Books to be read

Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader hopes some of us will do this "TBR Tag" meme (TBR means books "to be read") that came from Lori @ Palmer's Page Turners.  I decided immediately to do this because of Jennifer's excellent answer to the first question:  "What is this 'keep track' you speak of?"  It could also be my answer, since my unread books don't make a simple "pile," but encompass shelf after shelf after shelf.

1.  How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

I have a bookshelf dedicated to my library books, so I won't lose track of them.  Those are my immediate TBRs.  Other than that, I don't separate books I own into those I've read and those I haven't.  The majority of my books are nonfiction, so I want them where I can find them for reference.  Since I don't keep many novels after I've read them, they usually come from the library.  And their shelf is next to my bed, where I read before falling asleep.

2.  Is your TBR mostly print or eBook?

Mine is all print, since I don't have (or desire) an e-reader.

3.  How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?

If a library book is due soon and cannot be renewed because others have it on hold, that's the one I choose.  Otherwise, it's simply a matter of what I'm in the mood to read.

4.  A book that’s been on your TBR list the longest?

No idea.

5.  A book you recently added to your TBR?

One I got last week is The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland, a 1995 novel set in the Dominican Republic and in France.  As you can see in the illustration at the top of this post, it's the first book in a trilogy.  If I enjoy it, I'll also read the other two.

6.  A book on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover.

"Strictly"?  Nope, I don't do that.  Some of my books have beautiful covers, but I got them because of the content, not the cover.  I'm not sure why I like this elegant design, but I consider this edition of Lao Tzu's classic book beautiful.  I did not, however, buy the book "strictly because of its beautiful cover."

7.  A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading.

Jennifer had another great response:  "I can't answer this.  My books are listening!"  I love it!  My answer is that I've been culling books.  If I don't plan to read it, I've given it away.

8.  An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for.

I have mostly quit taking books for review and have never done a "tour" of books.  I read what I choose, when I choose, and because I'm in the mood to read it.  Retirement allows me to do that.

9.  A book on your TBR that basically everyone has read but you.

I don't choose books by how many other people like it.

10.  A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you.

Same answer, though friends occasionally say they liked this or that book they notice on my bookshelf.

11.  A book on your TBR that you’re dying to read.

If I'm dying to read it, then I'm reading it.

12.  How many books are on your Goodreads TBR shelf?

I'm not on Goodreads, but I've been collecting books all my life (almost 75 years old) and have NEVER counted my unread books.

NOTE:  I won't tag anyone in particular, but let me know if you answer these questions on your blog.

Donna's TWO new books ~ for TWOsday

Two new books arrived in the mail for my friend Donna, who showed me what she had ordered. Since she'll let me read them, I'm adding them here as a reminder to myself about them.

Philosophy and Theology ~ by John D. Caputo, 2006

A highly engaging essay that will draw students into a conversation about the vital relationship between philosophy and theology.  In this clear, concise, and brilliantly engaging essay, renowned philosopher and theologian John D. Caputo addresses the great and classical philosophical questions as they inextricably intersect with theology — past, present, and future. Recognized as one of the leading philosophers, Caputo is peerless in introducing and initiating students into the vital relationship that philosophy and theology share together.  He writes, “If you take a long enough look, beyond the debates that divide philosophy and theology, over the walls that they have built to keep each other out or beyond the wars to subordinate one to the other, you find a common sense of awe, a common gasp of surprise or astonishment, like looking out at the endless sprawl of stars across the evening sky or upon the waves of a midnight sea.”

What Would Jesus Deconstruct? : The Good News of Post-Modernism for the Church ~ by John D. Caputo, 2007

This provocative addition to The Church and Postmodern Culture series offers a lively rereading of Charles Sheldon's In His Steps as a constructive way forward. John D. Caputo introduces the notion of why the church needs deconstruction, positively defines deconstruction's role in renewal, deconstructs idols of the church, and imagines the future of the church in addressing the practical implications of this for the church's life through liturgy, worship, preaching, and teaching. Students of philosophy, theology, religion, and ministry, as well as others interested in engaging postmodernism and the emerging church phenomenon, will welcome this provocative, nontechnical work.

What's on your desktop?

This is Sandra Boynton's desktop.  She says, "The steely regard of the chickens keeps me in line."  She's my favorite cartoonist at the moment.

I have this photo of the Smokies taken by Susan Tidwell on my desktop.  What's on YOUR desktop?

Out of your mind

Sunday Salon ~ fake homework

BORROWED

Poems from My Heart and Soul ~ by Melvin Avery Edwards, 2010, poetry

These poems — written between 1980 and 2009 — show the poet's anger, disappointment, happiness, and love of life.  Some of them also explore his belief system and what it means to him.  Melvin, who is currently head of the resident council, lives here at the Crown Center where I moved last summer.  I see him nearly every day.

