when to read

I'm reading Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman and it is good so far. A book with lots of facts connected into trends and theories. But my biggest problem is that I keep picking it up to read an hour bfore bedtime, and its not long before the words start to blur together.
Yesterday I spent 20 minutes trying to get off of one particular page without skipping over sentences, and had to keep rereading to be sure I actually understood his points. I even read out loud to myself (am i the only one who does this?) to be sure I was following before I moved on. Then I realized... I had dropped my bookmark earlier, and was actually almost a dozen pages further into the book. That is to say, I had read these particular pages a few days ago. Not saying much for my understanding.
For now I am chalking it up to the fact that the beginning of the book is setting the stage- explaining why the earth is in an environmental crisis. This part is depressing. The author does promise he will discuss possible solutions in later sections, and this is the part I am eager for. I won't skip the groundwork, because likely he will refer to it. Indeed it should shape the arguments for why some courses of action are more favorable or more likey to work.
If only I can stay awake to get there.

lists

I like a good book list. I just finished the last of the blue bonnet books- by reading Atherton: House of Power. It is loosely in the fantasy genre, and something I never would have read if not for this list. Of course I am slightly ticked off with the way it ended, leaving me hanging, so that I now have to consider whether or not I should get the next one in the series. It isn't really complete all by itself.
This is a tricky part of series books. It seems to me that a book should be complete on its own, and for that reason alone I am tempted to not continue reading, but the story really pulled me in, and I do want to find out what happens next. I thought most of the Harry Potter books, well the early ones at least, did a good job of standing alone. In some ways that was annoying, because the 2nd and 3rd ones had sort of an extended introduction to the world of HP that dragged since I had read them all in order. It wasn't so much in the later ones, or at least I can't remember it, because I tend to skip a lot of things when reading.
But back to my main point- a good book list can challenge me. Even a list of all the books by a particular author can be interesting- how is their late work different from their eariler stuff, do they try different styles or age level audiences, What others are they collaborating with. Reading is always about surprising yourself and discovering what can be between the two covers. If left to dig deeper into my own rut, I would miss all the other ways to challenge myself.

Cupcakes?

Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make by Karen Tack

What do you look for in a cookbook?

#1-Inspiration.

I don't know if I will ever make these ridiculously unhealthy creations, and if I did, I am not sure I would want to eat them- after all, the candy used to decorate doesn't really blend with the cake flavors, but boy is this book adorable. It makes me want to bake and create beautiful things.

I am already trying to come up with ways to adapt them.