nightstand notes/ wanna view some reviews?

I may be talking about books frequently on here, but I shamefully missed last month's Nightstand link up over at 5 Minutes for Books. Sigh. It was a tough month, online-speaking, but I'm happy to be back in business this time around. If you're new to this feature, every month on the final Tuesday, we ask folks to share with us what they're reading, what books are gracing their shelves or nightstands right now, or even to tell us what they've thought of their most recent reads. Some bloggers do it in picture form, others give quick synopses, but all that matters is that we're talking books, baby!

I've been quite pleased with my reading lately, having had a couple really fantastic novels come my way in the last two months. I often go through fast and slow reading cycles, and I'm currently in a more productive time right now. I'm spending a little time on a specific list of children's and young adult selections, as a part of my Cybils KidLit Challenge. Other than that, my next few weeks will involve mostly upcoming review books and a couple of highly recommended parenting tomes.

* The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander -- So, I'm reading this book where the mob meets middle school.. yeah. JAM and I are only a couple of chapters in, but it's funny and definitely unique so far. I accepted this one for review basically on the back of the raving review Jon Scieszka gave it. If he calls it hilarious, then I'm inclined to believe him. The basic plot revolves around a sixth-grader who "solves problems" for kids who come to him at school, meeting in his office in a boys' bathroom, in the fourth stall, of course. I love the cover parody!

* Your Pinkie is More Powerful Than Your Thumb by Mark Di Vincenzo -- I enjoy these types of collection books, and I was happily surprised to find this one in the mail last week. I had reviewed Di Vincenzo's Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon, and while I enjoyed the tips that book had to offer, I'm finding his latest one even more fun to read because of the cool and interesting facts that are surprising me!




* The Highly Sensitive Child by Elaine Aron and Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka -- These two books have been around for a little while, and while they're titles I've heard about before, I had not read them in relation to our first highly sensitive and spirited child. However, our second-born is proving to be perhaps even more highly sensitive and spirited, so these recommendations from other parents who I admire were picked up at the library this weekend. We shall see.


* Warp Speed by Lisa Yee and A World Without Heroes (Beyonders) by Brandon Mull -- These two middle grade novels came in the mail, and I'm hoping to get to them either with JAM, or possibly on my own then passed along to him. I'm not sure that I know much about either as they were sent unsolicited, but they both look like something my ten year old son would pull off the library shelf for himself!


There you have a snapshot of  my bookshelf and what will be keeping me occupied for the next couple weeks' worth of reading. Please visit us over at 5 Minutes for Books' What's on Your Nightstand? to share your own lists!

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

* Voice of America -- A fabulous collection of short stories revolving around the experiences of Africans living in both Nigeria and the U.S.

* On Reading: The Ups and Downs of Reading Goals -- An essay I wrote about my (failed) attempt at reading 100 books last year.

* The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey -- The most compelling novel I've read in a long time, this made my "best recommendations" list immediately.

* Goodnight Tweetheart -- A cute and fast-paced novel, written mostly in "tweet" form, with a touching romance at the heart of it.

* How to Read the Air -- A novel about the immigrant experience, told through the perhaps unreliable eyes of an emotionally conflicted son.

* On Reading: Beyond the Story Time -- An essay about ways to keep reading at the center of many of the experiences I have with my kids.

* Soup Day -- A delightful picture book that was perfectly timed for January's National Soup Month status!

* Disaster Preparedness -- A funny, but touching memoir of a woman whose parents raised her to always think of the worst case scenario.

* The Inadequate Conception -- A book about the adventures in infertility- written in a humorous and lively tone, recognizing the hilarity mixed in with the struggles.

* DC Super-Pets -- A cute new early chapter book series about the pets of the famous DC Comics superheroes and villains.

* Where's Walrus? -- A wordless picture book with bright illustrations that portray a feisty walrus on the run. This one's a giveaway that's still open!

* Skipping a Beat -- Loved this new sophomore novel from a Washington, DC, area author!

* Enough About Love -- A French novel about falling in love in the most romantic city in the world, Paris... nice, right? Except that some of the people experiencing new love are already married. This one's another open giveaway!



Always ready to chat books,