Zee End is Near! ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Zipping things up for this 2023 A to Z Challenge, I have a few Z books to share.   And then I'll zoom outta here until it's time to come back! Like tomorrow.  Until then, I've got this.... 

Zagat Guides

       Not sure how exactly I started acquiring these.  I think I was maybe getting an email newsletter from Zagat and completed some voting surveys for them to be put in the guide for the year.  After the first participation I started getting the surveys every year and then Zagat would send me the book for that survey that I had completed.  The guides are mildly interesting, but not very extensive and, in the case of the restaurant guides, can be rather quickly outdated.  I haven't referred to these in quite some time, but I keep them in a shelf where I display CDs and DVDs.  Pictured are the books that immediately caught my attention, but it's possible there are more of these somewhere in my house.

Zero History by William Gibson

       When I saw this book at the closing sale of my neighborhood Border's Book Store, I decided to snatch it up since it was a nice hardback for only $1.25.  They had a lot of copies left so I presume it had not been a big seller at our Borders location.   Seeing the books on display, I immediately recognized Gibson's name having read some articles and reviews that suggested he was a rather groundbreaking sci-fi author. He is most notable as an innovator of the sci-fi genre labeled "Cyberpunk".  I haven't read this yet, but I guess I should consider this for one of my upcoming reads.

Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

       Though I purchased this speculative novel over fifty years ago, I didn't read it until the latter part of 2022.  So long I had been tempted to read this because I liked the title and the premise of the story.  Also, John Brunner is an author whose books I had previously read and enjoyed.  Since Stand on Zanzibar is a speculative novel that takes place in 2010, the story is a bit ruined by the fact the we know that things didn't turn out quite like Brunner had predicted.  He did come pretty close on some things so that is enough to make the book an interesting artifact.  The writing style was cleverly conceived to imitate the style of mass media communications and the thinking of a drug influenced mind.  In other words, this book has a very sixties feel.  For hard core sci-fi and speculative fiction fans this is well worth delving into, but most readers might find it to be somewhat silly and difficult to accept.  I toiled through this book, but now I'm glad that I finally read it.  It would have probably come across far better if I had read it right after the Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club sent it to me in 1969.  That's the kind of thing that a lot of us were reading back then.

      Zounds!  The alphabet is done with 2023 Reflections to come!

      Do you ever use "guide" books to help you decide on where to eat, what to watch, or whatever you are thinking about checking out?    If you read a speculative novel about a future that has already passed by, do you find it to be a let down of sorts?    Are you a fan of experimental writing styles that are trying to create an effect even though the writing might be a bit confusing to follow?

You, You, You ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      You might be the main subject of the book collection you own.  I think my home library is a very good reflection of who I have been and who I am now.  It's a pretty worthy book collection I think.   When you look at the books you own, do you see an accurate picture of who you are, what you enjoy, and what you believe?

You Books (Self-help books}

         Since I already brought up self-help books in my 'S' post, I won't list many more here.  However, one of the Joel Osteen titles is a great one for the letter 'Y' so here I give you Your Best Life Now.  Who doesn't want that?  This book, like other Osteen books, is positive thinking and great encouragement for times when you are feeling down. 

Yearbooks

       On one of my shelves are the only school yearbooks I ever owned.  When I was in school, the only grades where we were offered yearbooks was in high school.  In my first year of high school I opted not to spend money on a yearbook.  I guess I didn't feel like school was much of an important part of my life.  Then, in my junior and senior years at Everett HS in Maryville TN, I guess I was a little bit more invested in my high school.  Not so much to be very participatory in anything of great consequence, but I did want the memories that the year books afforded me.  I've looked in these books quite frequently over the years--especially in more recent years as former classmates have died.  I like to look in the book to see who they were because I really didn't know many of my fellow students very well.  The books are nice memories and memory joggers.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

       This was a purchase from my neighborhood Border's Books when they were having their going out of business sale.  Atwood is an excellent writer, but I don't much agree with many of her views.  But for $1.25 I felt the book was worth a shot and I did read it.  

