I'm not going to blog ever again.

Well, that's an exaggeration. But I have just found an internet site that far, far eclipses the world of blogging and will take up most of my time for the next century and a half.

See, I used to be in love with LibraryThing. But as soon as I caught sight of GoodReads.com I forgot that LibraryThing ever existed. Except in the ways that it compares poorly in comparison to GoodReads.

See, with GoodReads, you can record:

+ Books you have read.
+ Books you are currently reading.
+ Books you plan to read.

And you can add shelves, so I've added two entitled:

+ Books I own.
+ Books my dad owns. [Yes, we live in the same house and probably will for some time. But that is all the more reason for maintaining a jealously guarded distinction between his books and my books. Think of the terror that could be unleashed if there was any confusion when the time came for me to move...("But that book entitled "Not Idolising Material Possessions is *mine*!" No! I bought it in a package deal with "Familial Harmony", remember?]

But the possibilities are limitless. For example, I intend to add a shelf for the physical, actual shelves I own, so that I don't spend hours trying to find books. (Instead, I can spend those hours on GoodBooks *grin*.) Honestly, if they show no objection, I might even go so far as to add shelves for the libraries of my friends so that I can remember where to go if I'm in desperate need of borrowing this or that. (Else, I could just nag at them until they all join the site, too.)

And there is reviewing, rating and everything else that there is on LibraryThing. And unlike LibraryThing, you can add as many books as you want for free.

It's the ultimate organisational tool. :)

Answers

There are answers to some of the specific questions you asked (i.e. about how to do it; what to do if you don't have sufficient fiction books) in the comment section of the previous post. However, these are the answers as to which books I selected. Sorry if I was tricky. ;)

1. Ambassador Dodd's Diary, 1933-1938 ed. by William E. Dodd, Jr. I read substantial portions of this while I was doing a history documentary on Nazi Germany for Modern History this year. I didn't read all of it, but it's on my reading list for next year.
2. The Power in Prayer by Charles H. Spurgeon. I have read all of this one. In fact, this is one of the two books that I own that I bought for someone else's Christmas present and ended up keeping for myself. (Don't worry - no-0ne missed out on a Christmas gift...)
3. The City of God by Augustine. I was actually rather shocked no-one picked up on this one. True, I only started reading it this year myself (currently a third of the way through), but I would have thought that the subject matter would have given it away.
4. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. :)
5. Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy. Highly recommended by the way, to young ladies and gentlemen* aged 15+, even if I'm a little cautious about some of the imagery used**. True, the descriptions of the awful things that go on in youth groups, Christian schools and "Christian" homes are truly horrible, but even I, a relatively secluded home-schooler have seen the exact same things going on in all their glory, underneath the eyes of parents, teachers etc. (*Yes, I said gentlemen - as Leslie's husband Eric says, "Just because there's a pink flower on the front doesn't mean it's dangerous for males to read." **It's obvious that Mrs. Ludy does not intend the imagery to be misunderstood/taken to an un-Biblical extreme, but I have known some who did get confused on this point after reading this book.)
6. Poirot's Early Cases by Agatha Christie. Don't you just love Poirot?
7. Great Northern? by Arthur Ransome. This is such a fun book.
8. 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith. Much better than the movies.
9. On the Writing of English by George Townsend Warner. This book was so stern in its judgment of poor English that it almost made me give up writing essays forever. Hope springs eternal, though, and I now have a better idea as to what writing should look like. Let us aspire. :)
10. Radford's Big Race ~ Paul White. This is also a very fun book, though in a different way.

Merry Christmas! - and whatever you do, do it to the Lord.

• One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ~ Romans 14:5-8
• “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” ~ Luke 2:6-7

Appreciating both books and book memes/games

While I was holidaying in southern lands, Mr. Bird kindly tagged me with a book meme. This seems to be an adapted version of a shorter meme that I have seen elsewhere. I am going to adapt it myself and say that the commenter who does best at the game gets to dictate what I post about next post. (For while I feel like blogging I need some sort of stimulus to thought.)

Rules:

Take ten books and transcribe the fifth sentence from page 56. In keeping with the 5,56 thing, make sure that at least five books are fiction, provide five hints, and pass the meme on to six other bloggers.

There were no rules as to how the books were to be selected. I just wandered around the room, picked up 10 and transported them to the computer where I discovered the following:

1. "Long years of strange experiences in American politics, in Russia where he did much to bring on the Kerensky revolution which gave way Communism and drove Crane out of the country, and in China as Wilson's Minister there, have upset his equilibrium somewhat."
2. (No page 56; page 66 instead). "He kept his eye fixed on it, directing his prayer, and then drew his bow with all his strength and let the arrow fly."
3. "And therefore any man will surely think that in the way he lives his life he ought to follow the examples set by what is acted in plays instituted by divine authority, rather than by what is written in laws laid down by mere human wisdom."
4. (No fifth sentence; second (and shortest!) sentence instead). "The proposal was received with the utmost disapprobation by the whole Board."
5. "Maybe we have great Christian friends, listen to inspiring Christian messages, sing passionate Christian songs, and even read lots of wonderful Christian books."
6. "'Impossible,' I spluttered."
7. "'I'm going in again,' said Roger, 'to see how far I can get'."
8. "Dear Missis, our puppies were not stolen by ordinary dog thieves."
9. (No fifth sentence; first (and only) sentence instead). 'A Frenchman once said- and none are more sparing of words or use them more deftly than the best French writers- "It is no defence to say that words can mean what you intend; they must not be able to mean anything else".'
10. "His normal procedure was to give anyone smaller than himself a kick in the pants."

Five hints:

1. Book 2 is a modernisation of an author who wrote in the 19th century.
2. Book 4 is one of the classics of English literature.
3. Book 6 is a detective novel featuring one of the most-loved detectives of all time.
4. Book 7 was written by the man who married Trotsky's secretary; this book's title ends with a question mark.
5. Book 10 is the only one written by an Australian author.

Six tags (no compulsion to reply; feel free to reply in comment section instead):

1. Ladie Sarah (because she likes books and can tag her sister for me)
2. Charlie (because he is sick and might want something to keep him busy)
3. Susanna (because she needs to post more. At least once more.)
4. Eric (because he has implied that those of my persuasion have made a pact with the devil)
5. Elisabeth (because she is an interesting acquaintance who amuses me)
6. Mrs. CarpeBanana (because though she has already done the shorter version of this tag, I'm sure she'd want to do it again!; because I feel guilty that I haven't kept up with her blog like I ought)

Worry

Yesterday I received a charming email from a Mrs. Pati Olinger begging me to teach her fourteen year old daughter Olympia the piano. The subject line was promising, and my heart skipped a beat in the exciting thought that my ads were actually working and I was going to receive another student. However, as I read the email, I started to realise that teaching Olympia would be an arduous task, as it would require an excessive amount of entrepeneurialism and creativity. After all, I don't think anyone in the history of the world has ever taught the daughter of a computer program (much less a spamming program) to play the piano.

But I've been worrying. What if I don't get enough students next year? What if I do get the students and am too exhausted to do everything else? What if I have a nervous break-down? What if a giant Santa Claus invades the country and makes us all wear little pointy hats and sing songs while working in his work-shop?

Seeing the silliness, fear and unbelief that is the basis of worrying, it should not be hard to see why our Lord told us not to worry about tomorrow. At all. No exceptions. Not even if you think that not sleeping at night, moaning and groaning at your family and getting stress headaches are activities that are miraculously going to solve everything. They won't.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ~ Matthew 6:26-27

After all, there's enough to do (without worrying!) today...