Summary: This week we talk about reading plays, try the "page 69 test," and tell you about 2 books we should have put in our Holiday Gift Guide. The play is the thing "DM loves Prufrock" asked if we had any favorite plays, classic or modern. Michael has been in a few plays and has read them for that purpose, and so he primarily sees it as a performance media. With the exception of Shakespeare, he has one play on his shelf: Noises Off (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/160194.Noises_Off?from_search=true) by Michael Frayn. On my reading list is the play "Lucky Guy," which is included in The Most of Nora Ephron (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17316511-the-most-of-nora-ephron?from_search=true), and The Sunset Limited (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12496.The_Sunset_Limited?from_search=true) by Cormac McCarthy. (http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/audiobooks.jpg)Audiobook of the week (07:02) (http://covers.audiobooks.com/images/covers/full/9780062249852.jpg) (http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/hoot/161725)Frozen in Time (http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/frozen-in-time-an-epic-story-of-survival-and-a-modern-quest-for-lost-heroes-of-world-war-ii/173835) by Mitchell Zuckoff, narrated by the author is Michael’s pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 40,000 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 7-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook) Judging a book by page 69 (10:50): I first heard about the "page 69 test" on the blog (http://www.psduffy.com/essays.html) of P.S. Duffy, author of The Cartographer of No Man's Land (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17605530-the-cartographer-of-no-man-s-land?from_search=true). So I Googled, and found an article from The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jul/23/tofindyourperfectnovelsee) that explains: this is a theory put forth by Marshall McLuhan that says, to find out if you might like a particular book, open the book to page 69 and read the page. So Michael and I each tried it out. To varying degrees, Michael found that reading page 69 made him want to read all of the books he tried it on. For me, the page 69 test definitely gave me a sense of the writing style on its own, and a sense of the mood and pacing of the book. Michael and I debate the merits of the page 69 test. What do you think? Some of the books we used for the test: * A Wizard of Earthsea (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13642.A_Wizard_of_Earthsea?from_search=true) by Usula K. LeGuin - the first paragraph grabbed Michael right away * I, Robot (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41804.I_Robot?from_search=true) by Isaac Asimov * The Mists of Avalon (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/402045.The_Mists_of_Avalon?from_search=true)by Marion Zimmer Bradley * City of Bohane (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10277268-city-of-bohane?from_search=true) by Kevin Barry * A Canticle for Leibowitz (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/164154.A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz?from_search=true) by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Two books we should have put in the Holiday Gift Guide (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2013/11/the-2013-holiday-gift-guides-are-here.html) (25:40) (https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364865083l/17347674.jpg) (https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385915281l/18493259.jpg) It never fails -- we hit "publish" on the Holiday Gift Guide and then find out about some new books that we wished we had known about earlier. So today, we each chose one book that we wished we had included. Michael chose The Hole by Oyvind Torseter,
