Wednesday, July 27, 2011

What's On My Nightstand: July 2011


It's the end of July and we are in the midst of a very hot summer. Yesterday was the "What's On Your Nightstand" monthly posting at 5 Minutes for Books and I missed posting... so better late than never! Perhaps it's the heat, or perhaps it's the fact that I'm 5.2 months pregnant at any rate I'm in a reading and blogging funk. My reading has been light and sparodic for the last month and my blogging has been even worse.


Currently on my nightstand I am in the midst of two books:


I love a good Angela Thirkell Barsetshire novel and August Folly is the fourth in the series... but this one doesn't read quite as well as the previous three I've read. I'm not sure why, but I am making slow progress through this book.

A Novel Bookstore is a recent release that was translated to English from French (its original publication) and contains a story mixed in mystery, suspense and philosophy. I've read rave reviews of this book and in my attempt to find something unique, interesting and modern I grabbed this one during a library visit. I'm about ¼ of the way into the story, but the verdict is still out. We'll have to see what I end up thinking.


Upcoming reads that I need to have finished by the end of September (our next book club meeting) include:

My book club is reading section two of The Passion of the Western Mind, which focuses on the Roman worldview and its influence on literature. As a result we are also to read William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (a play I read in high school) and a few of the lives contained in Plutarch's Lives (i.e. Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus,  and Antony). I'm debating about skipping Julius Caesar since I've already read it and focusing just on Plutarch... But we shall see. There is plenty of time. The question is only my attention span. Hopefully once the summer heat disapates I'll be able to focus better.

Other than that... As I said, I'm in a rather funk. I haven't had the attention span or energy to read anything deep, so that has eliminated any classic I might otherwise consider reading, which leaves me with just light or modern books. To be quite honest I'm in such a funk I haven't felt like reading much at all. What I need is a really inspiring or exciting book to read... Something that is not too heavy in content or in writing style and yet has a genuinely interesting and well-written plot. Know of such a book? Let me know.

Perhaps I shall take my own advise and head over to 5 Minutes for Books to see what other bloggers are reading and have waiting on their nightstand.

5 comments:

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

If you like history and haven't already read it, might I recommend Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand? It's a very absorbing story!

I checked out sn Angela Thirkell novel from the library, but I ran out of time before I could get to it. Maybe one day!

I missed the fact that you're expecting a new little one. Congratulations! Pregnancy does sometimes hinder the intellectual productivity, doesn't it? ;-)

Sarah M. said...

Amy, thanks. I read and loved Unbroken. I reviewed it in May here: http://libraryhospital.blogspot.com/2011/06/unbroken-world-war-ii-story-of-survival.html

Cassandra said...

A Novel Bookstore looks really intriguing. I hope you end up enjoying it!

I've never seen Plutarch's Lives on someone's nightstand post. :) I've heard it's a really interesting book, though.

Congratulations on the baby! Hopefully he/she lets you feel inspired to read soon. :)

Carrie said...

Definitely in a funk myself. Most definitely. Having a hard time working up the urge to read these days...

Gunnar Deckare said...

A novel bookstore sounds interesting. I wonder if I can find this one in my librarary. Maybbe in Swedish translation if I am lucky.

On my nightstand are a couple of Italian crime novels. Il commissario Montalbano