Reader's Block

I went to the library today with my kids, picking up some books that were on hold. They took off for the kids' section, each returning with multiple titles. One is working through A Series Of Unfortunate Events, and had the weekend planned out. ("I'm finishing book four today, have book five on hold at the school library, and here are books six through nine. That should hold me.")

As we walked by the information desk, I saw a familiar brochure. Every winter, the library system holds an Adult Reading Club event from January 1 to March 15. For every five books you read, you can fill out a flyer with the title, author, and a sentence about each book. Turn it in and you're eligible for prizes, from bookstore gift cards to audio books to overnight stays at nearby hotels.

Every year, I've participated gleefully, filling out form after form and turning them in to the info desk on a regular basis. I've never actually won anything, but that was never the point for me. I just wanted to see how many books I could read in the time frame allowed.

So here we are, less than two weeks to the end of the contest, and not only have I not been paying enough attention to notice it was actually happening, I realized with horror that even if I had been aware of the reading competition, so far this year I haven't read enough books to fill out even one form.

Not even five books read so far this year. In fact, I think I've read three books since January. One was a Harlequin that saved my sanity during the long hours waiting in the jury room to see if I'd been selected for a trial. Another was a travel guide to Hawaii, which will be put to good use in a few weeks. (Yay!) And one was Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl, which I adored (and promptly went out and bought her entire backlist at All Romance eBooks).

But that's it. Three books. For someone who can read a book a day if given the time and material, that's almost embarrassing.

The material isn't the issue; I've got a TBR pile (both physical and e-book) that's chock full of b0oks I can't wait to read. And my wish list keeps expanding.

So that brings it down to time. It's no secret that time has been in short supply for me this year; the day job won't stop expanding, eating every spare minute (and then some). In the past two weeks, though, I've found some changes that can be made to reduce the busywork, which should open up some hours in my day.

But I'm out of the habit now. So my question to you is: what book do you recommend to kick start my reading habit again? It doesn't matter if it's one I already own or not - I can either dig something out of the TBR pile, or go shopping. Both are equally appealing. :) So help me get out of my not-reading rut and find my groove again!