Monday, November 29, 2010

In My Shopping Bag 2010/11/29


I haven't had time to read, but wanted to share with you some books I bought today:

McSweeney's Issue 35 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern)
This is Issue 35, published by my favorite author Dave Eggers (see earlier post).
I've been collecting since Issue 1.


The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010 (The Best American Series (R))
Edited by Dave Eggers, a collection of writings assembled by high school students,
sourced from places you and I would never have the time nor opportunity to
come across, like low-circulation literary reviews and blogs.

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion
This is the 3rd instalment of the brilliant Knuffle Bunny story, starting with Trixie's first words,
with second story about Trixie going to pre-school, and now hot off the press this one about
Trixie's first overseas trip. I just read it to my daughter, she loved it!



Friday, November 26, 2010

In My Shopping Bag 2010/11/26

I haven't had time to read, but wanted to share with you some books I bought today:

Room for Children: Stylish Spaces for Sleep and Play
For a friend

Living with Books
Multiple copies for friends and for our bookshelf



Books Do Furnish a Room
Multiple copies for friends and for our bookshelf



The Nutcracker
For my daughters' bookshelf

Shoe Love: In Pop-Up
For a friend

  

Sunday, November 21, 2010

A. J. Jacobs

Speaking of "trivia-lovers", The Know-It-All is a memoir of the year the author spent trying to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World


A writer for Esquire magazine, A.J. Jacobs is the archetypal 30-something New Yorker, and his writing reflects this. I read this book in 2007, the year in which I became pregnant with my older daughter, which made reading about the author's encyclopedia quest alongside his sometimes funny, sometimes frustrating tales of his and his wife's attempts to have a baby all the more enjoyable.

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible



I eagerly bought Jacobs' follow-up book, The Year of Living Bibically, his memoir of the year he spent following the bible as literally as possible. Again very relevant to my own life because the book included musings on his toddler son, and I read this around the time my older daughter was turning one. In addition, my husband and I were starting a dialogue about when and how to expose our daughter to religion (he's Christian, I'm Buddhist).

It seems so flippant to learn about Christianity from a humor writer, but after reading this book, I really gained a better understanding of my own feelings and opinions regarding Christianity, religious belief and spirituality.