Reality Rocks ( #AtoZChallenge )

      Reality and research books rank high with me.   If you've been following my 2023 A to Z series you have likely noticed that my book collection is heavily weighted on the side on non-fiction and other informational type books.  Don't get me wrong though.  I do still enjoy reading fiction and many books of this nature reside on my shelves.  Philip Roth is one of those authors that I highly regard.  His novel Nemesis is one of the great bargains I picked up when my neighborhood Borders Books closed down some ten years or so ago.  On the final day of their closing sale, I walked out of the store with a big bag of mainly hardback books that I had bought for $1.25 each.  There were some excellent books that I took away from that now lamented Borders.  Unfortunately, my copy of the Roth book and other Roth books previously purchased through other outlets are boxed up or hidden away so that they were not easily accessible for photographing for this post.  But I highly recommend Nemesis for those who enjoy a poignant story by a masterful writer.  

       Here are the 'R' books that I did see out in the open on my bookshelves...

 

Reader's Digest Condensed Books

       Many people have acquired one or more of these volumes in their home libraries.  They've been a mainstay for book lovers for over fifty years now.  The earliest ones I own came from my mother's and her parents' collections.   Later in my life I also apparently bought a few since I have some from the nineties.  If you're not familiar with these compilations, they are shortened versions of popular novels of a particular year.  A book like this is nice for those frivolous reading times such as vacations.  Or to get an overview of what types of books have recently been published.  They are excellent for those times when you want to read something, but you've got nothing specific to read.   It's like their namesake magazine.  My mother frequently subscribed to Reader's Digest Magazine when I was younger and I always enjoyed reading through that publication.  Later, in the nineties when I settled down in Los Angeles, for a while I also subscribed to the magazine and have kept them neatly packed away in boxes for a future reader to enjoy.

Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus 

       If you think of yourself as a writer or even don't, then you surely have this book on your shelf.  Or at least some kind of thesaurus.   However Roget is maybe the gold standard of this kind of book.  Now, as I usually do, you probably just go online to find this information, but having this book near at hand just seems so professional.  The copy shown is a nice hardback that I got from a book club.   I probably could find at least six other thesauruses in our house if I looked for a few minutes.

Religions

       As mentioned in previous posts, I have many books about the Bible and religion in general.  Most of my religious books are focused on Christianity since that is the system upon which my spiritual beliefs are founded, but there are some others as well.    Like this one...

World Religions from Ancient History to the Present

        This is probably a book that I obtained through some book club, but I don't really know where or when I got it.  It appears to be a reasonably good overview of the major religions of the world though I have not actually read any of it so I'm not sure how good it is.  The book gets good Amazon reviews so maybe it's a worthwhile book to own.  It's a nice one to help fill out the shelves that I have dedicated to books on religion.

Riddles of the Sphinx by Paul Jordan

       This is undoubtedly an interesting subject.  It was interesting enough to lure me into buying a copy of this nice looking volume.  But apparently it's not interesting enough for me to have read it yet.  Maybe one of these days I'll crack this one open to learn what the Sphinx riddles are.

Rock and Roll Encyclopedia by Lillian Roxon

        Since buying this book from the Doubleday Book Club when I was a high school senior in 1969, I have referred to it often.  This was one of my favorite books to read through back then and I still pick it up every now and then.  In fact, I relied on this book heavily when I was compiling my 2022 A to Z posts about my record collection.   The book is pretty much outdated as far as rock and roll history--it only goes up to 1969--but it provides some nice details about artists you know and some you might have never heard of.  A recent surprise came when I watched the 2019 Helen Reddy biopic I Am Woman.  The film tells how Reddy's career in the U.S. was given a boost through her friendship with fellow Aussie Lillian Roxon who was already living in NYC where she had established her career as a writer.   When Reddy arrives in America Roxon is working on her Rock Encyclopedia.   Prior to seeing this movie (in March of 2023) I knew nothing of Lillian Roxon.  It was nice to get some backstory on her and her book.  Roxon's Encyclopedia was revised in 1978, but I'm proud to own a copy of the original version.  It's a fantastic book for anyone who has been a fan of rock and pop music.

     

Rolling Stone Record Guide

        During the seventies I had begun amassing a considerable amount of records and other recorded materials.  I had become a bit fanatic about buying music.  When I saw this Guide in one of my frequent bookstore visits I immediately snatched it up.  I can't say that I always agree with the critical assessments of many of the albums reviewed here, but it's interesting to read other points of view about recordings in my collection as well as other recordings I might consider buying.  Of course this is a bit outdated since all the albums discussed in these pages came out more than forty years ago, but it makes for enjoyable perusal of the music of the past if you're into that sort of thing like I am.

Robert E. Lee by Emory M Thomas 

        Still another book about the Civil War in my collection.  And any good collection of Civil War books should have a book about this great Confederate general.  So now my collection has representation by Lee and Jackson.   Makes sense to me.

Richmond Burning: The Last Days of the Confederacy by Nelson Lankford

        And moving on to still another book about the Civil War, this book has been one of my favorite reads.  Filled with detail and well-painted word images, I found this to be an enthralling story about a sad time in the history of the United States.   Since I had lived in Richmond at one time, I was familiar with localities talked about in the book.   I was able to really immerse myself in the story and this is a book that I will likely read again.

Read With Me compiled by Thomas B. Costain

       Here's another book that's been on my shelves since my high school days.  It came out in 1965 and I got my copy through the Doubleday Book Club.  I used to buy a lot of short story collections.  But more on that in my next post...

       Have you ever read any of the condensed selections in a Readers Digest book?   Are there any particular book topics or themes that you have tended to collect?   Do you prefer short stories or novels?

