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Monday, October 22, 2012

What's On Your Nightstand

What's On Your Nightstand

Yay! It's Nighstand time over at 5 Minutes for Books!(***Or rather, it will be - TOMORROW. I believed myself to have set this post to publish tonight but apparently I had a little accident and it posted this morning instead.) I really have found my Nightstand posts to be so helpful in keeping my reading goals these past few months in particular. I'm trying to make sure I'm setting up reasonable goals and expectations for myself to help me effectively chip away at my TBR list. This is also helping me to keep track of which review copies I really need to get to next. I love looking back and what my goals were for last month to see if I actually succeeded at them. This month I didn't completely succeed, but I won't be too hard on myself. (heh)

Looking back to last month I said I wanted to read:

I wanted to finish The Man in the Iron Mask and I did! Woot! Thanks to a light attack of some stomach virus and a day in bed, I finally got the thing read. I should have my review up . . . soon-ish. There's a book club to deal with first!

Uncle Tom's Cabin. I'm supposed to have this read by Friday for the Reading to Know book club. So. I will. (ahem)

One of the review copies I was hoping to finish last month was Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. I read it, cautiously wrote my review of it, and still found people to be *clears throat* passionate about their comics. I learned more about Marvel Comics than I really wanted to know. At any rate, I linked the title to my review which posted at 5 Minutes for Books if you'd like to learn more about that particular book.




HARRY POTTER! I did read it and shared my (very long) thoughts on it this past week. Click on "HARRY POTTER" to read what I had to share. ;)




Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth. Epic fail. (I'm starting to become really annoyed at myself for not getting to this one.)

So, what are my goals for October? Let's start with Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth.

And while we're at it, I'd like to re-read Choosing Gratitude. (Linked to my original thoughts.) Annette at This Simple Home recently read this for the first time and I wanted to re-read along with her. Alas, I seem perpetually behind people in my reading of books by at least a month. It's time to catch up! (I also have this title on my Fall Into Reading Challenge list so as to give myself special permission to get to it!)

I would like to finish Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition which I am about half way through. I started it a few weeks ago and have been snatching it up in between chapters of The Man in the Iron Mask.


Other than that, I have a bunch of review copies that I'd like to zoom through as quickly as is humanely possible during November so that I can have a relaxed reading month in December. I have in my stack:


  • The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published. This was released in early October and is now at the top of my Need to Read stack. Physically speaking.
  • Stressed-Less Living: Finding God's Peace in Your Chaotic World is an interesting title that I'm not quite sure what to make of. I've read the first chapter and anticipate it being a fairly quick read. Mostly because I don't feel stressed at the moment.
  • Double Blind: A Novel - I accepted this one for review - the latest by Brandilynn Collins - because I've heard so many people rave about her. I thought now was a good opportunity to check her writing out.
  • How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto. I like wine sometimes. (Mostly blush/dessert wines.) I'm curious!
  • Judging a Book by Its Lover: A Field Guide to the Hearts and Minds of Readers Everywhere - I will either find this one interesting or horrible.

But the review copy that I'm probably most looking forward to is:

Women, Slaves, and the Gender Debate: A Complementarian Response to the Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic. I want to read this one in conjunction with Uncle Tom's Cabin so I should be getting to it fairly shortly!


I suppose in summary I'm saying that I hope to decrease my review stack significantly with the goal of relaxing during December and setting myself up to accomplish more of my personal reading goals in January. (Because yes, I'm the type of person who thinks ahead that far. And farther, really.)

What's on your nightstand!? As always, I can't wait to find out!

14 comments:

Diary of an Autodidact said...

My nightstand is getting far too crowded.
1. Uncle Tom's Cabin - only a few pages left, and then the fun of trying to organize my thoughts for my review.

2. An Economist Gets Lunch by Tyler Cowen

3. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (Citywide book read)

4. They Thought They Were Free by Milton Mayer

5. Three plays by Tennessee Williams (I haven't decided which one to read yet.)

6. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

7. The Thirteen Gun Salute by Patrick O'Brian.

Annette Whipple said...

Uncle Tom and Harry all at once...

:)

I can't wait for your additional thoughts on Choosing Gratitude. Making Room sounds very good, too.

Barbara H. said...

I'll be interested in what you have to say about Brandilyn Collins' book. I've heard she's great, but when I looked through her books I wasn't sure I'd like them. I like a good suspense/mystery every now and then, but the ones I saw seemed maybe a little too scary for me. But it has been a while since I looked to see what she had.

Shonya said...

Ack! It's a mess!! The Scarlet Letter, Age of Opportunity, The Kid Book (Barnes) and The Absolutist are the ones I have started. I need to finish at least a couple of them before I start anything else that's piled! Oh, and I'm reading Crazy Love again--hubby wanted me, the teens, and him to read it together.

Anonymous said...

I will be struggling to get Uncle Tom's Cabin completed by Friday... Got a late start. I have the Potter series on my list, someday. You have a LOT on your plate, I mean nightstand. Have a great November!

Lisa notes... said...

Sorry you had a stomach virus, but glad you made good use of it.

And it's okay with me that you're not a Potter fan. I wasn't until about midway through book 3. But I was reading because my daughter was. Your reasons NOT to read sound legit to me so I won't be offended if you stop at book 1. :-)

I'll look forward to what you'll share about Making Room and Women, Slaves, & the Gender Debate.

Diary of an Autodidact said...

Annette, surely you should add Moby Dick to the pile!

(Sorry, couldn't resist the bad pun.)

Cassandra said...

I love that you have reading goals for the rest of the year. I think it's fantastic to look forward! I try but am not very good at follow through. Hopefully you have more success than I normally do!

Beth said...

I finally got my hands on a copy of Choosing Gratitude which I've been wanting to read since you first talked about it.

I will be looking forward to reading your review for The Man in the Iron Mask. I have The Count of Monte Cristo on my Classics List and may have to tag this one on afterwards.

bekahcubed said...

Ach! You wrote about Potter and I haven't read your comments yet. I'm definitely okay if not everyone gets as swept away as I was. I think I really *needed* that sort of book when I was reading that. I needed escapism without romance--and Harry Potter was sufficient. I wonder how I'd read it differently in other stages of life.

I missed the Nightstand this month because I have absolutely nothing to say. I have not finished even one book this month and have barely opened any. I've been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. But I'm looking forward to January. I'll be moving to Wichita whether or not I have a job, and we're planning on holding out for a job that has more boundaries than my current position. I'm really appreciating the flexibility to do that (as opposed to having to take whatever job is offered me because I have to bring home the bacon, er, pay my rent.)

Anonymous said...

I must admit that sometimes I enjoy a light virus or two, if it means a cozy afternoon in bed. ;) Good job making the best use of it!

Nancy said...

I enjoyed your review of the Marvel Comics book, but some of those comments were brutal! Double Blind sounds really good, great review.

Trish said...

I'm ashamed to admit I've never read Uncle Tom's Cabin, but I also have to say that I'm more inclined to read Double Blind before I get to that one. It sounds very good!

Kara said...

The Story of Ain't sounds intriguing! Nice list. I'll have to check some of these out. Thanks!

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