In A Garden there is A Woman Who Is, and she made a fun suggestion and is offering a giveaway among bloggers who post a picture of the reading material on their nightstand. The deadline is today, Saturday February 7th, so you still have several hours if you would like to post. I saw this offer while visiting with
Lavinia yesterday! Lavinia and several other bloggers are participating in What's On Your Nightstand post and A Woman Who Is will have links to all of the posts on Monday.
I have quite a few books on my nightstand, and after dusting them off and straightening them up a bit I took this picture. These are just a very few of the books in my bedroom, and then there's the living room books, my officette collection, those I keep in the Mister's office and another bookshelf full in the spare bedroom. I'm never far from a good book. I read books that I really enjoy several times, and I am usually reading 2 or three at a time.
Starting on the left I have the following favorites and the number of times I recall reading each:
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Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher (3) This one contains a personal note from Rosamunde in answer to one I sent to her thanking her for her wonderful stories.
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Stories Essays and Memoir by Eudora Welty (3)
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Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massey (6)
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Cane River by Lalita Tademy (1)
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Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz (4)
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Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher (3)
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Testimony by Anita Shreve (1) who also wrote The Pilot's Wife among others
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The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher (10) My regular summer read
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In the stack next to these, starting at the top:
Sounds Feelings, Thoughts, Seventy Poems by Wislawa Szymborska - a magnificent Polish poet and 1996 Nobel Prize winner for Literature The poems are beautifully translated to English from her native language. Both the Polish version and the English version of each poem are included in the book.
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Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (3)
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Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier (who also wrote Girl With a Pearl Earing) (2)
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On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons (2)
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Atonement by Ian McEwan (2)
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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, A shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective (non fiction) by Kate Summerscale ( in progress for 2nd reading )
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Black and Blue by Anna Quindlan ( reading now)
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The book on my nightstand is The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham (3 and in progress)
The rest of the doo-dads on my nightstand, besides my alarm clock include a little Russian bell. My First Communion prayer book. Two rosaries - one that I used as a teenager, and the glow in the dark rosary I won for correctly answering a question at a performance of "Late Night Catechism.
A crystal mass of celestite
A little pink glass collection:
A stoppered bottle filled with salts - could they be smelling salts from Dr. West?
A glass eye cup (I may have swiped this from the good Dr. West)
A bedside water decanter and glass (depression glass)
My piggy bank
Oh - I almost forgot - my little golden bear, FLORIDA is sitting on the books
Thank you Woman Who Is for giving me the opportunity to dust and straighten my nightstand! Thank you too for this fun idea! I look forward to reading all of the other posts tomorrow.
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VIETNAM by Wislawa Szymborska
Woman, what is your name? - I don't know.
When were you born, where do you come from? - I don't know.
Why did you dig a hole in the ground? - I don't know.
How long have you been hiding here? - I don't know.
Why did you bite the hand of friendship? - I don't know.
Who's side are you on? - I don't know.
There's a war on, you must choose. - I don't know.
Does your village still exist? - I don't know.
Are these your children? - Yes.
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18 comments:
I knew I loved you! I feel reassured when I see there are others who surround themselves with books.
I am so glad you decide to join us in sharing What is On Your Night Stand. I can't wait to post on Monday. I have been a big Rosamunde Pilcher fan in the past. I think I will definitely put Shell Seekers on my list to reread this summer. 10 times wow!
There is still time to post if anyone else would like to join us. You have till Saturday at midnight.
I should think you'd be in the running for the prize. I might have a chance of picking up the booby prize... don't think I'll bother, though!
I fall asleep like someone crashing to the ground after tripping over a tree root, so no books on my nightstand. But they're piled everywhere else throughout the house!
I always love peeping at others' book collections.
Rosamund Pilcher is one of my favorite writers.
I am not familiar with your poet and must investigate. Black and Blue - needless to say - was well written but very depressing.
Happy Reading.
I have quite a collection of stuff on my bedside table. A stack of books. Even a Mr. Bean Pez dispenser. I could do this. Right after I dust and rearrange.
I just finished reading Atonement. Very good book. Currently on my nightstand is a lot of cold medicine which I shall be returning to the medicine cabinet today.
I lurve all your books. I love the piggy bank! That's cute!
What a cute idea. I see why you're more edu-ma-cated than me with all these highbrow books. [giggle] I'm like Jeanne, though, I don't usually read in bed. I collapse into the covers and start snoozing in about 3 seconds. Drives hubby crazy. Poor guy has to prepare, watch TV, whatever, I'm like a child and can sleep anywhere, anytime. :o) ♥ ∞
Came over early to see what is on your nightstand (beside table to me). I do enjoy Rosamund Pilcher and have all of hers. Oh! dear, I had to dust too and remove the phone, 3 remotes, hand cream, lip salve and a host of other bits or one might not have seen the books!!
i love my books too, but they aren't stacked as neatly as yours...sigh, knew i needed to do something practical this weekend. hugs.
I love looking at other people's books and I'm always crestfallen when my house guests fail to poke through all our interesting titles. You can always tell a fellow bibliophile. :)
I have a bunch of the same titles. Have you read Ian McEwen's Saturday too? Beautifully written and a more contemporary setting. My bookcase will just have to stay messy and cluttered for now since I'm catching up on my bloggy reading. :)
Glad to see all of the other biblopphiles out there! I'm always disappointed when folks don't start looking through my books too, Blicky. People who don't read at all and/or who don't own books amaze me. I read Saturday - it was "ok".
It's my problem with falling asleep that has me reading for a while until I feel drowsey - I'd love to hit the pillow and fall asleep Sparky and Kate. For those who commented on the neatness...uhm...I did spruce up for the picture. I have all of Rosamundes too, Barbara - she has a way of wisking us away from the world, doesn't she? She's been retired from writing for several years now, so we wait in vain for anything new.
I cleaned out the bottom drawer of my nightstand last weekend and found books that I had forgotten that I bought. I've been meaning to stack them up and take a picture. I love hearing about what people read too. I don't often reread books though. I have the problem of remembering the next words right before reading them. This makes me crazy. I've been thinking with my menopausal brain that I may be able to get away with rereading now. I started rereading Lonesome Dove and then our little dude was born and I haven't had time for any reading.
Most interesting, enjoyed the little peek into your world!
Ahhh....a fellow lover of literature. I really enjoyed your post. I hope you don't mind that I follow your blog. How interesting!!
If you have a minute or so please drop by mine and say hi.
Steady On,
Reggie Girl
Wow this poem is something else. I love it.
By the way, what a great looking lady who knows how to cook. xooxo
I wish I had my old rosaries. When my daughter Nadalene got married she read somewhere that if you hang a rosary on the clothes line and say a prayer over it, it won't rain the day of the wedding. Well because it was raining all week, we made my husband go hang it on the line the night before and we said he had to say a prayer and guess what, it didn't rain, the only day that week.
Love Renee
Wow...you sure do read allot...Nice collection of books.
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