When I got this job, I had to move from New Hampshire to Indiana in less than a week. Chalupa stayed in New Hampshire for two more months, but I packed up Ruthie and all of our daily belongings and moved into my mom’s basement to start teaching at a university full time.
One of the things I did to make things easy on myself was to pack up all of the books I wanted in my office and ship them to the university. By the time I got to my first day at work, all of my books and office supplies had arrived ahead of me! I immediately alphabetized them on my shelves.
The books I decided to have in my office are all of my nonfiction books, some of which I haven’t actually read.
Here are some of the books on my shelves that I’d like to read in 2013:
The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong–I picked this up in an airport because I thought Ruthie would sleep the whole flight. She didn’t, and I haven’t read the book yet. I need to.
The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok–I started this after I heard Mira Bartok do a reading in Portsmouth, NH, loved it, and then got distracted by school work. I need to go back to it.
Hungry for the World by Kim Barnes–Her memoir In the Wilderness is one of my favorite books, so why, exactly, haven’t I read the next one?
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan–I’ve used the introduction in numerous classes, but I’ve not read the whole thing.
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell–I picked this up off a clearance table on impulse and put it on my shelf to read later.
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi–It has been recommended to me by some trustworthy readers. I once added it to an Amazon order to get me to the $25 free shipping threshold, and onto the shelf it went.
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell–I love the rest of her books. Why wouldn’t I love this one? I actually bought this as a gift for someone, decided I wanted it for myself, and got them something else.
Are there any books that you’ve owned forever but haven’t gotten around to reading yet?
Almost all of my books are packed up in storage due to our temporary living situation, but I have dozens that I haven’t gotten to yet (and that doesn’t count the free/cheap/review copy e-books filling up my iPad!). I haven’t read anything on your list, but the Friedan and Vowell books are both waiting to be read. I loved Sarah Vowell’s books of essays but just couldn’t make it through The Wordy Shipmates, but since Hawaii fascinates me, I’m hoping to like Unfamiliar Fishes much better.
I think some of Sarah Vowell’s work is very interest-specific. So, I really like reading about the Puritans and religion, and I therefore liked The Word Shipmates. Still, I could understand why someone else might not be as enthralled. Have you read Assassination Vacation, by any chance? That’s one that I think just about anyone who is interested in history could enjoy! I’ve assigned it as an optional text to my students before, and they loved it.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, because it looks so menacing in its thickness!
Hmmm–I wonder if my Kindle will make me more inclined to read intimidatingly thick books!
I’ve heard the Poisonwood Bible is really a great book, so I should probably check that out.
Oh, do share when you’ve read The Feminine Mystique. I found parts of it still shocking all these years later and I think it remains a powerful — and at times, dated — work.
I got about halfway through Infinite Jest and never finished it, a fact that I’m reminded of every time I walk into my living room, where it glares at me from one of the bookshelves. I just… I didn’t care for it. There. I said it.
Infinite Jest is incredibly intimidating to me. I’ve read his essays but have not attempted one of his books. It is reassuring to hear at least one person whose opinion as a reader say that it wasn’t for them.
I’ll definitely update once I’ve read the rest of Feminine Mystique!