Two book challenge updates in a week....

... this should tell you something.

I've been busy. And when I'm busy, I tend to sleep less, which means I end up reading more at night. I ploughed through Wicked without a second thought and bought (again) Son of a Witch to follow it up. It helped that I ended up spending quite a while a immigration  on order to get my visa.

So Wicked by Gregory Maguire is the next book on my book challenge that I've completed. I'm hoping to add The Marvelous Land of Oz to that today. I think the audiobook is nearing its end. If a lecture on Buddhism doesn't get in the way, it should be finished.

For those of you who haven't read Wicked, I highly recommend it. It takes some of our favorite settings, people (well, I was a fan of Edith Hamilton) and ideas from L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz and turns them on their head. We get a new, deep view into the "Life and Times of" Elphaba (EL-fa-ba/ L-F-B/L. Frank Baum), the wicked witch of the west. One of the most interesting parts, I think, is how Maguire chose (and continued to choose throughout the series) to make them like memoirs. It's written in third person omniscient, but the entire series, thus far, has taken the definite tone of a memoir. I'm happily awaiting the release of the final book in the series (book 4) this month. I cannot wait to see how it all gets concluded. :)

What do you have on your bedside table? Do you like to read before bed or another time of day?