Beginning ~ with Stephen's day of birth

Beginning

I was born on January 8, 1942, exactly three hundred years after the death of Galileo.  However, I estimate that about two hundred thousand other babies were also born that day.  I don't know whether any of them were later interested in astronomy.  I was born in Oxford, even though my parents were living in London.  This was because Oxford was a good place to be born during World War II.  The Germans had an agreement that they would not bomb Oxford and Cambridge, in return for the British not bombing Heidelberg and Göttingen.  It is a pity that this civilized sort of arrangement couldn't have been extended to more cities."

Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays ~ by Stephen W. Hawking, 1993, science essays, ix + 182 pages

Readers worldwide have come to know the work of Stephen Hawking through his million-copy hardcover best-seller A Brief History of Time.  This collection includes thirteen essays on cosmology plus an interview that was broadcast by the BBC on Christmas Day, 1992.  These fourteen pieces reveal Hawking variously as the scientist, the man, the concerned world citizen, and always as a rigorous and imaginative thinker.  Hawking's wit, directness of style, and absence of pomp characterize all of the articles, whether he is remembering his first experience at nursery school,; calling for adequate education in science that will enable the public to play its part in making informed decisions on matters such as nuclear disarmament, exploring the origins of the future of the universe, or reflecting on the history of A Brief History of Time.  This is an important work from one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century.

If you'd like to read more, I wrote about Stephen Hawking when he died in 2018, HERE.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Mt. TBR Challenge for 2023

January 2023 kicks off the twelfth year for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge, which I did in 2020.  Bev at My Reader's Block hosts this challenge.  This time, I'm signing up for the Mt. Blanc level to read a total of 24 books from my own shelves in 2023.  (It looks like I picked TWO levels because today is TWOsday.)  Here are the challenge levels:

Pike's Peak (14,115 feet):  read 12 books from my TBR pile

1.  75 Years: A History of East Lake United Methodist Church 1908-1983 ~ by Bonnie Setliffe Jacobs, 1983, history, 38 pages, 8/10

2.  The Irish Cottage: Finding Elizabeth (The Irish Heart Series Book 1) ~ by Juliet Gauvin, 2014, fiction (Ireland), 349 pages, 4/10

3.  A Vow of Silence ~ by Veronica Black, 1990, cozy mystery (England), 175 pages, 8/10

4.  A Vow of Chastity ~ by Veronica Black, 1992, cozy mystery (England), 191 pages, 3/10

5.  Being Authentic: A Memoir ~ by Morhaf Al Achkar, 2020, memoir, 174 pages, 7/10

    6.

    7.

    8.

    9.

    10.

    11.

    12.

Mont Blanc (15,781 feet):  read 24 books from my TBR pile

    13.

    14.

    15.

    16.

    17.

    18.

    19.

    20.

    21.

    22.

    23.

    24.

Mt. Vancouver (15,787 feet):  read 36 books from my TBR pile

Mt. Ararat (16,854 feet):  read 48 books from my TBR pile

Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,341 feet):  read 60 books from my TBR pile

Cerro El Toro (20,236 feet):  read 75 books from my TBR pile

Mt. Everest (29,029 feet):  read 100 books from my TBR pile

Mount Olympus (Mars) (69,841 feet):  read 150+ books from my TBR pile

I'll conquer the lower Pike's Peak and keep going until I reach the top of Mont Blanc.  Maybe I'll go even higher.  Who knows?  Sign up HERE, if you are interested.

Books that count ~ books that don't

Books I've completed so far this year:

1.  Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice ~ by Michelle Obama, 2019, journal, 9/10
2.  Paws for a Moment with God: Devotions Best Enjoyed in the Company of a Cat ~ compiled by Patricia Mitchell, 2010, reflections, 7/10
3.  Good Dog. Stay. ~ by Anna Quindlen, 2007, memoir, 9/10
4.  Cat Tales: A Catty Concoction of Quotes, Poems and "Dear Tabby" Advice ~ edited by Suzanne Beilenson, 1992, quotations, 7/10
5.  What Cats Teach Us ... Life's Lessons Learned from Our Feline Friends ~ by Glenn Dromgoole, 2000, gift book, 7/10
6.  Why Religion? : A Personal Story ~ by Elaine Pagels, 2018, memoir, 9/10
7.  Have a Little Faith: A True Story ~ by Mitch Albom, 2009, memoir, 9/10
8.  Making Toast: A Family Story ~ by Roger Rosenblatt, 2010, memoir (Maryland), 9/10
9.  Ten Keys to Happier Living: A Practical Science-Based Handbook for Happiness ~ by Vanessa King, 2016, self-help, 9/10
10.  Allah: A Christian Response ~ by Miroslav Volf, 2011, religion, 8/10
11.  Transitions: Prayers and Declarations for a Changing Life ~ by Julia Cameron, 1999, meditations, 

Books in that list that do NOT count toward the Mount TBR Reading Challenge:

6.  Why Religion? : A Personal Story ~ by Elaine Pagels, 2018, memoir, 9/10

This one was a library book.  I've read 10 of the 48 books from my own shelves that I hope to read this year.  Not bad, seeing as this is only two weeks into January.  Two of them were books I'd already started before last year ended and some were short books, so (nope) I didn't exactly read eleven big books in two weeks.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

I've decided to join the Mount TBR Reading Challenge because I have mountains of books to climb and miles of bookcases to read before I sleep (or something like that).  "TBR" is shorthand for "to be read.")

