Booking Through Thursday

From Booking Through Thursday:

An idea I got from The Toddled Dredge (via K for Kat). Here’s what she said: “So here today I present to you an Unread Books Challenge. Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to. The books that begin to weigh on your mind. The books that make you cover your ears in conversation and say, ‘No! Don’t give me another book to read! I can’t finish the ones I have!’ “

Oh all the books I have left to read, and do they pile up! This is a strange and eclectic list I think. I seem to pick up titles that interest me but also challenge me. I suppose all night stands should come with the caveat that the views of the authors represented are not necessarily those of the person sound asleep with their glasses and light still on.

• Bringing Up Geeks by Marybeth Hicks (I just finished this but it is still on the night stand waiting to be put on my list of completed books. If you have ever wondered about being the sort of parent who says no to pop culture or whether video games are a priveledge not a right this is the book for you. An excellent defense of family, parental standards, education, and why being cool doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all of childhood. I suppose I should add that this is not strictly speaking a homeschooling book, the author's children attend public school.)
• Noah's Flood by William Ryan and Walter Pitman (I have started this book at least 3 times but keep getting distracted and then have to start all over. The scientific discoveries build in such a fashion that if I have forgotten something then I miss the point of the next discovery. A fascinating history of the Black and Mediterranean seas as well as of oceanography and mythology.)
• The Flight of the Romanovs by John Curtis Perry and Constantine Pleshakov (Every time I start this I tuck the flap in to mark my place but Winston must love the cover because he keeps pulling it out. An interesting account of the lives of the rest of the extended Romanov family, often forgotten when people focus strictly on the Tsar and Tsarina.)
• The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum (How the celebration of Christmas has evolved as a both a religious and secular celebration in the United States. I can't decide if I should finish it now or save it for some cold winter nights.)
• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren (A classic that I hope will give me some insight into how to get the kids to read critically.)
• The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (Another classic but a bit more up Winston's alley than the previous title.)
• The Western Cannon by Harold Bloom (The third title in my triad of books about books. By shuffling it around the pile it is beginning to appear as if it has been read but perhaps I should actually crack the spine.)
• Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin (An attempt to link ichtheo-paleontology with human development. I can't help but find books like this fascinating, I read the blurbs and start to wonder how??? I suspect that it is not for die-hard creationists.)
• The Complete Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton (A few months ago I noticed that everything I read was peppered with quotes from Chesterton but I had never read any of his works. Father Brown seemed the place to start, short stories that fit nicely into the little time I have before falling asleep and give the sense of accomplishment associated with finishing a story.)
• Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke (This is the other entry in the fiction catagory; a fascinating combination of fantasy and historical fiction. I'm about 1/3 of the way through and still have that waiting for the other shoe to drop feeling.)
  
• Cooking Light (The back issues are backing up, I need to do more meal planning so that I can fix some of that greating looking food!
  
• Rainbow Resource Catalog (Yes, its the size of the Yellow Pages but it's brand new and I will still read 75% of it, I just can't help myself. )
  

And yes, I know its Saturday but sometimes the week gets a bit busy! Today I feel a bit like a credit card ad.."What on your night stand (or reading table) (or piled on the floor)?"