Nightstand (October 2011)

When bloggers write that they’d almost forgotten (or comment that they HAD forgotten) their Nightstand posts, I tend to gasp in astonishment.

Forget a Nightstand?

Certainly not my M.O. I eagerly anticipate the fourth Tuesday of the month, adding items to my Nightstand post as I finish them up. Frequently, I spend the fourth Monday of the month putting the finishing touches on my post–and check my reader right after finishing up to find that the link-up is open. Score!

Until this month, where I actually (completely) forgot that this was the fourth Tuesday of the month. Despite having made additions to my post prior to my trip to the library in Lincoln this weekend, I failed to make the connection that this week was the fourth.

So I was surprised when I opened my reader this morning to see Nightstand post sprouting all over. Alas, I had less than five minutes before I needed to leave for Grand Island, so my post had to wait until after I was home (and would have to be sans photographs-sad day!)

Anyhow, this month I read:

Adult Fiction

• A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist
• A Bride most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist
• Fat Chance by Deborah Blumenthal
  Maggie O’Leary is a fat girl who’s embraced her fatness and turned it into a lucrative career–columnist of the popular “Fat Chance” which encourages women to embrace their size. But then she gets a call from Hollywood heartthrob Mike Taylor, asking her to help him understand the mind of the fat people for his upcoming movie. Now Maggie’s singing a different tune, eager to lose weight to impress Taylor. The “fat” part was great (I actually agree with quite a few of her columns), the story okay, the sex totally not okay.
• Maris by Grace Livingston Hill
  I’ve decided that Hill is slightly obsessed with mothers and with mother/child relationships. I found it distressing, though, that Maris was engaged to be married to someone her parents (indeed, her whole family) dislikes, and the whole family chose to “grin and bear it” rather than raise their objections to her.
• My Lord John by Georgette Heyer
  Historical fiction (not a romance) from the time of King Richard II of England to King Henry IV as told from the perspective of Henry IV’s son John. Absolutely fascinating. If I’d read the preface, I’d have known this was Heyer’s last work, published posthumously–and I wouldn’t have been so surprised when it breaks of mid-sentence in part four. Even unfinished, this is a remarkable piece of history and fiction.
• She Makes it Look Easy by MaryBeth Whalen

Adult Non-fiction

• Biblical Authority by James T. Draper Jr, & Kenneth Keathley
• Culture of Corruption by Michelle Malkin
  An indictment of Obama’s “business-as-usual” bent, with in-depth analysis of the company he keeps. My full review here.
• Over-diagnosed by Drs Welch, Schwartzz, and Woloshin
  Subtitled “Making people sick in the pursuit of health”, this book describes the phenomenon of diagnosing people with (and treating people for) “problems” that aren’t yet actually problems. A fascinating book that has made me rethink my approach to preventative medicine. You can read my full review here.
• The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
  Wendy McClure takes her childhood obsession with the Little House books to a new level as an adult–buying a dash churn, re-reading the books with her live-in boyfriend, and traveling to all the Little House sites. I read this based on Jennifer’s review at 5M4B–and agree wholeheartedly with her recommendation.

Juvenile Fiction

• The Brownie and the Princess by Louisa May Alcott
• Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Circus Clow by David A Adler
• Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
  The same author I’ve been reading in adult fiction, now with a juvenile novel. This modern tale of a topsy-turvy world is probably my favorite of his so far.
• The Pizza Mystery created by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Semiprecious by D. Anne Love
• Young Cam Jansen and the Ice Skate Mystery by David A. Adler

Thanks to a trip to Lincoln this weekend to see my Marine brother (returned from his military training and ready to resume normal reservist activities), I was able to stock up on a whole slew of books. 84 to be exact–except that I already read the two by Gist above and the one by Whalen, and started a dozen others.

Which might explain my silence this weekend/early week. I’ve been either spending time with family or reading.

Which is not an altogether bad use of my time, if I do say so myself.

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