Ready, Set, March!

I passed by my nightstand this morning and fully took in the stack of books there waiting for me.  The other day I kind of stacked up what’s to come and seeing it this morning made me want to write a post about them.  I did a little research (because I’m meme challenged) and discovered that the What’s on Your Nightstand meme hosted by 5 Minutes for Books is a fourth Tuesday challenge.  If I didn’t write this post today, I’d never write it.  I’m that kind of a blogger.  So, I’ve decided to go it alone and ramble on about what’s on my nightstand/a look ahead at the month of March.

March is going to be a busy month for me.  I agreed to participate in four book tours.  Now, before you ask me if I did that deliberately, I did.  I hemmed and I hawed.  I thought and I considered.  In the end, I agreed.  Two were books I already had, but two were new to me.  Not too bad.  I will also make my appearance on That’s How I Blog.  I cannot wait!  Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 30th at 9pm.

March that Has Already Been

My first March tour stop has already taken place.  I reviewed The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran last Thursday.  I read this book in February and really enjoyed it.  If you haven’t already, check it out. There’s a giveaway!

The second book, Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein, is finished and I even have the shell of the review written.  I was offered this book by Terra Communications somewhat at the last minute and nearly immediately said yes.  I’m glad I did. It was very interesting and reminded me a lot of the X Files – not because of the characters, but because of the subject matter.  After finishing it, I really like the cover.  It matches the tone of the book, even it if doesn’t betray the stories more bizarre and suspenseful aspects.  There will be a giveaway for this book, so if you’re interested, keep a close eye here next week.

Present Day March

I am currently reading Real Life & Liars by Kristina Riggle.

• What’s cool about this book is that the author is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, my home town.  If that isn’t enough, I received a signed copy of this book for my birthday from Trista, my best friend, who just so happens to be friends with Kristina.  In the world of Kevin Bacon, I’m only one degree removed from her. LOL!
• Kristina was in the 2009 class of  The Debutante Ball, so reading this book would qualify for The Debutante Ball Reading Challenge.  I’m not an active participant in this challenge, but it’s oh, so tempting.  If there is anywhere in my life where I’m exercising some restraint, it’s in signing up for challenges.  There’s no harm in pointing out when something you’re reading intersects with a challenge you support, right?  If you enjoy reading first time authors, you should really check out Jen (Devourer of Books) and Swapna’s (S. Krishna’s Books) challenge.
• When I finish this book, I will also – FINALLY – be able to participate in GalleySmith’s Literary Road Trip.  I’ll do a little write up about Grand Rapids as well. I’m excited to share a little bit about where I came from here.  I love my hometown and my home state.

The March to Come

Here’s where we get to what is waiting in the wings.  Hold on to your seats everyone.  This is quite ambitious for me:

1. Venetia Kelley’s Traveling Show by Frank Delaney. I have wanted to read him for forever, so I really couldn’t turn down the opportunity.  Back in my high school/college days, I was what some might consider obsessed with Ireland and many things Irish.  U2 was constantly playing, pictures of Bono everwhere.  I was reading and becoming consumed with James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw.  As a lover of historical fiction, I’m not sure what has taken me so long to get to Delaney.  March, the home of St. Patrick’s Day, is a wonderful month to rectify that.  My tour date is May 16th, so be sure to stop before you hit the green beer.
2. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates.  I’m reading this in preparation for my appearance on Nicole from Linus’ Blanket‘s That’s How I Blog show on March 30th!  So exciting!  If you haven’t had a change to listen in and chat during in Nicole’s show, you really should.  Another reason why I’m excited about this is because Revolutionary Road is my oldest requested book at just over a year on my shelves. Disgraceful!
3. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.  This is another book I purchased with Christmas money.  Even though I’ve linked up with TLC Book Tours for this book in May, I am reading it early so I can put together some questions for a Q&A with Colum.  I’m hoping that all works out well.  I’ve been really bad about getting around to Q&As over the past year.
4. Seeing Stars by Diane Hammond.  I received an unsolicited ARC of this novel from HarperCollins.  Then I remembered that TLC was hosting Diane’s tour, so I signed up.  This is about a mother/daughter move to Hollywood to pursue the daughter’s acting career.  It should be a fun diversion from winter.  Check back here on March 31st for my tour stop.
5. The Song of Hannah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy.  I’ve had this review copy for nearly as long as Revolutionary Road.  It will be the first book I read for Beth Fish Reads’ What’s in a Name 3 challenge.
6. Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff.  I was pitched this book on the strength of the reviews it has already received from some of my favorite bloggers, including our very own Amy from My Friend Amy.  How could I pass that up?  Who isn’t in the mood for a little romance every now and again?
7. Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman.  I requested an ARC of this novel through Shelf Awareness – a dangerous practice that I’ve stopped. LOL!  This should be a pretty suspenseful read and I like those every so often.
8. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees.  Can I tell you how excited I am to read this book?  I grew up loving Louisa May Alcott.  When I was in the 5th grade, my parents gave me a collection of her novels for Christmas and to this day they are among my prized possessions, even though that copy of Little Women is so warn and abused.  When I read about this book and Trish from Hey Lady, Watcha Readin’ posted about an online bookclub in April, I commented right away.  I’m so glad that I made the cut.  We’ll be dishing about this book on Trish’s blog the evening of April 14th.  It should be a great time!
9. Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwillem van de Wetering.  I am reading this novel for Jen’s (Jen’s Book Thoughts) Detectives Around the World theme week, which is April 11 – 17.  I don’t read a lot of mysteries, but I loved the opportunity to choose a detective from the land of “my people” – the Dutch. LOL!  That week I’ll be posting my review of this novel as well as a post about Amsterdam.  I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.  Jen has put so much work into this event.  There are 20 other bloggers who will be participating.  It’s amazing!  If you haven’t already, you should stop by and vote for your favorite detectives in March Madness format.

That about raps it up for me.  Ten books is probably a good week for some, but it’s quite possibly more than I’ve read in a month ever.  No pressure if I don’t get to the last three this month, but I would love to get those in.

I hope that you have a lot of fun bookish plans in place this month, too.