What I'm Reading Now

Normally I'd be putting together a 10 Things post right about now, but I'm stuck on what I want to post about next.

So I thought I'd do something a little different.

I'm one of those people who is usually reading multiple books at the same time. This drives some people crazy.

I rarely don't finish a book, but I will take breaks from them, so my "Currently Reading" shelf on GoodReads was out of control for a while. I've been on a mission to pare that list down. But I tend to be reading different books in different formats/situations so that hasn't helped much.

So I thought I'd give you a peek into what I'm reading right now.

On my Nook: I usually have a book going on my Nook that I read for a little while right before I go to sleep. I do this because I can turn out the light and it will automatically save my place without me having to use a bookmark. Right now this book is The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules by Carolyn Custis James. It's a non-fiction Bible study book that really explores the book of Ruth, particularly looking at it through the contextual lens of the culture of the time. It's fascinating and James has really studied to bring a different perspective to a story I thought I knew really well. I'm only about half way through, but so far I highly recommend it.

On audio in my car: I love listening to audiobooks during my drive and I've taken to just perusing my local library's collection (unless I have a specific one in mind) for whatever catches my attention. In the last couple of years I've been making an effort to read classics I've never read or non-fiction. I don't tend to read a lot of non-fiction and it's one of my goals to do better in this area. Listening to it works well for me. So right now I'm listening to In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson. Larson has been recommended to me by countless customers when I was working at the bookstore and this is my first foray into one of his books. This takes place in 1933 when Hitler is just really starting to come into prominence. The new American ambassador and his family are thrust into the simmering world of both elegant parties and violent outbursts. It's definitely interesting, but I don't think I'd be able to stay tuned to it if I was reading it. Enjoying it on audio though.

On my phone's Nook app: My favorite part of having a smart phone is the ability to read books without having to bring them or my Nook to work. So I have a book that I read on my lunch breaks on my phone. I just started Ten by Gretchen McNeil. I've been wanting to read this since I saw the ARCs at BEA a couple years ago and I'm very intrigued. It's obviously based loosely on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, something I gathered as soon as I saw the cover. It's got a Harper's Island vibe, but with a younger cast (and if you don't know what Harper's Island is get to your Netflix and watch it right now. It's also loosely based on Christie's novel so the parallel makes sense). A group of teens go to an island for a long weekend party, lying to their parents about where they'll be (obviously) and then a storm comes in and bad things start happening. I'm liking the characterizations so far and hoping that a lot more twists and turns are still to come. You might get a 10 Things post about this later.

In print: GASP! Yes, I still read books in print and I've taken to having one book on my table that I read during breakfast each morning. The one I'm working on right now (again in my attempt to read more non-fiction) is Rocco Versaci's This Book Contains Graphic Language: Comics as Literature. It's an interesting look at the history of comics and the way they've been received with Versaci making his argument for why they should be accepted as literature. A little dry, but certainly interesting so far.

On TV: And since I'm a big believer in storytelling wherever it takes place, I have the bonus here! I've been rewatching Joss Whedon's Dollhouse and falling in love with it all over again. The actors are truly phenomenal. In this 2 season show, Caroline finds herself in trouble and in order to make it go away her best option is to sign her life over to the Dollhouse for 5 years. Her memories are removed and stored and then other memories are downloaded based on the needs and wants of clients who have enough to pay for wish fulfillment. As she becomes Echo in a world of other dolls more and more mysteries begin to unravel around her. It does suffer some uneveness of story line for a couple of reasons (its cancellation not least of all), but it's pretty good and the characters are what will suck you in. I only have 2 episodes left and I'm so disappointed it's going to end.

So there you have it - a taste of what I'm reading/listening/watching now. What's in your currently reading list?