What's On My Nightstand \\ July 2012

I still have several reviews in the works, but I'll at least tell you if I'm for or against these books. :) I'm trying to keep up a better blogging schedule, so instead of posting several reviews in one week and then nothing for months, I'm scheduling one post every Tuesday. Hopefully it'll stick, though school is right around the corner.

Books I Read:

1. Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore. A YA novel about humans, angels, and demons (and all of this in Christian fiction). I thought it would weird me out but I ended up really enjoying it. Even if you're skeptical, you should check it out.

2. Touching the Sky by Tracie Peterson. The second book in the Land of the Lone Star series. I liked it much more than the first, but Peterson's style has become a bit tiring for me. I'm losing the ability to believe that all people "back then" spoke so properly, and if one more person gets kidnapped/held hostage/or faces some sort of life and death situation in the last chapter I might not be able to handle it. (Still, it was a good love story.)

3. Travelers Rest by Ann Tatlock. This was my first Tatlock, and I really enjoyed it. I'll be reading more from her.

4. Forevermore by Cathy Marie Hake. My sis told me to read this book, so on her recommendation I picked it up from the library. Why have I not read any of Cathy Marie Hake's books before now? I don't know. In a word Forevermore is charming. I have to read more of the series.

5. The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman. Whoa. I'm trying to branch out more in fiction, and this book is more along the lines of Angel Eyes. It deals with the supernatural, namely the possibility of ghosts. This is Christian fiction as well, so you can expect Bateman to stay close to biblical truths when presenting her characters with ghost-like appearances and the like. It's a really good story wrapped in a bit of suspense, and I enjoyed it a lot. Full review coming soon.

6. A Charmed Life series by Jenny B. Jones. The entire YA series in one, A Charmed Life includes So Not Happening, I'm So Sure, and So Over My Head. I won this collection in a giveaway and I really liked it. Jenny B. Jones is an author I've only read in Brio Magazine and SUSIE Magazine, so I was interested in her book-length fiction. She is an hilarious author, and I definitely want to read more of her books. I'm donating this book to a 7th grade reading teacher's class library, where I'm sure plenty of teenage girls are going to enjoy reading about Bella's crazy but ordinary life.

My Nose Is Stuck In:

1. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Still, I know. This book is so big, though, that I'm taking my time working through it. I love this book.

2. Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games by Lopez Lomong with Mark Tabb. This is an amazing, eye-opening story that gives me the chills every time I pick it up. I'll definitely be rooting for you, Lomong!

That's about it for now. I'm moving from my fiction frenzy to all non-fiction for a while, which I'm quite a fan of. I'm considering challenging myself to read only non-fiction until the next Nightstand post, but, I admit, I'm a little scared. I might just try it though. I'll let you know next month if I succeeded.

Please leave links to your posts in the comments. I can't wait to add more to my to-read pile!

2012 Reading Goal: 32 of 50

Happy reading,

What's On My Nightstand \\ The Real June 2012

This time I really cannot believe that the end of June is upon us and July is right around the corner. My summer is almost halfway over! Over the past month I have thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Books I Read

(Linked to My Reviews)

1. Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler. If you are one of those readers who can't stay with a book unless it is fast-paced and exciting, don't read this one. But, if you, like me, enjoy a lazy book on a lazy summer day, this book is really, really great.

2. Illusion by Frank Peretti. Loved it. I definitely need to include more Peretti in my reading selections.

3. The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of this one. I have read many, many of Lewis' books and enjoyed most of them, but this one didn't compare to her latest Rose Trilogy. My older sister read it after me and she really enjoyed it, so I guess it just depends on the person. 

Books I'm (Still) Reading

1. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I will finish this eventually. I think I'm three chapters away from completion. I've lost interest. In every chapter Ann makes a realization about some facet of faith and her spiritual life, and I think that is great. The problem is that I can't always identify with her breakthrough moments, which isn't a bad thing. It reads like a memoir to me, and I'm so-so when it comes to memoirs. I will finish it, though, and then write a long review. :)

2. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. I love this book. Maybe it is because I'm a nursing major and all things health fascinate me, I don't know. ;) I debated buying it because I wasn't sure if this chunk of a book would be interesting or simply tedious. It is extremely interesting. I'm learning a lot about cancer I didn't know. One of the recommendations in the front of the book says The Emperor of all Maladies reads like a novel. That is a great description. And really, even if you aren't directly linked to healthcare but enjoy reading about history, you'd probably like this book. Besides, I can nearly guarantee that every one of us knows someone with cancer, and a majority of us will have cancer in our lifetimes, so it's good to read up on the subject.

