Summary: Download the Books on the Nightstand Holiday Gift Guide! Revisiting the concept of book polygamy. We recommend Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers and How to be both by Ali Smith A reminder that the 2014 Books on the Nightstand Holiday Gift Guide is available now. It's sure to make your holiday shopping easier, and your gift recipients more appreciative! You can download it by clicking here (http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/a/1/9/a19b2667a1590ffd/BOTNS_Holiday_Gift_Guide_2014.pdf?c_id=7953979&expiration=1417553104&hwt=f4cd47253ed63d9938ee2fd62fbad0dd), or on the image below. (http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/BOTNS-Holiday-Gift-Guide-2014-1024x682.jpg) (http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/audiobooks.jpg)Audiobook of the week (03:48) (http://covers.audiobooks.com/images/covers/full/9781442374973.jpg)You by Caroline Kepnes, narrated by Santino Fontana, is Ann's 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 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 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook) Revisiting Book Polygamy (08:49) Way back in episode 114 (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/02/botns-podcast-114-snow-books-for-snow-days.html) I discussed the concept of book polygamy and how I was really enjoying reading multiple books at a time. These days, I've been reading six or more at a time. I'm enjoying them all, but I still seem to be jumping around between them, and seemingly not giving each enough time to hook me. Ann plays "book therapist" and diagnoses several possible reasons why I'm having this first-world problem. During this conversation we mention that the New York Times has announced their 100 Notable Books of 2014 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2014.html). It turns out that they do choose their Top 10 from the 100 Notable, which does not seem to bode well for Station Eleven, which makes us angry... Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (23:56) (https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414280937l/20821124.jpg) (https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411680370l/23164913.jpg) This week I recommend a book from the Holiday Gift Guide (http://ec.libsyn.com/p/a/1/9/a19b2667a1590ffd/BOTNS_Holiday_Gift_Guide_2014.pdf?d13a76d516d9dec20c3d276ce028ed5089ab1ce3dae902ea1d06c98032d4cc557b9e&c_id=7953979): Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers. Many first learned about Oliver Jeffers when he illustrated The Day the Crayons Quit. In Jeffers' new book, each letter of the alphabet gets a story filled with alliteration and crazy antics. Other Oliver Jeffers books we love (and that I mention) are Stuck and The Incredible Book Eating Boy. Ann has been dying to tell you about How to be both by Ali Smith. It's a book with two seemingly-disparate narratives presented one after another. However, which order you read them in will be entirely up to fate, as the publisher is printing two versions of the text, so each half of the story gets a chance to go first. The two versions will be indistinguishable from each other. Ann recommends this as a great book group discussion, allowing members to talk about how their perceptions of the story differ based on the sequence of the story.