The Shack by William P Young

       This book was so hyped after it came out and it became a huge bestseller.  I was not drawn to this book until some of my family members started raving about it to the extent that I felt compelled to read it.  It was pretty much of a letdown for me, but I wasn't really expecting all that much from it. I wrote about it on my blog here.  I bought this book through the book club I was ordering books from at the time.  Now I'd rather have my money back, but it helps round out my book collection.

      Do you still own and enjoy your school yearbooks?   What do you think about Margaret Atwood?  Did you read The Shack?  

X--Mystery Letter ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

X is often the bane of the A to Z blogger.  Not that many practical words to use for this letter so one usually has to get creative in coming up with something for the X post.  And that's where I'll go for mine...

Unexpected Texas  by Tui Snider

       X is in the center of things in the title of this book just like the state of Texas is in the center of the United States.  Tui has several books out, mostly dealing with Texas or the paranormal.  When she's not writing, she's traveling, doing speaking engagements, and conducting tours as well as a number of other things.  She sounds pretty busy so I guess she is.  I won a copy of this book from a drawing on Tui's blog.  I reviewed it here.

X:  The Books I Can't Find for Now

        1.  From my Christmas gift haul in 1957, one beautiful two volume set was about the Bible and the lands of the Middle East.  Though I used to look through this one quite often as I was growing up, I cannot recall what the book was called or much about it that would help me find out anything about it online.  I'd seen it in my book collection up to my college years in the seventies, but after I left my books at my parents' house in order to travel the book seemed to disappear.  Maybe it's still around here somewhere.  I wish I could find it because this gift from my father was something I treasured a great deal.  It's just not in any obvious place on my bookshelves now.

     2.    My Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Jr books are mostly gone now I think.  At one time I had the complete sets of both up to about 1962.  After that my tastes matured and I stopped buying the books of those series.  Published with matching book spines, the series looked very nice on my bookshelves.  In the seventies I think my mother might have given them to a young neighbor boy after getting my approval.  Now I wish I'd kept them.  I have a couple of copies of books from each series, but I guess they are packed in boxes somewhere.  Of special interest to find is a copy of the original Tom Swift and his Airship which came out in 1910.  I found this at a used book store in San Diego when shopping with my father in about 1962.  It didn't cost much (probably less than a dollar) so my father bought it for me.  I don't think I would have given this book away, but now I can't seem to find it.  Maybe it's here somewhere.

     3.  100 Years of Magic Posters by Charles and Regina Reynolds  -- I bought this book in 1976 right after it first came out.  I was working on a traveling magic show at the time and was immensely interested in the subject.   I'm sure this book is still somewhere in my house.  I certainly hope so because this one is a gem.

    4.  Two well illustrated books about the Circus -- one is the Pictorial History of the American Circus which I can last recall seeing at my parents house and another similar book that I especially used to read quite often is a book that I can see in my mind but cannot recall the title or author--they remain the X factor.

   5.  Circus programs that were for 1966 Shrine Circus shows in Rochester NY and Columbus OH where my family were center ring attractions during the three ring juggling display.  Those were some great gigs where we had a lot of fun.  At the Rochester show I got my program autographed by many of the performers including featured star attractions from the TV show The Addams Family, Ted Cassidy (Lurch) and Jackie Coogan (Uncle Festus).  The programs are more like magazines than books, but they are very nice mementos to hold onto.  I hope I still have them somewhere.

    6.  The Illustrated Beatles by Alan Aldridge  -- This is a lesson about lending books. Years ago in maybe 1971 or so, someone I knew stopped by my parents house and had admired my copy of the Beatles book which I had gotten from the Doubleday Book Club a year or so earlier. Neglecting my better judgement I agreed to let him borrow the book.  Needless to say, I never saw the book again.  When I'd see the guy he'd remind me that he still had the book but he'd get it back to me.  I don't guess I've seen that guy in nearly 50 years.  Oh well.  

 Could some of my missing books be in a box like the one pictured above?  Or maybe some other unmarked box?  I'm gonna have to do some searching I guess.

      So much for X.  

    Are there any books that you are sure you have somewhere, but haven't been able to locate?   Do you ever use travel guides in trip planning?  Did your parents ever take you book shopping?