Quotations and Quicksand ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Quite a few book titles and genres can be found under the letter 'Q' and I have a few that I found to include in this post.  Quick!  Let's get started!

Quotations

        Any self-respecting writer's library should include a book or two of famous quotations.   I've got a few of them including these popular volumes:

Five Thousand Quotations for All Occasions edited by Lewis C Henry

        This is one of the first books of quotations that I added to my library.  When I was in high school (or maybe middle school) in the mid to late sixties I selected this as part of my promotional offer for the Doubleday One Dollar Book Club.  I used to look through this book often.  Now quotes are easier to find on line.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

      If you have any sized library you probably have some version of "Bartlett's"--mine is the sixteenth edition.  My copy was obtained as part of an introductory package to a book club.   It's a monster of a book with tons of quotations.  It's a nice reference to own, but I haven't used it much.  It's in like new condition like so many of my books.

Quicksand by John Brunner

        This was a purchase I made from the Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club in about 1968 when I was still in high school.  I've read this one at least twice and due to read it again.  I recall liking it, but I now don't remember much about it.  I just know it's a book that I never decided to get rid of.

Quicksand by Geoffrey Wawro

 

       The publication date on this one is 2010 and for the life of me I cannot recall buying this.  Since it is about the Middle East then I can understand my purchasing it since this is a subject that interests me.  My guess is that I might have picked it up when my local Borders Books closed in 2011 because that's the last time I can recall making any major book purchases.  If I didn't get it at Borders then I don't know where.  It gets some good reviews so maybe I should read this one.

       

       Have your reading habits changed much since high school?  College?  Are there books that you like to reread on occasion?   

Poetry and Other Publications ( #AtoZChallenge )

          Plenty of 'P' entries in this post.   I could have found a lot more I'm sure if I had kept on poking around through my possessions, but this is probably enough for the present.

Pride and Prejudice & Co.

       Though I purchased a copy of the 1966 release of the Norton Critical Edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice back when I was in college somewhere in the early 1970's, I never read it until about 50 years later when I ordered the mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from the Quality Paperback Book Club.  Before reading the newer book, I decided to gain better context by reading the original.  Austen seemed too dry and stilted to me back in my college days, but I didn't get where she was coming from until about a third of my way through the book.  I had gotten so bogged down by the nineteenth century style that I didn't realize the book was meant to be funny.  I had been taking it too seriously.  Once I got into the rhythm of the writing I started to enjoy what I was reading.  With an appreciation of the Austen original under my belt, I was able to enjoy the later parody when I read it.  Both are fun books, but Austen's book is definitely the superior literary work.  The zombie book is an entertaining read though.

Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks

       Another book club purchase, I liked this book a great deal.   This is an intriguing story about the Barbary Coast pirates and the actions taken by the newly formed United States to make them stop attacking their ships.  A very interesting story that I didn't know much about.  I'd give this book a big five stars for those who like historical non-fiction.  Not exactly what I said in my Amazon review but now I've decided on five stars.

Pot Stories for the Soul by Paul Krassner

      Since purchasing this from the Quality Paperback Book Club, I haven't read any of this book.   It's a collection of short anecdotes about you can guess what topic presented in the style of the popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series.  I should probably sample a few of the stories.  This looks like a very fast read.

Poetry Collections

The Oxford Book of English Verse edited by Christopher Ricks

        This is one of those big anthologies that look nice on the shelf.  It contains poetry we all likely know or remember vaguely in our past educations.  This book will probably stay in pristine condition for a long time to come.  That is, until someone starts reading it.  I tend not to read poetry that often so that someone will probably not be me.

101 Famous Poems compiled by Roy J Cook

       This collection published in 1958 was given to my second wife and I as a gift in 1991.  From the inscription inside the front cover, knowing who gave it to us, I'm sure it was a book they had probably obtained somewhere around the publication date.  The book is in remarkably good condition considering its age.  I guess the givers of the gift read it as much as I have.  It will likely remain in good condition.  That's not to say the poetry is bad, but I likely have all of these poems in other collections.

Walt Whitman:  Selected Poems

        Somewhere I think I have a copy of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, but since I didn't see that book anywhere in my search I decided to go for this one.   Any decent library of poetry probably should include something by Whitman.  Many of his poems can be found in some of my collections of poetry by various authors, but I think a complete volume of his work is a better representation to have in a collection.

These, My Singing Words by Marvin Eugene Girard

      Marvin Girard, his wife, and daughter were circus performers in fifties and sixties.  Their specialties were rope-spinning and juggling.  In 1976 I visited the family at their home in Owosso Michigan while I was touring with the Ken Griffin Magic Show.  If I remember correctly, they had worked at some point in the past with the Griffins. At the time of the visit, Marvin had recently published this book of poetry about circus life.  That being a point of interest for me and my family, I purchased a copy of the book for myself as well as one for my father.  Mr. Girard signed my copy which I still have on my bookshelf.  This small book of poetry is likely kind of rare.

Yvonne Lewis 

         Many of you likely know of Yvonne and maybe even have some of her poetry books.  She writes with simplicity and clarity so you don't have to delve and dissect to figure out what her poems are saying.  They say what's on Yvonne's mind.   Yvonne Lewis has a special connection with the A to Z Challenge in that she was the very first person to sign up to join me in my first Challenge in 2010.  In 2012 I had the opportunity to spend a day with Yvonne when she came to visit Los Angeles while on a U.S. vacation which I wrote about here.  Yvonne kindly send me copies of her books Written from the Heart and Negative v Positive.  

       If you read Pride and Prejudice, did you think it was funny?   Are there any classics (or other books) that you bought many years ago but haven't read until recently?  Do you read much poetry?