3. Travelers Rest by Ann Tatlock. I've just started reading this book, and I am enjoying it. I've never read anything by Tatlock, so this is a new experience for me, but so far I love her writing and her characters, so I think it will be a nice journey together.

I'm trying hard to limit my reading to these three for now. After that, we'll see.

Happy Reading and Happy Summer!

What's On My Nightstand \\ June 2012

School is out for the summer (for me, anyway), and in only a little over a week I have devoured four books. I'm trying to get used to not having anything to study, and books have been a good substitute. But since I have so much time on hand to read these days, I'm trying to choose the books I read more carefully. Of course, I'm still reading fun stuff, but I'm also adding in some books that will help me think a little more.

Here's the books I've read since last Nightstand's post. (The only thing I've started reading from my possibilities list on that post is One Thousand Gifts. A bit of a failure on that count.) All covers but The Crossing are linked to my reviews. I even did a little comparison between Divergent and The Hunger Games. (Divergent won.)

I was in a fiction sort of mood I guess. (Finals sent me there.) Fix by Force was my favorite of the four (seriously, read it), but Divergent was a close second.

So this is a picture of some books I've been reading and some I'm hoping to start in the near future. I think I can do much better at this list than last month's. Hopefully.

I've started Little Women as part of a Louisa May Alcott Summer Reading Challenge at In The Bookcase. I've been wanting to read this for far too long (I may have even started it at one point years ago) so I thought this was the perfect time. I even watched the Winona-Ryder-as-Jo movie version a few days ago. Still one of my favorites, though I'm thinking about getting a hold of the older movie version, just to see how it compares.

On my Kindle I'm reading One Thousand Gifts, which I'm also blogging about every week. I'm liking it much more than I thought I would. (This book is also on my Spring Reading Thing list.)

The Spanish book is there for a reason. I desperately want to learn to speak it fluently. (Well, maybe not that desperately since it hasn't happened yet.) This book leaped at me from the Barnes & Noble shelf because it has the word utterly in it. I should use that word more often.

Bonhoeffer has been on my list for a long while. I will read it this summer.

I've wanted to read The Mysterious Benedict Society since I read this review at Reading to Know. I picked it up at my library and will be getting into it shortly.

I also saw A Red Herring Without Mustard at my library and knew right away that I needed to continue Flavia's story. I haven't read a good mystery since, I think, my last encounter with Flavia in The Weed That String's the Hangman's Bag.

Seeds is a memoir. I got to meet the author a few weeks ago and I just know it will be a good book.

Out of this list I'm most looking forward to Bonhoeffer. I'm hoping to eventually get my hands on the follow-up to Divergent, Insurgent, and I've recently started listening to Sense and Sensibility while I exercise, which isn't exactly motivation, but it does keep me from getting bored. Also, I discovered some free ebooks I got for my Kindle a while back and randomly started reading Rain Song. It's kind of sleepy and slow at the moment, so I read a chapter or two before bed. (It isn't living up to its beautiful cover, I hate to say.)

I've also stopped to wonder recently if reading more than one book at a time is a good thing. I don't think I can help it. Right now I'm really just switching between Little Women and Rain Song. A classic, a contemporary. I think that's a good mix. And the Spanish book gives me non-fiction. Wow, you'd think I was talking about food pyramids (excuse me, it's a plate now).

Leave me a comment and I'll most definitely read your Nightstand post. (Because all I need is more suggestions!)

Happy reading!

ETA: I realize I just skipped over May, apparently. This should be titled May and not June, but, alas, if I change it now the link won't work over at 5 Minutes for Books. So, for now, it is June.

What's On My Nightstand \\ April 2012

I'm only a day late in posting this. Tuesday was way too hectic to fit it in, and I missed last month's Nightstand post altogether. I've read a lot of books since then, though. I figured out this nifty way to show book covers with links to reviews or Goodreads depending on whether or not I blogged about the book. Oh the technological advances. (Which are rather overrated, as, after about four attempts to edit this, I cannot fix the layout. I finally figured out how to fix it!)

Books I Read in March and April:

Jennifer | BlogfulofBooks's favorite books »

Possible May Reads:

Jennifer | BlogfulofBooks's favorite books »

I was going to attempt to tell you my favorite from my March and April but it is just too hard. I enjoyed all of them.

I'd love your thoughts on any of these books, and feel free to leave a link to your own Nightstand post.