LIBRARY BOOKS

No Job for a Lady ~ by Carol McCleary, 2014, fiction (Mexico)

History, mystery, and murder are the traveling companions of Nellie Bly, the world's first female investigative reporter.  Nellie defies the wrath of her editor and vengeful ancient gods while setting out to prove a woman has what it takes to be a foreign correspondent in dangerous Victorian times.  Pyramids, dark magic, and dead bodies are what the intrepid Nellie encounters when she takes off for Mexico after her editor refuses to let her work as a foreign correspondent because "it's no job for a lady."  It's 1886 and Mexico has not cast off all its bloodthirsty Aztec past.  Nellie is stalked by ruthless killers seeking Montezuma's legendary treasure and an ancient cult that resorts to the murderous Way of the Aztec to protect it.  And there's the mysterious Roger Watkins, who romantically and physically challenges Nellie's determination to be an independent woman in a man's world.

That Part Was True ~ by Deborah McKinlay, 2014, fiction (Britain)

When Eve Petworth writes to Jackson Cooper to praise a scene in one of his books, they discover a mutual love of cookery and food.  Their friendship blossoms as each of them offers, from behind the veils of semi-anonymity and distance, wise and increasingly affectionate counsel to the other.  They both begin to confront their problems and plan a celebratory meeting in Paris: a meeting that Eve fears can never happen.

House of Daughters ~ by Sarah-Kate Lynch, 2006, fiction (France)

Lonely Clementine is the rightful heir to the House of Peine, the vineyard that has been in the family for generations.  She has spent her whole life caring for the vines, not to mention her sour brute of a father.  But now the Peine patriarch is dead, and to Clementine’s distress his will stipulates that she must share the vineyard with a half-sister she hasn’t seen in twenty years and another she didn’t even know existed.  Secrets tumble out as the three sisters struggle to rescue the family heritage while overcoming their own differences.  (Originally published in New Zealand as The House of Peine by Random House New Zealand.)

FAKE HOMEWORK

My 5-year-old great-granddaughter shows off what she calls her "fake homework."  She's in kindergarten and may consider homework something big people do.  You know, like first graders.

Bloggers gather in the Sunday Salon — at separate computers in different time zones — to talk about our lives and our reading.

Beginning ~ with advice from a columnist

The Breakdown Lane ~ by Jacquelyn Mitchard, 2005, fiction (Wisconsin)

Dear J, I'm getting married next summer, to a man of another nationality.  Both families are very happy, but there is a problem.

Those opening lines are intriguing, making me want to know about the problem and what the advice columnist will say.  Here's the book description:

Giving advice is what Julieanne does for a living — every Sunday she doles it out to clueless people she doesn't know, in a column in her local Wisconsin paper.  But when it comes to her personal life, Julie herself seems to have missed some clues.  Having worked creatively to keep her twenty-year marriage to Leo fresh and exciting, she is completely caught off guard when he tells her he needs to go on a "sabbatical" from their life together, leaving Julie and their three children — Gabe, Caroline, and Aury — behind.  But it soon becomes clear that his leave of absence is meant to be permanent.  The succeeding months are filled with a confusion and sadness that shake the core of the entire family.  Things take a turn for the worse when Julie is diagnosed with a serious illness and the children undertake a dangerous journey to find Leo — before it's too late.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.

Two bags full

One of the things I like about the Crown Center, where I live, is the trips we take on the van.  Since I'm new to St. Louis, it's a good way to learn about what's going on around town.  On Monday, half a dozen of us went to the JCC used book sale at the Jewish Community Center.  I came home with two bags full of books.

NOVELS

1. What She Left Behind ~ by Ellen Marie Wiseman, 2014, fiction (New York)
2. The Reconstructionist ~ by Josephine Hart, 2001, fiction
3. The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. ~ by Sandra Gulland, 1995, fiction (Dominican Republic, France)
4. Anil's Ghost ~ by Michael Ondaatje, 2000, fiction (Sri Lanka)
5. The Breakdown Lane ~ by Jacquelyn Mitchard, 2005, fiction
6. Quartet in Autumn ~ by Barbara Pym, 1977, fiction

NONFICTION

1. The Virtues of Aging ~ by Jimmy Carter, 1998, contemporary thought
2. Words That Hurt, Words that Heal: How to Choose Words Wisely and Well ~ by Joseph Telushkin, 1996, philosophy
3. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life ~ by Richard Carlson, 1997, psychology

RELIGION

1. God Is Red: A Native View of Religion (The Classic Work Updated) ~ by Vine Deloria, Jr., 1994
2. Why Is God Laughing? : The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism ~ by Deepak Chopra, 2008
3. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam ~ by John L. Esposito, 2002
4. A Jew Among the Evangelicals: A Guide for the Perplexed ~ by Mark I. Pinsky, 2006
5. One God: Peoples of the Book ~ edited by Edith S. Engel and Henry W. Engel, 1990
6. Religion for Dummies ~ by Marc Gellman and Thomas Hartman, 2002
7. Gates of Prayer: The New Union Prayerbook ~ by Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1975 (5735)