Current reading - The Pile keeps growing!

As most of my loyal readers know by now, Tutu always has several books going at the same time. I read physical books in print, on my NOOK, and also listen to audiobooks on a daily basis. Generally, I don't read from the same genre at the same time, or at least not in the same time setting. Currently though, I find that I'm really stretching my mental abilities by reading 9 (yes that's right) right now.

So if you don't see any completed reviews for the next 10 days, the reason is that all of these books are so interesting that I simply cannot stop reading any one of them.  Usually, as I get to the last 40-50 pages of a book, I'll put everything else on hold and finish that one.  Here's a quick thumbnail of what's "on the nightstand" this week.
In print:

I'm trying to read   Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir. It's a review copy I got from the Early Review Program of LibraryThing and it's way overdue, so I'm planning to devote several hours to it over the weekend. Because it's  gotten very mixed reviews so far,  I'm anxious to dive in and form my own opinion.

On the audio pod I'm listening to two very different books right now:

The Book of Old Houses (A Home Repair is Homicide Mystery) by Sarah Graves, This mystery is light, set in Maine, plotted well enough to hold my interest, but not so heavy that my brain is set spinning trying to figure it out. It's a great "read" for taking down and packing up Christmas decorations, doing laundry, and someday getting back to the pool.

• The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. Considered one of the seminal works on WWI for my War through the Generations challenge, it's actually a re-read for me.  I read it years ago, and wanted to do it again to provide a good basis for the rest of the year's WWI books. It's well done on audio but I do have it also on the NOOK, so when I'm able I'm reading it one chapter at a time. It's quite full of names and places and really requires a good map and lots of time in between chapters to let the facts soak in. 

Then on the NOOK:

• I nabbed a copy of Bill Clinton's newest tomelet Back to Work it's only 144 pages and is due back to the library (i.e., it will expire on the NOOK) in 7 days, so I want to at least read the intro and opening chapter to see if it's worth dropping back on some of my others to finish.
• I'm reading (and having a hard time putting down) Leighton Gage's latest A Vine in the Blood , an Inspector Mario Silva mystery set in Brazil. I love this series, and Leighton was kind enough to send a review copy...it's just out now, and is not disappointing. 

• Another library download for the NOOK is House of Prayer No. 2. It has really grabbed my attention from the minute I opened it to see what it was all about. I know once I really get going, this is going to jump to the top of the line and stay there.

• I love Charlaine Harris's Lily Bard series and had the 4th in the series Shakespeare's Champion on hold at the library. It came through earlier this week so I HAD to read that one. I started it this afternoon, and was actually reading it at choir practice tonite. I'm an alto, so I get lots of reading time while the choir director goes through soprano, bass and tenor parts. Don't you just love the NOOK? 

• My World War I challenge has another on the current read list. This one, The Beauty and the Sorrow is a very special book written from the viewpoint of 20 different people from all countries involved in the war, and from all walks of life. It's very special, and I'm able to read it in small batches--each vignette is only 3 or 4 pages long. It will probably take me until late February to finish it, but it's a perfect read along to the heavier factual histories.

• And finally on the Nook, I'm reading along in my presidential biography series. Right now I'm reading The Last Founding Father: James Madison and a Nation's Call to Greatness. by Harlow Unger. It's another big heavy tome that I found almost impossible to hold in my hands to read, but it's just great being able to read on the NOOK.

•   I had to abandon a review copy of Juliette Gordon Low that I got from Net Galley. The epub they dropped was not formatted well-enough for me to be able to adjust an excruciatingly small font set in really tight line space. I hope when the book is published next month, that it will be more readable because JGL is a woman I've always admired (yes, I was a Girl Scout) and I'd love to read this one.

I have several other Net Galley offerings waiting to be read and reviewed when this batch clears out, but this year I'm determined not to be rushed, and to read what is appealing to me, not what I HAVE to read. I trust you all will find something in the coming reviews to make you run out yelling "I've got to find that one."