Nightstand (November)

Second month in a row, I forget the Nightstand. Honestly?

But I just took back a slew of books, among them, these:

Adult Fiction

• Nerve Damage by Peter Abrahams
  I never imagined I would become a fan of suspensish novels–but I’m enjoying Peter Abrahams on my way through the library. This one involves a sculptor whose wife died many years ago in a helicopter accident and… I really can’t say more.
• Room by Emma Donoghue
  This was on my TBR list for quite a while based on a review I read somewhere (but don’t know where since I switched computers and lost all my bookmarks halfway through), but I hadn’t been able to get it at the library. Now I know why. Wow. This is a stunning novel.
• Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange
  A retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma from Mr. Knightley’s perspective. Except that Mr. Knightley’s perspective as indicated in this novel gives absolutely no new information or, er, perspective on the story. I read it, I didn’t dislike it, I don’t really recommend it.
• The Beloved Land by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn
  A very nice conclusion to Oke and Bunn’s Song of Acadia series. And, I think, a conclusion to my reading of Oke (except that my library maybe has a copy of something she wrote with her daughter?)

Adult Non-fiction

• Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style by Kate Betts
  Michelle Obama is a pretty lady. Usually, she dresses well. I enjoyed the pictures in this book. I did not enjoy Betts’ adulatory insistence that Mrs. Obama is somehow the savior of fashion in our day. Yes, my politics (and disgust for Mrs. Obama’s use of her daughters in her childhood obesity initiative) colors my perceptions. But even when I’m trying my hardest to be objective, this still seems over-the-top in trying to present Mrs. Obama as the better-than-Jackie-Kennedy.
• There is a God by Antony Flew
  Renowned (formerly atheist) philosopher, well known for stating that the “burden of proof” for the existence of God rests on theists, writes about the proofs that changed his mind. A bit laborious when dealing with Flew’s atheistic days, this book gets very interesting when Flew starts outlining the philosophical arguments that convinced him that there must be a God.

Juvenile Fiction

• Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams
  Sequel to Down the Rabbit Hole, another good juvenile suspense novel. I liked it.
• Pure by Terra Elan McVoy
  Tabitha and her four best friends (that part plagiarized from the book jacket) are bound by the rings they all wear: purity rings. Some got them from their fathers, one from her brother, one from her best friend–but the rings all mean one thing, a commitment to keep oneself a virgin. But then Tabitha’s best friend loses her ring and another of the girl loses what the ring stands for–and suddenly the world falls apart. The Christianity Tabitha practices in this book is certainly a more liberal version than I practice–but all five of the girls’ beliefs and practices (which turn out to be rather different) are dealt with sympathetically. This was a novel worth reading.
• Calvin Coconut: Dog Heave by Graham Salisbury
  As discussed in my armchair fail post..
• The Castle Mystery created by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Wanna hear my excuse for almost missing this post? I posted it earlier this morning–I was on a roof.

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