What's On My Nightstand \\ Feb. 2012

It's time to discuss the books hanging out on our nightstands once again. I'd tell you about how shocked I am that the end of February is already here, but I feel like I say something similar every month. I'm about a week away from spring break, so I'm anticipating getting through some books (at least one or two) during that time.

Since last month's post I've read a couple of books. I didn't finish The Hobbit like I hoped I would, but I'll get to it eventually. I did read:

Click the cover to read my "review" of
Frankenstein. This was a re-read for me
and I liked it even more the second time
around!

Since I am a college student,
I was curious about this one. It was good!
Click the cover to read my thoughts.

I got this one free on my Kindle a few months ago
and started reading it while I was on a four hour bus trip.
I read half of it one day and finished it up the next. Solitary
is definitely hard to put down. It ended in the middle of stuff,
as all first books of multi-book series do, so I might spend
some of my spring break reading the second one.

I actually liked this one, even though I had absolutely
no idea of what it was about. It ends pretty depressingly,
but it gave me a lot to think about.

I'm currently reading:

A fascinating allegory of a busy town
hit by a nasty plague. Click the cover
 to read my Book Beginnings post about it.

So, tell me, out of all the books you read this past month, which was your favorite? Mine is a toss-up between Frankenstein and Solitary.

What's On My Nightstand \\ Jan. 2012

I'm letting go.

I'm letting go of this feeling that I must devour every book in sight. Because I no longer feel that knowledge can only be found in books. (I never completely thought that, thankfully.) Because a book should be something someone wants to read, not something someone thinks she has to read. (I know, this completely screws up school's assigned reading.) A book is a gateway, not an anchor. And even if books continue to accumulate unread on shelves, if I can't seem to read them all, it will be okay. Because even if I don't read it, someone will someday. I'll make sure of that.

Voltaire by Candide. I recently finished this one for a class I'm taking, but I really enjoyed it. It's satirical and philosophical, and it was most definitely interesting.

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery. My initial desire to participate in Carrie's challenge was great, but I have yet to get into this one and the challenge is almost over! I'll read it nevertheless. (And I've just heard about a Laura Ingalls Wilder challenge in February and I'm trying to be level-headed about it, but I may give in and join anyway!)

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I have absolutely no idea of what this book is about. It's for my class as well.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. You know the movie adaptation is coming out Winter 2012, right? I'm almost done with this one. One word: enchanting.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Another one for my class. (If you haven't noticed this particular class is an English course, the theme of which is, in essence, a musing on whether or not a person can gain too much knowledge. Makes for interesting discussion.) I've read Frankenstein before and enjoyed it very much. I'm excited to re-read and see what I missed. (I'm recovering from the belief that re-reading a book when there are so many unread books out in the world is idiotic. I'm starting to think it is pretty nice.)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. Of course I'll have to read the trilogy after I finish The Hobbit. I picked this up at a cozy used bookstore that I discovered (oh dear) and though "used" the spine isn't even bent. Yay for me!

I edited this after further thought to mention that my local library just got digital downloads of audio books, of course for free. Oh, I love it. I just started listening to Lynn Austin's A Woman's Place and I'm listening to Frankenstein when I'm on the way to school (I have over a half hour commute). It's wonderful!

And now for a parting quotation from Frankenstein:

"How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to be greater than his nature will allow."

What's On My Nightstand | September 2011

Missing last month's Nightstand post was not fun at all, so I knew I had to write one this September! As I've mentioned in previous posts, school has kicked in and I've lost most of my recreational reading time. My amazing reading groove I got into over the summer has long gone. At least I have some good stuff from the past two months!

(Some titles are linked to my reviews or ramblings.)

Fiction

The First Gardener by Denise Hildreth Jones is a lovely story about how a gardener named Jeremiah Williams greatly affects the governor's family that he works for. I really enjoyed this one!

The Final Hour by Andrew Klavan is the fourth and final book in YA series The Homelanders. It nicely wraps up the story of Charlie West and his patriotic defense of America. It has all the heroism, excitement, and suspense that this genre begs for.

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis was my choice for Carrie's Narnia reading challenge. I liked seeing another side to Narnia (the underground world). And I was so happy to see Eustace again!

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was an interesting read, for sure. The ending is rather depressing, and it greatly reminded me that, though we cannot overcome our shame and guilt on our own, there is One who can wash our sins away! The Scarlet Letter is an interesting look at the time period's beliefs, and a nice bit of mystery thrown in (though I do admit I had it pegged a few chapters in).

