Nightstand Books—April

April. Otherwise known as Month of Crazy. My two online classes finish this month so I will be studying for exams, as well as my two AP tests and the second SAT test. For some crazy reason, I decided to do Camp NaNoWriMo. I'm going to a board game "convention" with my dad. Choir concerts are starting. I have three editing/beta-ing projects in various degrees off progress which need finishing, plus my own fantasy novel. And don't forget that senior recital to practice practice practice for!
And, I have a stack of books to read:

At the top is The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall. The fourth Penderwicks book came out last week and I devoured it in two days. I was feeling withdrawal symptoms, so I started to re-read the second book again, even though I re-read the series in December. They're just so good! I don't know how I will be able to wait another 3-5 years for the final book. I could have my own children to read this books to by then! O.o

Next is Five Complete Agatha Christie mysteries. I just finished The ABC Murders last night. If you aren't sure where to start with Agatha Christie (she does have about a hundred books), I would suggest starting with The ABC Murders. It was fantastic. I am berating myself for not seeing what was coming at the end. Next I'm going to read Cards on the Table which will be great because it has Ariadne Oliver in it. She's my favorite Agatha Christie character.
Other great Christie mysteries to start with are Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None. The Mysterious Affair at Styles is also quite exciting. It was her first novel and introduces the character Hercule Poirot.

1984 by George Orwell. I don't know why I had it in my head that I would love this book. I started out enjoying it, but it's gone downhill. More in my review.
I'm reading 1984 for my reading challenge. It was supposed to be done in March but I'm having a hard time getting through it. Since April's book is The Hunger Games, and since I'm expecting it to be a short read, I figured it would be okay to finish 1984 in April. I'm nearly finished so I think I might plow through the rest over the weekend.

The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. Every few days I pick this up and read a few pages. I don't actually consider myself reading it... more like browsing through it.

The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller. Isn't that a fantastic title? This is my nonfiction book for the month. Last month I was reading a book on the history of showtunes and Broadway by the fabulous William Zinsser, which I only got two chapters into. Instead, last month's nonfiction was Red Scarf Girl, a memoir of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. I was going to have the Broadway book be this month's nonfiction, but it sadly has to go back to the library. Instead, I will read The Year of Reading Dangerously (dun dun dun!), which is a book about a man's journey to read classic fiction that he missed reading earlier in life. It sounds like a great read!

And finally, A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones. This was on my pile last month and I still haven't read it. I think I will start it after I finish the Penderwicks book (and maybe after 1984).

Tomorrow I should be back with the 777 tag that has been circling blogger. I'm also hoping to have my reviews for both Twilight (last month's reading challenge book) and 1984 out sometime this month as well.

What are YOU reading?

Live long and prosper!

Nightstand Books of March

February was a month of great success reading-wise. I finished eight books, including all of the ones on last month's Nightstand Books!

Before I share this month's Nightstand Books picture, I want to say that I am not currently reading all of these. Even I—who feel most comfortable when reading three books—would not be crazy enough to try reading eight books at once. No, these just happen to be the book that are currently on my nightstand.

On the top we have There's Treasure Everywhere by Bill Watterson, which is a Calvin and Hobbes book. This one and Revenge of the Baby-Sat are the only two I have left to read before I've read them all this year.

Next is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. After hearing so many wonderful things about this Cinderella retelling from several different people, and since I love the movie so much, I decided to pick it up when I saw it at the library. I'm about halfway through right now and really enjoying it! Although, currently, I think I like the movie better... probably because I've been watching it since I was a little kid.

Below Ella is The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen. This is the third book in the Ascendance Trilogy and I am also about halfway through this book. This trilogy is blowing my mind. There are so many plot twists! If you haven't read them before, check them out! They are really good. The first book is called The False Prince. The series follows an orphan named Sage and his dealings with the throne of Carthya.

The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse is next on the stack. I started reading this because I needed a Wodehouse fix, but didn't want to start anything new. This book isn't a novel, but it's not short stories either. It's like several short stories spread over several chapters.

Next up is 1984 by George Orwell. This is my reading challenge book for March. In my writing class we've read several of Orwell's essays and I like his writing style. I've never read any of his novels; I don't even know what they are about. I can't wait to start!

