I read two posts today about books so I thought I’d combine some of the questions and my thoughts about each.

The first blog entry asked the question “why buy?”.  The author compared the act of borrowing books from the library with buying books at a bookstore.  Here is my answer:

I love books.  I am a collector.  One of my favorite hobbies is collecting books.  I probably don’t read through 100% of them, and some of those books eventually leave my home to find a new family.  One of my favorite parts of our house (with all it’s many faults and financial uslessness) is that it has built-in book shelves in the attic, all around the stairwell.  It literally makes up two walls above the stairway.  They are all MINE.  They are all FULL.  I love them ALL.  I have a variety of books ranging in subject area from cats, dog training and horse care, to life coaching, psychology and self-help tomes, to Bible studies, college Bible class texts, hiking, gardening, and of course a healthy serving of novels.  It is common to see my nighttable on my side of the bed covered with 10 books and a handful of magazines (which range from scrapbooking, to genealogy to birds and blooms) and I do not go ANYwhere without a book or magazine at least in whatever car I’m in.  I definintely have more non-fiction than fiction books, and for that reason I have always bought my books.  I love hanging out in the big bookstores and little bookshops when I can.  We are in a suburban area, so it is only when we are out of state that we find the quaint little hole-in-the-wall bookshops.   These days I love the online hunt too: find a subject, read an article or four on the internet, then go to my favorite book search site and find a book I can purchase to get MORE information.  Most times I then follow up with an exciting trip to the bookstore to see if it’s on the shelves, and once in a while I anxiously enter my credit card number and wait impatiently for the lovely package to arrive in the mail.  I am able to receive packages at work, so I get them at my desk- oh it makes for some fun days of anticipation while in my little cubicle…

The second entry was from an author who was aiming to read more and more widely. He lists his “recent reads/to be reads/ and favorite reads” on his blog (I gotta find out how he did that!), and solicited comments suggesting some good book selections.  I of course had to answer the call to “list”.  First I updated my existing “favorite book list” in my journaling software and then copy and pasted it to the comments section on his blog.  So, here, now, I present you with some of the most influential and/or downright favorite books of mine over the years:

Inner Voice of Love – Henri Nouwen
How People Grow – Dr. Henry Cloud, J. Townsend
The Journey of Desire – John Eldredge
First Things First – Stephen R. Covey
Celebration of Discipline – Richard J. Foster
Finding Contentment – Neil Clark Warren
Write it Down, Make it Happen – Henriette Anne Klauser
Memories to Memoirs – Denis Ledoux
How to Write The Story of Your Life – Frank P. Thomas
You Don’t Have To Be Famous: How to Write Your Life Story – Steve Zousmer
Coach Anyone About Anything: How to Help People Succeed in Business and Life – Germaine Porche
This Year I Will…How To Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True – M.J. Ryan

If you want to know more about any of my books, feel free to comment to my blog, or email me.

NJHeart2Heart