Nightstand Books: May 2017

May has arrived. And with it come new books to be read.... though perhaps not as many as last month... hoping to spend a bit more time on writing this month. And I already have done some writing, which puts me ahead of April, but then, even writing a single word on my WIP would have done that!But we're not here to talk about writing, today we're discussing the worlds already written, waiting to be discovered by daring explorers!So, without further ado, my nightstand books.I had to go with a different angle on the picture this month because I particularly enjoy the covers for these books (especially the one on "Two Years Before the Mast")So, let's start with that one, shall we?Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana. I'm reading this partially because it's fascinating, and partially because I asked my dad to recommend some books that could help me learn some accurate sailing-ship terminology - as my love of ships far outpaces my knowledge of them - and I need to be able to insert some accurate sailing lingo into both Minstrel's Call and the Turrim Archive.Halayda by Sarah Delena White is this month's Fellowship of Fantasy Book Club read, and I have not started it yet, but am looking forward to it.The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher is one I've been dying to read for ages now, but I hadn't gotten around to it partially because of time constraints and partially because I was terrified it was going to sound/feel far too much like what I'm writing in the Turrim Archive and I didn't want to find out if what I was writing had already "been done." However, my husband is listening to it on audio book and assured me that this story is nothing like the Turrim Archive, but that it was every bit as good as I'd expect (already loving other things Butcher has written) and that it also makes use of ship terminology, so might need to be bumped to the front of the TBR queue. (Can I just say that "queue" is an exceedingly fun word to type?)Story Thieves by James Riley is one that a friend of mine got me as a "congratulations, you had a baby" gift! (She knows me well). Actually, she got me the third book in the series, but in her defense, the fact that it was the third book was not well-indicated on the cover. And who uses the word "origins" in the title of a THIRD book in a series??!?!? (James Riley, apparently). Anyway, this series was also written by the author of the "Half Upon A Time" series I just finished reading, so that's fun. I already finished the first one and am waiting on the second one from the library. Really enjoying this new author!Not pictured here are the books we're reading for school... only two left before we finish out the year: Swift Rivers and Sarah, Plain and Tall. Swift Rivers started out super slow, but is picking up pace now that we're into the meat of the story. I've never read Sarah, Plain and Tall, but I enjoy the movie and am looking forward to reading the book. It's a shorter one, and actually is one L is supposed to read on her own, but I'm curious enough about it that we're going to read it together instead.Will I finish all of these within the month? Well... we shall see.What's on YOUR nightstand, dear Reader?