Underneath Orwell is Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis, another author I have heard much about but have never read. My history class just finishing studying the early 1900s, when this book is set. Wikipedia says that Babbitt is a satire of American's conformity culture, so it should be interesting to read, especially because of when it is set. The early 1900s are my favorite historical time period.

A Tale of Time by Diana Wynne Jones is underneath Babbitt. I love Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones so I figured I should read another one of her books. This one is about a girl who has to time travel to save the world... or something like that. It looked interesting. I'll probably start it after I finish Ella Enchanted and The Shadow Throne. 

Finally, Four Faultless Felons by G.K. Chesterton is on the bottom. Again, an author who I have heard many good things about, but have never picked up. I don't know if I'm going to get around to reading this one before it has to go back to the library. I picked it up because it was there, on the shelf, and seemed to be calling my name. It's also rather short. But I do have quite a few other books to read this month. We shall see. 

What are YOU reading?

Nightstand Books—February

Nightstand Books hosted by Jenelle Schmidt and DJ Edwardson is back! Yay!

Here is my nightstand:

Starting at the top...

Haphazardly Implausible by Jack Lewis Baillot.
I'm re-reading this in preparation for editing Book the Third and am enjoying it SO. MUCH! Jack, if you're reading this: girl, you are talented! This is such a wonderful book—go find it and read it.

Claude Debussy by Paul Roberts.
One of my goals this year is to read one nonfiction a month. This biography was going to be last months... but then I had to read a nonfiction for school (What Went Wrong? by Bernard Lewis. It was a great book) so I decided that this book would be February's nonfiction.
Claude Debussy was a French composer in the late 1800s-early 1900s. His music was very controversial and inventive for the time.
Here is one of his pieces:

Weirdos from Another Planet by Bill Waterson.
A Calvin and Hobbes comic book. Little known Abbey fact: I love comics. My most-read author is Jim Davis, who writes the Garfield comic. I read all of the Garfield books up through fifty when I was younger.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.
I plan on starting this one tonight... It's February's reading challenge book.
Funny story... we went to the library and I was looking in the youth adult section for Twilight. Normally, I stay far, far away from the young adult section because I don't have a very high regard for YA fiction. That, coupled with the secret knowledge that I was there looking for Twilight (of all books) had me rather jumpy and very embarrassed. Who should show up at that very moment? A librarian from my childhood! She did story time at the library when I was little every week and, somehow, she still remembers me. We run into each other every other year or so... Anyway, that added to my embarrassment. In the end, since the library didn't have it, I ended up buying a cheap copy at the used bookstore (that was embarrassing too... ugh, I had to carry it around!). Maybe I can burn it when I'm finished with it. Haha.
My review for Romeo and Juliet, my first reading challenge book, should be up later this week.

The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer.
This is a steampunk book that I have heard a bit about on youtube's book community. I read the synopsis and it looked interesting (alternate USA where the Revolutionary War never happened? Whoa) so I got it out from the library.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielson.
This is a book Jack highly recommended, so when I saw it on the shelf, I couldn't resist getting it out from the library.

What are YOU reading?

Live long and prosper.

Nightstand books of August.

It's here again... You can find out more information HERE.

There are three categories to this pile... Books I'm reading, books I'm still reading, and books I hope to start in the month of August.

On top is The Princess Bride by William Goldman one of the most wonderful and brilliant books ever. Most people are familiar with the movie, and the book is just as good or even better. When I need a book to just take my mind off of the world (or off of the other book I'm reading/have been reading forever...) The Princess Bride (or Sharon Creech) is where I go.

Next down is Do Butlers Burgle Banks? by P.G. Wodehouse. I'm not too far in yet, but it promises to be just as entertaining as all the other books I've read by him.

I'll just breeze over the next two... though I have been making very good progress in Ivanhoe. I'm really, really enjoying it.

The rest of the books are books I'm hoping to read this month. Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie, which is a library book and, therefore, has to get read.

Underneath that is the second Horatio Hornblower book. I enjoyed the first one very much and am looking forward to continuing the series!

And finally, the first book in the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter. Only, it's in Dutch, not English, hence the Dutch Dictionary, to help me along.

Live long and prosper.

