Thursday, June 5, 2008

Books, books and more books

I have a confession to make... I love to buy books. That sounds innocent enough, but my problem is that I like to buy lots of books and then it takes me forever to get around to reading them. Sometimes I never read them. I still have books that I've had for YEARS that I haven't read yet. It's not that I don't want to read them. Sometimes I get started and I get interrupted by the temptation of another book. Sometimes life interrupts. Sometimes I just don't really like the book and I've given myself permission NOT to finish a book if I don't like it by 100 pages. The truth is, I usually only read when I'm in bed. And when I'm in bed, I get sleepy. So it takes me a while to read a whole book. It's a challenge to finish a book in a timely manner when one only reads a paragraph or two at a time. Seems wrong, doesn't it? Anyway, just as an exercise, I thought I'd make a list of all the books I've bought (or that I've been given) that I have not read yet. Please don't be offended if you find the title of a book you gave me and I haven't read it. Just 'cause it's on the list doesn't mean I'm NEVER going to read it. And, it doesn't mean I haven't started it. It just means I haven't read it yet.

Okay, here goes (in no particular order):

Oral History - Lee Smith
Lamb in His Bosom - Caroline Miller
Cavedweller - Dorothy Allison
Belong to Me - Marisa de los Santos
The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Learning to Speak Alzheimer's - Joanne Koenig Coste
Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
When Your Hormones Go Haywire - Pamela Smith, R. D.
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
Life of the Beloved - Henri Nouwen
A Remarkable Mother - Jimmy Carter
The Toughest Indian in the World - Sherman Alexie
50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth - John, Sophie, & Jessie Javna
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven - Fannie Flagg
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
Abraham - Bruce Feiler
Where We Stand - Edited by Anthony Dunbar
Listening is an Act of Love - Edited by Dave Isay
Turn My Mourning into Dancing - Henri Nouwen
Divining Women - Kaye Gibbons
A Soul Survivor - Philip Yancey
Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976 - E. B. White
Heartbreak Town - Marsha Moyer
Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller
Party of the Century - Deborah Davis
The 36 Hour Day - Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins
Living the Good Life - Helen and Scott Nearing
The Heart of Chrisitanity - Marcus J. Borg
The Joyful Christian - C. S. Lewis
The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis
A Grief Observed - C. S. Lewis
Long Time Leaving Dispatches from Up South - Roy Blount, Jr.
Reading Like a Writer - Francine Prose
A Separate Peace - John Knowles
Sacajawea - Anna Lee Waldo
The Last Girls - Lee Smith
Writer Mama - Christina Katz
The Art of Eating - M. F. K. Fisher
1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South - John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed
Searching for Home - M. Craig Barnes
Esther - Charles R. Swindoll
David - Charles R. Swindoll
Fit Over Forty - Sherri McMillan
The Right Words at the Right Time Volume 2 Your Turn - Marlo Thomas and Friends
Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul
Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul 2
The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron
On Agate Hill - Lee Smith
You: Staying Young - Michael R. Roizen, M.D., Mehmet C. Oz, M. D.
8 Weeks to Optimum Health - Andrew Weil, M.D.

Which one of the above books should I read next?

2 comments:

Zuneamama said...

In this order:
!!!!!The Glass Castle !!!!!
Oral History
A Separate Peace
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Carrie said...

Thanks for your support!!!
I was reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but got bogged down in it... I'll try again.