What Books Would a Writer Want? ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

         What a treasure trove of books can be found in 'W'!   What, where, who, and why are some words found in book titles and I've got quite a number of those.  And then there's the books that a writer might want.  Since I consider myself to be a writer of sorts I have tons of books about writing and the business of writing.  It's as though I think that writing books are going to make me successful at writing.  A book about writing doesn't write a book.  But it's nice to have books about writing.  I've got some excellent ones, including the top shelf of my office bookcase which I've pictured below.  And I didn't ever capture the entire shelf.  There are writing books in nearly every room of my house.  That's a lot of books just in that genre.

Then there are a lot of other books that I can fit in the 'W' category.  Here are some of them...

Webster's Third New International Dictionary--3 volumes 

       This beautiful set was published by Encyclopedia Britannica.  The three large volumes contain not just words, but also a wealth of other information that is helpful to any researcher.  The set makes a handsome addition to our home library.  There are several other Webster dictionaries in our house, but this is by far the finest of them all.

Weird Webster set (8 volumes)

        This is officially The New Webster's Comprehensive Desk Reference Set published by Lexicon Publications.  I've included this set because it's kind of weird.  It's a novelty of sorts.  A cute, attractive set that looks nice on a desk and provides a lot of information at one's fingertips, but not too much that is in depth.  This set is good for quick simple look-ups of words or other information when you don't need to know a whole lot about the subject.  I'm not sure where this came from, but I'm pretty sure it was a special "gift" incentive from some book club or other mail order business.   I have this sitting out in my garage for now. 

The Wild West: Companion Book to the Acclaimed Mini-Series  Time-Life/Warner Books

        This attractive volume is in perfect condition so I guess no one has really looked at it much.  I don't recall the television show that this book is based on, but the book looks like it contains a lot of interesting information as well as a plethora of illustrations.  Nice book to own, but probably a nice book to read through as well.  Maybe someday...

Wicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild by Lee Sandlin

           This is a book I believe I purchased through The History Book Club.  From all appearances, this book has barely been opened let alone read.  I will have to remedy that someday soon as this sounds like the kind of book that I'd enjoy greatly.  What's not to like when it comes to stories about history along the Great River of Mid-America. 

Wilderness at Dawn:  The Settling of the North American Continent by Ted Morgan

         Another History Book Club purchase about a subject that interests me a great deal.  I know I keep saying this, but someday I've got to crack this one open and read it.  I have a feeling that I'll enjoy it judging from the reviews I've read.

The Complete Book of Games  by Wood/Goddard

         My mother purchased this one in 1964 at a large discount store when we lived in Northwestern Indiana.  We were Christmas shopping and I ran across this book as well as a similar volume about the interpretation of dreams.  I wanted them both so I convinced my mother to buy them as Christmas gifts for my sister and I.  My idea was for her to give me the game book and my sister the dream book and that's what she did.  I don't know if my sister was as excited about the idea, but we both reaped the fun benefits of the game book over the next few years and I often read through her dream book.  Don't know whatever became of that dream book, but the game book sits here on my shelf.

The Way, the Truth, and  the Life by Ralph Coleman

         This is one of my most treasured books.  My father gave this beautiful collection of Christian artwork by artist Ralph P Coleman to me for Christmas in 1958.  That was a great year for me in regard to books.  It was right before my 8th birthday and my parents bought me several books that Christmas.  They also bought a bookcase for me.   I guess that was when my passion for collecting books began.  This art book remains in very good condition considering its age and how often I have looked through it over the years.  It's a wonderful book.

     Are there any books you've kept since childhood?   Do you have a lot of books about writing or some other pursuit?  Why do you think some people like history while others think it's an absolute bore?   

Vacancies at the Letter 'V' ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Variety is a good word to use in describing my book collection--until you come to 'V'.   Not too many books or authors that I found that fit this letter.  Sure, I have volumes, but that doesn't seem like a fair use for the letter 'V'.   I used to have a paperback version of a wonderful book called Very Special People which was about circus side show freaks, but that book is long gone.  I think it might have fallen apart before it was discarded.  Yes, somewhere I have some Vonnegut--I know I have Slaughterhouse Five (I think I got it for a class).  That book is a paperback hidden amongst the books in my garage. 

