What's On My Nightstand?

Every book lover has a stack right? Here's mine... and the pile has spilled to the floor! Although all the rainy northwest days temp me to sit in a comfy chair by the fire, I do most of my reading during the warmer months. The best thing about summer is sitting in a lawnchair with your feet on the grass reading a good book! I can't wait... if it ever stops raining! I realized a while ago I read too many books to review. But here are a few that I recommend.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
I was worried this one would be cheesey. Henry is a time traveler who becomes friends with Clare, a young girl playing the meadow. This is a tender story about love through time, longing and loss. (There are a few racey scenes in this book for those who are sensitive to such things.)

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
I was so excited for the release of this book because I think Elizabeth Kostova's previous book The Historian, which I have talked about before, is a favorite read. May of the reviews of this book weren't as good, probably because they were trying too hard to compare these two titles. No it's not The Historian, but still a very good read. This book is also narrated by the three main characters allowing the reader to live in each point of view one chapter at a time. One of which is the story of Andrew Marlow, a pyschiatrist as he uncovers the mysteries of this latest patient. Robert Oliver's a well known artist attempts to slash a major work of art and then falls silent. It is up to Andrew to solve the puzzle. Elizbeth Kostova is quite the storyteller and although I enjoyed this one I don't see myself reading it over and over again.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Kenneth read this one a couple of years ago. I remember how emotional he was while he was reading it and well, I just didn't want to get emotionally involved. I am so glad I finally gave in. The Road is a post apocalyptic book about a father and a son, traveling down a deserted road. The relationship between this father and son is so beautiful and the language used to describe the landscape and the lonliness... A book hasn't completely touched me since reading A Tale of Two Cities when I was 13. I understand there was a movie made of this book. I can't imagine how you capture the this book on film... and from the reviews it sounds like they were not successful. This one is a must read! The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Thriller
A thrilling mystery revealed one chapter at a time by a different author. I just began listening to this one on my Audible account. So far so good...

Check back for my journey through the prion controversy!

I also updated some of the books in my stack on the side of this blog. Let me know if you have read any of these!

What have you read lately?