One of the good things about taking a break from everything is the sheer amount of reading you can get done. Here’s what’s adorning by bedside table lately.

Nineteen Minutes, Plain Truth, and Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult: Picoult is one of my favorite authors for the simple reason that while she’s a fabulous writer and can weave together scenes and dialogue like no other, she also has the unique gift of asking the difficult questions and then taking a stab at answering them. Her characters are always faced with very difficult dilemmas. “Your son says the bullying was unbearable. But his revenge was murder. What would you do?” “Your baby is born in secret. If your father finds him, you will lose everything. What would you do?” “Your daughter needs a new heart. The only match comes from a murderer. What would you do?” And if those questions weren’t enough, the themes of these three books are, in order, school shootings, Amish life, and alternative Christian theories. Who says you can’t learn anything from novels?

Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man by Joseph Heller: This novel is Joseph Heller’s last book, published in 2000 posthumously, and I have to say it seems a bit autobiographical. The story is about a novelist, Eugene Pota, who as a young man published a first book that won over readers and critics alike but has had no equivalent successes, not unlike Heller himself. Now he’s at the end of his life and career and he wants to write his last earth-shattering book. This novel is about his quest to do so and the various fits and starts as he attempts to undertake this. I loved this book with the crazy ideas that Pota embarks on, and the glimpse into a novelist as an old man.

Animal Farm by George Orwell: We were getting to a point in our marriage where Sam stated that I couldn’t in good conscience call myself an avid reader if I hadn’t read certain books, including this one. So I did. There’s always a problem with reading books that you’ve known about, read about, but never got around to reading, and that is that they’re almost always a disappointment. This one, however, as you can probably attest yourself, wasn’t. Helps that it was a quick read too.

The Brighest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes: Okay, I have to admit that I couldn’t quite get into this one. I found it a bit too long-winded for my taste, and by the time you got to the end, you’d already figured out what the big suspense was, so there was a huge let down. It also just wasn’t as funny or touching as her usual fare. You might want to pick it up though for a good long day of easy reading if you’re already a Keyes fan. If not, skip this. It doesn’t compare to her earlier work.

Caught by Harlan Coben: I’m all caught up now, having read all of Coben’s books. This was just released this year, and as always, my work day was shot. You can’t pick up a Harlan Coben book and then expect to put it down midway (when will I learn?). Anyway, I loved that characters from Coben’s Myron Bolitar series made an appearance in this one. If you’re new to his work, I’d suggest working from the backlist. Start with his novels from the early nineties and work your way up.