It’s hard to follow last week’s impromptu lesson about Latin numeration, so I’m not even going to try. Instead, let’s just jump into books CI to CX (centum unus to centum decem)!
Wondering what this is all about? Check out the introductory post.
Titles 101-110:
#101: Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring by Henry J. Eyring
Date added: 08/28/2010
Why is it on my TBR? A couple of my Utah friends enjoyed it, and as I was living in Salt Lake City and trying to understand the LDS church as an outsider, I thought it would be interesting to read about how one scientist reconciled science and his faith.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Go. Even reviewers who like the subject say the writing style is boring and repetitive. I’m not sure I have enough interest in the LDS church to put the time into this one, and I already have books about science and religion on my TBR.
Project list: n/a
#102: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Date added: 09/21/2010
Why is it on my TBR? I’m pretty sure I first heard about Mary Roach on NPR and added a bunch of her books to my TBR.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Keep. I really liked Packing for Mars (I read it while cabin camping in Connecticut and I still associate it with that dark little cabin), and although I feel a little hesitant about reading so much about dead bodies, if I read anything about this subject, it will be by Roach.
Project list: none
#103: Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
Date added: 09/21/2010
Why is it on my TBR? See comments on Stiff above.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Go. Although this seems a natural follow-up to Stiff, reviews indicate that Roach might not have approached this subject with as objective a lens as she does her other books.
Project list: n/a
#104: Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko
Date added: 10/07/2010
Why is it on my TBR? Not sure, but I’m guessing it’s here because I recognized Silko’s name from my undergraduate English classes and maybe because I thought I should read more about Native Americans.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Keep. I’ve been interested in reading a book or two set in the desert Southwest, and this looks like a pretty good one.
Project list: none
#105: Great House by Nicole Krauss
Date added: 10/18/2010
Why is it on my TBR? I read and liked A History of Love (although I can just barely remember it now), and I think that’s why this one’s on here. That and it being a National Book Award finalist.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Keep. Both the positive and the negative reviews make me want to see what I’ll make of this book.
Project list: none
#106: The Road Home by Rose Tremain
Date added: 11/09/2010
Why is it on my TBR? I’m not sure why it’s here, but it might be (again) because my friend Lauren liked it.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Keep. It sounds like a book I can sink my teeth into.
Project list: none
#107: The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan
Date added: 11/09/2010
Why is it on my TBR? I’m a bit of a lightweight, and I’m wondering if I might have been drunk when I added this to my TBR. It’s not at all the kind of thing I would add were I in complete control of my faculties.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Go. Nothing interests me about this one.
Project list: n/a
#108: Shadows on the Path by Abdi Assadi
Date added: 01/05/2011
Why is it on my TBR? The same person who recommended Marion Woodman’s Addiction to Perfection recommended this book to me.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Keep. This book sounds very interesting to me.
Project list: none.
#109: Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill
Date added: 01/12/2011
Why is it on my TBR? I don’t know why it’s here, but it sounds good.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Keep. It’s a short memoir, and I’ve not read many books by nonagenarians.
Project list: none
#110: Temperament: The Idea That Solved Music’s Greatest Riddle by Stuar Isacoff
Date added: 01/28/2011
Why is it on my TBR? I have absolutely no idea why I added this.
Do I own it? No.
Verdict: Keep, mostly for my daughter, who’s much more interested in the nitty-gritty of music than I am, but having taken a music theory this past year, it’s possible I might find it interesting, too.
Project list: none
Three more titles off the list for a total of 28 out of 110 titles crossed off (3.7% of the original TBR).
I don’t have much to say this week, so I’ll just leave it at that.
Are there any of these that I kept that you would have jettisoned? (Or any that I jettisoned that you recommend I keep, even though that wouldn’t help whittle my TBR list down?)
Imperfect Happiness 