Sunday, November 17, 2013

What's on YOUR Bookshelf?

This is a fun link-up hosted by Anne @ Modern Mrs. Darcy to talk about...what's on our shelves!  I've also always wanted to join Jessica @ Housewifespice for {What We're Reading Wednesday} AND I haven't joined Jen @ Conversion Diary for {7 Quick Takes} in for-ever...so let's have another round of (drum-roll please...)

So, with as much ado as possible...here's {7 favorites} {on my bookshelf} that {I've read from, sometimes on Wednesdays}.  
I am very proud of this graphic that I made using pixlr.com
1. These are some handy-man/how-to books that are fun to look through for ideas.

2. Anna Karenina. In college, my professor had us read War&Peace instead, on the grounds that if we were going to read more Tolstoy later, we should probably read W&P first, because who would read it other than for a class.  Good thinking, but I still haven't gotten past the first few chapters of AK.  Maybe now that there's a movie I will soldier on...and I know Laura would want me to. :)

3. Small collection of shorter stuff that includes Flannery O'Connor (Haley would be proud), O. Henry and Graham Greene.

4. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman. This is one from a trilogy, but I haven't read the following ones.  Was it Sarah O. who mentioned this one time?  It's a really great book, one that Steven bought for me on a whim (books about dragons must be good). As he gets me to read lots of books...I went along, and really liked it. It's very readable historical fiction. 

5. Contented Dementia by Oliver James.   James does a very good job of clearly explaining a ground-breaking method of dealing with a debilitating and scary disorder. The method may not be the end-all be-all of caring for someone with dementia, but it offers some practical and concrete methods, that even someone with a bare minimum of contact with a person who has dementia could benefit from. 

6. Under the Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. This is Vanauken's second book, and it's place here is really to serve as a plug for his first, A Severe Mercy. This second one is a bit drier, but the first is simply monumental.  Just go read it please

source (w/ review; spoilers alert)
7. Handy-dandy-trusty-dusty Greek and Latin textbooks (Hansen&Quinn and Wheelock).  I hope one day to be organized and on top of things enough to use them to further my dreams of having happy-healthy-handsome-holy sons...


There you have it, folks! Don't forget to go back and check out what Anne, Jessica & Jen have to offer! 



8 comments:

  1. It wasn;t me that suggested 'Here Be Dragons,' but it does look enticing! I just picked up my first ever Flannery O'Conner at the library the other day... looking forward to trying it out.

    Also Anna Karenina was much better than War + Peace, but overall I'm a fan of Tolstoy's shorter stories.

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    1. Here be Dragons' is about Prince John's daughter...enjoy the Flannery!
      ...maybe I should try some shorter Tolstoy; that's part of the agony, being so long--too many chances for everything to go all pear-shaped.

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  2. Thanks for the shout-out! Made me feel special.

    Although. . . AK was good, but I'm not sure I'll ever read it again. Dr. B read it twice, I think, but she's Dr. B after all. War and Peace I think I enjoyed more. AK was literally a train wreck waiting to happen.

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    1. :)
      Dr. B gets her own category ;)
      Maybe the train-wreck feel is why I didn't go further: it got my spider-senses up...!

      ...did you pick up 'A Severe Mercy' yet? ;)

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  3. Here Be Dragons looks very good to me! I've read A Severe Mercy, twice, and though I love C.S. Lewis, the main characters' total self-absorption drives me batty. Thanks for linking up!

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  4. I may be somewhat over-the-top about 'A Severe Mercy'...but I still really like it; I agree on their self-absorption, though...if they had managed to "fit" children into their picture maybe...

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  5. I've never read War and Peace, but I did enjoy Anna Karenina. I'll bet you're one of the few that's read the behemoth but not AK.

    Love this collection. Thanks for sharing your shelves with us!

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  6. Huge, huge, huge A SEVERE MERCY fan. I remember sending a used copy to a college friend.

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