Week of 12/9: What are you reading now? What's waiting on your nightstand?

[Caryl]

What are you reading this week? What are you looking forward to reading soon?

You can just list the book or books you're working on, or you can add a few sentences about them, or you can write a short review for us, if you like!

Share your book experiences with us here. :)

[Ursula]

I'm reading The Last Girls by Lee Smith.

I plan to read A Single Step: A Memoir by Heather Mills McCartney ne xt.

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Ursula
Me: 35, Dh: 34 (1989)
<font color="#FF850B"><font size=2pt> Dd: May 2001</font></font>
18 Months
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[Kathleen]

I've just started The Nanny Diaries, and I am not sure what to think yet. I'll check back once I get further into the book. I've also been reading a book that my sil gave to me called Between Ourselves: Letters Between Mothers and Daughters 1750-1982. It is an interesting collection of letters that has been compiled with a decided feminist perspective. Some of the letters are fascinating, and some are heartbreaking, but I have enjoyed reading them.

[SusanH]

Kathleen, that compilation of letters sounds fascinating! I'm going to have to try and find a copy. :)

I'm still reading everything I was reading last week. Susy was sick and when she was actually asleep, I was making Christmas presents, so almost no reading was accomplished.

[StephanieR]

I thought I'd like to join you all. I've been trying to read as much as possible. I have been posting on AFI, trying for #1.
I am currently reading Harry Potter #4.
I just finished Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. It was a WONDERFUL book!!!
I also just read Skipping Christmas. It was a cute story and interesting to see Grisham write something different.
On the night stand is Ya Ya Sisterhood, Icy Sparks (for book club) and Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich.
Again, I highly recommend Good in Bed if you haven't read it!!!!
Steph

[Lisa Jo]

I really enjoyed Good in Bed too! I'm jealous that you already have the newest Stephanie Plum book waiting for you... I'm on a long hold list at the library. There are at least 3 Janet E fans here on the board (me, Caryl, SusanH)! :D

[Caryl]

Welcome, Stephanie! Yes, I'm one of the Janet E. fans here. I have High Five on my nightstand right now.

Kathleen, that book of letters does sound neat! I'll be interested to hear what you think of Nanny Diaries. It was a quick read for me, but I found it pretty sad, although parts are funny.

I've been very busy, too. I did read the first essay in Sedaris' Holidays On Ice, "The SantaLand Diaries," and it was pretty funny. I'm skipping the rest of the essays, though, since I heard they aren't as good. Lisa, did you get a chance to listen to your tape? Our library has it, too, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Hope you're enjoying the laughter!

Next up is Skipping Christmas, which I should finish this week (along with the Christmas cards I'm making!)

[Lisa Jo]

Oops, looks like I forgot to list what I'm reading. I'm currently reading Anna Quindlen's Blessings, which is ok but not particularly compelling for me. It's taking me longer to finish than it should.

Waiting in the wings are Sense and Sensibility (I'm going on a Jane Austen re-reading spree!), The Birchbark House, which I've decided will actually be the next book I read aloud to Corey, and a bit of fluff from Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I also received a book I ordered through Amazon (and StorkNet!) called Children With Starving Brains - A Medical Treatment Guide for Autistic Spectrum Disorder that I am not quite ready to dig into.

I have lots of things on hold at the library so a flood should be coming soon. :)

Edited to say that I am listening to David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day on cassette and thoroughly enjoying it. Definitely LOL material!

[SusanH]

Lisa, if you're looking for comedic fluff, Jennifer Crusie is my new favorite. Her books are definitely not deep, lol, but I did find them amusing. Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a bit hit or miss, now that I've read most of her novels. I'm afraid you began with my favorite of her novels, so it may be all downhill from here. ;)

However, let nothing deter you from Jane Austen. I have begun recommending Northanger Abbey to everyone as I consider it an overlooked gem. Very light and amusing, and next year it will be made into a television movie. According to some Austen fanatics who have read the script (by the same man who wrote the recent P&P adaptation), it is excellent.

I hope you and Corey like The Birchbark House. I am about halfway through it and I'm enjoying it very much.

As for Janet Evanovich, definitely count me as a fan. I have the latest on reserve at the library, but I believe it will be a long wait. I even made DH read them. I don't think he really thinks they are good, yet he can't stop reading the series, lol.

Welcome Stephanie! I've heard quite a bit about Good in Bed, I'll have to check it out.

[amykw33]

Lisa, I finished "Me Talk Pretty One Day" over Thanksgiving - yes, it is LOL material :D

I am now reading "Samuel Johnson is Indignant" by Lydia Davis (very spare short stories). DH bought me the new AM Homes collection "Things You Ought To Know" for my b-day so that's next at bat.

[AquariJenn]

My fiction reading is on hold for the moment. I'm waiting ever so patiently to see the next Lord of the Rings movie to before I tackle The Two Towers. Nothing else on my shelf is calling to me at this moment so I'm reading:

* Yule: A Celebration of Light & Warmth by Dorothy Morrison - This book has wonderful information about Winter Solstice traditions (most of which have been adopted as Christmas traditions!) and provides recipes, crafts, and activities to do for a celebration of the season.

* Birthing from Within: An extra-ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation by Pam England and Rob Horowitz - I wanted to read this when Iw as pregnant with Katelyn but never bought a copy. It is an interesting approach to preparing for childbirth by tuning into your body through journaling and art making. Everything in this book may not be approriate for me and my situation, but it is an interesting approach.