I'm listening to (does that count?) Thunderstruck by Eric Larson but can't quite bring myself to finish it because I think Marconi is an ass and Crippen is actually sympathetic. Also finally managed to get my hands on The Kalahari Typing School for Men. Mma. Ramotswe makes my day.

Hey, Bethanne, I hope you'll get to my children's book (The Call to Shakabaz) that I sent you one of these days. I read a lot of children's books. Right now I'm in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials series, which is terrific, can't believe I haven't already read it. They made a movie out of The Golden Compass (coming out this fall) so I wanted to read the book first and I encourage other fantasy lovers to do the same. It's great! On my nightstand also is Rick Riordan's latest Percy Jackson book, The Titan's Curse, and a brand new title by Patrick Jones and friends entitled Connecting with Reluctant Teen Readers--great resource book for teachers and school librarians (a million terrific ideas). My daughter gave me The Grouch Letters, so will get to that soon too. So many books, so little time! Amy (visit me on the web at wozabooks dot com)

I usually have a huge stack on my night stand(it drives my wife crazy) Currently, I am reading "Everything Must Change" by Brian McLaren, "Love, Stargirl" by Spinelli, "The Organic God" by Margaret Feinberg, and I am about to start "Engleby" by Sabastian Faulks. Can't wait until next month :)

Fun! Never Let me Go, Ishiguro; The Long Tail, Anderson; Valparaiso (sp?), a play by Don Dellio (just finished, simply amazing); Oleanna, a play by Mammet, which I just started and not sure I like yet; Personal Velocity by Miller, kinda; slowly plodding through the history of the new yorker magazine by, um: "About Town" by Ben Yagoda. And the latest harpers. Looking forward to more Dellio plays, which are much better than most of his books, other than the Body Artist, imho. Also re-reading my Raymond Carver collection. Need to catch up on Paul Auster, too.

I've just finished a galley of The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson. It's about Errol Flynn in Jamaica, the young woman he has an affair with, and their daughter May, and their lives, mostly after Flynn's death. The author was born in Jamaica and limns the island and the times very well. Should be a good hand-sell and book club choice. Next up (when the ARC arrives) The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin, the sequel to his Edgar-winning The Janissary Tree. These are set in 14th century Istanbul, and if the second is anywhere near as good as the first, I'll be very pleased. Also on the stack: Fright by Cornel Woolrich, just reprinted after 50 years out of print.

Hi Bethanne, You always have such interesting books on your nightstand! I wanted to make sure you received the book I sent you, From Ike to Mao and Beyond, a memoir by Bob Avakian, that you thought you might be interested in. I'd love to hear any thoughts you have. In the meantime, thanks for sharing your thoughts on other books. I've been enjoying your blog. Best, Kim Guster Managing Editor Insight Press kim@insight-press.com

The World Without Us is still sitting on my bedside table. I'm almost finished, but it's nice to dip into a chapter between other readings. I'm loving No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July and Victory for Us is to See You Suffer, a book about life in the West Bank by Philip Winslow.

Kim, I'm sending you an email; thanks for posting!

No nightstand in my house, just a huge stack o' books. I first must admit that I am a compulsive re-reader, thus I can never let go of anything I've read. I am rereading Pullman's The Golden Compass, and then probably the rest of the series so I will be ready when the movie comes out in December. Books pushed on me from family and friends include The Kabul Beauty School; Dance of the Dissident Daughter, Sue Monk Kidd; Einstein; and McCarthy's The Road. My own picks in that pile include rereading Kerouac's On The Road in honor of the 50th anniversary, the Wrinkle in Time trilogy, by way of paying my respects to Madeleine. Loved these as a kid. For new, first time reads the pile includes Engleby (Yep--scored this from the PW site), Water for Elephants, and because I adore a good space opera--David Weber's In Fury Born--(sarcastic note to Baen: my god, can you get the print any smaller?)

Finished Petropolis by Anya Ulinich last night, which I'm sorry to say I didn't love. My mother gave me The Friends We Keep by Holly Chamberlin which she raved about so I'll probably start that next. I've also been sporadically reading Memories of My Melancholy Whore by Gabriel Garcia Marquez which while not a fast read (though short), is very interesting.

An ARC of TURNING TABLES by Heather and Rose MacDowell. I had lunch with their editor last week and she brought swag!! I love this book. Despite the opening line "I'm going to kill Harold" it's not a murder mystery. It's the story of a woman downsized from her marketing company who takes a job waiting tables to keep the wolf from the door. It's one of the best "young woman making her way in the world" novels I've read in years.

I'm reading an ARC of Souvenir, a debut novel by Therese Fowler, and a mystery, McCafferty's Nine by Elizabeth Gunn. I have two other mysteries I'm eager to get to, an ARC of Cries and Whiskers by Clea Simon, and Face Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Lesa Holstine, www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com

Just got the new Dexter mystery, "Dexter in the Dark," by Jeff Lindsay, and am finishing up Rebecca Barry's linked short-stories "later, at the bar," which is rather Russo-esque. So maybe the Russo will be next. (and thanks for the shout-out, Lesa. Hope you enjoy!)