If you have been reading my blog for awhile, there are two things you know about me for sure.
I love books. Reading books--lots and lots of books-- talking about books, reading about books, listening to podcasts about books, and keeping lists of books.
AND
I love lists--creating lists, checking items off my lists, saving lists.
The two loves come together in my Book Journal.
Last year I kept my book lists in my bullet journal, which is where I make my weekly and monthly lists, along with other miscellaneous lists and notes, but this year I decided to devote a separate journal to all things BOOK.
This is where I maintain my TBR (To Be Read) list, an ever-growing list plus, of course, my list of what I have read, divided into fiction and nonfiction categories. I also keep track of books acquired during the year, books eliminated from my shelves, books abandoned before finishing, book ideas for other people, favorite quotations from books, selections for our book group. Recently, I added a copy of a great list of books for those traveling to England (or in my case, wishing I could travel to England), suggested by Anne Bogel in her Modern Mrs Darcy blog. (Book List)
I know this must seem silly, over-the-top and/or obsessive compulsive. Perhaps you are shaking your head and saying, "Get a life!" or "Who cares!'
I do hope you won't abandon reading my blog because of what seems like a trivial, time-consuming distraction from the more important concerns in life.
Let me explain. Earlier this month I discovered my Word of the Year is Fullness (See Word of the Year) Fullness to me means staying awake to the sacred in life--and I consider books and reading sacred. Fullness is being aware of the abundance and richness in my life. Fullness does not mean avoiding the tough, the difficult, the painful, but in order to stay connected and informed and responsive, I must honor what gives me pleasure. Books and my reading life give me pleasure. Books are a part of the fullness of life, and dipping into my book journal to add a title to one of the lists reminds me of the many gifts writers and words add to my life.
Somehow keeping a book journal enhances my ability to engage with what I am reading, deepening the insights, the perspectives and connections and moving me towards a life lived with greater meaning and purpose.
Tomorrow I will note on a new list my favorite books for the month of January: Kindred by Octavia Butler (fiction) and Ordinary Light, a memoir by poet Tracy K. Smith. I recommend them both.
Now excuse me, I have reading to do.
An Invitation
What activities in your life now add to the fullness in your life? I would love to know.
Meet Walter, the dog who reads.
Walter is a sheep-a-doodle who belongs to our daughter and her family. He is only a year old, but he is reading already.
Walter learned quickly that the expectation in our family is to READ. Smart dog. He prefers to read classics, and his current choice is one of C.S. Lewis's Narnia books.
As I said, smart dog.
In France you are what you read. Or, according to The French Art of Making a Home by Danielle Postel-Vinay, at least what you include in your bibliotheque. Walter hasn't learned French yet, so I translated for him. "That means library, Walter."
For the French, what you read is more important
than the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the
rings on your fingers, or the watch on your wrist.
Books are more important than the job you perform,
or how much you earn per year. ...In a society
obsessed by education, intelligence, and taste, books
are also an important link between who you are and
what you tell the world. The books speak for you. The
books you read matter. The books you display in your
home matter even more. The absence of books in your
life signals a deep and inexplicable void.
An absence of books? I can't imagine, and I am glad Walter has figured that out as well.
Rather than an absence of books, the problem in our household is managing the books we have. We don't quite have the "one in, one out" rule at our house, but we are paying more attention to books we want to keep and books we are ready to pass on to Little Free Libraries or used book stores. Or friends. Some Walter might eventually want in his library.
I am using the library more as well. (Gosh, I wonder if Walter has his library card.) Along with being a more faithful library patron, my intention for the new year is to dip more frequently into what I already have on the shelves. My TBR (To Be Read) stacks. It's challenging, however, not to be tempted by new shiny titles.
One of the blogs about books that I follow, Modern Mrs Darcy posted a 2019 reading challenge, which intrigues me. I suspect I could fulfill the challenge with books I already own.
* A book you've been meaning to read.
The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah (F)
Unbinding, The Grace Beyond Self, Kathleen
Dowling Singh (NF)
* A book about a topic that fascinates you.
The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai (F)
The Warmth of Other Suns, The Epic Story of
America's Great Migration, Isabel Wilkerson (NF)
* A book that is a backlist of a favorite author
The Range of Motion, Elizabeth Berg (F)
A Place of My Own, Michael Pollan (NF)
* A book recommended by someone with great taste
Autumn, Ali Smith (F)
Hearth, A Global Conversation on Community,
Identity, and Place, Annick Smith & Susan
O'Connor (NF)
* Three books by the same author
The last three by Willa Cather: Shadows on the Rock,
Lucy Gayheart, and Sapphira and the Slave Girl (F)
Three by Christine Valters Paintner: Water, Wind,
Earth and Fire, The Christian Practice of Praying
with the Elements; Awakening the Creative Spirit,
Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction; and The
Soul's Slow Ripening, 12 Celtic Practices for
Seeking the Sacred (NF)
* A book you chose for the cover
The Good Doctor, Michael Kula (F)
Dreaming in Chinese, Mandarin Lessons in Life,
Love and Language, Deborah Fallows (NF)
* A book by an author who is new to you
They May Not Mean To But They Do, Catherine
Schine (F)
When Spiritual But Not Religious Is Not Enough,
Lillian Daniel (NF)
* A book in translation
???? This must be a category where I need to
expand. I know I don't want to read War and Peace
again!
* A book outside your (genre) comfort zone
Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel (F)
Onward and Upward in the Garden, Katherine
White (NF)
* A book published before you were born
Howard's End, E. M. Forster (F)
The Story of My Heart, Richard Jeffries (NF)
I don't intend to be rigid about this list, but it would be great to focus on books waiting for me on my shelves. Stay tuned.
An Invitation
Do you have any 2019 book intentions for the new year? I would love to know.
If you have been reading my blog for awhile, there are two things you know about me for sure. 
This is where I maintain my TBR (To Be Read) list, an ever-growing list plus, of course, my list of what I have read, divided into fiction and nonfiction categories. I also keep track of books acquired during the year, books eliminated from my shelves, books abandoned before finishing, book ideas for other people, favorite quotations from books, selections for our book group. Recently, I added a copy of a great list of books for those traveling to England (or in my case, wishing I could travel to England), suggested by Anne Bogel in her Modern Mrs Darcy blog. (Book List) 
