My Bookshelf

I just received another order of books from Amazon today, and I thought I'd share the next couple of books on my bookshelf that I plan to read...

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life by Johnnette S. Benkovic

What is the What by Dave Eggers

The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Saint Teresa

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

As always, recommendations are welcome and greatly appreciated! I am always looking to add to add good books to our collection. Yesterday, I organized our bookshelves and even made room for more books, and I've made a lot of progress with the book I am currently reading. I should finish it up tonight or sometime tomorrow.

Conde Nast Traveller

I realize that it is a magazine and not a book, and I'm not counting it toward my 101 books. However, we are new subscribers, and both Jared and I have really enjoyed it so far. There isn't too much that we can enjoy reading as a couple, but this has been great for both of us and our relationship. With each issue, we have so much to talk about, and we have so many more travel destinations to add to our places-to-see list. I think it's really going to help make our next year and a half overseas, and even when we move back to the States and continue to travel the world, more interesting! If you haven't read it before, I would highly recommend checking an issue out... http://www.cntraveller.com/

Slacker

I know my last post assured everyone that I was on track and would meet my goal, which I will, but I really only wrote that blog to assure myself. I've been so busy lately with traveling and my volunteer positions that I haven't had as much time to read as I would like. Correction, I have had time, I just haven't made it a priority. So I leave tomorrow for a weeklong church retreat, and I am adding two books to my packing list. Since it is something that makes me happy and relaxed, I will find more time to read in my busy schedule.

Still on track

I just checked my progress, and I have 2 years, 4 1/2 months to read 87 books. That is an average of a little over 2 books per month, so I shouldn't have any problem meeting my goal to read 101 books in 1001 days!

Happy Columbus Day!

We're back from our Columbus Day weekend in Ireland, and it was wonderful!

Unfortunately, I did not find as much time to read as I would have liked... I did read two other books: #13 Irish History, by Seamas Mac Annaidh and #14 The Guide for Daisy Girl Scout Leaders. We picked up the book on Irish history at the Waterford Crystal Factory in Waterford, Ireland, and the other book is one I am reading in preparation for my first Daisy troop meeting on Thursday! I think the unplanned reads are sometimes the best!

Blog for the Environment

October 15, a week from today, is Blog Action Day, and the theme this year is the environment.

If you have a blog and want to join in, all you have to do is use that day to post something related to the environment, in whatever way, shape, or form you prefer. You can pick an environmental issue that has meaning for you and let us know why it's important. Organize a beach or neighborhood cleanup and tell us about it. If you're into fiction writing, give us a story with an environmental theme. Have a podcast, videoblog, or photoblog? Join the fun!

The idea here is to have a mass effect on public awareness by sharing as many ideas in as many ways as possible.If you're game for participating, go register your blog with the 7,000+ other blogs (with 5 million readers!) that are already signed up. Also, see the Blog Action Day blog for more on how bloggers can change the world.

Moving On

I finished reading Amirrezvani's, The Blood of Flowers, and I have to admit, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Like I said yesterday, it took me a few pages to get into it, but once I did, I could hardly put it down. The ending wasn't what I had hoped for, but it was still good.

I'm not sure what I will read next... My to-read stack is growing with each trip to the bookstore or visit to Amazon.com. I am looking for something light and quick. The Old Testament and The Blood of Flowers were both heavy reads, and I need a change of pace. I think I'll go with one I picked up off the freebie shelf outside the library. It's called, The Ladies Auxiliary, and it is written by Tova Mirvis.

Let's see what Amazon has to say about it...

"The world of this confident, insightful debut novel is the tightly knit Orthodox Jewish community of Memphis, Tenn., a social structure that unravels when an unconventional New York convert settles there with her five-year-old daughter. Newly widowed Batsheva Jacobs is both shockingly modern and fervently spiritual. She lovingly raises her daughter, Ayala, in the Orthodox tradition, but she sings loudly and enthusiastically at shul (perhaps a sign of unseemly ego), visits the mikvah to cleanse herself (an act that raises eyebrows, since she has no husband), and she wears flowing clothes that show her figure. All of which is noted suspiciously by the local women whose common goal is to preserve tradition. In Memphis, where Shabbos dinner includes fried chicken and black-eyed peas, that task isn't easy. ..."

In case you are wondering, I am still on track to meet my goal of 101 books in 1001 days. With approximately 29 months to go and 89 books to read, I need to read just over 3 books a month to stay on track. And on that note, I am going to say goodnight and retire to bed with my new book to get started...

Slow and Steady

It took about 12 pages of reading, but I finally started to get into The Blood of Flowers. Now I'm on a roll and halfway through it. I don't really have much of an opinion yet to write about, so here's a review from Amazon...

From Publishers Weekly: In Iranian-American Amirrezvani's lushly orchestrated debut, a comet signals misfortune to the remote 17th-century Persian village where the nameless narrator lives modestly but happily with her parents, both of whom expect to see the 14-year-old married within the year. Her fascination with rug making is a pastime they indulge only for the interim, but her father's untimely death prompts the girl to travel with her mother to the city of Isfahan, where the two live as servants in the opulent home of an uncle—a wealthy rug maker to the Shah. The only marriage proposal now in the offing is a three-month renewable contract with the son of a horse trader. Teetering on poverty and shame, the girl weaves fantasies for her temporary husband's pleasure and exchanges tales with her beleaguered mother until, having mastered the art of making and selling carpets under her uncle's tutelage, she undertakes to free her mother and herself.

A few more unexpected reads

Finished #10 and #11... After months and months, I read all 1000+ pages of the Old Testament. I am going to take a little Scripture break so that I can focus on preparing my upcoming Sunday school lessons and Catechist formation class. I do plan on returning to the Bible and finishing the New Testament soon though... I also read Ireland for Dummies in preparation for our upcoming trip to Ireland. I haven't really gotten into the Blood of Flowers yet, but I've been busy and kind of distracted. I'll have to give it another try tonight before bed. Anyway, just wanted to update. I know it's been a while, but our internet is still down at home, so it is hard to find time to blog. I'll try to write (and read) more... Madd