      I scoured my shelves for 'V' books as best as I could, but only came up with this one: 

Vicksburg 1863 by Winston Groom

        It's another Civil War book!  I've got a lot of them in my home library.   I almost have an A to Z's worth of Civil War books.  This book about the siege and battle for Vicksburg Mississippi gets high ratings on the various book sites.  I haven't read it yet, but seems like something that would interest me.  Years ago I visited the battlefield in Vicksburg and it was an interesting historic tour.

      Are there any books that you can think of that would fit under the letter 'V'?  Have you visited any Civil War battlefields?   Have you lost track of any books that you have packed up or hidden away in storage areas?

Under (Means Almost Over) ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     U means we're almost to the end of the alphabet.   Almost, I said.  We're not done yet.  I didn't find too many titles for the letter 'U' and I couldn't find anything on my shelves by John Updike.  I guess I could have used Upton Sinclair, but my paperback copy of The Jungle must be hidden away in some dark secret place.  And since I've posted many books so far about the United States (they fit in all sorts of other categories) there doesn't seem much point in setting aside this topic as something separate.

        However, there were still a few 'U' books to be found and they're pretty good ones...

Understanding Fiction edited by Cleanth Brooks & Robert Penn Warren

       In the previous post I was discussing textbooks and I've got another here by name:  Understanding Fiction.   This is a marvelous collection of short stories that includes commentary and discussion questions for each.  This book was edited by two major authors and literary critics who were highly regarded when I was in college in the 1970's.  This was a textbook in my Short Story class conducted by Dr. Robert Drake at the University of Tennessee. Considering the nature of this book I saw no reason to sell it back to the bookstore like I did with most of my textbooks.  I've gone back to this book several times over the past 50 years.

Under the Eye of the Storm by John Hersey

      As I had mentioned in my H post, John Hersey is among my favorite authors.  I have a few books by this great author.  Conveniently, one of them fits into my listings for the letter 'U'.   This one is in my to-read-again stack.  I read it many many years ago.  Time to read it again.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

        During a bout of sickness that kept me in bed for a couple weeks back in 2010, I read this huge book pretty rapidly.  Like other King books it's an easy read.  The story was pretty good though I thought the ending was weak.  I reviewed this book on Tossing It Out after I read it.  You can find the review here. 

       What author would you consider among your favorites?   Do you tend to buy many books by an author you enjoy reading?   Do you find short story compilations with expository notes to help you write better?

Truth and Nothing But the Truth ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      True stories are my favorites.  I've grown tired of the fantastical.   If it really happened, then that story is most to my liking.  Truth can be eye-opening and instructive.  I still enjoy reading fiction, but preferably that fiction will deal with truths that will build up my thinking muscles.  Here are some books for the 'T' category...

Textbooks

Gardner's Art Through the Ages fifth edition (1970)

        This was my textbook for my college Art History class in 1972.  It's a big book filled with photographs of great artwork throughout history and text that tells about it all.  A very nice book to own.

Stage Scenery (Gillette & Gillette)

        Even though I never took a class that required this book, somewhere along the line in my life I acquired it.  Maybe I found it in a used book store.  Who knows when it might come in handy for me.  Likely not, but I'm keeping it anyway.

Southern Writing 1585-1920 edited by Davis, Holman, & Rubin

       One of this book's editors, Richard Beale Davis, was one of my English professors at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in the early seventies.  This stately old Southern gentleman was an award winning author who was part of the University faculty for many years.  I had him for Southern Literature and perhaps another class.  Being the rebellious young fellow that I was at the time I was not overly respectful of him or his teachings.  Now I have a better view of him, but still I didn't care much for his class.  I did think the textbook he used and which he also co-edited was worth keeping.  It is a bountiful collection of well-known writing as well as esoterica which includes essays, fiction, and poetry.  There's a heck of a lot of fine reading in this book.

