Nightstand Review: Late April and the Books are Piling Up!

I have a crowded nightstand. And that's not the half of it. 

Hello, Goodbye, Hello — Truman Capote meets Peggy Lee, Peggy Lee meets Richard Nixon, Richard Nixon meets Elvis Presley... it's a chain of 101 meetings.  The book blends from one encounter to the next seamlessly with well-recorded conversations and comments from reliable resources: published accounts, diaries, third-party accounts, all verifiable, all more honest than one would expect.

Winds of Marble Arch — A not-easily found collection of Connie Willis' short stories. (Well, some not terribly short. In fact, most I've read have been rather long. Not quite a novella, but certainly a long tale.) I like her, and I like her stories. I can't wait to see what bite-sized nugget (or substantial snack) comes next.

Wolf Hall — I have both of Hilary Mantel's books in this trilogy. (The third one is in production.) I really like them: a little rambling, but one wants to be in the heads of her chracters.

Chi Running — This will help me once I read it, I'm sure. 

The Map of the Sky — If you haven't read The Map of Time, the first in this series, go get it now. You will thank me later.

Life After Life — A much ballyhooed new title about opportunities to start life over.

The Round House — Carole told me I'd like the narrator, and I do. He is telling a tale of what happened when he was a child, and his mix of adult and budding-adult observations is stunning. 

The Language of Flowers — Victorians wrote the language of flowers (what each means when it is given), and Vanessa Diffenbaugh tells us about a lost, bewildered young woman who learns it. I read the first few chapters then had to take a break: heartbreaking story, but so well-told...

There are a few more in the wings, including Up the Down Staircase and Unnatural Creatures. If only the publishing industry would pace itself so I could read everything! In the meantime, I'm consuming as quickly as I can. Honestly, my eyes truly are bigger than my stomach.

What is on your nightstand? Tell me!