Spring break has struck around the Schillig household this week, bringing with it extra time to finish a few books I’ve been meaning to get around to.

I perpetually have bookmarks in three or four different books simultaneously, and consequently the details grow a little jumbled. Currently, I’m re-reading Sam Harris’s “Letter to a Christian Nation” (non-fiction), and reading Steven Pressfield’s “Gates of Fire” (a meticulously researched novel about the Greek battle that formed the basis for the movie “300″) and Dean Koontz’s “Brother Odd” (the second sequel to his novel “Odd Thomas.”)

Technically, I am listening to the Koontz novel as an unabridged audio book while I exercise. I’m still old school enough to note a distinction between the act of reading and the act of listening, even when the material is the same.

Waiting in the wings is a book borrowed from a friend, “End of Story” by Peter Abrahams, and a paperback purchased this weekend, “The Tomb” by F. Paul Wilson. The latter is the first in a series of novels about a supernatural investigator of sorts named Repairman Jack, who sounds similar to the Odd Thomas character above, although Wilson’s character came first.

Also on tap for spring break are a variety of real-world events (the birthday celebrations of my wife, daughter, niece, cousin, second-cousin and various and sundry other family and friends — April is a BIG month for birthdays ’round these parts), movies (gotta see “Grindhouse,” especially because it bombed on its opening weekend and will doubtless disappear from theaters shortly), and other important mile-markers, including my daughter’s driving test.

Watch for updates and mini-reviews of all of the above (and more) in the days and weeks to come. And feel free to write  responses to anything you read here — they’ll make nice counterpoints to the spams I delete for prescription drugs, sexual enhancement potions, and get-rich-quick schemes.

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