Kim’s Nightstand

Challenges

Essay Challenge Short Story Challenge

Art History Challenge

Reading List Key:

If the title is in (parentheses), I’m still reading it, which means that you’ll see there are some books I take breaks from and read something else.  If a book is highlighted and underlined, then it’s linked to a post about it.

RR - I would Re-Read the book, I rarely read a book twice so you may find RR a bit shy to come out

GL- GLad I read the book

WW - Wasn’t Worth the time to read

Reading List

The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips – GL – loved this book, reminded me a bit of To Kill a Mockingbird

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann – GL - terrific book with a terrific introduction by Michael Cunningham

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin – GL – a charming book

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte – GL – a view of the governess life and another example of Bronte literary talent

A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce – RR – wondering if I’ll understand it better the second time

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped by Yxta Maya Murray – GL – not sure it’s worth reading if you don’t live in LA and have teenagers

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver – GL – second best to Poisonwood Bible which is a RR

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson – GL

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – RR – this is my second read, I’m sure I’ll read it again someday

Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy – RR – all the stories are terrific, some will haunt you (entries 71 through 70 at the Short Story Challenge)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery – GL – sobbed on an airplane as I was reading the last chapters, so embarrassing

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper – GL – can see the roots of the fantasy literature we love

Night by Eli Weisel – GL

The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes – GL

The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber – GL – a fun read

The Trial by Kafka – RR – incredible and it’s unfinished!

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees – GL – a terrific summer read

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - GL

The Believers by Zoe Heller – GL

The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks - WW – by page 30 I knew the end, by page 50 I knew the middle, put it down at page 90, but then picked it up when I couldn’t sleep

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner – RR – I read it, then re-read the first section and it was like a veil had been removed, it’s much clearer the second time around

The Very Lowly by Christian Bobin – RR – a meditation on Francis d’Assisi, love this writer

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann – GL - worthy of the National Book Award and worthy of the praise

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse – GL – I want to read more of his writing

On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder – GL – love her and this diary of the family’s move to Missouri

Pearl of China by Anchee Min – GL

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones – GL

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson – GL – a charming quiet read

Heat Waves in a Swamp:  The Paintings of Charles Burchfield, edited by Cynthia Burlingham and Robert Gober – RR – a lovely catalogue with interesting essays

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson – GL

Life Studies by Susan Vreeland - GL

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel – GL – I’ll never feel the same way about Thomas Cromwell or Thomas More again

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley – GL – a very well written YA novel

City of Thieves by David Benioff – GL

Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby - GL - a collection of his essays on reading from the Believer, very fun to read!  I commented on some of the essays for the 2009 essay challenge, look at March 23rd.

Wherever I Lie is Your Bed, edited by Margaret Full Costa and Marilyn Hacker - GL

One Writer’s Beginnings by Eudora Welty - GL – Three essays from lectures she gave on writing and how it developed in her life – a fascinating read.  I commented on two of the essays on the 2009 Essay Challenge page at March 18 and 19th.

Just Courage by Gary Haugen - GL - a call to work for justice, caused me to brush off my law degree

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – GL - Everyone is right, it’s wonderful!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - GL – Can’t wait for the third in the trilogy!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley – GL - a lovely read that my 12 year old also enjoyed, it should be nominated for an Alex Award.

The Help by Kathryn Sockett – GL - Read it one afternoon during a long car trip, very enjoyable.

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell - GL

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga – GL – A different take on India that is well worth reading.

From Green to Gold by Harold Enrico - GL

The Autobiography of Alice B. Tolkas by Gertrude Stein - GL

Seize the Day by Saul Bellow - GL

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo – GL - Hilarious at times and thought provoking, I’ve thought of it several times since reading it.

Middlemarch by George Eliot – GL – although under the right circumstances and not in the near future, I would cosider reading it again

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway – GL – This is my second read, I read it first when I was traveling through Europe in 1989, makes me want to return, not that it takes much of anything to make me want to travel

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill – GL – Loved the writing, loved the view of the US; this is on the top of my list for the year.

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger – GL – My thoughts are on my Short Story Challenge page starting at number 39.

The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey – GL – this is a book that improves with thinking about it and discussing it, also by reading the literary “godfathers” for each character

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens – GL – Can’t believe I waited so long to read it!

Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh – GL

Enjoying the Presence of God by Jan Johnson – GL

Back to the Coast by Saskia Noort – GL

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson – GL

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa – borderline GL and RR, a beautiful book

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen – RR – life changing, I bought two more of his books when I finished

The Concubine of Shanghai by Hong Ying – WW

25 Month Until College:  The Don’t Panic, Step-by-Step, What-When-Why-How Guide for Students and Parents, by Judy McNeely – GL although for my son it should be a RR!

Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin – GL

Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - GL

American Pastoral by Philip Roth – RR

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - GL – truly delightful

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - RR – best book since The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - GL – looking forward to the second book

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters – GL

The Waitress was New by Dominique Fabre - GL

The Stones of Florence by Mary McCarthy – GL, maybe RR if I was back in Florence

A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome by Angela K. Nickerson – GL

Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari – GL

Pinocchio by Carlo Colbdi – GL

Portofino by Frank Schaeffer – GL – Hilarious!

Pompeii by Robert Harris - GL

Room with a View by E.M. Forster – RR – read it twice in Italy

Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous - RR

Magnifico:  The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de’ Medici by Miles J. Unger – GL

Moscardino by Enrico Pea - GL

City Secrets:  Rome edited by Robert Kahn - GL – this book will make the cut and come with us to Italy

Siren’s Feast by Nancy Mehagian – GL - we had a wonderful evening with Nancy talking about food and her adventures

Magic Knight Rayearth by Clamp and Saint Seiya Knights of the Zodiac by Masami Kurumada - GL - good introductions to manga

The Little Book by Seldon Edwards - GL

The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth – GL – Nathan Zuckerman is only marginally better than Rabbit.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton – GL

Rabbit is Rich by John Updike – GL - in the sense that I can say I’ve read it, but several times I just rolled my eyes.

Poetry Matters by Ralph Fletcher - GL

39 Clues Maze of Bones by Rick Riorden – GL – fun tweener book

Sleeping with Bread by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, Matthew Linn – RR - I’m trying to practice the Examen daily

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee - GL

Rabbit Redux by John Updike - GL – here Rabbit is just pathetic, but an interesting view of the 1960s

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff – GL - a lovely, charming book, read it.

Sonata for Miriam by Linda Olsson - GL

Rabbit Run by John Updike - GL – I think Rabbit is practically sub-human, not that this will stop me from reading the other three books

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery - RR, a stunning book, I’ll be writing about it soon

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – RR, the best YA book I’ve read, in fact better than many books I’ve read over the last couple of years

The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk – GL

Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright – RR, in fact I could argue that I’ve already read it twice since I underlined almost everything and re-read it as I underlined it.  Bishop Wright described Desmond Tutu’s Commission for Truth and Reconciliation as “the most extraordinary sign of the power of the Christian gospel in the world in [his] lifetime.”

Tad Lincoln’s Father by Julia Taft Bayne - GL

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk - GL

Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup - GL

Rules by Cynthia Lord - GL, sweet YA novel

Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - GL, borderline RR, I really enjoyed it

Valentines by Ted Kooser – RR

So You Want to Be President? by John Warner – GL

Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan – GL

Doubt by John Patrick Shanley - GL

Race Matters by Cornel West - GL

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett – GL

The God of War:  A Novel by Marisa Silver – GL

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron – GL - Hilarious, should be required reading for every woman over 40

The Last Pope by Luis Miguel Rocha – WW – I only made it to page 115, it’s a knock off of The Di Vinci Code

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates - GL

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad – RR- but only if I was going to join another discussion.  Read an article about Chinua Achebe’s view of the racism in the book to get an African view.

The Great Man by Kate Christensen – GL

American Art: A Cultural History by David Bjelajac - GL

The Twilight Saga

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer – GL - I’ve been bitten

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer – GL - I’m addicted

Eclipise by Stephenie Meyer – GL - I’m not coming up for air yet

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer – GL - Now I’ll have to go through withdrawals

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (portion on author’s website) – RR -Of course I’ll read it again when it’s published!

Wawona Hotel by Matthew McKay – GL - but only because I was in Yosemite when I read it, otherwise it would be a WW

A Mindful Christmas by Barbara Elizabeth Kilikevicius - GL

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway GL

The Story of Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer - GL

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham – GL

America, America by Ethan Canin - GL

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky – RR – This is my third reading, so clearly it’s a RR.  Reading C&P now, knowing about the Russian Revolution, must be different than reading it  in 1886, Dostoevsky portrays the ideas of enlightened Europe as infecting Russian society and given how they were developed and used by the Russian intelligentsia, he proved to be prophetic.

The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins - GL

Pollyana by Eleanor H. Portor – GL

Citizen Vince by Jess Walter - GL

Bleak House by Charles Dickens – GL

The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III – WW

Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - GL