Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Books and other stuff

More tulips from last week
Because I always love to look at pretty flowers, I'm putting in a couple more pictures from my visit to RoozenGaarde last week. I was planning to write a nice leisurely post about the books I'm currently reading, but after having spent a couple of frustrating hours creating a list of books and a profile in Shelfari in order to create a nice display for my blog, I gave up. The limitations of their widget are too difficult to deal with, at least for me.

Several of my blogging friends use Shelfari (which is an Amazon app, if I'm not mistaken). It gives me a chance to link to descriptions of the books, and I was quite pleased to see that I could also create a bookshelf for books I have read, am reading, and want to read. Here's a screen grab of what I was able to get:
What a lot of work it was to get this far! However, I am going to simply explain what books I've collected and why I feel like I have suddenly come upon an embarrassment of riches when it comes to reading. You know how you browse for a book and end up discovering a new author? It seems I've just discovered several. My friend Judy also gave me some books to read and I'll just put those on the bottom of the pile, since she's not in a hurry for their return.

If you enlarge that Shelfari list, you'll see that I'm currently reading four books. One is The End of Overeating, the corollary that follows from Mindless Eating, which I finished last week. I'm reading it in the evenings after snuggling into bed, and I pick it up from my nightstand and read until I get sleepy. (That can sometimes be quite a short time, so who knows how long I'll be reading it?) I've gotten my fill of books about food for the moment. Wish it were that easy to get full when I'm eating.

Judy also gave me a book last year that really turned me on to the mystery of numbers, especially prime numbers. I wrote about it here. In the comment section of that post, Entre Nous asked me whether I had read Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea yet, and today I picked it up at the bookstore. It had to be ordered. It looks fascinating! I read the first chapter on the bus and could hardly wait to delve into it.

But as soon as I got home and started to read The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean, I was lost again, wanting to read THAT book. As you can see, I have definitely fallen into a period of being lost in several good books, and I felt inspired to share those riches with you. After spending way too much time on it, and being totally unable to figure out how to put a decent bookshelf widget on my sidebar, I have finally finished this post so I can explore my new treasures. But first, yet another gander at the flowers.
:-)

26 comments:

  1. Thanks for a new author name. After checking Susan Orlean at Amazon, I am interested in her book called My Kind of Place.

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  2. nice...i need to check out zero....

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  3. I believe they made a movie out of "The Orchid Thief," with Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper. Books are almost always better, though. It's fun to know what people are reading. It's a condensed and interesting way to get to know someone better. Thanks for your current list and thanks for those flowers! Love your header photos!

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  4. Thanks for the great reviews and girl, the flower pics were just magnificent!!!

    God bless and enjoy this glorious day!!!

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  5. The flowers are just beautiful.

    I'm checking into Susan Orlean's books on Amazon. Since I bought the Kindle a month or so ago, I've read 23 books -- some good and some not so good. :D

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  6. I also tried Shelfari but only became confused annd so gave up. I think I also confused Shelfari. Maybe I'll have to give it another try.
    I just make a list of the books I read. It would be nice to have a more active book list.
    I quite often have two or three books on the go at one time.
    I really appreciate hearing what you're reading. I have readers here who I consult with all the time about what they are reading.

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  7. Zero: haven't heard of that one. I always seem to have half a dozen books piled up next to the bed, on the kitchen table...

    Shelfari was too much for me!

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  8. Books are often a frustration for me, I'm never sure if I'm going to enjoy a book until I've read some of it. Consequently, I sometimes spend money in vain and that really bugs me big time.

    Right now I'm doing pretty well with what I'm reading and I like those times.

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  9. Hi DJan, I follow a gal that has a simple list..at least it seems that way to me.. check it out
    http://juststufffromaboomer.blogspot.com/
    She has the book list on her sidebar..it is from a place called Good News.
    Beautiful tulips..I feel all drunk with their beauty..thanks for sharing a bit of springtime:)

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  10. Beautiful pictures! I wish I could read more than one book at a time. Reading more now but that means I'm not reading as many blogs and am always behind!

