Ahtee's Reads

I adore books. My day job is in a book store and books have been a huge part in my life. My family always had tons and tons of books around and going to the book store was always something my parents approved of. Here's a list of books I hope to read this month:

Business: A list of books I'm reading to help me get one step closer to my dream of living off of my own small business.

Made to Stick: by Chip Heath and Dan Heath- What makes a product "sticky?" The Heath brothers talk about the art of making ideas unforgettable.

Built to Love: by Peter Boatwright and Jonathan CaganWhat do your products need in order to make a sale? Emotional fulfillment.

Good to Great- by Jim Collins- Collins explores how good organizations and business can become ones that produce great results.

Boss of You: by Emira Mears and Lauren Bacon- The subtitle (which is what made me pick up this book) reads "Everything a woman needs to know to start, run, and maintain her own business."

Pleasure: Stories I'm hoping to read this month that just tickle my fancy.

Snow Queen's Shadow: by Jim C. Hines- One of my favorite authors. This is the conclusion of his Princess Novels. I kind of don't want to read it because it means the end of the series BUT I HAVE TO! Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty are a kind of Charlie's Angels. How could you not love this series?

First Lord's Fury: by Jim Butcher- Another final book to a series. GAH! What will I read after??? This is one I'm doing in audio and it's fantastic. The first book is called "Furies of Calderon." Imagine everyone uses magic and you're the only one who can't. That's the pitch that got me into this series.

Firethorn: by Sarah Micklem- An orphan (the best stories are centered around orphans) with amazing powers falls in love with a with a king's nobleman. Amazon says "Blood, insightful, emotionally wrenching, and beautifully written..."

Ghost Story: by Jim Butcher- The 13th book in the Dresden Files series. This is Harry Potter for adults. Want another good audio book to listen to? Pick up this series. All of them are a fun ride. And James Marsters (from Buffy) reads it. Releases July 26. Might not get to read it til next month. *pout*

I'll probably post blogs on each book (hopefully I'll read all of them). What are you guys reading this month?

A Newfound Love

Usually when I'm creating (jewelry, sketches, etc.), I have a movie playing in the background. Because my disc drive on my computer has finally decided to crap out on me, it's been music lately. I have trouble finding something to listen to because sometimes I get distracted by a good song and want to dance or sing or sometimes (and this happens on Pandora), I skip songs until I find something I like and then when that song's over I might skip again if the next is a dud. Blah. These moments of singing and skipping add up and bug me! I love music as much as the next person, but jeez. What is my problem? :P

At work, most everyone has read the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. There's something like 12 books out right now by him and I have been wanting to read them but have other books I'm reading as well. I feel left out when people start talking about this awesome series. So, one of my friends offered to let me put copies of his audio books on my iPod.

I'm not big on the audio book... or rather, I wasn't. I thought they'd be distracting. That I wouldn't be able to actually pay attention to the story or I wouldn't be able to pay attention to my work. So, after a few weeks of saying no, I finally went up to him the other day and gave in.

I got home from Thanksgiving around midnight. I wasn't sleepy so I thought I'd play around with my beads and maybe give the audio book a try. Before I knew it, it was 4am! O_O Can you believe it!? The only other thing that lets me work that long is the Lord of the Rings special feature discs and after three or four hours, I have to change the disc! Wow. I think this thing might really work out.

I'd like to get Harry Potter on audio. I think that would be fun to listen to. Anybody have any suggestions on what audio books would just rock my world?