Suzanna Hermans, co-owner of Oblong Books & Music in Rhinebeck, N.Y., describes what's on her bedside table.
My nightstand might not be as cluttered as others', but I'll blame that on my recent move. I also find that once there are more than six or seven books on my nightstand, I become guilt-ridden and end up purging at least half of them. Of course, there are similar piles scattered throughout the house (heaven forbid I have a room without books in it!) but this stack shows what I'm reading (or hope to be reading) at night.
Front and center we have my current obsession, Ilsa Bick's Ashes, which is like Justin Cronin's The Passage for the YA set. It's wonderfully dark and violent, and I cannot stop reading it. Next we have Carl Hiaasen's Chomp, which I haven't started yet, but hope to read next. I love his books (kids' and adult alike) and was thrilled to find it in the most recent box of galleys from Random House Children's. On my iPad I'm reading Rick Yancey's The Monstrumologist, another dark delight. My token nonfiction selection is Bruce Fogle's Complete Cat Care, loaned to me by my mom upon the arrival of my two new kittens, Charlie and Cora (pictured). Rounding out my nightstand picks are Lauren Oliver's Liesel & Po and Maggie Stiefvater's Forever, both of which I've had on this pile for months and am dying to read, but have somehow gotten sidetracked from starting.
It is purely coincidental that five out of the six of my nightstand books are kids and YA – though I do tend to read more YA than anything else. On the adult side, I just finished Kevin Wilson's The Family Fang and it was one of my favorite books of the year.
