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Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (August 2010)

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On last month’s nightstand:

On my nightstandOn my nightstand

What I actually read this month was…
(Click on the titles to see my reviews.)

Fiction

  • Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
  • The Quest by Nancy Moser
  • Second Time Around by Nancy Moser

Nonfiction

Juvenile

*****************Begin Note**********************
I generally review what I can prior to my nightstand post and figure that I’ll leave what I didn’t get to un-reviewed. I DO NOT want to do that with Jon Meacham’s American Gospel or Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird–both are too excellent to not write about. I hope to write about both over this next week–the reviews will be linked in my “Recap” post that comes out Saturday evenings at 11:59. So if you want to read my thoughts on either of those books, check back sometime on Sunday for the link. Otherwise, if you see a linked title on this post (or any other of my nightstand posts), the link will lead to my review.
*****************End Note**********************

Currently in the middle of…

On my nightstand

  • Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
    I’m still working on this one slowly with my book group–I’ll let you know when I’ve got a formal review done!
  • Founding Faith by Steven Waldman
    A history of church and state in the United States. So far, quite interesting. It makes a case for there not having been a uniform religion among the Founding Fathers–leading to interesting discussions of the interactions between church and state.
  • Proverbs: The Wisdom of Solomon translated by Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro
    I’m reading this along with my daily Bible reading (which currently has me in Proverbs.) This is a free translation (somewhat akin to the Message, only by a Jewish rabbi who appears to be rather secular)–and it makes for some interesting reading and comparison.
  • A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
    Lisa reviewed it, I recapped it, Casandra raved about it–and then she lent me her library copy so I could read it (Casandra’s my roommate, for those who were wondering!) Thus far, this is a spectacular true story.

On this month’s nightstand:

I’m going easy on myself this month, recognizing that I’m starting up quite a few new things that’ll likely eat a significant portion of my time. Thus, there are only (!) 13 titles on this month’s nightstand (not counting the homemakey books and the children’s picture books, of course.)

On my nightstand

Fiction

  • By Way of the Silverthorns by Grace Livingston Hill
  • A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  • Love’s Enduring Promise by Janette Oke
  • Love’s Long Journey by Janette Oke
  • Masquerade by Nancy Moser
  • Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Nonfiction

  • How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper by Robert A. Day
  • Manufacturing Depression by Gary Greenberg
  • The Narnian by Alan Jacobs
  • The World According to Mr. Rogers
  • Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
    (After reading Osteen’s Become a Better You, I’m not sure whether I’ll read this one or not–I’m guessing I’ll skim it just for the basics so I can dialogue about it in an informed manner. Please read my thoughts on Osteen for a better understanding of why I’m reading/skimming this title.)
  • A dozen craft/decorating/homemakey books

Juvenile

  • Children’s Picture Books author BA-?
  • C.S. Lewis: The Chronicler of Narnia by Mary Dodson Wade
  • The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank

Drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading.
What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (July 2010)

15 Comments by

On last month’s nightstand:

On my nightstandOn my nightstand

What I actually read this month was…
(Click on the titles to see my reviews.)

Fiction

Nonfiction

Juvenile

  • Children’s Picture Books author ARNOLD-ASBURY (42 titles)
    including two books without words by Jose Aruego
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
  • The Secret Panel by Franklin Dixon

Currently in the middle of…

On my nightstand

Nonfiction

  • American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meacham
    Read some quotes from the introduction. I’m currently about halfway through and am definitely enjoying this title.
  • The Cross of Christ by John Stott
    I expect to be done with this title by the end of the week. Be sure to check out my notes on chapters 1-9.
  • Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
    My ladies’ book club is still moving slowly through this title.
  • Inside The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Bell, Pykkonen, and Washington
    Reading this as part of Carrie’s Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge. Carrie doesn’t like the “For Dummies” titles, but this book reminds me of the “Dummies” genre–except that it’s intended as an introduction to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for younger readers (late elementary school, probably?)
  • The Myth of a Christian Nation by Greg Boyd
    Still working on this with my Monday night book club. We’ve had some AMAZING discussion so far.