Nightstand Books?

No one else has their posts up yet, and since I haven't heard to the contrary, I suppose it is still going on...
This is what I have been reading the past month of June!

I didn't finish one single book in June. Isn't that horrible? This month will be chock full of reading, I'm sure.

Some people have comfort foods, or comfort possessions, and I have comfort books. Replay by Sharon Creech is one of them. The story follows Leo, a 12-year-old boy living in a large Italian family. He has two nicknames: Fog Boy, because he's a dreamer, and Sardine, because, once, he said that he felt like a sardine squished in a can. He often feels invisible in his family, especially since Papa had his heart attack three years ago and changed from happy into testy. When Leo finds his father's Autobiography, Age 13 in the attic, Leo can hardly believe that the carefree boy in the book is his father. And who is the mysterious aunt in the pictures who is never talked about anymore? At school, Leo and his classmates prepare to be in a play that their teacher wrote: Rumpopo's Porch. Leo plays the Old Crone.
Sharon Creech was my favorite author when I was younger. Something about her books just appeals to me.
I think it's that the stories are about regular kids doing regular things and going through regular changes and trying to figure everything out. There are no wars, no explosions, no damsels in distress (well, except maybe in The Castle Corona), only regular, everyday sorts of mishaps and adventures.
The only fault in her writing is that rather than look to God for answers, her characters look into themselves. If Sharon Creech had lived 100 years ago, she probably would have been a Bohemian. 200 or 300 years ago, an Enlightenment thinker. I can't stand them either.
Another thing that I love about Replay is watching Leo and his classmates get ready for their play. This book has so many interweaving plot lines, just like life. They don't all come together at the end in a massive plot twist, but how often does that happen in real life?

Next on the list is another comfort book... The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. I started reading this one last night at 2:30 AM when I couldn't sleep. This morning, after some consideration, I decided not to finish this one and put it back on the shelf. After I finish the other books I'm reading, I'll treat myself to The Penderwick sisters and their summer adventure as they vacation at Arundal Hall.

To the Lighthouse by Virgiania Woolf. I hate this book. I'm reading it for literature. I hate this book. More on it later, when I review it. It is the reason I can't stand Bohemians. Ugh.

These next three should look familiar...

Agatha Christie's Autobiography! Yep, still reading this one. I've gotten to World War One. Agatha has begun to write (finally!) and she's married her first husband. Hoping to finish this one in July...

The World of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. There are about six more short stories in this collection and I'll be finished with this one too.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. I'm hoping to finish this one in July as well. I'm really enjoying it, but it's size daunts me. Thankfully, we're going camping in July for a week or so and I am free to spend most of my time reading and writing.

So far my summer reading list is not coming as planned. At all. Other than A.C's Autobiography and To the Lighthouse, I haven't even looked at or started any of the other books on the list. I might make a new one.

***

Speaking of writing... This month I'm taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo!

My project is a fantasy story I started at the beginning of the year, which I am writing out by hand. It came to a screeching halt roundabout March or April because of some plot and character problems, but I really wanted to finish this story, so I decided to try get it done (at least, most of it) this month for Camp NaNo! I work better on a schedule, where I can see my progress as I go along. The plot and character problems have sorted themselves out, thankfully, and while I'm sure I will have numerous plot holes to deal with in Draft Two (because since I'm not using an outline for the first time in forever, my plot keep changing), I no longer feel debilitated because of a character's not so glorious past. 

(Notebook no. 2, and Trusty Pencil)

Princess Rozella has been waiting twenty years to be rescued from her bubble on the peak of Tallest Mountain. Finally, she is saved by a mysterious duo... The Prisoner and The Hag. They take her back to First Country, where she is supposed to marry King John, whose plans include more than marriage... they include taking over the world! 

The Prisoner, even though he rescued Rozella, like King John wanted, is thrown back into the dungeon where he has spent the last decade and a half, for the simple crime of being different, for being unknown.

And what about those shadows permeating the woods, the rumors penetrating the towns? Are they just shadows, are they just rumors, or are the shadows a darker, more sinister threat, come from over mountains and across deserts, to wreak havoc in the land of humans?

