What's On Your Nightstand?

Besides a bookmark, a flash drive, a bottle of water, a box of Moon Drops (helps relieve occasional sleeplessness by soothing the mind and easing you into a natural sleep) and a cup of coffee, I have a rotating pile of books on my nightstand. It's the overflow from my headboard, which is stuffed with books, as well.

So I thought I'd share what I'm reading right now from the books on my nightstand. Did I mention that I read more than one book at a time? I'm not sure this is normal, but I just go with whatever I'm in the mood for.

• First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones. It is freaking hilarious! Charley (short for Charlotte) Davidson is a PI and just happens to be the grim reaper. I was hooked when Charley shows up at a murder scene to investigate. The dead guy is scared so his spirit refuses to leave his body. He just peeks out now and then to see what's going on. So Charley kicks the body and says something like, "Dude, get out of there. You're dead." Of course a police officer witnesses her kicking a dead body and then everyone knows how weird Charley is. Okay, you had to be there. But really. It's a fun read.

• Opening Heaven's Door, Investigating Stories of Life, Death, and What Comes After by Patricia Pearson. Like it sounds, it's the study of what happens to the dying with some pretty cool stories mixed in. I like the one where the terminally ill 80 year old lady says she's been sitting and talking to her son who'd been dead for twenty years. Whether you believe or not, it's some pretty interesting stuff. I have to take it in small doses, though. It's not the sort of book I'd read cover to cover all at once.

• Break Out! by Joel Osteen. I haven't actually started this one yet, but I've read other books by Osteen (It's Your Time) which I really enjoyed. He's the modern day Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking). He always has positive things to say and is so encouraging. I like the fact that he has a multimillion dollar mega-church that he doesn't take a penny from. Instead, he makes his income through writing books. It's another sort of book that I take my time with. A few pages at a time to mull and ponder over what he's said.

• If You Want To Walk On Water You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat by John Ortberg. I'm about halfway through this book. It's basically a metaphor about having faith and stepping outside your comfort zone. It's religious in nature, of course, with the basis in Peter walking across the wind-swept Sea of Galilee toward Jesus. Walking on water takes faith. "It was Peter's willingness to risk failure that helped him to grow." The metaphor is a little overdone at times, but he has some good things to say. This is another book that I take in small doses, a couple of pages at a time. Some things just need pondering.

• Before The Poison by Peter Robinson. I'm halfway through. I've read tons of Peter Robinson's books. You might know him better by his DCI Alan Banks mystery series on PBS. This isn't part of the series, but I thought I'd give it a try. If you like British murder mysteries, you'll like him. This particular book got a slow start with a lot of description about the house he just bought. You'll realize it's sort of a necessity because he goes on to solve an old murder where the house is sort of the central "character." I met Peter once before I became an author (before I even started writing!). I went to a book signing and took my stack of hardbacks for him to sign (a little sheepishly, I might add, because I didn't know what the protocol was for how many books it was kosher to present for autographs). Here's a little known fact: he doesn't like dogs. Who doesn't like dogs?! I forgive him, though, because he writes good books.

• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. A YA about teens with cancer. I wasn't going to read this because it couldn't possibly end well. I do so love my happy endings. I read about murder and death and dying and all that, but I sorta draw the line at kids dying from cancer. I try to stay away from real stuff like that. I live real life everyday so don't really need to read about it. But after several people told me that his writing reminded them of my writing (I'm a tad snarky), I decided to give it a try. It was really good. That's all I can say.

 

What's on your nightstand?

 

Do you read more than one book at a time?

 

Read any good books lately?