Nightstand Pile: August 3, 2012.

It has been a little over a month since I last did a nightstand pile post. Basically, I always pull books that interest me from my shelf to put in a pile on my nightstand. When I'm looking for a new book to read, I go to my pile rather than my bookshelves (most of the time-you know how that goes).

With the Victorian event ending, school lurking in the not so distant future, and my reading challenges going relatively untouched, I put back almost all of the books I had left from the last nightstand pile and pulled new books. Some are repeats, others are new. Well, let's just see them, shall we?

From top to bottom, then left to right:

• The Hobbit by Tolkien: With the first movie coming out in December, I figured it was time for a reread. :) I love this edition of the book. I bought it when I was in 7th grade on a family vacation in Colorado (I bought The Lord of the Rings in the same editions). That was before the movies came out!
• Main Street by Sinclair Lewis: I've never read anything by Lewis, but I seem to have acquired quite a few of his novels. This one will count for my TBR Challenge...which I am DETERMINED to complete this year.
• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles: I have no idea why I haven't just finished this. I started it in May, then set it aside in favor of the Victorians. This will be an easy afternoon read (I'm halfway through it already!). This will count for my Greek Classics Challenge.
• When I Whistle by Shusaku Endo: This is the second of two books by Endo I was sent for review...back in April (oh, how time flies). Jillian said she just finished this one and really enjoyed it, so this one is near the top of the pile for more than one reason!
• Sanditon by Jane Austen: One of the two titles for Adam's Austen in August event that I am bound and determined to finish. I have never read this one, so I am looking forward to it!
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: The other Austen I must finish this month! I'm not as familiar with this one (it's been awhile since I've read it), but I'm really excited to read it!
• Beloved by Toni Morrison: It's been some time since I've read anything by Morrison and this one seemed the most interesting of my pile! This also counts for my "Back to the Classics" Challenge...that I am failing. whoops!
• Light in August by William Faulkner: I think I meant to read this one last August as well, but it never happened. *crosses fingers
• The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro: This one jumped out at me on the shelf, so I snatched it. I probably won't get to it until September, but it'll be tempting me until then.
• A Passage to India by E.M. Forster: This is one that will be going to the top of the pile, since I started it months ago and set it aside for the Victorians. I was having a hard time getting into it before, so I think I just need to restart it! This is another one for the TBR Challenge.
• American Indian Myths and Legends: This is a book I bought for my mythology class. I've already read a couple of stories and I'm getting some good ideas for the class!
• Mythology by Edith Hamilton: This is the textbook for the class I am teaching, so it is probably a good idea if I read it!
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: This is another one that jumped at me off the shelf. Does it surprise you that I've never read it? I was also surprised to see it was an alternate for the TBR challenge, so that's good news, right?
• The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: Yet another title I started in the Spring and never managed to finish. I'm only 30 or so pages into this one, so like the Forster title, I'm just going to restart it. I imagine I'll save this one for the fall, but I'll be eying it, I'm sure. Oh, and this is yet another title for the TBR challenge.
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray: I started this one LAST June. It's another challenge book (Books I Started but Never Finished), so...yeah. I actually really like this one...I just stopped reading for no reason.
• The Car Thief by Theodore Weesner: I accepted this one for review because it was set in Flint and Detroit. It sounds interesting-I just haven't made time for it! Soon, I hope??
• The Norse Myths: Another book I bought for my mythology class. The teacher who used to teach it told me that the materials she had were mostly on the Greeks, so I wanted to change it up a bit. I haven't read anything from this yet, but I did flip through and it looks awesome!
• Clarissa by Samuel Richardson: It's BAAAAACK. This has been languishing on my nightstand sit I set it there in frustration back in April. I'm not planning on reading it all this month, but I do want to get back into it. I've been craving it, believe it or not! I'd like to finish it by the end of 2012, so we'll see if that happens!

There you have it! My nightstand pile for the next couple of months. I'm sure I pulled too many books, but I think that's a good problem to have!

Let me know what your reading plans are!

Reading Plans and My Nightstand Pile: June 27, 2012.

Every month or two, I stand in front of my bookshelves and pull out a pile of books to be added to my nightstand. This books are the ones that I would ideally like to get to in the near future. As I finish titles, I grab from the pile rather than my shelves. I find that when I'm just staring at my shelves, I get overwhelmed with choices. This way, I have a smaller collection of books to choose from.

This morning I decided to pull a new pile, since I hadn't created a nightstand pile for the Victorian Event and the rest of the summer. I decided to give myself until September 1 to read from the pile before creating a new one. Now, it is pretty likely I won't read all of these by then, or I may read books that aren't here, but these are the books I've been eying recently (you'll see quite a few Victorians!).

(I will apologize in advance that some of the titles are blurred out. This shelf is next to a window and I had a hard time getting the titles to be not blown out. This was the best pic of the 5 I took).

From left to right and top to bottom:

• Kim by Rudyard Kipling: I started this one last year and never finished it.
• Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell: Really want to get to this one for the event, but I seem to be going at a slow pace...
• The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell: I've read the first 30 pages or so, but I just need to dive in.
• Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte: I haven't read anything by Anne, and this is the one I have on my bookshelf. It's short, so I should be able to fly through it.
• Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy: I will definitely be getting to this one soon!
• Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope: I read The Warden just so I could read this one soon.
• Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy: Another Hardy title...I love this new Penguin edition.
• The Hero of Ages  and The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson: Both of these are for group reads, so I know I'll finish them.
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: LOVE TWAIN! I'll probably save this one for August.
• Tess of D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy: I might not get to this one, and that's okay. I might "save" it for the end of my project.
• Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: Just like above, I might "save" this one for near the end of my 250 list.
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett: I've never read this one and just got my copy so...yeah. Definitely going to read this one!
• Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad: Another one I started and never finished. I'll probably read this one in August as well.
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray: Yet another title I started but never finished. I really want to get to this one for the Victorian event, but not sure I'll have time.
• Beloved by Toni Morrison: I'm still discovering Morrison, so I know I need to read this one soon.
• Light in August by William Faulkner: I meant to read this one LAST summer, so I am making it a point to get to it this year. I've also been craving some zany Faulkner!
• A Passage to India by E.M. Forster: I started this one in May, so I need to finish!
• The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: Another one I started in May and need to finish!

I'm also currently in the middle of Middlemarch and Nicholas Nickleby, so we can add those to the pile as well. Oh, and I am participating in Andrew Smith Saturdays (even though I haven't commented yet....oops), so those titles, Stick and Ghost Medicine are also going to be read.

Seems like a lot, right? I know....

I have Thursday and Friday off this week, so besides doing laundry and a few other domestic type things, I am planning on diving into some great books! I'm hoping to finish both of my current Victorian reads, as well as one other title...probably a Hardy. Feel free to join in on my reading spree if you are able!

What are your reading plans for the rest of the summer?