The idea is to concentrate on books I already have, rather than borrow library books or buy new ones that I don't really need.  So I'm telling myself to concentrate on reading what's here (and passing along books I've read to others), while planting flags on some of these mountains.

Challenge Levels:

Pike's Peak:  read 12 books from my TBR pile (14,115 ft)
Mont Blanc:  read 24 books from my TBR pile (15,781 ft)
Mt. Vancouver:  read 36 books from my TBR pile (15,787 ft)
Mt. Ararat:  read 48 books from my TBR pile (16,854 ft)
Mt. Kilimanjaro:  read 60 books from my TBR pile (19,341 ft)
Cerro El Toro:  read 75 books from my TBR pile (20,236 ft)
Mt. Everest:  read 100 books from my TBR pile (29,029 ft)
Mount Olympus (Mars):  read 150+ books from TBR pile (69,841 ft)

The Rules:

Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books.  You are welcome to voyage further and conquer taller mountains after your commitment is met.  All books from lower mountains carry over towards the next peak.  Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2020.  The challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2020.

My declared goal will be Mt. Ararat, 48 books from my own shelves.  Why?   Because of Mt. Ararat's location.  I'm a theologian, and Mt. Ararat is "located" in the Bible (in Genesis 8:4 ~ "and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat." (Genesis 8:4).  I'm setting forth on this sea of books, hoping to rest atop Ararat by the end of 2020.  I'll come back here to list each book I finish that counts toward the goal.  I have three "practice peaks" before Mount Ararat.

Pike's Peak (#1-12)

1.  Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice ~ by Michelle Obama, 2019, journal, 9/10
2.  Paws for a Moment with God: Devotions Best Enjoyed in the Company of a Cat ~ compiled by Patricia Mitchell, 2010, reflections, 7/10
3.  Good Dog. Stay. ~ by Anna Quindlen, 2007, memoir, 9/10
4.  Cat Tales: A Catty Concoction of Quotes, Poems and "Dear Tabby" Advice ~ edited by Suzanne Beilenson, 1992, quotations, 7/10
5.  What Cats Teach Us ... Life's Lessons Learned from Our Feline Friends ~ by Glenn Dromgoole, 2000, gift book, 7/10
6.  Have a Little Faith: A True Story ~ by Mitch Albom, 2009, memoir, 9/10
7.  Making Toast: A Family Story ~ by Roger Rosenblatt, 2010, memoir, 9/10
8.  Ten Keys to Happier Living: A Practical Science-Based Handbook for Happiness ~ by Vanessa King, 2016, self-help, 9/10
9.  Allah: A Christian Response ~ by Miroslav Volf, 2011, religion, 8/10
10.  Transitions: Prayers and Declarations for a Changing Life ~ by Julia Cameron, 1999, meditations, 9/10
11.  The Big Book for Peace ~ edited by Ann Durell and Marilyn Sachs, 1990, stories, 9/10
12.  Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between ~ by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, 2009, humor, 8/10

Mont Blanc (#13-24)

13.  Does God Have a Big Toe?: Stories about Stories in the Bible ~ by Marc Gellman, art by Oscar de Mejo, 1989, stories, 8/10
14.  Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival ~ by Velma Wallis, 1993, fiction, Alaska, 9.5/10
15.  Mortality ~ by Christopher Hitchens, 2012, memoir, 9/10
16.  Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner ~ edited by Ellen E. Garrigues, 1895 and 1910, ballad, 8/10
17.  Politically Correct Bedtime Stories ~ by James Finn Garner, 1994, humor, 8/10
18.  Once Upon a More Enlightened Time ~ by James Finn Garner, 1995, humor, 3/10
19.  The Andrew Project ~ by James Taylor, 1985, theology, 9/10
20.  Talk Before Sleep ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1994, fiction, 9/10
21.  The Winged Cat: A Tale of Ancient Egypt ~ by Deborah Nourse Lattimore, 1992, fiction (Egypt), 7/10

Mt. Vancouver (#25-36)
Mt. Ararat (#37-48)

You can sign up for this challenge any time during the year by clicking this link:  Mount TBR Reading Challenge.  Headquarters and the "crew" joining this challenge are found here.