A Few Favorite Reads from Quarantine ~ @AuthorKristina Knight

I've had grand plans for quarantine: I was going to finish the WIP and get a good start on the next WIP and maybe come up with a series idea for after that and get my Nevada Cowboys back out into the world. Welp, I got the Cowboys back on reader shelves but I haven't finished the WIP or started the next and that series idea is more the germ of an idea that might have the possibility of becoming a series but only if I log several more hours on it.

I'm a failure at quarantine productivity.

Except I'm actually not. I may not have finished the WIP but I did make progress. I may not have started the next WIP but I know what I want to write about. And that series idea? Maybe it's still only the germ of an idea but it's there and I can build on that.

What I've mostly been doing is reading. And watching TV, not going to lie. But my reading tally has taken a sharp upwards tick of late and I'm enjoying it. When I'm too stressed out to write, reading is a good way to escape into a world that isn't dealing with quarantine. When I'm sitting in the sun and soaking up Vitamin D, reading helps me relax even more. When I'm getting bebe from math to a fifteen minute break and on to science, reading for those fifteen minutes is better than stressing myself out trying to get into and back out of the scene I'm writing.

Books are definitely keeping me sane during quarantine. I've picked up a few old favorites (Nora Roberts' Montana Sky, Jenny Crusie's Faking It) but new books are also keeping me entertained and motivated to work out, clean the house and, yes, write my own books. Here are a few favorite new reads.

The Confession Club - in which a book club turns into a secrets club when one member shares
something that no one else knew. Soon, they're all sharing their problems, hopes, and dreams and helping one another come to terms. I liked the character building in this book, the sense of community, and how the characters built stronger friendships throughout. I was a little worried because this is the third book in the series and I hadn't read the other two, but I didn't have any problem getting in to the story.

Cowboy SEAL Homecoming - Of course there is a contemporary romance on my list of favorite reads, there always in. This one has been sitting in my iBooks folder for almost a year, and I'm honestly not sure why I hadn't already read it. I like Nicole Helm's characters and books ... I guess I was busy? Who knows! But the book didn't disappoint - Alex was yummy if a little dysfunctional, Becca was adorably introverted, and yet she's not afraid to go after what she wants. So when she goes after Alex, forcing him to look at his past and then learn to let go? It's just so satisfying!

Waiting for Tom Hanks - I've been reading Waiting for ... five months at this point? That isn't a slam to the book. Some titles are like that for me. I start reading, have to put the book down for one reason or another and it just takes me a while to pick it back up. That said, this book wasn't a disappointment, it was just one of those books that took longer to read. I liked the characterization and felt like I had a good grasp on the characters and the charming way the heroine looks at love and commitment was, well, charming.

So those are a few of the books I've been reading during quarantine. What have you been doing to distract yourself from the stresses of the past six weeks or so? And do you have any book recommendations?

    ~Kristina Knight