Books by my bed.

It is no secret that I like to read. Before I go to bed I like to read a few chapters of some kind of book that is generally an easy read and isn't too intense so it's not likely to give me nightmares or weird dreams or affect my sleep in any negative way. Or get me so deep in thought that thinking about the book makes it hard to go to sleep. This means that start-finish it usually takes me between 5 and 7 days to read a book.

The other night I was reading "True Notebooks" before bed and I looked over at my bedside table and realized that there were 9 books on that table, precariously balancing on eachother like a Jenga block. Looking at the randomness of the titles it just made me laugh, so I thought I would post a picture and then a brief summary/description/review of each book. Most of these books belong in my "old-classic standards, go-to-when-i-have-nothing-else-to-read" classification scheme.

I am going to start from the book on the bottom which if I recall I read somewhere back in December, and move up from there. I highly recommend any and all of these books to you!

1- Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich... an amazing book detailing an author's attempt to live on the minimum wage in three different US cities. Let's just say that she has very limited success and a newfound respect for (mostly) women of the lower-working classes. A must-read for anybody questioning the reality of the American Dream.

2- And Still We Rise by Miles Corwin... the author spent a full academic year in a mostly minority school in a low-income/gang ridden area of Los Angeles. He details the struggles of the school's Advanced Placement students and teachers struggling to succeed academically among financial ruin and the immense personal struggles of the students. Really opened my eyes to the inequality of our public school system here in the US where students across the country are supposed to be getting an equal education. Having taken AP classes myself in high school I found this book particularly interesting because I didn't have to fight book or supply shortages or have people getting shot while I was taking my AP tests in the Spring.

3- The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice... i am ASHAMED that this book is in this pile! Let's just say, classic trashy grocery store love-story that is enthralling to read yet all the while I am reading it I am just a little bit ashamed of myself.

4- The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds... about an ultra-conservative religious group (basically a cult) and a young girl's coming of age story. Makes you think about the extremities of some cults but also that success among obstacles is possible.

5- The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White... this book is in my top 5 favorite books of all time. For real! It is a part of a series written by EE White (that's her pen name, I think the author is actually a male). Rebecca defied her parents and enlisted as a nurse in the Vietnam War, and falls in love with a "grunt" (enlisted, front-of-the-line) solider. She comes home from Vietnam and must face the reality of her choice to enlist and deal with the many horrors she saw. This book does not mince the atrocities of war and yet manages to be sensitive and subtle and a great love story about the "not-so-perfect" parts of falling in love.

6- Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding... I don't even know where to start with this book. This book is AMAZING. I have read it who knows how many times and use Bridget Jones as inspiration for my own blogging. The character of Bridget is every girl who has ever had a heartbreak, passed out drunk, passed out from eating too much, struggled with dieting and self-control, and the list goes on. Fielding's witty prose makes me laugh out loud no matter how much I read it, and the blunt British honesty in this book adds to the immense humor. I highly recommend this book to any woman (or man for that matter. maybe it will help you understand us better?!)!

7- Hunter Seat Equitation by George H. Morris... so I ride horses (obviously), and this book is the bible of hunter riding. George Morris is the father of American Equitation and this book teaches classic riding style which is taught all over the country. Just a little light bedtime reading!

8- A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter... I wonder who else has heard of this book? Set in the late 19th century, Elnora is a 16-year-old girl raised in the Limberlost of Indiana starting high school in the "big city". This is a coming of age story about love, finding independence and an adult identity, and staying true to yourself. As with most Victorian-era novels, it has dark and twisty undertones that contrast the apparent light and airy nature of the story. Each time I read this book I find something that I miss and that fascinates me. Stratton Porter's writing pays attention to each detail that gives you the most vivid mental images of each scene. A must-read!

9- True Notebooks by Mark Salzman... Several months ago I wrote a blog post just about this book. And here I go again. Mr. Salzman spent a year teaching creative writing classes in a maximum security facility for Juvenile Offenders. Most of his students were facing charges for violent crimes, robberies, gang-related drug or violence offenses, and in some cases murder. This book shares his experiences and many examples of the writing that his students created. For youth who had never been given any sort of creative outlet, the experience of Salzman's class gave them license to express themselves. This book will shock you and touch your heart (I know that sounds too warm and fuzzy to be true, but it is.)

Hope you enjoyed this little summary of books on my nighstand. Pretty soon they are going to fall off my nightstand and I will have a problem (hopefully not in the middle of the night while I am sleeping.) Perhaps I should put them away in their rightful homes and do another post like this in several months.