I'm not sure how much of the story I already have... Maybe between 40,000 and 50,000 words. And for Camp NaNoWriMo, I have another 2,000+ to add to that already. My goal is 30,000 words, which puts me at about 1000 words a day - or four notebook pages.

And even with these extra 30,000 words, I'm not sure if I'll actually finish the story! It's turning out to be reeeeeeeeeaaaalllyyy long. Which is actually kind of nice, because I can take time with the story. It's also nice not working with an outline. It gives me more freedom, breathing room. I can let the story travel on its own. I do have a sort-of outline in my head, of course... I know the key moments (what happens in the middle, what happens in the end), but getting to those key moments, and what exactly happens in those key moments, I'm just letting happen. 

If I do manage to finish the story this month, I will most likely read through it in the next three months and write up a detailed outline then, so that when NaNoWriMo comes around in November, I can use it to type up the story. Technically that's not allowed... but I don't think they'd mind. Besides, it'll almost be a whole new novel, because it will need a complete overhaul and rewrite as I type it up.

I'm really excited for this project! Over the next few months and years, I'm hoping to rewrite this book several times to fully develop the plot and characters so they seem real (even if it is a fantasy world). I also hope to fully develop the fantasy world as well. It's an interesting place, and I only know about a small corner of it. That's all my characters know too. The humans daren't pass over the mountains that border their land (not that they have any reason to anyway). Unfortunately, there's nothing stopping other creatures from coming over the mountains into human territory. 

Anyway, by the time I'm finished with it, I'm hoping to have something epic, along the lines of The Faerie Queene or Beowulf or The Lord of the Rings.

***

To look out for in the next few weeks...

1. Book review of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

2. Book review of To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.

3. The final four days of our Holland trip, and two extra posts on Holland (roads and churches).

So what are you up to this summer? Reading any good books? Writing? Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo? Are you going camping?

Live long and prosper!

Nightstand Books #2

Notice any similarities between this month's Nightstand Books (click the link for info) and the last one I participated in?
3 of the 4 books are the same! And the 4th from last time is the same author as a book on this month's pile.
So lets take an in-depth look at this month's Nightstand Books.

The top two books are books that I'm hoping to start in the next few weeks.
On the tippy topis The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. I got this out of the library on impulse before we went on our trip, knowing that I could read it when I got back. Now, however, I'm not sure if I'll get to it before it has to go back.
Second down is Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. For my Church History course, I'm supposed to do projects. The course comes with project suggestions but so far I've mostly just made up my own. I'm just coming to the Crusades right now, and since Ivanhoe takes place during the Crusades, I thought why not read it for a project? It's kind of intimidating though... Especially with all those other books stacked up with it. There's a lot of big books in the pile!
Third is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I actually finished this one a few days ago, but felt like I missed a whole pile of stuff because I was focusing mostly on plot and characters. Also, since I was reading it while on vacation, I wasn't reading it as critically as I would normally read a book for literature. So, on Monday, I did a whole pile of research on Great Expectations, looking at themes and character analysis and such, and then started the book again. Wow, I'm finding more and more reason to be amazed at this story! Look forward to a very detailed review in a few weeks time.
After that is The World of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse which is an omnibus of all the Jeeves and Wooster short stories. I've read them all (and very recently too, because I only discovered wonderful Wodehouse in February!), but since they're light, fluffy reads, I figured why not read them again? Plus, these are all in chronological order of how they happen story wise, which I didn't have the first time 'round. Plus, the first time, I didn't have a beautiful omnibus version to read, but separate collections.
And after that is Agatha Christie's Autobiography. I think I'm going to take my time finishing this one, because of the other things on my reading list. Right now I'm at the point in her life where she's beginning to go out in company, and is thinking about courtship and marriage.
American Girl Doll Josefina's stories are next. This is a bind up of all six of her books. I've gotten through three of them now and am just about to start Happy Birthday, Josefina! I read the Josefina books once a long, long time ago, and could only remember bits and pieces of the plot. Before we left, I felt like I needed something light to read, along with the "heavier" books I was reading at the time. I'm so glad I picked Josefina! I'm really enjoying her stories, and I'm super, super impressed with the writing and the inclusion of God and moral principles in the story. Josefina and her sisters are taught to be polite to their elders, hard workers, to trust God in times of hardship and fright, and to dedicate their day to God in the morning. Who would have thought it possible from a secular company! Of course, Josefina's stories were written 15 or 20 years ago, and even in that small space of time, lots has changed in this world.
If you have little girls or know little girls, go forth and read them America Girl stories (at least Samantha, Kit, Kaya, Josefina, Kirsten, Molly, and Felicity). There is so much history packed into the stories (with the exception of Marie-Grace and Cecile) and, in the earlier books (I haven't read too many of the newer ones; only Marie-Grace and Cecile and Julie), good principles. The girls in these stories are truly role models!
At the bottom is Jane Austen's Letters which I'm about ready to give up on. I'm enjoying them, but what with a fast approaching due-date, and so many other books to read (on top of schoolwork and blog work and going to bed earlier), I think I might step away from Jane Austen's Letters. I wish Goodreads had a I'm-giving-up-on-this-book-no-I-don't-want-to-add-it-to-my-want-to-read-pile option. Maybe I just haven't looked far enough.

