Tag Archives: Chinua Achebe

Top 10 Tuesday — Shelf-ish Organization

31 Jan

Happy Tuesday! Today is a Freebie day for Top 10 Tuesday. I am going completely random today with fiction chosen from the shelves in my house — as opposed to those on my NetGalley shelf and Kindle. 😉 I organize my shelves in a way that makes sense to me. Fiction is organized by genre and then alphabetically by author. I keep series in order of publication. If it’s Biblical or historical fiction, I organize chronologically and by location (example: European vs American. Old Testament and then New Testament). And then there is my Austen knock-off shelf which contains a variety of genres, but all tie into one of Austen’s novels. That’s alphabetically by author. I even have a shelf for signed books. So if I am in the mood for a mystery, I know which shelf to head to.

Confusing? Probably, but it works for me. At least I don’t divide my mystery into historical or cozy, etc. I’m not that obsessive or am I?

I am.

In the spirit of transparency, the books represented today are on shelves at my primary residence. We have a house in the woods that boasts a very small library. That’s where it really gets tick-y. That’s where the mass market cozy mysteries reside. Likewise, all the Grishams. Then there’s my husband’s western fiction, the American historical fiction/non-fiction that revolve around major events. Think Revolutionary War, Pearl Harbor, etc. I have a shelf for veterinary fiction. Yes that’s a thing. Small town fiction like Jan Karon. A shelf where humorous fiction (P.G. Wodehouse) coexists with short story collections. And last but not least, the shelf with North Georgia authors. Too much? LOL!

Enjoy my random and complicated system!

For more freebie fun, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Random Books from My Shelves

Austen Variations (or knock-offs) — Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken

Autographed Books — The White Rose Resists by Amanda Barratt

Biblical Fiction/OT — Journey by Angela Hunt

Biblical Fiction/NT — Three from Galilee by Marjorie Holmes

Christmas Fiction — A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

Classical Fiction — Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Contemporary Fiction (including romance) — Dearest Dorothy, If Not Now, Then When by Charlene Baumbich

Historical Fiction/European — To Love A Viking by Heather Gilbert and Jen Cudmore

Historical Fiction/American — A Flight of Arrows by Lori Benton

Mystery — Suspicious Minds by Christy Barritt

Suspense — Shadow of Doubt by Terri Blackstock

Speculative — The Ishbane Conspiracy by Randy Alcorn

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Top 10 Tuesday — Reading Resolutions

12 Jan

A new year with new hopes, that’s what 2021 represents to me. If I can pick a word to describe 2020, it would be distraction. Anxious about many things described this Martha very well. Distraction over health issues, the lockdowns and other restrictions, civil unrest, the unrelenting political squabbling — you name it and I was everything but focused. Of course, 2020 also brought reasons to celebrate. My daughter got engaged, my son’s family was able to spend weeks at a time visiting due to work at home, and my cancer prognosis is excellent! But my reading life suffered the most. Now to most non-bookworms that would earn a shrug. But I know you know what I mean. 😉

This year I aim to be more intentional and that goes for my reading resolutions as well. I am joining other bloggers for a Top 10 Tuesday list of resolutions. I certainly don’t have 10, but I do have a few that I hope ramp up my reading enjoyment. For more bloggers’ lists, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

 

 

2021 Reading Resolutions

 

Read More

This actually doesn’t mean more books, although I would like to beat the number of books I read last year (103). What I need to do is put down the time wasters — FB, Instagram, and Twitter come to mind — and pick up a book. My time wasted while staying at home more is astronomical. I’m hoping by intentionally getting off social media, I will spend more time in reading pursuits.

 

Read Intentionally

There’s that word again. I have a hard time turning down bright and shiny new books. Hence my towering TBR stack. Part of the problem comes from saying yes to a lot of review requests. I pared that down some last year. This year I resolve to think and think again before accepting reviews.

 

Read from The TBR Pile

All those bright and shiny books get a bit dusty waiting impatiently on the shelf. I recently downloaded Libby and can access lots of audiobooks. I have been reluctant to use Audible credits for books I already own, but with Libby I can check off some worthy reads without feeling guilty. My husband and my budget will be happy! (Below are two notables from my TBR shelf that I want to have read this year.)

 

Read More Widely

I plan to look for books that I would not generally choose either because they are general market or a genre I don’t usually read. I am part of a FB book club that reads mystery/suspense and have been introduced to books I have never heard of, yet enjoyed immensely. This month I am listening to The June Boys by Courtney C. Stevens. It is a YA mystery/thriller. I have found it intriguing even as I have cringed at some of the scenes. This novel is really expanding my horizons.

 

I would also like to add international and classic novels to my reading this year. Libby is a great resource for this extracurricular reading. I also have many physical copies that I need to read.

 

What are some of your reading resolutions?

 

 

 

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