Trevillian

       What is the significance of Trevillian?   This was my mother's maiden name.  Fortunately, as was the case on my father's family side, I had an aunt who compiled a sort of history about her family lineage.   Jean Trevillian Lough was an ardent student of history who did extensive research about her own family as well as other figures of history.  Now I don't exactly recall how the Scott family fit into the Trevillian line, but the Scotts take top billing in this book of genealogy.  My family and I all make appearances in this book.  I don't know how many copies were published but it's nice to own one for my home library.   I wish there would have been more about my grandparents' ancestry and the direct lineage that leads to me.  

A Genealogical History of the Scott Family: Descendants of Alexander Scott, Pioneer Settler of Augusta County, Virginia, C. 1750 and a History of Allied Families in Western Virginia by Jean Trevillian Lough, Josephine McCord Vercoe

Truman by David McCullough

     This is a highly regarded book by a well-respected author.  Not sure if I have any more of McCullough's books, but any of them would probably be nice to own and good to read.  Someday I'll read this book about the life of President Truman.

The Templars by Piers Paul Read

         This is one of the most recent books I've read.  The Knights Templar and the Crusades is a topic that interests me and I'd long been waiting to read this history.  Sadly I found it to be rather tedious reading.  It's a well-researched book filled with detail, but it gives a pretty good overview of that stretch of time.  I'll probably never read this book again, but for now I'll keep it on my shelves.

Mark Twain

        Twain is mostly known for his fiction, but therein lies lies many truths. Some literary pundits argue that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is the greatest American novel.  That's what some of my literature professors in college said and that's when I bought a paperback version in the seventies.  It's probably still around the house somewhere, but now we also have this paperback version that we bought after visiting Hannibal Missouri a few years back.  My wife had never read it so we got this copy on our vacation for her to read.  It's a great book, but as controversial as ever I guess.

    Would you regard Huckleberry Finn to be "the greatest American Novel"?   If not, which novel would you choose?   Did you keep any textbooks from your school years?

Science Fact and Science Fiction ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Science fiction captivated my reading interests at an early age of about nine.  I had already developed a keen interest in movies of that genre.  In my early teen years I began amassing a sizeable collection of sci-fi books when I joined the Doubleday Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club.  During high school if I wasn't reading some piece of literature for school, I was often reading a science fiction book.  Fact or fiction, science has always been an interest of mine and this is reflected by the books I have on my shelves.  But there is more as well...

 

Science Fact

Einstein Relativity edition by Folio Society

        This book looks so nice that I haven't even taken it out of the plastic shrink wrap.  It's a quality volume that rests well on my bookshelf.  I might actually read this one day after I've read a lot of other books that I own.  That might be a long time.

Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

      Maybe I haven't read the Einstein book yet, but this one by Kaku I have read.  I bought this from Amazon after seeing Kaku on some television programs.  I liked the guy.  This science writer explains things in easy to understand terms.   I was particularly interested in the time travel aspects of this book, but it also discusses other scientific topics that might be helpful research for any writer.

Science Fiction

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov

       If you're a sci fi fan then I probably don't need to tell you about this book or its author.  This is a true classic of the genre.  Another book that I acquired as part of the introductory package for the Doubleday Sci Fi Book Club, this is a compilation of three Asimov novels.   Can you believe it?  In the over 50 years that I've owned this book, I still haven't read it.   I keep thinking that I need to remedy that and hopefully eventually I will.  But it is nice to have it on the shelf when I am ready to read it.

A Treasury of Great Science Fiction edited by Anthony Boucher 

       Another part of my intro package to the Sci Fi Book Club, this double set is a wonderful collection of sci fi stories by some of the best authors of the genre.   Since I used to mostly read short stories in the days of my youth, I have read this collection in its entirety.  Excellent content in these pages.

The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction

       More from the Sci Fi book club, these volumes contain selections from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, a publication that I occasionally bought when I saw it on the news stands where I would peruse magazines.  Just about every story in this series is a winner.   This was a yearly publication for a while and I have at least two in my home library, but there might be others somewhere.

