Thursday 3 March 2016

So much to read (and so little time)


Around the end of December, I got into a reading/writing slump. I've managed to read a few books since January, but I haven't had the time and energy to write about them.
I'm beginning to recover, though. At least I'm getting back into reading, as evidenced by this huge (for me) pile of books I've added to my TBR stack within the last month.

Library books:
W.G. Sebald: Saturnuksen renkaat

Originally written in German (Die Ringe des Saturn: Eine englische Wallfahrt) and published in English as The Rings of Saturn. I didn't know anything about this book but saw the keywords 'Britain,' 'walking,' and 'travel,' and so borrowed this on a whim. Looks like it's more literary/highbrow than the travel books I typically read, but I'll see how I like it when I get to it.

Daniel Coyle: The Talent Code

A re-read, because I want to remind myself of the principles of deep practice.

John Gottman: Sju gyllene regler för en lycklig kärleksrelation

This is The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work in Swedish, because my library only had this version of it. I'm interested in getting the information and the principles from this book, but it's rather heavy going in Swedish. I can read Swedish almost fluently, but one part of my brain is trying to re-translate the text into English or at least guess what the original says, while another part is trying to process the information into my mother tongue so that I could apply it to my life and marriage. And I constantly feel like I'm missing something...
Should I persevere with this or switch to the same author's 10 Lessons to Transform Your Marriage, which is available in the library as a Finnish translation?

Timothy Keller: Kuninkaan risti

Finnish translation of King's Cross. I got this because I really liked The Prodigal God by the same author; it was one of the few books I managed to read during my January reading slump.

Christopher McDougall: Natural born heroes: the lost secrets of strength and endurance
* ebook borrowed from the library

I rather enjoyed McDougall's Born to Run, even if I didn't buy into it wholesale. (I don't eat chia seeds daily and I definitely don't run ultra distances...) That's why I picked this ebook when it happened to be available in the library system and I was looking for something to read.

I'm only about halfway through so far, so I'm not giving a final verdict yet, but I'll say it's not as easy to get into as Born to Run. It seems a mishmash of WW2 history and ancient history (in Crete/Greece), human potential for endurance and heroism, plus a bunch of other stories, and I'm still looking for the thread that will bind everything together.

Kindle purchases:

I also went a little bit crazy with Kindle daily/monthly deals (all of these books were between $1 and $5 when I bought them). I'm certainly not going read all these in March, but some day...

Vicki Courtney: 5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Son

I have a son who'll be turning 11 soon. I have a fairly good idea of what I want to discuss with him as he's growing up, but this book looks like a good reminder of certain essentials.


Doris Pilkington: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence

Sounds like an interesting story.

Anita Dittman: Trapped in Hitler's Hell: A Young Jewish Girl Discovers the Messiah's Faithfulness in the Midst of the Holocaust

Another story that sounds interesting :)


Michael P. V. Barrett: Beginning at Moses: A Guide to Finding Christ in the Old Testament

I want to find out more about this topic.


Helen Bryan: The War Brides

Some fiction for a change - having read a bit of the sample, I wanted to read more.


Carolyn Weber: Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir

Spiritual discovery and Oxford. With those keywords, this ought to be my cup of tea :)


5 comments:

  1. I have the War Brides, but just haven't gotten to it yet. I am curious about Trapped in Hitler's Hell. I love all the different perspectives during that time in history. No matter how many books I read, I still always learn something new about the Holocaust.

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    1. Thanks for commenting!
      I agree about history books - I read quite a lot of them and it seems there is always something new to learn, a new perspective to see.

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  2. You've got some great books here - I'm interested in hearing what you think of Courtney's book. My son is only 6, but still. Perhaps it's one I need to look for eventually? And I wish I'd seen Weber's book when it was on sale - I've been wanting to read it, but haven't prioritized it. Although I usually do better at prioritizing library books than ones I buy for myself, so I should probably just borrow it soon! :)

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    1. I think Weber's book might still be on sale? It's among the monthly deals, as I just checked on Amazon. (But the prices I see often vary from those of U.S. customers - yet, it's worth taking a look if you're interested.)

      As for Vicki Courtney, I'd say it's worth reading if you want a Christian perspective on raising boys, especially if you can get it from the library or on sale. A lot of it is about sex education, as you might guess, but I agree with her that the main thing is that our boys get into a real, personal relationship with God.

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    2. Yes - Weber's is! Thank you! :)

      I'll look for Courtney's from the library.

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