nightstand/ wanna review some reviews?

I could give you lots and lots of excuses reasons why I haven't participated in the Nightstand carnival since JULY, but blah, blah, kids, job, blah, blah. Whatever. Ironically enough, I'm putting up a post this month, even though my bookshelf resembles Old Mother Hubbard's pitiful cupboard. Well, for my own personal reading options, that is. If you're looking for picture books, well guess what? I've got those a'plenty thanks to the Cybils, and there's no nightstand that could hold them all!

This is from last week, or about fifty books ago...

Other than the 264 picture books I'm trying to get my hands on for the Cybils, my own reading has gone down significantly since my return to full-time teaching. When I'm not in the classroom or prepping materials for the class or writing lesson plans for the class or reviewing observational notes on my students or preparing developmental reports and portfolios for my students... well, I'm usually sleeping, but I'm trying to read a bit here and there. Here's what I've got right now:

* Fathermucker by Greg Olear -- I finished this one this month, and it cracked me up time and time again. I wrote up my review the other night only to have WordPress swallow it up unsaved, so that sucked. I'll be trying to regather my thoughts to resubmit the review, but let me suffice it to say this. The SAHD main character loves his kids (even when he indulges them a bit too much, in some opinions), and he loves his profanity (which may turn off some readers, but was a huge boon in the believability department for me and the folks with whom I roll). I thought it was frickin hilarious.

* Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal by Russell Brand -- Speaking of profanity. Whoo-boy, Russell Brand (otherwise known 'round these parts as my celebrity boyfriend after my trip to LA earlier this year and a smooch that was bestowed upon by the freakishly tall, surprisingly sexy actor) is just as funny in print as he was in person. Oddly enough, I am finding a large number of words in this memoir to be completely out of my vocabulary range, so it might not hurt to have a dictionary on-hand. This guy has had quite a life so far, and he honestly describes his quest for fame here, never denying that it's an amazing gig if you can get it, even when he finds himself less than emotionally satisfied.

* Love and Shame and Love by Peter Orner -- I don't have this book on my shelf yet, but hopefully it will be coming in soon. I requested it a while back and it doesn't release until November, so I hope the publisher hasn't forgotten about me. Honestly, I don't remember much from the pitch, but I do remember being immediately drawn to it, and if you look at the descriptions and review quotes on the Amazon listing, it sounds like many big folks are wowed by this novel. I do hope that it finds its way to my doorstep and bookshelf!

* What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver -- A good friend loaned me this book of short stories, which is perfect for the attention span I can give to reading most of the time lately. I'm not sure how I feel about his style after a few stories... kinda grim and dark and not too "love"ly, but I'm pretty sure that's the point.





So, that's what I'm kinda-sorta-when-I-can-read reading these days. How about you? We love to take a peek at your own bookshelves or nightstand piles over at 5 Minutes for Books in What's On Your Nightstand? so come on over and link up or hit us up in the comments!

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If you're so inclined, you can check out my reviews, but since I haven't posted one of these round-ups since July, there are about twenty-five reviews and essays on there, including a couple memoirs, a few fabulous novels, some beautiful picture books, and even a bit of nonfiction. Check out my reviews here, listed from most recent to older posts.


Wishing I was reading more,