What's On Your Nightstand - April 2011

I use the “What’s On Your Nightstand” title because that is the name and theme of the blog carnival, but honestly, my books aren’t usually on my nightstand for very long. It is more like they are scattered throughout the house, or, more likely, following me around the house as I take them from room to room in the hopes I’ll have a moment here or there to stop and read. So I use ‘nightstand’ to really mean ‘stack of books I am currently reading at any given time.’

Since I don’t always remember to participate in the monthly posting of ‘What’s On My Nightstand,’ I also have a page you can visit where I’m keeping an ongoing list of books I’m reading. If you’re interested. Or care. On to the list for this month:

Recently finished:

The Crocodile Bird - Ruth Rendell. (F) I like Ruth Rendell, she’s one of my favorite authors, but probably isn’t for everyone. She is quite adept, somewhat frighteningly so in my opinion, at exploring obsession and sometimes even functional madness, or maybe just social dysfunction, in her characters.

Deliver Us From Evil - David Baldacci. (F) Another author I generally like.

Currently Reading:

The Bible (ESV) (NF)- I don’t usually list my Bible on here, though I could because I read it every day and it is the most important to me. I’m listing it today, though, because I bought my kids new Bibles for Easter this year when I found the ESV and the HCSB versions on sale at our local Lifeway store. My son had requested a new Bible a while back because he had been using an old one of mine that is falling apart, and he wanted an ESV. He’s been reading through the Bible on his own since January and it has been super cool to be able to ask him every so often, “So, where are you now?” and be able to talk about it with him. Way cool. Anyway, I bought myself an ESV also that is small and easy to carry to church. I am really enjoying reading through it in this translation, especially since it is the version I used to memorize Philippians.

The New Pilgrim’s Progress - by John Bunyan (with updated text by Judith E. Markham). (F) I’m reading a slightly adapted version that makes it a little more understandable for modern readers. I kind of got sidetracked from it when I went to the library and am now reading the next book I’ll list, so this one is a carryover from last month.

Sutter’s Cross - W. Dale Cramer. (F) I had read about this one on someone’s list recently of books that they had reviewed - I’m thinking it may have been at Discerning Reader, but I’m not quite sure now. Anyway, I’m not a huge fan of Christian fiction generally - we can discuss that another time perhaps - but I’m enjoying this book so far. Got it from our local public library, which has quite a few Christian fiction selections just there on the shelves with all the fiction, not separated out, which is kind of nice. I may stumble across more that I like if I’m not aware it is a genre book. :-)

Soul Depths and Soul Heights - Octavius Winslow. (NF) This is not a ‘sit down and read it quickly’ book, but I am appreciating it much as I work through it chapter by chapter and ponder. Good stuff.

Waiting in the Wings:

I find myself in the predicament in which I often find myself, having too many books to read and not enough time to get to them all. I have two books that will be next on my agenda once I finish what I’m already working on, and I’m anticipating both with joy.

Holiness (abridged) - J.C. Ryle (NF)

Slave - John MacArthur (NF)

Happy reading everyone! Check out the other lists at 5 Minutes for Books.