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  11. DJan, I love those pics of the flowers. Gorgeous!

    As for books, do you always read word for word or do you skim and sometimes skip over paragraphs when the going gets tough or boring?

    I am reading The Social Animal by David Brooks (he is a commentator on PBS and a newspaper columnist). Very interesting in spots, but tedious in others -- that's when I skim or skip.

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  12. Isn't it wonderful having several great books to be reading?

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  13. Love the tulips in your post and header, the colors are gorgeous.

    I have seen several different types of book displays on other blogs but I haven't tried any of them. I love to see what everyone else is reading and get some ideas.

    Right now I am up to my knees in ARC (advanced reader copy) books that I need to read for reviews. Keep an eye on my sidebar as I will be posting more titles soon.

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  14. Gorgeous tulips, DJan! I just read Crichton's Next. I read State of Fear also, but I wasn't all that thrilled with either. I'm reading Nora Roberts now.

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  15. I love your photos.. so colourful and rich. I'm not good with widgets on blogs anyway. I'm always happy to hear new book ideas though. Happy reading.

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  16. I love the flower pictures! Especially since we have NONE blooming yet around here! I don't even dare buy any for my deck yet as it's way to early and they'll never make it. It's pretty here, but the weather is for crap!
    Anyway, about books! I'm always reading something. I also read at night the same as you and so it takes me a while to get through a book since I only read a few pages a night. I've thought about putting the shelfari on my site, too, but ended up just putting the current book I'm reading on the side bar. The one I'm reading now, "True Colors", started out a little slow, but now I'm in the middle of it and I actually was trying so hard not to fall asleep last night because I just didn't want to put it down. I love books like that!
    Sorry to go on so long. I really think if we ever met in person we could probably talk forever!

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  17. Books and flowers - what a perfect combination.

    I heard Susan Orlean talk at a book festival once - she's an amazing and brilliant and quirky woman.

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  18. the flowers are so beautiful

    I love being engrossed in a couple of good books at a time

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  19. Nothing more engaging than being enthralled by several books. Does Shelfari also allow you to highlight digital books as with a Kindle?

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  20. Those flower photos are just amazing.

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  21. Ah, books. My passion. The Kindle has cut down on how many books I have piled up beside the bed (only 2 right now), but I still have several books going at one time. I so love having a stack of books waiting my attention! I just finished reading Winter Garden by Kristin Higgins. It struck me hard on several levels. All the reading I've been doing on nutrition lately has me itching to go grab my copy of Food Rules and reread it...

    No time to read now as I have to go get ready to take the kids to the local children's museum to play. I think there's a new display on water. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics later today! Hope you're having a great hike today:)

    Love the new header!

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  22. I read and loved MINDLESS EATING. Now I'm going to read the other one. In fact, all your books look good!

    I eat mindlessly all the time. I over eat at night even when I'm not hungry. I'm old enough to know better but probably have an eating problem even at my age!

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  23. Nothing wrong with falling for good books. I read reviews and found out as much as I could about The End Of Overeating. I don't know if it would meet my aspirations though. What do you think of it really?

    Your photos are absolutely gorgeous.

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  24. Lovely flowers. Isn't spring grand?

    as for books, I am deeply into 'The Book Thief' which is both harrowing and funny.

    There's too much gardening, family visiting and blogging at the moment to do a lot of reading but soon the days will be hot and I will creep into the shade and get lost in a book.

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  25. I have always been a bookworm so my house is full of books – too many really. We flew to Portlant, Oregon, once just to visit Powell Books. I must have a dozen by my bed and read every night even when I go to bed after 1:00 am, so I understand how one can get lost in a book. The flowers are beautiful.

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  26. They did make a movie from "The Orchid Thief" It was called Adaptation...I'd love to read the book too...

    I read like a house on fire. I devour books. And then, in complete menopausal fashion, I promptly forget them. LOL (Well--I don't completely forget them....)


    Beautiful the tulips are. Lots of blooming going on here...unless the tornadoes this past week have torn them all to pieces.

    Happy Spring !!

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