What’s on my nightstand in Nov

A quick review of what I read since the last Nightstand entry. I read Antsy Does Time and Everlost by Neal Shusterman, see my reviews here for Antsy and here for Everlost. I assigned Antsy as required reading to my nephew last week. He balked until he realized I had said it was the only thing he had to do that day. As soon as he picked it up I heard him start talking and laughing (he’s a verbal reader, likes to talk back to the book). He stayed up a bit late to finish it that day. From his reaction I would say it was a hit!

I also read Anticancer by David Servan-Schreiber. This is an interesting book because it talks about how so much of the prevention that is touted for cancer is really early-detection. It follows this doctor’s research into studies and options for true prevention actions after he was diagnosed with cancer. The food and environment information is not all new, but it is a good argument for making those changes that seem inconvenient.

I also picked up The Instinct to Heal by the same author. It is an interesting book about ways to work with our brokenness outside of the normal psychiatric methods and medications. He mentions some techniques like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for distinct trauma wounds, and then things like waking to light, acupuncture, Omega-3 fatty acids, and the “high” from exercise. It is an good resource if you are looking for way to handle stress, panic attacks, or other issues.

While picking up Antsy and Everlost at the library I spotted two others that looked interesting.

I read The Place to Be by Roger Mudd about his time at CBS as a TV correspondent. This was fairly interesting. Some interesting things happened between 1961 – 1980. He has a good perspective on the beginnings of tv news and coverage of Congress as well as some of the behind-the-scenes struggles to get that news onto the air. His tone is respectful but he still shares some interesting facts about people and events.

The other book I picked up is The Truth Commissioner by David Park. It’s still on the nightstand and I have a few more weeks to read it.

Adding to my nightstand this month I have Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, thanks to the Reading Through the Classics plans over at Challies.com

I just heard about Little Britches by Ralph Moody. I picked it up at the library and hope to read it over Thanksgiving.

And I picked up Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day at the library after reading about it at Blue Yonder. Anthony made some good bread on Saturday and we have dough in the fridge to do a few more loaves this week.

After school is over on 12/12 (hurray!) and I have time to myself again, I will also be picking up a copy of Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. This is the first book that our new book club at church will be discussing on January 18, 2009. I am so excited about the book club. I’m also very excited to be finishing school.

I’m also glad I know how to get the Amazon links for the book titles too. Thanks to my wonderful husband and all his techie knowledge.