BOTNS #339: Pick a Book, Any Book

Ann plays book roulette, and we recommend Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont, and Blackout by Sarah Hepola.

(http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/audiobooks.jpg)Audiobook of the week (02:30)

(http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/the-mapmakers-children-a-novel/231436)

(http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/uprooted/234357)

(http://covers.audiobooks.com/images/covers/full/9780449009727.jpg)Ghettoside  (http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/ghettoside/226173)by Jill Leovy, narrated by Rebecca Lowman, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week.

Special thanks to Audiobooks.com (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook) for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand.

Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook)

Pick a Book, Any Book (07:41)(https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328694919l/6280345.jpg)

Ann is feeling very frustrated because none of her work reading is fitting in with any of her Bingo squares. So, she's diving in headfirst, and committing to the square "A Random Book from a Shelf. Close Your Eyes." While we were recording this episode, Ann actually walked over to her bookshelves, closed her eyes, and let me pick the shelf # and a general location. The book she chose was Five Finger Fiction (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6280345-five-finger-fiction?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr) by Veronica Brooks (pen name Brooks Sigler), a friend of Ann's. It's the story of Lila, a girl who gets a bit lost in her large Irish Catholic family and turns to kleptomania for comfort.

Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (20:12)

(https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415586905l/23503361.jpg)     (https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1423750824l/23341862.jpg)

Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont takes the traditional story of a family torn apart by infidelity, and tweaks it by having the children be the first to know and be the ones to tell their mother. It also tells the story a bit out of order, which I loved. The writing is wonderful and I couldn't believe it was the author's first book.

Ann recommends Blackout (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23341862-blackout?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr) by Sarah Hepola. Subtitled "Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget," this memoir is an honest look at the author's struggle with alcoholism, as well as an insightful look at the way alcohol affects the brain.