nightstand notes/wanna view some reviews?

What what?  Another whole month, or, as I like to say just to annoy hubby, "a whole 'nother month" has passed, and here we are sharing our nightstand contents like dear pals.  Yes, it's 5 Minutes for Books' monthly carnival celebrating what we're reading, what we've read, and what we hope to tackle next.  I set a goal of six books last time, and I actually read 5.5 of them!  One of them just didn't draw me in, and after a bit of hedging, I finally returned it to the bookshelf to see if perhaps I'll feel differently toward it in a few months.  This time around, I've got what I think is a fantastic stack of books staring at me from the shelf:

* So Much For That by Lionel Shriver-- I'm more than halfway through this intense 400+ paged novel right now, and I've been writing my review of it piece by piece in my head over the last few days.  It's definitely not for everyone, but I'm eating it up!

* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain and illustrated by Robert Ingpen-- If we ever get an evening that is not filled with chores, baseball practices or baseball games, JAM and I will hopefully get through this book together, although it may take more than one or two months.  I've actually  never read this one before, and it doesn't so much make for fluid reading, with all the explanations and translations I need to make (for both of us, often!), but I'm happy to say that we're trying.

* Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer-- This is for my online book club, but it goes to show you how much I have no idea what this book is about- when I got it from the library yesterday, I read the back and said aloud, "Huh.  I thought this was a memoir!"  Apparently, it's a novel.  I'm pretty sure I voted for this one for May's selection, too, but I don't remember a thing about it.  Should make for fun reading.

* Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott-- This is a review book that I also have no memory about plot or characters.  But if it looked good to me when it was offered, I'll be happy to take it off the shelf and give it a whirl.

* The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by  Michele Young-Stone-- This will be the very first book that I try to read in its entirety on my Sony eReader, which has nothing to do at all with the book itself, but will most likely have a great effect on my response to the overall experience.  I'm pretty sure this novel sounded quirky which is what appealed to me, so I look forward to reviewing it.

* Noonie's Masterpiece by Lisa Railsback and illustrated by Sarajo Frieden-- A middle grade novel that I got to review.  Since I haven't read much MG fiction for a while, I'm truly looking forward to this one, and it doesn't hurt that it has a remarkably cool cover!

Another month and another six titles.  Let's see how it goes!


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If you're so inclined, you can check out my reviews from the past few weeks:

* Claude & Camille-- a beautiful novel about Claude Monet and his wife Camille Doncieux.

* We've Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication-- a HIGHLY recommended nonfiction read!

* Books on Screen: A Wrinkle in Time-- my take on the classic novel and semi-recent movie.

* EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures-- a really cool picture/maze/information/search-and-find book.

* The Blue Orchard-- a unique historical novel about a highly controversial topic. 


 Happy reading all around,