CLEARING OFF MY NIGHTSTAND
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Now,
clearing my nightstand of the accumulated books, magazines, etc doesn’t occur
that often. Maybe one or two times a year I decide the clutter and dust are
just too much to bear any longer and I proceed to remove and reorganize.
Normally I don’t inventory the accumulated works that are stacked there.
Today, however, I decided it might be fun to share with friends and family what
has been keeping me awake (or putting me to sleep) over the past many months.
I must admit that not all of the
books on the list on this page and next are books that first appeared in the
last 12 or less months. Some have been through this process of removal and
reorganization before. Maphead
by Ken Jennigns of “Jeopardy” fame will probably always be on my
nightstand. Every month or so I
needs a geography hit from K.J. I like to select a chapter at random now (I’ve
read the book twice) and have fun reviewing his experiences with the National
Geography Bee, The Library of Congress Map Division, World Travel: Hitting them
All. 12 chapters and not a dud among them!
Other books that will certainly stay on my
nightstand because I will want to reread them are my Namibia books (rather two travel
books and a road map). The
memories Carol and I have of Namibia are unforgettably awesome. The people, the African panorama, the
animals and the food and drink will always be in my head. I don’t want to ever
forget them.
As
I’ve gotten older history books have more appeal to me. But the presence of Nelson,
A Dream of Glory, 1758-1797 is probably a little more than I can consume
without an occasional “vacation”. This tome is 800 plus pages of well
documented biographical materials of Horatio Nelson (plus another 150 pages of
notes, footnotes and index). After a three weeks break I have resumed reading
at page 248. This may take a while! Oh, another thing, I should have bought
this heavy hitter on the Nook. Yes, this will be on my nightstand for another
year probably. It counts as
weightlifting.
Some books are just old friends we meet on a regular basis. The Music
of Failure is one of these.
Bill Holmes lived just down the highway in Minneota and died just two years
ago. He is missed but his Minneota, Minnesota stories live on. They are small
town Minnesota.
Books about religion are being passed on; they have given me all they
can. In The Spiral Staircase , Karen Armstrong examined her faith and
purpose though she was a Catholic nun; by middle age she left her calling, but
not her God. Leaving Church
was a similar story from a Presbyterian perspective. And Love Wins is a remarkably loving version of biblical interpretation.
I
have read several food books this year, but will keep The Omnivore’s Dilemma
on my nightstand as a reference. The whole foods, fresh foods, local foods
movements have stirred both Carol and me. We each have read Barbara
Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable,
Miracle twice and have used it as a reference frequently. Carol keeps our
home copy safe.
Much of my light reading doesn’t stay on my nightstand as it comes in
the form of library checkouts or occasionally from Carol. She has recommended several of the “Catsitter…”
books by Blaize Clement and they are fine short diversions. More enjoyable are
all of the series being written by Alexander McCall Smith; every one is peopled
by human, enjoyable characters I care about. That being said, when the heck is
the next installment of The First Ladies Detective Agency coming out. I am
getting very tired of waiting!!
The
bedside table is cleaned and polished now. I have said goodbye to many books that
were there just a few hours ago. I hope they will populate someone else’s
nightstand for a time. Like many
of the friends I’ve had in my life I will forget many of them. Only the ones
that have challenged me, or touched me will remain in my memory. I guess that is as it should be.
gt
