Quick Before I Get Sidetrack'd

It’s been slow reading this month. I’ve been making my way through the never-ending book, otherwise known as The River Why, and haven’t really accomplished much else. It’s also been a busy month on PaperBackSwap which means I’ve added a few books to the stack.

Currently on my nightstand…

From previous months:
Velvet Elvis
The Pact
Keeping Faith
Stardust
The Englisher
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

New additions:
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig – I came across this book in an Amazon search and thought it sounded interesting. We’ll see if it is.

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares – I read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants back in the Spring and enjoyed it for a quick, fun read. My BFF and I are completing the series now, and then we’re going to watch the movies together (assuming we can find a time/way to do so without the kids underfoot).

A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell – another Amazon search find. The book is set in Italy in 1943, toward the end of the war, and tells the story of Jewish refugees searching for safety. I enjoy reading about this era (both historical writing and fiction) and am looking forward to this book.

1776 by David McCullough – This is a book that I’ve wanted to read for quite some time and am finally putting in my stack.

During the last month I’ve finished two books, The River Why and Nights in Rodanthe.

I really liked The River Why; it wasn’t an easy read but definitely worth it. If you know anything about fishing you would probably understand it better than I did, but the story is a back to earth type story with a spiritual journey theme. I found it pretty interesting.

I read Nights in Rodanthe because my best friend and I were planning to go see the movie. It was a basic Nicholas Sparks book – sweet, sappy, easy to read.

That’s what’s on my nightstand; check out What’s on Your Nightstand? at 5 Minutes for Books to see what other bloggers are reading. Happy Reading!

It’s the fourth Tuesday of the month which means it’s time for the October edition of “What’s on Your Nightstand?” at 5 Minutes for Books.

My nightstand stack has gotten a bit shorter this month because I’ve focused on reading what was there before moving on to the rest of my Fall Into Reading challenge books.  Once again, I planned on posting a picture, even took one and uploaded it, but for some reason WordPress isn’t let me add it to the post; maybe next month.

So, here’s what’s on my nightstand:

Currently reading – The River Why by David James Duncan

Still there from last month – Stardust by Neil Gaiman, The Pact by Jodi Picoult, Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

Still there from August – Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell

New additions:

The Englisher by Beverly Lewis.  I’ve read several of her books in the past including The Preacher’s Daughter which is the previous book in this series, Annie’s People.  The tales of Amish life and love that she tells are always enjoyable.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.  This one’s been on my “want to read” list for a while, so I’m looking forward to diving into it.

I don’t feel like I read much in the last month, but I managed to finish three books.

My Beautiful Idol – this book was great!  It is a memoir telling the story of one man’s (Pete Gall) journey with and toward God.  It’s entertaining, well written, and quite convicting.  I would definitely recommend this book.

A Wind in the Door – I finished the second installment in L’Engle’s Time Quintet and really liked it.  I thought it was just as good as A Wrinkle in Time, and I’m looking forward to reading the third book in the series sometime in the future (probably this winter).

The Center of Everything – This was a fun coming of age book without being cheesy or “chick-lit”-y (um, yeah, had to make up a word there).  It addressed a wide variety of topics facing the narrator between the ages of 10 and 15 as it explored growing up in small town USA as a less-than-privileged child.  Look into this one for a well written, engrossing read.

I think that covers it for October.  Check out “What’s on Your Nightstand?” to see what others around the blogosphere are reading this month.

Happy reading!

It is the fourth Tuesday of the month which means it is once again time for “What’s on Your Nightstand?” at 5 Minutes for Books.  Yesterday also marked the first day of Fall and, therefore, the beginning of the 2008 Fall Into Reading Challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days.  Being the lazy blogger that I am, I decided to kill two birds with one post.

<br>I planned to have a picture for my “What’s on Your Nightstand?” post this month because, really, the number of books that reside on my nightstand is amazing and somewhat frightening.  Fortunately, they are not all in my “to-read” pile, the nightstand is more a gathering place for books that currently have no other home.  But my “to-read” stack is plenty big in its own right.</br>

Remaining in the stack from last month are The Center of Everything, The River Why, and Velvet Elvis; and I’ve just begun reading My Beautiful Idol.  New to the stack are:

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle – I first read A Wrinkle in Time in the fifth grade and wasn’t impressed; I didn’t really get into the fantasy genre as a child.  About a year ago I decided to give it a second reading and picked up a copy at the bookstore.  This time around I really enjoyed the book and decided to read the entire Time Quintet.  I’m just now getting to the second book.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman – After reading Neverwhere last month (see below), I’m really looking forward to this one.  Matt says it is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.  Apparently I’ve embraced the fantasy genre as an adult.

The Pact and Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult – I’m excited to pick up more of her work since I liked My Sister’s Keeper so much.

Since the August edition of “What’s on Your Nightstand?” I’ve completed three books, all of which I enjoyed. 

The Birth House was an interesting read; the storyline follows a midwife in small town Nova Scotia fighting to keep her place in the birth room as modern medicine moves in and the new doc in town seeks to drive her out of practice.  The underlying story lines revolve around superstition and it’s effect on people, the women’s rights movement, and small town life during World War I.  Overall, I liked the book even though it didn’t flesh out the midwifery vs. modern medicine story in quite the way I had hoped.

