Book Blogger Appreciation Week is back, hosted by Estella Society, a lovely group of bloggers who seem to like herding cats and organizing this little corner of the blogosphere. This week is about appreciating each other and getting to know some new bloggers along the way. There are different activities each day this week.
Today is introducing yourself by telling about 5 books that represent you as a person, or your interests. Cool! This reminded me of one of my favourite blogging challenges/activities of all time: The Something About Me Challenge from 2007, hosted by Lisa at this blog. Each person who joined (and it ended up being a lot!) listed 5 books that described themselves. This list was collected and the challenge was to chose books to read from this generated list. This list ended up being such a crazy good list of books that I read from it for years, and probably still have some books on my mental TBR that I want to get to.
The five books I picked then still apply (for the most part)
1. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson NF
I love science, always have. I'm still in high school, teaching science because I love it so much.The beauty found in nature in all its glory, and the scientists who recognized the phenomena and put the order and structure to explain; it all blows my mind. And Bryson is humorous in explaining nearly everything. Science and funny. I love this book.
2. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth NF
I love efficiency and getting things done in the least messy way. I can always get one more dish in the dishwasher. Always. I also have three children which messes with my efficiency system. This memoir of growing up as one of the children of industrial engineers has always been a humorous favorite. The chaos and efficiency in this book is what I like. Also, I'm Gemini, the twin, balancing my dual natures.
3. Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman F
This little dreamy, philosophy book is better the more and more I read it. I read it aloud to my grade twelve physics classes every year and some really like it. Others just stare in confusion, because it is not the type of book they usually read. Lightman writes of 'thirty dreams in as many nights' imagining what dreams Einstein might have had in developing his theory of relativity, in which he reconstructed how we see time. Different theories of time, like: what if time flows backwards? time is finite? there is no concept of future? time is circular?
4. Evening Class by Maeve Binchy F
I wanted to pick a novel that I really like, and this is one of my favorite. I always enjoy Binchy, and how her characters are ordinary people, with happy endings. That's like me - pretty ordinary, and a quiet life. And I am a teacher, and I went to Italy last summer.
*This is the only book I might change. Instead of Evening Class, I'm going to change it to Unless by Carol Shields. I love the quiet story Shields tells, her writing is sublime, the feminist slant, and that she is Canadian. (my review here)
5. LM Montgomery: Anne of Windy Poplars F (or any other LM Montgomery book you want)
You had to know this Prince Edward Island girl would pick a Montgomery book! My dilemma was in picking which one. Rilla of Ingleside is one of my favorites, and it really gives a nice view of PEI in the early 1900s and what life was like in a small Island village during WW1. I picked Anne of Windy Poplars however, because that was the book where Anne was teaching (like me) in Summerside, and when I visit my grandmother in S'side, I can still see the town as Anne described it to Gilbert in her letters. I also like this book because Anne and Gilbert are finally together. Did I mention I like happy endings?
So that's me! Have you read these books? Do we share any books?
