Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What's On MY Nightstand - November

November has been a busy month of reading for me, unlike October. In October I dedicated almost all my reading time to finishing Bleak House, which carried over into November. But once that was finished I chose several lighter and shorter reads. Thus this month has seen a number of books land on my nightstand. The following are the books that are currently by my bedside:

1. Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear. I recently re-watched the film, Miss Potter, and was curious to read more about Beatrix Potter. I read a short biography on her about ten or more years ago, but I don't remember much and Ms. Lear's book at 447 pages seems much more extensive and with the illustrations, much more complete. I expect this book to be on my nightstand for some time due to its length and genre.



2. Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel by Arthur Golden . I received this book courtesy of Amy during the Autumn Book Swap I co-hosted with Carrie at Reading To Know. Memoirs of a Geisha is Amy's favorite book of all-time and reaches my nightstand with many recommendations from a variety of people. At 499 pages (in small print), this too is likely to be on my nightstand for a few weeks.





3. Journey To the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. I've kept away from Verne's books because of a vague recollection that they were difficult to read/understand. But with all the recent attention to the book because of the Brendon Fraser movie I thought maybe I should give Verne another chance. I am curious about the movie, but know I must read the book first because I'm certain it will be superior to anything on the screen. No surprise (thanks to the recent movie) I have had to wait for a copy at my local library, but it's in and I am hoping to pick it up before the holiday and I'm excited to take a closer look at one of Jules Verne's books.

6 comments:

Carrie said...

Awesome, AWESOME picks! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of them. Particularly Memoirs of a Geisha.

Rebecca Reid said...

They all sound great. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on them!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha. I've also been thinking of reading a Potter bio for the some reason you mentioned. I know I did when I was in high school, but don't remember much at all.

Alicia said...

What very interesting books! I'm also trying to read the original books of movies coming out these days.

Stephanie Kay said...

Those all look really interesting. I had wanted to see the Beatrix Potter movie but never got around to going. Maybe a biography would be better than the movie.

Sarah M. said...

Stephanie, I LOVED Miss Potter, if you haven't seen it yet, you should. It was really good. But definitely read a bio on Beatrix Potter. She led a sad, but fascinating life.

Dancebythelight, I'm glad to hear you loved Memoirs of a Geisha. You're the second person to say that and it has spurred me on in my reading. I was 100 pages in and hating the story... but I pressed on and it's getting better. More in my review in a week or so. :)