What’s on my nightstand?Well, you already know this from two days ago, but Let It Snow! by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.

These are holiday romances. I would never have considered myself a romance reader, but I seem to have become one in the past year–YAs, of course.

I’m in the middle of the second story, and I just discovered something. It’s in the jacket copy–which, of course, I didn’t read–so I don’t think it counts as a spoiler. The stories by the three authors are connected. Anyone who’s been here long knows I’m big on connections, and this seemingly little detail adds greatly to my pleasure.

The first story, the one I’ve read, was by Maureen Johnson. She’s the only author in the trio whose work I have not previously read. Of course, now I will check out some of her other books; she’s got a bunch. The connection that my brain made as I read was to Charles Dickens’ Christmas stories, all but his most famous, A Christmas Carol. I suspect at least 99% of Dickens fans are rolling their eyes and scratching their heads when I say that, but hey, it’s my brain, and it can make the connections it wants. I’m just telling it like it is.

The connection is that things look just fine on the surface, but for some reason the author insists they are not then proceeds to show us why. I can’t remember which Dickens story it is now–it’s time to read them again–but I remember thinking through much of the story, “And this is a problem because…?” I had a similar response to Maureen’s story, though she cleared up my question more quickly and thoroughly than I felt Dickens did.

What’s on my mp3 player? How to Be Popular, by Meg Cabot.

This is my second time through this book, and what do you know, I like it again. This is a subject near and dear to teen girls’ hearts, and I like the way Meg handles it, with just the right balance of hip and real, contemporary and timeless.

Steph Landry has a reputation…as a loser, for spilling a Cherry Super Big Gulp on someone’s skirt in sixth grade. Her peers won’t let her live it down. With the help of a book, How To Be Popular, Steph starts her junior year with determination and a plan to overcome her reputation. The question is, how far is she willing to go to be part of the In crowd, and is it worth it?

This is the book that is being discussed over at the Readergirlz forum on MySpace, Thursday, December 18, 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Alaska. Central and Mountain folks, do the math.

I’ve never been part of a book club, so I’m really excited.