FUNdamental Reading
Apr. 19th, 2008 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sinkwriter"A home without books
is a body without soul."
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
I was going to be all poetical-like and write an imaginative post about the rich, wonderful worlds of plot and character development, and what it all means to me, as a reader and a writer... but honestly, who's got the time when I have stacks of books to read?
Throughout the course of this year I've found myself struggling to find focus. Granted, it's difficult to maintain even a semblance of structure in life when one is without work. I know it sounds silly, but it can be scary, frustrating, and downright boring living without any sort of schedule.
It's a marvelous thing, to have purpose. It feels rewarding to be productive and driven, to find joy and energy in the completion of a task, whatever it is that captures your attention. Therefore, at a time when everything feels so aimless, I think I need to give myself more positive motivation.
Case in point: every time I gaze upon the piles of unread books cluttering my living room floor, I feel scattered and anxious, completely at a loss as to where to start. I clearly need some direction!
Inspired by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
willowmina's "New Book Challenge 2008" in which she declared her desire to read one new book per week this year, I have decided to make a list of my own. I don't have the time to commit to one-per-week, especially given the chaotic craziness of my current life, but I figure this list will help me to pick a book, any book, and stick to it. Even better, it will give me a visual benchmark, as I check off a book from my list and gleefully move on to the next.
This list, containing all the books from those aforementioned dusty stacks, is full of variety: mystery, suspense, fantasy/sci-fi, philosophy, psychology, memoirs, and even reference books. Plenty for me to choose from. And seeing them all in an organized fashion such as this helps me to breathe easier. It doesn't have to overwhelm me anymore; I can see what I have and what awaits my attention. All I need to do is open a book.
Without further ado, in no particular order, these are some of the books I will be reading throughout the rest of this year.
Sherry's Reading List 2008
P.S. Please feel free to make recommendations. What have you been reading? What books do you treasure? Though it may take me a bit of time to get to your suggestions (as you see how many books I already have ahead of me), I'd still love to know. As always, like Fox Mulder, I’m open to the possibilities!
is a body without soul."
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
I was going to be all poetical-like and write an imaginative post about the rich, wonderful worlds of plot and character development, and what it all means to me, as a reader and a writer... but honestly, who's got the time when I have stacks of books to read?
Throughout the course of this year I've found myself struggling to find focus. Granted, it's difficult to maintain even a semblance of structure in life when one is without work. I know it sounds silly, but it can be scary, frustrating, and downright boring living without any sort of schedule.
It's a marvelous thing, to have purpose. It feels rewarding to be productive and driven, to find joy and energy in the completion of a task, whatever it is that captures your attention. Therefore, at a time when everything feels so aimless, I think I need to give myself more positive motivation.
Case in point: every time I gaze upon the piles of unread books cluttering my living room floor, I feel scattered and anxious, completely at a loss as to where to start. I clearly need some direction!
Inspired by
willowmina's "New Book Challenge 2008" in which she declared her desire to read one new book per week this year, I have decided to make a list of my own. I don't have the time to commit to one-per-week, especially given the chaotic craziness of my current life, but I figure this list will help me to pick a book, any book, and stick to it. Even better, it will give me a visual benchmark, as I check off a book from my list and gleefully move on to the next.This list, containing all the books from those aforementioned dusty stacks, is full of variety: mystery, suspense, fantasy/sci-fi, philosophy, psychology, memoirs, and even reference books. Plenty for me to choose from. And seeing them all in an organized fashion such as this helps me to breathe easier. It doesn't have to overwhelm me anymore; I can see what I have and what awaits my attention. All I need to do is open a book.
Without further ado, in no particular order, these are some of the books I will be reading throughout the rest of this year.
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Firefly ~ The Official Companion Volumes One & Two | Joss Whedon |
| I’m Just Here for the Food | Alton Brown |
| The Poet | Michael Connelly |
| Eats Shoots & Leaves | Lynne Truss |
| Art & Fear | David Bayles & Ted Orland |
| Letters to a Young Poet | Rainer Maria Rilke |
| God’s Debris | Scott Adams |
| Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates | David Cordingly |
| The Secret Language of Eating Disorders | Peggy Claude-Pierre |
| The Measure of a Man | Sidney Poitier |
| The Elements of Style | William Strunk & E.B. White |
| Writing for Your Life | Deena Metzger |
| Dreams from My Father | Barack Obama |
| The Audacity of Hope | Barack Obama |
| The Dead Zone | Stephen King |
| Tigana | Guy Gavriel Ray |
| Loving What Is | Byron Katie |
| Self Esteem | Matthew McKay & Patrick Fanning |
| Storm Front ~ Book One of The Dresden Files | Jim Butcher |
| On a Pale Horse | Piers Anthony |
| Bearing an Hourglass | Piers Anthony |
| The Power of Myth | Joseph Campbell |
| If You Want to Write | Brenda Ueland |
| The Bourne Series (4 books) | Robert Ludlum |
| The Human Stain | Philip Roth |
| Wicked | Gregory Maguire |
| The Philosophy of The X-Files | Dean A. Kowalski, ed. |
| The Original Sherlock Holmes | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose | Eckhart Tolle |
| The Heroine’s Journey | Maureen Murdock |
| Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha | Tara Brach |
| Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World | Isa Chandra Moskowitz |
P.S. Please feel free to make recommendations. What have you been reading? What books do you treasure? Though it may take me a bit of time to get to your suggestions (as you see how many books I already have ahead of me), I'd still love to know. As always, like Fox Mulder, I’m open to the possibilities!
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no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 08:25 pm (UTC)You don't owe me brunch or an apology. I confess, there may be a few books I have on the shelves that I never returned to Winona State library (don't go and report me to the Library Feds!) But you DO owe me a visit! We are long overdue for a girl's dishing session :) You can also make it up to me by enjoying Tigana when you get to it on your pile :) Or, you can send me that Josh Lyman icon you were talking about - I covet it!!
What can I cay, I collect Joshes ;D
Y'know, I feel like I'm letting the terrorists win by not having our Derby Shindig this year! I promise the Derby Party will be in full swing next year! BTW - Derby Picks: Colonel John (boring name, but trust me on this one...) or Tale of Ekati. I'm high on both right now. Wedding plans will not get in the way of my ponies!!
BTW, a number of people in this conversational thread have mentioned the Kathy Reichs books. I also would like to highly recommend them. I've read the first three in the series, and they were fabu (though, not always the best books to read over lunch, due to their forensic science details). I much prefer her writing to Patricia Cornwall's stuff...
no subject
Date: 2008-04-30 02:16 am (UTC)hee hee
But you DO owe me a visit! We are long overdue for a girl's dishing session
Seriously! It's been very, very long. And I know... you've been buried under piles o' wedding plans, and I've had my stuff, so we've been in our own corners of the world, doing what we need to. But we really should make time for at least one visit, a bit of sanity amidst the chaos, right? :)
Thanks for the recommendations re: Kathy Reichs books. I watch Bones so I've been thinking about checking out her books -- glad to know you think they're good. Considering how much you read, I take your opinion very seriously. *GRIN* So, which books are first in the series (so I know what to start with)? I know what you mean about not reading over lunch -- I always seem to settle in to watch Bones right after I've eaten supper, and boy those gruesome close-ups of the bodies are just so lovely to see at that point. hahaha Eww!
Hope you're having a decent start to your week, even though it's freaking cold out so far. :)