I’m a Mood Reader…What about you?

How do you decide what to read and when?  I’m always fascinated in understanding how people select their books at any given time.  Perhaps that’s because I’m a mood reader.

I need to be in a specific kind of mood to read a specific kind of book. It means I’ve put down books by some of my favorite authors, including Nora Roberts, Allison Brennan, Lisa Gardner, Courtney Milan… pretty much any author I love.  If I’m not in the mood to read the book, I’ll stop and find one that fits.  It has nothing to do with how good the book is, and everything to do with my quirks.  I would say that 95% of the time, when I return to reading that same book later, when my internal quirks align and say they are in the right mood, I usually love the book.

[Tweet “My books tell what mood I’m in. What about you? “]

That also tends to mean that I have a pretty good list of downloaded/started but not yet finished books on my Kindle on any given day.  And the list of book Samples I’ve downloaded? Yeah, it’s not pretty.  But that’s also why I see a book or a book cover that intrigues me, I’ll almost always download the sample on my Kindle.  Because inevitably the day will come when none of my usual suspects in favorite authors are fitting the moment, and I need something new.  Someone different.

This past week, one of those moments happened and I found a sample I had downloaded of Catching Air by Sarah Pekkenan.   The first few pages of the book drew me in and I was instantly curious as to where this book would go.

Because I’m thoroughly enjoying this book, I thought I’d share the blurb with you so you can enjoy it, too. 🙂

From the internationally bestselling author of four books, including The Opposite of Me, a vibrant, compulsively readable novel about two married couples who pursue a dream to open a bed-and-breakfast in small-town Vermont.In her previous works including The Best of Us, “rising star” (Library Journal) Sarah Pekkanen captivated readers by penning “refreshingly introspective, sharply realistic, and tenderly humorous” novels (Booklist) that had readers “flying through the pages” (Hoda Kotb, Today show). Now, in Catching Air, Pekkanen turns an unflinching eye on the tangled relationships of two pairs of thirty-somethings.

A chance to run a B&B in snowy, remote Vermont—it’s an offer Kira Danner can’t resist after six soul-crushing years of working as a lawyer in Florida. As Kira and her husband, Peter, step into a brand new life, she quells her fears about living with the B&B’s co-owners: Peter’s sexy, irresponsible brother Rand, and Rand’s wife, Alyssa…who is essentially a stranger.

For her part, Alyssa sees taking over the B&B as the latest in a string of adventures. Plus, a quiet place might help her recover from the news that she can’t bear children. But the idyllic town proves to be anything but serene: Within weeks, the sisters-in-law are scrambling to prepare for their first big booking—a winter wedding—and soon a shy, mysterious woman comes to work for them. Dawn Zukoski is hiding something; that much is clear. But what the sisters-in-law don’t realize is that Dawn is also hiding from someone…

Relatable and dynamic, Catching Air delves deeply into the vital relationships that give shape to women’s lives.

Now I’m pretty sure I know why it spoke to me in this particular moment in that particular week (more on that later this month) but it’s just one of many books that I find through the “mood moments”.  How do you decide what to read?  Do you often put down books by authors you love because it doesn’t fit what you need?