Nightstand (April 2014)

It’s been a beautiful and busy month here in Wichita, what with setting out seedlings and preparing a Seder and getting close to the end of Daniel’s semester (one more month until he’s got his MBA!)

And I’m not even going to estimate how my reading has been compared to previous months. It is what it is.

This month, I read:

• Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis with Beth Clark
  I read this with my church’s book club and was… disappointed. The writing is poor, the story told without soul. And the worst part of all was that Katie is a missionary, but I saw nothing in the book to suggest that Katie understands or shares the gospel (not that she doesn’t use the word the gospel…) I might review this in more depth later. Or I might not.
• To Do List by Sasha Cagen
  A very fun look into the lives of dozens of people, all through the to-do lists they submitted to the author. Majorly interesting, mostly fun, occasionally crude. Let the reader be warned.
• Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer
  Yes, I like Heyer. This one had very little romance but plenty of little laughs. Perfect.
• Catalog Living at its most absurd by Molly Erdman
  The author pokes fun at stock photographs by writing blurbs by a fictional couple to go along with the photos. A great light read with lots of laughs-out-loud.
• The Prenatal Prescription by P.W. Nathanielsz
  A dry but not awful look at the science behind prenatal programming. A terrible prenatal program (not because the science wasn’t sound but because the author didn’t communicate clear ways to implement the science into real life). I guess you’ll just have to wait until I write my own prenatal nutrition program :-P
• One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
  I finally finished this one and reviewed it. It was beautiful and frustrating. I can’t summarize it better than in my review, so you might have to check that out.
• My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
  I listened to this one (my library only had an audio version) in conjunction with this month’s Reading to Know Classics Bookclub. As usual, Wodehouse is a delight. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a collection of short stories (not all including Jeeves and Wooster). It was nice not to have to keep track of a long story line since I was listening in the car and rarely drive for more than ten minutes at a time.

In Progress:

• I got pregnant, you can too! by Katie Boland
  Because I’m reading the library and figured I might as well do more of the preconception books (since I’ve already read several). I will *not* be recommending this one. The author’s life is a soap opera and it’s only going to get worse. I’m considering just calling it done, even though I haven’t yet gotten to where she meets her spirit guide. Yep. Blech!
• Paranoid Parenting: Why ignoring the experts may be best for your child by Frank Furedi
  Just started this last night, but I’m already liking it. At the same time, I’m wondering if I won’t have some issues if he starts talking nutrition. I’m fine with ignoring the experts until you start ignoring me.
• The Gift of Health : the complete pregnancy diet for your baby’s wellness by Karin Michels
  I think this is the last book my library has on prenatal programming, for which I am glad. All the books I’ve read on it so far were published around the same time period (2003) and review the same information. Some are better written than others, but it’s still all review. This one might be the best so far, but I’m not sure I’d recommend even it.
• The Atonement: It’s meaning and significance by Leon Morris
  Lisa wrote about this book on her last month’s nightstand and I picked it up right away. I’m moving slowly, but this is a great look at what God accomplished in salvation.
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
  I’ve already read and reviewed this book – but I’m rereading because I’ll be leading a discussion on it for my church’s book club next month! Yay! I love this book and am just speeding through it.
• Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan
  My little brother read this in his high school economics class and really liked it. And I’m reading the economics section at my library, so I picked it up. A couple chapters in, it’s a very readable and enjoyable intro to economic principles (without the math).

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!