Steps to Courage by Sandra K. Stiles. It's an interesting YA novel about three teens and their 9/11 experiences. It screams for more, though.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I would be shocked if you haven't heard about this book! I wasn't incredibly interested in reading it until I saw the movie trailer. Interesting, I thought. My mom thought it looked interesting too. The movie was about to hit theaters, and we knew we had to read the book before seeing the movie! We bought it, read it within a week of each other, watched the movie, then discussed and compared at length. I love this book. I didn't write a review of it because I just didn't know how to express my feelings about it. It does contain some crude and unecessary language (but as I heard one reader explain, the language seems rather appropriate for the time and all; not that I consider that as a good excuse or anything), it does have a rather graphic sexual reference (though the point of the scene, I fell, is key), and it does deal with the very real topic of discrimination and segregation. But, I love it. And this is one time when I think the book and the movie equal each other.

Non-Fiction

Life, In Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson with Tricia Goyer is a riveting memoir of a girl who tried to take her life by quite literally flingin herself in front of an oncoming train. (She survived.) I have mixed feelings about this one. It was definitely an interesting story, and the writing is very good, but some parts of it just didn't click with me and by the end I felt sort of strange.... I know there are some who really enjoyed it, though, so don't let my opinion stop you from picking it up!

Unplanned by Abby Johnson was a book that I had on my TBR list for a while. I didn't end up reviewing it, but, let me tell you, it is a good one! Abby Johnson recounts her story from young college student to director of a Planned Parenthood clinic to pro-lifer. It's a fascinating read, and her explanations for why she believed abortion to be okay and why she stayed with Planned Parenthood so long are intriguing. I learned quite a bit from this book.

Answering the Guy Questions: The Set-Apart Girl's Guide to Relating to the Opposite Sex by Leslie Ludy. If you spend much time talking with me about thinks like femininty, young womanhood, dating, and the like, I'll most definitely point you in the direction of Leslie Ludy. I know some don't like her views on femininity (although I think most are taken straight from the Bible; yes, some is opinion, and she does recognize that!), but I've found her books to be good sources for practical advice on how to be a godly young woman living in the twenty-first century. This book, geared towards older teens and young women, holds some great advice for how to behave around and encourage guys.

Titles not shown are actually in that purple thing, my Kindle. :)

Currently my nose is stuck in Uncompromising: A Heart Claimed by a Radical Love by Hannah Farver, an encouraging book for young women; Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, of course; and Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different by Gordon S. Wood, a very intriguing book that I'm reading for my history class. I'm also finishing up some selected readings from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. (It's also for a class; I just wanted to throw that in there to amaze you with my diverse readings. ;) I'm actually enjoying it.)

What have you read this past month? What are you reading now? Join the What's On Your Nightstand? party by visiting 5MinutesForBooks.com.

By the way, a little shout out to the bloggers who post pictures of stacks upon stacks of books. I've decided that I must do this from now on. I love looking at stacks of books! Thanks for the inspiration.

What's On My Nightstand | July 2011

It's hard for me to believe that July is almost over and August is almost here. I don't have as many books to list this time around. I decided to slow my reading a bit to so that I could enjoy it more. Reading a book in a day is a lot of fun, but a few weeks later it is difficult to remember what I even read about.

Since last month, I've read

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. I love, love this book. It is all about how to write a novel/screenplay/memoir, and it has such useful information.

Craving Grace by Lisa Velthouse. This is a memoir by the author of Saving My First Kiss, and in it she discusses her failed attempts at perfection and her rediscovery of the power of God's grace. I really enjoyed it.

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. I read this as part of Carrie's Narnia reading challenge. It was so interesting because the majority of the story takes place in underground Narnia. Who knew Narnia even had such a strange underground world? (It's like a world within a world. That's an interesting thought.) I really liked the introduction of Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so I was happy to read more about him. I wonder if The Silver Chair is going to be made into a movie. I can just see how most of it would be twisted and condensed to create a more "entertaining" story. They'd probably even add something romantic between Jill and Eustace. Ugh, I can't even think about it. All I say is, "Read the book!"

Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I read this for school and actually enjoyed it. It's the story of a boy from India who ends up lost at sea in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. It's pretty entertaining, though slow at times. The first part is the most boring because it details Pi's life in India and his interesting attachment to religions of all kinds, but by the time the tiger entered the story, I was hooked.

I don't have anything specific that I want to read in the next month. I'm taking a leisurely approach to reading, as I'll be starting school at the end of August. Soaking up as much "for fun" reading as possible is my only goal!

Happy Summer and Happy Reading!