On this month’s nightstand:

On my nightstand

Fiction

  • Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
  • Love’s Enduring Promise by Janette Oke
  • The Quest by Nancy Moser
  • Second Time Around by Nancy Moser

Nonfiction

  • Founding Faith by Steven Waldman
  • The Narnian by Alan Jacobs
  • See What I’m Saying: The Extraordinary Powers of our Five Senses by Lawrence D. Rosenblum
  • Dozens of craft/decorating books

Juvenile

  • Children’s Picture Books author ASCH-?
  • The Animal Shelter Mystery created by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Beyond the Wardrobe: The Official Guide to Narnia
  • C.S. Lewis: The Chronicler of Narnia by Mary Dodson Wade
  • The Phantom Freighter by Franklin W. Dixon
  • The Thief Lord by Carnelia Funke

Drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading.
What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

What’s on Your Nightstand?

3 Comments by

What's on your nightstand? Logo

5 Minutes for Books hosts a monthly “What’s on your nightstand?” carnival on the fourth Tuesday of each month. The idea is that you let everybody know what you’ve been reading or are planning on reading this month.

It suits me to a T since the books I’m reading are literally on my nightstand. Here’s today’s photo.

Books on my nightstand (August)

Fiction

  • The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (I’ve been re-reading this one. Check out my notes on Chapter 1, 2, 3a, and 3b.)
  • Dangerous Sanctuary by Lois Richer (A recommendation from my little sister that I haven’t started yet.)

Nonfiction

  • How Do Astronauts Scratch an Itch by David Feldman. (Halfway through–just finished reading about why ceiling fans get dusty.)
  • Your Two-Year-Old by Loise Ames. (Still trying to finish up that 649.122 Section at the library.)
  • Secret’s of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers by Tracy Hogg. (Ditto above. Only about a dozen books to go in the section–can’t let them multiply too fast on me.)
  • Bicycling Magazine’s Complete book of Road Cycling Skills (Now that I’m commuting by bike and training for my big ride next year, I’d like to develop some skills.)
  • How to Expand and Upgrade PCs. (Got my new hard drive installed, now I just need to clone my current hard drive over and get everything arranged right.)
  • Do it Yourself PC Upgrade Projects. (Do you mean to tell me that you do not routinely check out at least two books on any given subject before attempting to accomplish a task?)
  • The Perfect Apron by Rob Merrett. (Felt the need for some cute new aprons for while I’m teaching my cooking-I mean-Scientific Principles of Food Preparation-lab. And these aprons are HARD-CORE cute. I made the bias cut one and wore it to lab today.)
  • Get out of that pit by Beth Moore. (My church’s ladies retreat this fall is based on this book. A friend and I decided to read it and discuss it together prior to the retreat. So far, so good.)
  • Opposing Viewpoints: Medicine. (With the current Health Care debate raging, it helps to be informed!)

Childrens/Young Adult

  • Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. (Carrie at Reading to Know recommended Mo Willems–and I’ve fallen in love with his cute illustrations and story lines–in that order. I haven’t read this one yet though.)
  • Breathing Underwater by Alex Flynn. (I read Alex Flynn’s Beastly and loved the modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the Beast’s perspective. This one looks to be pretty different, but I’m eager to read it regardless.)

School

It’s too depressing to enumerate these. Suffice to say that I’ve got a biochemistry text and a couple of library biochem primers, a book of lab tests (to study for the RD Exam), a text for my program planning class, and a half dozen texts for my counseling class.

Just finished

  • Farmer Boy Days (A very abridged version of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy for new readers. Unless your child is seriously intimidated by the bulk of the Little House books, I’d encourage them to read the “real thing”. I was reading the Little House books by 2nd grade–and I don’t see why others shouldn’t be able to as well.)
  • Nurse Matilda: Collected Tales by Christiana Brand. (I loved Nanny McPhee, so when I saw this book at the library, I snatched it right up. I enjoyed the first novel, but found the second two to be a bit too repetitive.)
  • The Contented Soul by Lisa Graham McMinn. (This wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t great either. It had nice thoughts of contentment, but seemed a lot more “worldly wisdom” than “wisdom from above”. I can get enough worldly wisdom from worldly books. I don’t want to have to read it in “Christian” books too.)
  • Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley. (I LOVED Beauty, McKinley’s first retelling of Beauty and the Beast. In Rose Daughter, McKinley tells the story again–with a completely different twist. I love both. These are books you definitely don’t want to miss.)