I’m kind of crazy late in publishing this month’s What’s On Your Nightstand? post. For anyone new, this is a super fun, super ease blog carnival, hosted by the lovely ladies at 5 Minutes for Books.

The goal is pretty simple: Share what books you’ve been reading this month and what you plan to read next.

I’ve read three books this month:

1. The “Nerdy” Non-fiction one: Secret Lives of the First Ladies by Cormac O’Brien – Finished September 8, 2013 – This a great way to learn a little bit more about the many first ladies of the US and about the country’s history as well. The book is informative and interesting and perhaps best of all it is easy to read.
2. The Cheesy “guilty pleasure”: The Highlanders Hope by Cali MacKay – Finished September 21, 2013 – I downloaded this for free on my kindle and found I could not put the story down until the mystery was solved. While definitely a “romance novel” I found it had just the right amount of detail left to the imagination for my taste and had plenty of actual story to keep from just being pure fluff. From a literary aspect, this book was good in that it kept me wanting to read more but it definitely overused a few descriptive details – the raising of eyebrows was used into infinity.  I’m considering reading some of the other stories in her Highlanders series but not in any great rush.
3. The “must read” Literary One: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (September Book Club Pick) – Finished September 25, 2013 – This was one of those books that makes you think and then makes you think harder and then makes you think that maybe you don’t know very much after all. It’s a sort of story within a story within a story that seems to be constantly changing the rules and making you question what you thought you understood. Basically, it’s brilliant.

Last night I started reading Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster, who is normally a sure thing for me, but I have to be honest, I’m not sure it’s what I’m in the mood to read right now. So I may flip through some of the many books that are crowding my nightstand / bookshelves / desk / home.

Possibilities include:

A Celeb Memoir: My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke – “A colorful, loving, richly detailed look at the decades of a multilayered life, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, will enthrall every generation of reader, from baby-boomers who recall when Rob Petrie became a household name, to all those still enchanted by Bert’s “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” This is a lively, heartwarming memoir of a performer who still thinks of himself as a “simple song-and-dance man,” but who is, in every sense of the word, a classic entertainer.”

A Young Adult Novel: Wish You Were Eyre by Heather Vogel Frederick – “It’s a dream come true for Megan, who’s jet-setting to Paris for Fashion Week with Gigi. Meanwhile, back in Concord, Mrs. Wong decides to run for mayor, so Emma and Stewart team up to make her campaign a success. Jess and Cassidy are also hoping for victories, Jess in the a cappella finals with the MadriGals and Cassidy in the national hockey championships with her teammates. In the midst of it all, the girls—along with their Wyoming pen pals, who drop in for a visit over Spring Break—dive into Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre. Some real life romance follows, as Becca may have found a Mr. Rochester of her own.”

A Light Mystery: The Last Word – Spellman Files #6 by Lisa Lutz – “Isabel Spellman is used to being followed, extorted, and questioned—all occupational hazards of working at her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Her little sister, Rae, once tailed Izzy for weeks on end to discover the identity of her boyfriend. Her mother, Olivia, once blackmailed Izzy with photographic evidence of Prom Night 1994. It seemed that the Spellmans would lay off after Izzy was fired for breaching client confidentiality, but then Izzy avenged her dismissal by staging a hostile takeover of the company. She should have known better than to think she could put such shenanigans behind her.”

The Next Book Club Pick: Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham – “Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates-Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material-and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works.”

What are YOU reading right now?