Barnes and Nobel smells divine.

For those of you who don't know me, I am one of those bookish people. I should say I have turned into a bookish person since I started grad school. I have alway liked to read, but there is always a time in our lives where reading isn't "cool" so we pretend not to like it.

Well I am over that phase and have been for a while. Now I like reading history (U.S. History from FDR to the present), literature (but really only Jane Austen), fiction, non-fiction (biographies) and the occasional romance novel and classic children's books.

The history thing is a pretty recent development. Since I am working on a historical piece for my thesis, I feel like I need to be up on U.S. History and current affairs. Jane Austen has always been a favorite, but I really fell in love with her work during high school (and after the most recent Pride & Prejudice movie).

I love getting lost in the stories and getting to know the characters. Plus it can be relaxing.

I made a little trip to Barnes and Nobel yesterday after work. 1.) I had a gift card I wanted to look into using and 2.) I wanted to skip the horrid traffic that goes back to Conway every single day. Sidenote---I love the way that place smells. Coffee and books, two of my favorite things.

I didn't go with anything in mind, but I ran across a lot of books I am interested in reading.

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert is the sequal to Eat, Pray, Love. I loved Eat, Pray, Love, and Committed picks up where it left off. Gilbert has a unique voice. It feels like she is talking to you when you read her work. I relate to that because that is how I like to write.

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, & Know by Alexandra Horowitz almost came home in my B&N bag. Not sure why I backed out on it, but I will probably go back and get it. She writes about how dogs are. If you have a pet you probably spend at least a small amount of time wondering what they are thinking. I know I do.

I have a black lab named Kate. I wonder all the time what she thinks when we are doing something. She has these looks that I call her "Wow, they are so stupid" and "Really?!" and "Would you just leave me alone, dang!"

I would love to get Horowitz insight into a dog's mind. Maybe see if it is anything like what I have come up with over the years. I mean she is like trained in that field, whereas, I just like to wonder about it for fun.

But I ended up leaving with Little Bee by Chris Cleave and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I have heard a lot about Larsson's series and absolutely nothing about Cleave's book.

I read the first chapters of each last night, and all I have thought about today was:

1. I can't wait to keep reading Larsson's book.
2. What has happened to Little Bee?

So we shall see. I will keep you posted on how I like the books. I feel like one will win out on the other. And to be honest, I feel like Larsson will win over Cleave...just because the main character is a journalist and there is some sort of mystery happening. Until next time...