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November Wrap Up with a Top-Ten Tuesday bonus!

Have you ever asked yourself why people go through phases in life? What the purpose is behind those phases or even if there is a purpose? Have you ever spent some time looking over how you have spent your time in the last few months or even years and looked at how your hobbies or interests have changed? I have asked that question a lot over the last couple of months. Mostly because I took a look at this blog and my other more personal blog and noticed just how much I seem to bounce from thing to thing with no real sense of rhyme or reason. I noticed that over the last few months (since August really) I have gone from reading nothing but classics and fiction to reading nothing but missions and church books to reading nothing at all and playing with my paints and canvases to spending hours on Pinterest or watching Netflix and then finally back to reading fiction again. There are so many things that I am interested in. Things I am passionate about. Things I am entertained by. And I just can't help but bounce around them all at different times, in different phases. 

Reading has always been my first choice of entertainment. It has always been the one constant hobby or interest in my life since I was about 4 or 5 years old when I first learned to read and discovered the magic that words and stories can bring to one's life. It has always been my escape when things get too overwhelming or home seems too far away or life is just not fun and easy at the moment. But now as I am still growing up and finding out more about who I am, especially now as a young college graduate and wife, I am finding that I am going through more of these life phases and have no real rhyme or reason behind them sometimes. I have realized though that I am just seeking out more activities, more genres of books, more worlds to travel through and more adventures to go on. So, I don't think that phases are necessarily bad. They are just random and crazy and exciting and weird. And maybe it's time to for me to start embracing those phases more and running with them to see what adventures they may bring.

 With that said here are my reading stats for the month of November...

 The books I read in the month of November: 
The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns
A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot
Scaling the Wall by Kathy Hicks
 
The number of pages I read in the month of November: 
919
 
The number of pages read year-to-date (middle of December 2011 - end of November 2012): 
14,770
 
Number of Classics Club books read so far:  
  10 of 70 
And here is my list of the Top-Ten (really 14) books I would love for Santa to bring me this Christmas:

1. Mark of the Lion Trilogy by Francine Rivers -- I have passed buying this trilogy up countless times because it does cost a bit but I want to read it so bad!
2. Middlemarch by George Eliot -- this is a new one to my wish list and I'm hoping it's good
3. The Last Romanov by Dora Levy Mossanen -- who doesn't love reading about the czars of Russia and Princess Anastasia? And yes, I love the animated movie!
4. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain -- the storyline looks so inviting
5. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte -- I have heard nothing but good things about this one
6. Villete by Charlotte Bronte -- same goes for this one as for #5
7. William and Kate: A Royal Love Story by Christopher Anderson -- I have wanted to read up on the story from a fairly reliable source rather than just the tabloids
8. The Kissing Sailor: The Mystery Behind the Photo that Ended World War II by Lawrence Verria -- who doesn't love that picture in Times Square? I want to know the story behind it!
9. Slum Life Rising by Ash Barker -- I have a great deal of respect for Ash and really enjoyed his first book. I am now waiting oh so patiently for this one!
10. Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith -- English history is fascinating and the Queen is one inspiring person. I want to know more of her story
11. Harry Potter #'s 5 and 6 (Order of the Phoenix & Half Blood Prince) -- they are the last two I need to complete my set -- update... thanks to a birthday card with a bit of cash in it I have finished off my Harry Potter collection! :) 

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