My previous WOYN post showed a (well, for me, at least) pristine nightstand with four books neatly stacked. All but one of those books are still on the nightstand, in the if-I-put-it-there-maybe-I’ll-read-it-next happy thought category.
Random notes:
§ Earthen Vessels is my present read. I’m loving in, but taking it in small bites. It’s about how the body matters in things of faith. Favorite quote so far: Grace is not a technique.
§ See two books with the fore edge showing? One says E.O.C. Library on it? They remind me of a story I have to tell you. We were at a friends’ house for dinner and she had a whole bookshelf of books with the spines facing in and the fore edges out. Whaaaa? I stammered. She laughed and said, I just love the look. Aren’t they pretty? … Have you ever??
§ About those books–one is a Ring of Words, about Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary or ‘the OED’ if you want to impress academic types. I say I want to read this book. I have a son who adores Tolkien, who also has a birthday soon. But. The combo of heavy-words and light-head have put it in the slogging category of reading.
§ The two top on the right are some Alexander McCall Smith books I snatched from the library, part of the 44 Scotland Street series. I love Bertie, the six year old prodigy who only wants to be normal. Lots of laugh alouds.
§ Not shown: the Call the Midwife triology. I haven’t made up my mind since I’ve finished reading them. Big sections are 5 stars and a few places are 1.5 stars. It’s sort of like life: lots of love mixed with disappointments.
§ What’s in me ears? Coolidge by Amity Shlaes. Interesting and enjoyable.
§ Finally, I started reading the Nikon D3100 book. Wow. I’ve had my camera 3 years and this book makes so much more sense now. I’m trying to wean myself off of auto settings and the long lens. This book is a good one to regularly dip into.
A Living Pencil 
I Capture the Castle is on my stack “to read”!
And I just finished (a few weeks ago) my first 44 Scotland Street book. I loved it! I have #2 ready to start on my trip to Alaska (tomorrow!) along with a book of short stories by Anthony Doerr.
Another recently read: The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, by Rachel Joyce. A companion book to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Lovely and Sad.
Ooh, I’m interested in the Doerr short stories. (I have a book by a Harriet Doerr on my shelf…they’re not related.) I have another book you recommended — A Sonata for Miriam — to read. Your book description, lovely and sad, is quite a combo. I’m thinking of you in AK.
A friend was telling me just last night that I should read the Call the Midwife books – I wanted to be a midwife when I was a teen (and am still pretty into birth-related stuff). I TOTALLY identify with the “if-I-put-them-there-I’ll-read-them-next” happy thought – and it almost never works (the “due back at the library this week” tends to drive my reading a lot more!)
Wow, I relate to your thoughts! Library due dates drive too much of my reading!
What a fantastic post. I really enjoyed reading your book thoughts. Love.love.love your thought “if-I-put-there-maybe-I’ll-read-it-next” —that’s exactly what I do. I am trying to tame that kind of pile, and only put a couple books there. I am failing.
I Capture the Castle was not a favorite of mine but my 15 year old daughter has placed it on her all-time favorite book list. Good that your learning more about your camera and your desire to move away from auto setting. I too have a desire to learn my camera better, and I have a book which is on the book pile of to-read.
Thanks so much! I have a double bookshelf that functions mainly as my TBR shelf. So many books, eh?
Just one question . . . WHO PUTS THE SPINE IN AND THE FORE EDGES OUT on the bookshelf?!! 😀
(Love your blog name, by the way.)
Thanks, Carrie. My first blog, on Xanga, was Magistra Mater. I thought it such a fun name, but no one knew how to pronounce it or what it meant so when I moved to WordPress I chose something very simple!
Spines in–I know, right? You would have to learn to distinguish books by the shade of white on the fore edges. I’m still dazed. But I want to be careful, because it is my friend that did this and one wouldn’t want to give a friend a bad rep, would one?
I’m a fan of RtK – your ability to articulate the essence of a book and your response to it so well.