What are YOU reading?

Live long and prosper!

P.S. I still fully intend to post about our trip! I'm just finding time to write up long, thought-out blog posts a little scarce right now. Which is also why I haven't written up a review for Wuthering Heights, my last literature book. And I was doing so well being caught up...

Nightstand Books: The First

Nightstand Books is exactly what it sounds like: a post of what books are on your nightstand! This fun, new linkup is hosted by the fabulous Jenelle Leanne Schmidt and DJ Edwardson.
The first Wednesday of every month, you simply take a picture of the books that are currently on your nightstand, and write a post about them! (and link up with the others doing it)
You know me, I love talking about the books I'm reading... and this is the perfect opportunity to!
Without further ado... my nightstand:

 

 

Starting at the top, we have Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I'm reading this for literature class and really enjoying it so far! Technically we're still on Wuthering Heights (which I also enjoyed... review coming in the nearish future) but I really wanted to get Great Expectations finished before the middle of this month, for secretive reasons I shan't disclose at the present. (Mwahahaha.)

From what I heard about Dickens, I had great expectations for Great Expectations (see what I did there?). Alright, maybe not great expectations, per se... But from what I had gleaned from other readers, Dickens is really super tough to read and get through. That had me apprehensive, but I was happy to find that he's not so difficult to understand after all! His writing style is similar to Jane Austen's in that it's old fashioned, but not indiscernible.

Next there is Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. I discovered the world of Wodehouse in February and have fast fallen for his brilliant writing style and characters. His Jeeves books are definitely not to be taken too seriously and they make excellent brain candy reading. Thank You, Jeeves is the first Jeeves and Wooster novel (before it come several short story collections) and I'm enjoying it tremendously! My favorite episode of the TV series is based off of this story.

Third down is Jane Austen's Letters which is exactly like it sounds: a collection of Jane Austen's letters. Most of them are to her sister Cassandra and are, altogether, very interesting! I love reading people's letters or autobiographies, especially if the people lived in a historical time period. Textbooks and Wikipedia pages can only tell you so much about that time... but reading the everyday occurrences of someone who actually lived at the time can be so enlightening! It's like a peek into a different world.

Which brings me to... Agatha Christie's Autobiography. Everything I said about the above also applies to this book. Wow, what an interesting person Agatha Christie is! I recently finished a book of her letters to her mother when she traveled around the world with her husband in the 1920's (it was so so so good) and figured I'd just move right along into her autobiography. I haven't gotten too far into her life yet. She's only just entered the teen years. Did you know she never really wrote much as a child? She loved to read, and she had many make believe worlds and friends (including several imaginary train tracks in her backyard), but she never wrote. Instead she played piano, acted, danced, swan, and learned French. She wasn't an outstanding child - actually, she was rather normal. Her childhood games reminds me of my own.

Underneath those four books are three or four notebooks, several pieces of paper, and a folder or two. All are filled with stories or story ideas. Aaaand up in the left hand corner, you can see Dori photobombing. I decided to have his make a cameo appearance instead of the other half of my nightstand, which is the top of my dresser. It's rather messy, filled with bits of paper and bookmarks. I didn't think you'd be interested in that.

So what are YOU reading?

Live long and prosper!