What's on My Nightstand this month

I enjoy this monthly opportunity to make some reading goals for myself. I've been feeling

I am a round 2 judge for the Cybils, so I have a few books that I'll definitely be reading this month:

• Chomp - This is my first novel by Carl Hiaasen. I'm almost finished with this one.
• Liar & Spy - I loved Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (linked to my review), so I'm pretty sure this one won't disappoint.
• Wonder has received a bunch of buzz, and even before it was selected as a finalists, I had downloaded it to my Kindle hoping I'd get a chance to read it soon.

The thing I love about reading Middle Grade novels (well, ONE thing) is that I can generally get through one within a couple of reading sessions. It's so satisfying! So getting through the 7 finalists in about 6 weeks is no problem at all. Here are some other books I'm hoping to get to for upcoming review:

• I'm about halfway through The Tragedy Paper, a YA book that I'm thoroughly enjoying.
• I've loved everything I've read from Jennifer Haigh, so I definitely wanted to read her new book of interconnected short stories, News from Heaven: The Bakerton Stories.
• I'm so happy to be a part of the Sony VIP Reader program, and in February, I'll be able to be a part of a live bookclub chat in LA with author Michael Connelly on The Black Box (A Harry Bosch Novel).
• Fuse is the sequel to Pure (linked to my review). It comes out about this time next month, so I may or may not get to it before next month's Nightstand.
• I've also received some unsolicited review copies that look great, so I'm hoping to get to at least one of them: The Typewriter Girl and Crossing on the Paris.

I've had The Fruitful Wife: Cultivating a Love Only God Can Produce sitting on my shelf for a month or two, and Carrie's enthusiastic endorsement has made me look forward to it even more. I'm reading through this with a good friend, which I know will help me get even more out of it. Find out what other people are reading the 4th Tuesday of each month at 5 Minutes for Books' What's on Your Nightstand.

Reading Goals Revisited and Refined

Last year I set some reading goals, specifically I wanted to make sure I was taking some personal non-review reading time, by reading at least 12 books that I didn't specifically request for review.

I also wanted to keep an accurate record of what I read, which I did, so thanks to that I can share my results.

I did in fact read 15, and here's the breakdown. It affirms my desire to read with intention as well, focusing on more Christian nonfiction and putting effort into reading with my kids.

• Christian Nonfiction 4
• Nonfiction 1
• Fiction 4
• Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction5
• Memoir 1

Here are my totals, mostly review copies, with some surprising results:

• Biography/Memoir 12
• Christian Nonfiction 6
• Nonfiction 10
• Fiction 41
• Middle Grade Fiction 16
• Young Adult Fiction 15

That's 100 books, on the nose (there are probably another 10 or more that I didn't finish so aren't included in this number). A pretty large number, 23 of them, were audiobooks, which speaks to the power of using time doing other things (driving and cleaning mostly) to read.

This year, I'd like to do more of the same. I want to continue to make sure I'm feeding my mind and soul with Christian nonfiction, being more particular about what I accept for review. which I have been doing for the past 6 months or so and makes that gap between "personal reading" and "review reading" shrink. However, I'd still like to be sure I take time to read "just for me" if there are backlist titles that interest me.