Neverwhere was, by far, the favorite of the books I read this month.  This book reminded me of both The Matrix and the Harry Potter series although there is nothing specific I can nail down and say “this is what makes me think of it.”  it is a curious and somewhat disturbing tale of a world existing beneath the streets of London and the people who reside there.  If you enjoy fantasy, I would definitely recommend that you check this one out.

And finally, Chocolate Beach.  There wasn’t anything great about this book, and the constant pop-culture references really annoyed me, but I stuck with it to the end.  The characters are endearing, but it is standard Christian chick-lit which I generally find unappealing.  This is the kind of book that is perfectly suited for a vacation read.

That covers my nightstand and most of my Fall Into Reading list as well.  In addition, I hope to read the following books during the challange.

Non-Fiction
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Fiction
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Just Jane by Nancy Moser
Mozart’s Sister by Nancy Moser
So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

That should be enough to keep me busy for a while.

If you made it to the end of this post, you are quite the trooper.  Happy Reading!

The team at 5 Minutes for Books has created a great new monthly carnival, “What’s on Your Nightstand?”  I thought it would be fun to play along since I usually have several books beside the bed waiting to be read.  In fact, as of this morning, there are 13 books on my nightstand (although 6 of those have already been read or are Matt’s)!  So, here is what I’m reading (sorry, I was too lazy to take a picture)…

The Birth House by Ami McKay – currently reading this one; it was lent to me by my aunt who thought I would enjoy it as it deals with a fictional case of tradition vs. science in the realm of childbirth during the World War I era.

Chocolate Beach by Julie Carobini – I saw this one on several blogs a few months ago and thought it sounded good; I requested it from PaperBackSwap, and, voila, it’s on my nightstand.

The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty – I came across this book on Amazon when I was looking at Listmania lists that included Peace Like a River by Leif Enger.

The River Why by David James Duncan – I found this at the same time as The Center of Everything.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman – it isn’t often that I take a foray into the fantasy genre, but I do enjoy books of this nature on occasion; Matt read this one and thought I might like it.

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell – basically we wanted to see what all the fuss is about; Matt read it, and now it’s my turn.

My Beautiful Idol by Pete Gall – I’m not generally a non-fiction girl, but Matt said this was a really good book; I’m reading it on his recommendation.

I’ll also mention here that I just finished my first book by Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper.  I know several of you read and love her books, but for some reason I always thought they were your general chick-lit and, therefore, wasn’t very interested in checking one out.  Let me take a moment to say I’m sorry; I was wrong.  

This is a very good book about a family dealing with a terminally ill child; it portrays the struggles of the family, the bond of sisters, and the potential outcome of a family where the parents focus so much energy on one child that there is little left for anything (or anyone) else.  Ms. Picoult’s writing was engaging, and I found myself being swept into the story to the point that at times I thought I might cry right along with the characters (this is not something that happens to me often when I’m reading).  It also made me think about my own children and how our family might look in the face of a similar situation.  I will definitely have more of her work on my reading list in the future.

So, there you have it; that is what’s on my nightstand.  You can always visit the Bookshelf in my sidebar to see a list of books that I’m currently reading, have recently finished, or have on hand to read in the near future; I try to keep it updated as much as possible.  If you would like to participate in this book carnival or see what other bloggers are reading check out this month’s “What’s on Your Nightstand?”.

A few weeks ago our temperatures reached into the upper-80s and 90s and I ceased to view the season as Spring.  However, today is officially the last day of Spring, and, thus, the end of the Spring Reading Thing. All-in-all, I’m quite pleased with the reading I accomplished, especially since we added Boo to the mix about a month into the challenge.

<br>These were the lists I started with:
Non-fiction:
John Adams by David McCullough
A Midwife’s Story by Penny Armstrong
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
The Complete Book of Sewing by DK Publishing (won’t finish this one by June)

Fiction:
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Austenland by Shannon Hale
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
Mater Biscuit by Julie Cannon
Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss</br>

Here are my answers to the wrap up questions Katrina posted.

Did you finish all the books you had planned to read?  If not, why?

I finished all of the books on my fiction list and most of the books on my non-fiction list.  The two I did not complete were John Adams, which I’ve begun reading, and The Complete Book of Sewing, which I haven’t picked up since the beginning of the challenge.  I just don’t have the time or mental capacity for sewing right now.

Do you think the challenge helped you read more? Or maybe helped you read books you otherwise wouldn’t have?

I’m a pretty avid reader, so I don’t think it necessarily helped me to read more.  However, having a set list of books enabled me to keep my reading focused and prevented me from “flailing around” unsure of what to read next.  These challenges do help me to read non-fiction as I’m generally unmotivated to pick up non-fiction books.

What was your favorite book you read this spring? Least favorite?

It’s tough to pick a favorite because I really enjoyed all of the books on my lists this Spring.  A Midwife’s Tale and A Thousand Splendid Suns probably stood out the most for their stories and style.  I really related to the sentiments portrayed in Stepping Heavenward and enjoyed reading it as well.

As for a least favorite, I would have to say Mater Biscuit.  It isn’t that I didn’t like the book, just not as much as the others.

What did you learn about your reading habits or interests?

I’ve always struggled reading non-fiction, but during this challenge I liked the non-fiction that I chose and got “into” the books just like I do with fiction.  I learned that I can read non-fiction easily and really enjoy it if it is a topic that I’m interested in.

Are you interested in another “Fall Into Reading” challenge this fall?

Definitely!

Visit Callapidder Days to see the other participant’s wrap up posts. Thanks, Katrina, for hosting another great reading challenge.  I’m looking forward to the next one!