Strahov Theological Hall - Original Baroque Cabinet
(What my room does not look like.)
(What my room does not look like.)
A long time ago I made a pact with myself that I would review in some manner every book I read. This accomplishes several things.
1) I'm forced to think about what I've read and come to some sort of conclusion.
2) I don't waste my time on books I don't think are worth reviewing.
3) I have a good catalog of my book list, changing taste, and hopefully maturing opinions.
4) I get to bore all my blog readers to death.
Life has made reviews difficult lately, so I have a monstrous stack lined behind my computer waiting for review. The following days (perhaps weeks) will include some tedious bookishness, but I also want to talk about seeing Les Miserables (swoon), various Shakespeare plays, multiple movies, and something squibish on our trip to California.
Because of business with other writing projects, don't hold your breath for any original posts (not that you would). I'm going to try and post twice a week...possibly more or less depending on what I've been reading or watching lately.
So if there is a flurry of activity and it all seems a bit dull it's because I'm trying to fulfill my pact and keep up with myself. I've had doubts about continuing this blog. Its continued existence hinges on the personal benefit I get from having to think through things like book reviews.
Yesterday I decided to reorganize the various shelves of books that dominate our room. Volumes from Borders' sales were still sitting around homeless. Carrying around stacks of books made me giddy and I reached for a pen and paper to create a current book list. I finished with 150 titles. Yeah...there might be a lot of book reviews in the future.
Somehow, no matter how I arrange my books...by author, subject, title, height, or color, there's still not enough shelves.
Other recent activities include reorganizing my life and priorities, involving a great deal of painful decisions. making lengthy lists, schedules, and a shiny new budget. How am I possibly going to fit in all those books? I have a book to get to the publisher! And when is my story going to get done anyway? And the Romeo/Juliet/Hamlet screenplay is sad and lonely, scrawled in a chiastic structure in the closet.
In some ways it feels like summer hasn't begun, but so much has happened since winter it can't possibly be anything but the end of summer. Next week is September. Take a deep breath. Life will go on...
5 comments:
I love organizing my books. Then again, I've moved quite a few times, so I've had the opportunity to organize them more than once :)
Alas, I haven't found anything I really wanted from the Borders sales. Or maybe I didn't want to stand in the line to pay for them...
I had no clue Borders was even going out of business...a friend took me there and it was pretty early on. I bought several writing books that I've been coveting but had been previously scared away because of the large price tag.
A couple more months and you'll have no more brothers at home, but more book shelf space!
If you haven't already done so, you should check into reading the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers. It's Christian fiction, but I'd venture to say that it packs more of a punch than some of the best non-fiction Christian works out there today. My favorite book, hands down. Also love Radical, and Crazy Love by Francis Chan.
I have read "Radical" and "Crazy Love" is on my list. :-)
I tried some Francine Rivers and didn't finish. But I've heard a lot about that series, so maybe I should try again.
Thanks for commenting. :-)
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