Short Stories

Story Jubilee edited by Whit & Hallie Burnett

        This is just one of many short story compilations that I own.  When I was in middle and high school, I mostly read short stories and I bought many collections of stories through the book club, at the store, or from school book fairs.  I was obsessed with short stories back then, but maybe I was too impatient to read anything longer.  I still enjoy reading short stories, but now I have more time and patience to read longer stuff.  But when I do want to read a short story, I've got hundreds (maybe more) from which to choose.  This particular book is an excellent one and after 50 some years it's still in excellent condition.

Complete Short Stories and Sketches of Stephen Crane

        A purchase from the Doubleday Book Club, I ordered this collection after being very impressed with Crane's The Red Badge of Courage in middle school.  At the time I was disappointed because the writings in this collection didn't seem much like the book I had read earlier.  I think I'd probably appreciate this book more now.  I'll need to read at least some of this one again someday.

Southern Storm by Noah Andre Trudeau

       Another book in my Civil War library.  This story about General Sherman's March to the Sea has undoubtedly got to be interesting.  It gets predominately positive reviews on Amazon so that's something I guess.  My review won't be found there because I haven't read this one yet.  This is high on my future reads list.

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck (Folio Society)

        Here's another book from the Folio Society that I purchased as part of a special promotion.  It seems like a collectible copy so I haven't removed the shrink wrap yet.  It looks too nice the way it is.  I'll open when I'm ready to read it.  Anybody else read this one yet?  How is it?  I like Steinbeck's writing and own a few books by him.

Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

        This was such a hugely controversial novel when it came out over thirty years ago that I felt compelled to order it when I saw it offered in the Book-of-the-Month Club circular.  I read it as soon as I received my copy and as I recall I enjoyed it.  But that was over 30 years ago.  I've been thinking about reading this again.

Satan Is Alive and Well and Living on the Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey

       Hal Lindsey was quite the rage in the seventies.  I bought a couple of his books in my college days.  This might have been one of them or perhaps this copy had belonged to my late father.  We were both reading some of the same stuff over the years.  I received most of my father's books after he died.  My brothers and sisters didn't seem to be interested in them.  The rest were given away.  I just couldn't carry all of his books to California with me.  Lindsey's books are probably still relevant for the most part.  I reread this one last year and it didn't seem overly dated.

Self-Help Books

       I've got a lot of self-help books.  There have been periods in my life when I guess I thought they would help.  I might be able to compile an A to Z list of self-help books I have so many.  Instead I'll just list one that blares out on my office bookshelf...

  The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

            You probably have this book too.   Or at least you've heard of it.  This book was huge several years ago.  Have you read it yet?   Should I read it?  I can't remember if I have or not.  I'd say I likely at least started reading it, but now I can't recall.  Oh, I can be so ineffective.  

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1990)

      My father died in late 1990 so it's conceivable that he purchased this giant book before he passed.  But then again, I don't know that he was still buying books that year so it's possible that I bought this book and if I did it was likely part of a book club offer.  As the title says, this book is exhaustive.  I wouldn't want to carry it around for very long because it's heavy and big.  Before his death, my father had been apparently working on a Bible book of his own.  He had several reference books of this nature.  He never finished writing his book and now I don't even know what happened to what he was working on.  I only remember that I saw a working copy where he had clipped and pasted Bible verses and had written out his own commentary about them.  What exactly he was doing I don't know and my mother didn't even really know anything except that he was working on a book.  I wish I knew what happened to all of his research and the work he did.  Even better, I wish my father had stayed around long enough for me to talk to him about it.

Six by Seuss

       No modern library is complete without something by Theodor Geisel or Dr. Seuss as he is more famously known.  The Doctor's first books started coming out when I was in elementary school and I absolutely loved his nutty writings when my teacher read them or I heard them somewhere else.  I never owned a Seuss book when I was a kid, but my younger brothers and sisters acquired many which are now long gone.  My mother enrolled in a Dr Seuss book club in the seventies and had just about all of his works and more up to that time.  I've got this nice Seuss collection on my shelves, but it's not really mine.  As seen by the homemade bookplate that one of my daughters inscribed on the inside.  I guess I need to give this to one of them.

      What are some of your favorite sci fi books?   Do you find self-help books to be useful?  Is Dr. Seuss overrated and is it relevant in our times?