What's on my Nightstand - October

It's that time again!  5 Minutes for Books is hosting the monthly What's on Your Nightstand Carnival. Click on over and see what everyone else is reading or better yet, link up yourself and share with us what you are reading.  This month on my "nightstand" - which I don't have - you will see some returning from last month.  My "self-help" selections tend to stick around for a while as I go through them a bit more thoroughly while taking notes.  Hmmm...  maybe I won't include them anymore.

As a review for The Gods of Newport (John Jakes) from last month...  I could only get through Chapter 7.  I think I read each chapter twice...  The flow of the book and character development was very difficult to follow.  I found myself more frustrated than immersed in a novel set in the late 1800s.  I will try this one again later - maybe.

Soon I was happy to find Inkheart (Cornelia Funke).  I'm about a quarter of the way through this one and I love it!  I can't wait to finish to actually read the first one, The Thief Lord.  If I had to rate this book right now, I'd give it 4 stars.

Also, at the same time, The Geography of Bliss (Eric Weiner) was telling me I couldn't leave the library without it.  The self-help seeker in me wanted to know where "One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World" led him.  I'm just over half way through this one and so far, it's a toss up between my love for Switzerland and Iceland.  I'm finding that this book has less to do with self-help in the traditional sense (in my experience) and more to do with what makes me happy - no matter where I am.

Conquest of Mind (Eknath Easwaran), Women & Money (Suze Orman) and The Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle) are still close to my "nightstand", but admittedly, are not getting the attention I deserve.  A lot of times, I find myself caught up in the "I'm not good enough, so I should figure out how to be" mindset, so I turn to books.  There is a book for everything and books are the best way to seek advice without critisism - as long as you don't count yourself.  My goal this month is to finish these three, so I don't have to bore you with another post next month.  :)

The Promise of a New Day (Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg) This book has proven to be one that I'll devote each day.  The pages are dated, but I do skip around - I like it to be a bit more spontaneous rather than knowing today what is going to be revealed tomorrow.

Don't forget to click on over to 5 Minutes for Books to check out what others are reading.