One down, fifty-one more to go. Books, that is. I'm trying to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I happened to be at the library, and the librarians had showcased My Ideal Bookshelf. I borrowed it before anyone else had the opportunity. It is the perfect book to start a year of reading. Every other page focuses on the ideal bookshelf of "more than one hundred leading cultural figures" -- basically the friends and friends of friends of the author and illustrator. I gave it five stars on Goodreads (this first paragraph is also almost word for word the same as that review) because I'm going to buy the book for my own library so that I can have all those lists of books at hand. I rejoiced to see one of my favorites Middlemarch on three ideal bookshelves. Moby Dick showed up on several as expected (but I'm still not going to read it in full). Then, there were books that were on a number of bookshelves that I had never heard of before. I liked the variety in the bookshelves: books on photography, design, technology, poetry, plays, fiction, non-fiction, childhood books and encyclopedias, math books (math!) and books in languages other than English.
I already used a picture of the book My Ideal Bookshelf on my last post where I shared that I was going to take the challenge "Reading 52 Books in 52 Weeks...Oh My!" so I'll share a picture, not of my ideal bookshelf (I don't know what I'll put on that bookshelf yet), but here are the books on our nightstand. Some of these have been here for quite a while!
Frankly, I cleaned it up a bit. I truly cleaned it up before the holidays and then cleaned it up some more before taking the picture. Since I realized I was going to practice "real" this year, here is the real view:
Clothes thrown on top and a diffuser that doesn't soak everything but puts a little bit of moisture into our dry air. After I took these two pictures, I also realized one of the books is backwards.
One of my writing professors for each assigned composition also assigned an article to read out of the book above. I had primarily been a novel reader up until that time (with plays and poetry included), but I really came to enjoy non-fiction magazine articles through the influence of this book. The book was on the stand because I thought my husband might enjoy reading short pieces while he was recovering from a serious infection in his leg. He's not much of a reader, so a very long time ago, I found the Paul Reiser book on Couplehood and thought I would read it out loud. The book is hilarious (or at least I thought so way back when).
Headed upward on the righthand side is Interior Castle by Teresa of Ávila which I intended to read but only made it to page twelve. I still intend to read it. Maybe I'll do that for one of my 52 books this year. I'm practicing not starting or acquiring anything new this year. Find that idea here in this post.
Author David writes: I keep imagining a tradition I’d like to invent. After you’re established in your career, and you have some neat stuff in your house, you take a whole year in which you don’t start anything new or acquire any new possessions you don’t need.
I already used a picture of the book My Ideal Bookshelf on my last post where I shared that I was going to take the challenge "Reading 52 Books in 52 Weeks...Oh My!" so I'll share a picture, not of my ideal bookshelf (I don't know what I'll put on that bookshelf yet), but here are the books on our nightstand. Some of these have been here for quite a while!
Frankly, I cleaned it up a bit. I truly cleaned it up before the holidays and then cleaned it up some more before taking the picture. Since I realized I was going to practice "real" this year, here is the real view:
Clothes thrown on top and a diffuser that doesn't soak everything but puts a little bit of moisture into our dry air. After I took these two pictures, I also realized one of the books is backwards.
One of my writing professors for each assigned composition also assigned an article to read out of the book above. I had primarily been a novel reader up until that time (with plays and poetry included), but I really came to enjoy non-fiction magazine articles through the influence of this book. The book was on the stand because I thought my husband might enjoy reading short pieces while he was recovering from a serious infection in his leg. He's not much of a reader, so a very long time ago, I found the Paul Reiser book on Couplehood and thought I would read it out loud. The book is hilarious (or at least I thought so way back when).
Headed upward on the righthand side is Interior Castle by Teresa of Ávila which I intended to read but only made it to page twelve. I still intend to read it. Maybe I'll do that for one of my 52 books this year. I'm practicing not starting or acquiring anything new this year. Find that idea here in this post.
Author David writes: I keep imagining a tradition I’d like to invent. After you’re established in your career, and you have some neat stuff in your house, you take a whole year in which you don’t start anything new or acquire any new possessions you don’t need.
No new hobbies, equipment, games, or books are allowed during this year. Instead, you have to find the value in what you already own or what you’ve already started.
For those of you still reading because you're curious about the rest of the books on the stand:
Continuing on the righthand side, from bottom to top:
Quiet by Susan Cain -- finished last year, need to find time to review it and add to Goodreads
Boo by Rene Gutteridge -- borrowed from younger daughter, keep meaning to loan it to my mom who would enjoy the story.
On the lefthand side, bottom to top:
Everyday with Jesus Bible with Devotions by Selwyn Hughes -- read through several times. It's a one-year reading bible. I enjoyed the groupings of OT, NT, psalm and proverbs readings along with the short devotional and prayer.
Two books on preaching that I finished reading: Preaching by Timothy Keller and Communication for a Change by Stanley Jones. I think they're still on the stand because I haven't reviewed them yet.
The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris L. West is the oldest book I own in this grouping of books. It has my maiden name written on the inside cover. Originally published in 1963, I read the second edition in 1969 and as a high schooler, I was impressed with the story. I held onto the book for years and two years ago, I finally placed it into a "give it away" box. However, then I heard a speaker quote from the book and, suddenly, it wasn't just me that thought the book had worth. As it turns out, one of the participants in My Ideal Bookshelf also included mention of The Shoes of the Fisherman!
With that comment, I have brought this post full circle back to My Ideal Bookshelf.
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing your bookshelf. I rearranged everything on my nightstand as well as other shelves for the new year, prioritizing what I wanted to read this year. Teresa of Avila has been on my shelves for quite a while, acquired from reading Well Educated Mind. But of course I haven't gotten round to it yet. Middlemarch is also there and I think a few other folks may be interested in reading so I may set up a read along come mid year. I'm adding Best American Magazine to my check it out list. Absolutely love the Go Deeper, Not Wider article. Thank you so much. Have a great week!
Thank you! I have in the back of my mind that Teresa of Avila will be a skinny book to fill in for those weeks when I may not make it with a larger size book, but I think the content is not so skinny! I will definitely look for a read along for Middlemarch. I have not re-read it in quite a while.
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