Fast Women, but I like Charlie All Night too. And Agnes? Love that book. Crusie's humor is just the best.

May 17, 2009 at 5:29 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

I KNOW! Thats her first book I read and I fell in love with her. Agnes was just too funny! Did you see on Harris's site that shes coming out with another Sookie book but its like a few different stories. Its called A Touch of Dead. Its out Oct of this year!

May 17, 2009 at 5:42 PM
~ames~ said...

I wonder if that collection is all the short stories in anthologies that have been published throughout the years? It would be nice if it were, to keep all the stories together.

May 17, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

Ya I'm not sure...hmmm...oh and I'm sending my kids pic's now! lol

May 17, 2009 at 6:09 PM
Isabel said...

I like your room!!!! team eric... I'm leaning towards him. I was orginally team alcide but the debbie thing turned me off. I would love her and sam to hook up.

May 18, 2009 at 7:48 AM
I Love Brownies said...

Just found your blog and I have to say this is just about the cutest design EVER!! AND...I'm lovin' all the design collection pics!! :-)

May 18, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Rowena said...

Since I don't read those books and I don't know who Eric is or Alcide, I'll just say: LOVE THE PICS OF YOUR READING ROOM SWEETS! It looks really cool and super comfy. I'm so jealous!

Tell your hubby, you did GREAT!

May 18, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

Isabel-
Thanks I love it too! As for Sookie, I fell for Eric when he bit Sook in the inner thigh! Lol I know I’m horrible…but I REALLY fell for him when he got his memory back and he told her that he couldn’t believe after all of his years how happy he was! I melted! Lol I loved Aclide too! It broke my heart with everything that went on between them and he’s starting to change :o( Oh and Quinn…hmmmm…I liked him but idk. I wonder if they will bring him back?!?!

I Love Brownies-
lol I love brownies too! ;o) Thanks for the sweet comment and make sure you stop by as often as possible!

Wena-
Maybe you should read them then! lol Let me know I have them ALL and I'll send them to you. And thank you darlin' for the comment about my room. Mike JUST painted the same color in the guest bathroom and bought this AWESOME shower curtain. I'll have to send picks!

May 18, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Nicola O. said...

Oh, I love the letters as decor. It's like a slightly wacky library or bookstore.

May 30, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Monroe Dawson said...

Nicola-
Thanks!! Idk where I even got the idea. I just saw them in Kohls on sale and I said "why not". lol Thanks for stopping by.

May 30, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Little Miss Busy said...
This comment has been removed by the author. June 9, 2009 at 6:21 PM
Little Miss Busy said...

LOVE the room, girl! FAB! And what's with this Sookie girl and her Vampire storyline?? My girlfriend keeps telling me about them, but I'm not sure if they're my cup o' tea! They have WAY more odd creatures and what not (from what I gather) than the Twilight series. Tell me more, more, more... Puhhhhhhhhhlease! :~D

June 9, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

Miss Busy-
Ok here is a short blurb on the first Sookie book.

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea. A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed.

I really like the books...now I'll tell you if your looking for a Twilight wannabe then don't read them. They do have romance but NOTHING as deep as Twilight. I have ALL of them so if you want to borrow the first one its no prob! I can mail it if you want it only is like $2! lol Then you can go from there!

And yes there are different creatures in there books BUT its eases them on you in a way that you understand and are not confused! Let me know hun!

<3 Monroe

June 9, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

Miss Busy-
WHERE ARE MY MANNERS?!?! Thank you for the very sweet comment about my reading room! I absolutely love it and practically live in it.

June 9, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Little Miss Busy said...

HA! I would live in it, too-- meaning my household would go hungry! LOL! 'Cuz when I start a book that's really good, I hide away and can't be torn from it easily! As for Sookie, that's what I've heard exactly. I know someone with a copy locally, just don't know if it's anything I would really like. It seems to go on and on, and my friend who's currently reading them says they're making her mad-- they don't go nearly as perfectly as Twilight did, if I understand correctly. Have you read any of the Vampire Diaries? They seems more like a "tween" book series, but the show the CW is coming out with this fall makes me wanna' check 'em out!

June 10, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

Miss Busy-
No I havent read those books BUT I have seen them b4 and looked them up today and they sound good! Also I watched the teaser for the show and I think I may tune in!!!

Now some "teen" book that I have read that are Vamp friendly are The House of Night Series. *NOTE*Make sure you check out the review I did on Chosen. Those books are labeled "teen" but WHATEVER! lol They had sex, drugs...etc. Not something I would let my kid read BUT GOOD LITTLE BOOKS! Very good actually. I own them all but havent made my way to the latest book. But you should look them up. They are buy PC & Kristen Cast. Its a mom and daughter team. And like I said dont be fooled, they arent really teen.

June 10, 2009 at 3:06 PM