For those who like historical fiction...my favorites are by Sandra Dallas (all of them are great), Jane Kirkpatrick (love the All Together in One Place series), and Nancy Turner (my all time favorite book - These is my Words"). They are mostly pioneer times stories.

Currently, I am re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird and a cheesy holiday romance.

Another good one I just read was "The Wednesday Letters"...quick read, but very good.

I also read a lot of children's books, which makes sense because I teach kids how to read. It is one of my greatest joys to turn a non-reader into a child who loves to read!

I envy people that work in libraries. My best high school job was working at the library! I only worked about 3 hours a day after school and I had stashes of cookies back in the closed off section where we did the microfilm and all that good stuff. I would snag a book and hide, eat cookies and read. My friends teased me in high school, but I didn't care that I had the "nerdy" job. I loved it.

Ed and I both got Kindles http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FI73MA/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=53481792&ref=pd_sl_90k2o74w3o_e, I got him one for Christmas last year and he got me one for my birthday. I love real books, but for ease of reading this thing rocks. You can download a book in about 30 seconds from anywhere that you can get a cell phone signal. I typically buy the 'real' book as well as the kindle version because I love the feel of a book. It's great for traveling, you can store like 4000 books on it with an added memory card.

I come from a family of writers, so reading was more normal than anything else. I'd be a total slacker if I didn't take time to mention my dad's book that was published last year. http://leerburg.com/985.htm If you have any military buffs on your Christmas list it makes a great gift.

Oh boy....ON the nightstand? or stacked in heaps and piles around it? I'm an obsessive reader, and my home is always filled with books. I've read most of the classics and try to be a little diverse but my favorite authors, hands down, are Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I'm an absolute horror nut. Aside from the horror fiction, I also love books by Joe Citro, an author and compiler of local supernatural lore.

Every once in awhile I'll read something contemporary and recently finished "the Shack" and all four books in the "Twilight" series (I have a teenage daughter who reads obsessively too). For the learnin' I read almost exclusively books about dogs and horses. I don't read self-help stuff, though that's what I tend to write about . Maybe that's why?

Currently I'm re-reading "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor, "Bag of Bones" by Stephen King and just starting "Second Glance" by Jodi Picoult. I love books!

 Quote: cindy easton rhodes

I just finished Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet and I'm now reading the sequel, World without End. I have to force myself to put it down at night so I can sleep.

Pillars of the Earth is in my "To be Read" pile so I'm glad to hear it's good.

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I've also read a few of the historical novels about King Henry VIII of England and his wives and children. I would have lasted about 5 minutes if I was alive back then. I'm sure I would have been executed for heresy!

The Autobiography of King Henry the VIII I enjoyed. The author's other book, "Mary, Queen of Scots" was not as good but still interesting. "The Other Boleyn Girl" was a fun read, even though it was pure fiction. I don't know why I find English history so fascinating...the whole idea of absolute rulers runs completely contrary to my beliefs.

Yeah, I wouldn't have lasted long in those times, either. I would have kept my head but died of cold and deprivation. Drafty castles and no indoor heating or proper plumbing would have done me in. I would have made a lousy pioneer.

I'll confess, like Michael, I've been into a few self-help books in an effort to cope with the loss of family members and a friend.

Also in my stack of favorites is Animal Speak by Ted Andrews, Art as a Way of Knowing by Allen Shambhala, Color and Beyond written by my friend Ann Templeton, and re-reading Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor.

I worked in the school library and loved it(didn't sneak and eat cookies though)LOL. Not only did I love reading but, loved restoring the damaged books.

Mine don't stay on the nightstand they stay stacked all over my ottoman in the den. I tend to watch tv in bed.

Blink - Malcolm Gladwell

The Nature of Animal Healing - Martin Goldstein

The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus - Jacques Cousteau

for when I need a good laugh: I am America and so can you - Steven Colbert

One I keep on the nightstand when I need a good story: The Once and Future King - TH White

next on the list to (re)read: The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster

A Glock 21 in .45 ACP caliber and a Surelight.

As for books, my nightstand has"Gardening When It Counts" by Steve Solomon and "The Humanure Handbook....a guide to composting human maure" by Joseph Jenkins.

What a great thread!

I am enjoying seeing what everyone is currently reading. I read the Dune books in high school a loved them. I have a Jodi Picoult book on my nightstand, The book written by the Kate Gosselyn (of John & Kate + 8 show) that I finished and the new Cesar Milan book.

I also have Water for Elephants that I need to finish- I reread To Kill a Mockingbird with my 9th grade English students last year and am always buying books for myself and my kids. My girls are obsessed with the Twilight books.

I had to comment, but now my husband is waiting for me so we can go shopping! I am putting off buying the new Wally Lamb book (read his last two and LOVED THEM)and have it on my Christmas list.

I am also a sucker for buying cookbooks, but those are in my kitchen or on one of my two big bookshelves!

Lisa

 Quote: will rambeau

A Glock 21 in .45 ACP caliber and a Surelight.

As for books, my nightstand has"Gardening When It Counts" by Steve Solomon and "The Humanure Handbook....a guide to composting human maure" by Joseph Jenkins.

why am I not surprised by any of that? lol

We have the neighborhoods biggest manure/compost pile ( 5 horses, poultry, dogs, etc) but I admit I never have considered making use of human manure. Maybe I just train Andrew and Ed to take a trip out to the compost pile when nature calls? We'd save water which would only be ONE of the benefits I can think of right off the top of my head LOL

Twas The Night Before Christmas and Frosty The Snowman, bedtime reading for my 6 year old. 357 snub nose magnum with rubber grips in the drawer.