What you see to the right is actually not what’s on my nightstand right now. Oh, no! I would be embarrassed to show you that because if I did, you would think that I need to quit both blogging AND reading and get to work straightening and organizing my house. Or not, since most of you are readers and probably have nightstands similar to mine. : )
February promises to be a month of heavy reading for me, but I’m okay with that. Really. January has turned out to be a highly successful month for me in terms of reading, so I’m excited to charge ahead into February. Actually, I hope to have L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle finished in the next day or two for the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge over at Reading to Know. I’ve already read Jane of Lantern Hill (read my review here) for the challenge, but after reminiscing about other LMM books while reading others’ reviews, I decided to fit another one in. The challenge ends January 29, and I’m only about 1/3 of the way through the book, but it’s a fun and easy read, so I think I’ll get it done.
Next, I plan to tackle I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Somehow in all my years of education and teaching English, I have managed to avoid reading this book. I actually started it several weeks ago and got sidetracked, so I plan to get back to it and finish before February 3 for the Classics Bookclub over at 5 Minutes for Books. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far, and I don’t think it will take too long to read this one, either.
Hoo boy. The next one is a doozy. I developed a fascination with the French Revolution in an undergraduate history class, so I’ve had a couple of titles set during this time period on my TBR list for the past few years. February is the month I tackle Les Miserables! Steady Eddie and I plan to see Les Mis on stage this summer, so I have an added incentive. My goal is to have it read in time for the March Classics Bookclub at 5 Minutes for Books, so I figure I’ll work on it for the entire month of February. I am more than a little intimidated by this book, so any encouragement is appreciated! : )
Steady Eddie and I have been asked to take over as teachers in our Sunday school class in the near future. Our class is geared toward married couples, so marriage is often the focus of what we study in our class. I have read a couple of Gary Thomas’ books already (read my reviews here and here), and I have had Sacred Marriage on my TBR shelf (yes, there is MORE than the night stand!) for a while. I decided to move this book on up the TBR list because I think it might be one that we can use in our class. Gary Thomas has never disappointed me, so I’m looking forward to reading this one.
In addition to the books pictured above, I have a few more to read this month. I am participant in the Semicolon Book Club, so I am waiting for my copy Love Letters by Madeleine L’Engle to come in through interlibrary loan. I haven’t read anything by L’Engle since I was in junior high school, so I’m looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with her.
The last book I have to share here is possibly the one I’m most excited about, mainly because it represents a new venture for me. I read and loved Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson last year. A few weeks ago, I received an email from Kirby Larson’s publicist (agent?) asking me if I would be interested in participating in a blog tour by interviewing Ms. Larson and posting the interview on my blog in late February. Of course, I wasted no time in responding to this question with a resounding YES! Although it has only been about a year since I read it, I want to re-read Hattie Big Sky in preparation for this interview, as well as read for the first time her picture book, Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival. I am really excited about this! Stay tuned for more information about this bloggy development!
Who knows, I might even have a chance to read a few books for the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program in February! ; )
There you have it. From the looks of things, I need to get off the computer and start reading right now, huh? What’s on your nightstand? Head on over to 5 Minutes for Books to share!
Filed under: Bloggy Randomness, Bookish Thoughts, To Be Read | Tagged: Hattie Big Sky, Kirby Larson |
Hope Is the Word 
I read Sacred Marriage before I got married and thoroughly enjoyed it. I bet it would be good in a “classroom” setting, too.
Wow, lots of great titles here! I’ll look forward to what you have to say about them.
I know what you mean about the ‘teacher guilt’ of somehow missing supposedly essential books like ‘Caged Bird.’
What an excellent list of books you are reading. I’m looking forward to following your progress. I’m also interested in the Kirby Larson book and your interview.
You have AWESOME goals! I love it! I’ll be curious for your review of (well, everything) Sacred Marriage. Haven’t read that yet. ANd you can TOTALLY fit in Les Mis in a month! I saw the musical in London when I went to England YEARS ago and thought the performance was “boring” of all things. Having an additional ten years and lots of reading under my belt, my opinion has changed a bit! I’m looking forward to reading it again.
Love your list of books. I just finished reading Kiss for the thomas nelson book bloggers review program (such a neat thing – getting free books in exchange for a review) Excellent book. I wanted to join in with sherry for the book club but trying not to buy any more books. Hopefully she have something come up soon with a book I already have. 🙂 Les Miz is on my tbr pile for later in the year. Enjoy!
I can encourage you about Les Mis. The first time I read it was over 10 years ago — for the same reason you are. My husband and I were going to see the show in NYC.
Anyway–I started it again and I’m loving loving loving it. Of course I’m going with the 600 page version, not the 1000+ pages, so I don’t know if I can encourage that. Maybe my advice there would be “skip through the war parts” which is one area that I heard was long in the unabridged versions.
You are going to be busy reading.. I am trying to finish up Caged Bird Sings too. Happy Reading.
oo looks like some good books. I was to scared to bite of Les Mes. this time.. maybe I will try it soon. Have fun reading.. Sacred Marriage is a good book!
Les Miserables is one of my very favorite books of all time. I read it last September–four weeks time–for the first time after having seen the musical a number of times. It’s my all-time favorite musical and for a long time the book intimidate me as well. Finally I sucked it up and read it anyway and I would read it over and over again if I had the time. The unabridged is daunting, certainly, but I can’t imagine ever wanting to cut parts away from Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. Congrats on diving into it, despite its enormous size and the best of luck and enjoy!!
I hope you enjoy I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Les Mis. I’ve read both and loved them. I’d LOVE to see the musical again, it was spectacular..
[…] it’s because I’m in the middle of a heavy month of reading, but I’m longing to read something rather simple and short. My interests are running […]