From Off the Shelf

My Grandmother Asked Me

When I was browsing at Barnes and Noble in December, the title “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” caught my eye.  It was a long title and the cover was intriguing.  I put it on my “books to read” list and ordered it from the library. I just finished reading “My Grandmother …

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Confess

I added the novel “Confess” by Colleen Hoover to my “books to read list” when it was selected as one of the Goodreads Best Books of 2015.  I put it on my library list and waited for it to come up as available.  When it was my turn to check it out, I downloaded it …

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The Girl on the Train

I love to read and I especially like to read thrillers – books that you can’t put down because you have to see what happens next.  “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins recently won the Goodreads “Thriller of the Year Award” so that put it on my list to check out.  I got …

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Humility

Recently I read a chapter on humility in my morning devotional.  I have been reading the book, “Devotional Classics:  Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups,” edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith.  Each chapter includes excerpts from the writings of Christians through the centuries.  The chapter on humility by Jeremy Taylor really convicted me, …

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How to Lose the Civil War

I have been reading a lot of books about the Civil War in order to be the best possible worker at the Visitors Centers.  One that recently caught my eye had an intriguing title:  “How to Lose the Civil War:  Military Mistakes of the War Between the States.”  This book is a collection of essays …

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No Plot? No Problem!

I recently read the book “No Plot?  No Problem!” by Chris Baty.  I have started writing novels a dozen times, only to have my progress interrupted by life or lack of enthusiasm for the story.  “No Plot?  No Problem!” gives guidelines and motivation for writing a novel in 30 days. One month from title to …

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The Happiness Project

I just finished reading “The Happiness Project:  Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun” by Gretchen Rubin.  The book starts with the basic question, “Are you happy?”  Then it goes on to a second question, “Whether you are …

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Drop Dead Healthy

Many of us would like to be healthy – as long as it doesn’t take too much work.  In “Drop Dead Healthy,” A.J. Jacobs spends more than two years striving for bodily perfection and then writing a book about his quest.  No stone is left unturned (the Caveman Workout), no spice is left unsniffed (The …

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