May 20, 2009

Thanks so much to all of you who have taken our listener survey! Your responses show that nearly an equal number (around 30%) of you only listen to the podcast, or only read the blog, or do both. It's been very interesting to see and we know there are some good reasons ("I read the blog at work, but can't listen to the podcast at work" was a very common one). If you haven't taken the listener survey yet, you can do so at the blog. We'll leave it up until May 25th and we'll announce the winner of the prize pack in early June!

Michael is very excited about a book called Beowulf on the Beach, but was embarrassed to find that he's only read 4 of the 50 classics recommended by the author Jack Murnighan. This is not your usual "read the great books" plea. It's funny, it's witty, it's snarky, it tells you what chapters you can skip! Michael has decided this summer to read 4 classics he's never read before and has created a reading challenge so you can all join in! We're also giving away five signed copies of the book! Ann can't quite commit to the whole reading challenge, but may try to read War and Peace, in its amazing new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

Visit the blog to learn more about the Beowulf on the Beach Reading Challenge and Giveaway!

In segment three, Michael tells us about In the Land of Invented Languages which chronicles the attempts of several... interesting people to create their own language. Be sure to check out the website for The Klingon Language Institute and the author's own website for the book. Ann raves about Gone Tomorrow, the latest novel in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Men want to be like Jack Reacher; women want to be with him. This is the 13th Reacher novel and Ann thinks it's one of his best!

Full details of the books discussed are at our blog: www.booksonthenightstand.com

Please visit us there!