Another MeMe and...A...GIVEAWAY!!!!

Did I tell you I'd write a real post today?

Well, this IS a real post. (Sort of.) I men, what could be better than another free GIVEAWAY and another MeMe - because no matter how much you unearth about me, there's always more.

First of all, my sweet friend Karen tagged me a coupla weeks ago for a MeMe. Here ya go, Karen:

Total Number of Books on my Bookshelves: OK, believe it or not I actually counted them.

This would be because I am nuts.

I have 623 books, not counting my cookbooks. I probably have, oh, 30 or so of those. I also did not count all the books of music and hymn books. Approximately 500 of our tomes are "school" books. That is, they are classic fiction or they are non-fiction and biographies. Most of the other books are non-fiction; Bible study or "how to" or inspirational. If I want some non-classic fiction, I go to the library.



The Last Book I Read: You mean that I finished? Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God (Spirituality for the rest of us) by Larry Osborne. Osborne has written an awesome book reminding us that Christianity is not a cookie-cutter religion. He points out many areas of FALSE guilt (a topic dear to my heart) that result from HUMAN expectations and demands as opposed to God-given mandates. Good stuff, this!

I am currently STILL reading Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. I love this book and plan to go back through it in January using the accompanying Bible study in the back. The only reason it has taken me so long to read it is that I am typically a speed reader. This means most of the time I glean the crux of a chapter and zip on to the next. Unfortunately, this means I leave alot of meat on the bones. I miss details and nuances. This book is SO intriguing that I am forcing myself to go through it slowly, reading and rereading so that I don't miss one ounce of nourishment!

I'm also in the midst of The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain which has me on a roller coaster. Some of his stories are fabulous, but others are in dire need of some editing! (Yes, Groovy would presume to tell Samuel Clemmons how to write better - in certain cases.)

My favorite toilet reading (C'mon, admit it, you do it too) is Voices of the Faithful a devotional book compiled by Beth Moore. It features daily stories and devotions written by foreign missionaries.

I read and/or study The Bible on most days, as well. I am quite partial to doing inductive studies in the New American Standard Version.



Last Book Bought: Oooo. Tough one. Hmmmmm. I rarely buy books. (You can stop looking for that lightening bolt because I AM NOT lying!) Seriously, I mostly buy school books for the girls. The others I pick up for 25¢ at the library or a yard sale. Occasionally I order a book or two online for a specific purpose.

Ok, after going through my overstuffed "mail-order" file on my email program, I see that we paid actual money to order The One Year Book of Devotions For Kids from CBH (Children's Bible Hour) Ministries.

By the way, I cleaned out that email file while I was there!

Five Meaningful Books: I'm trying to decide what "meaningful" means. If it means the 5 books I'd try to save in case of fire or the 5 books I'd keep if Mulletman made a wild sweep of the house (which he's been known to do) and he'd only let me keep five, it would be these:

1. My Bible. It is my source of life and strength and wisdom. I literally could not live without it!

2. My Tolkien books because I can "do" all the voices and because I have so many memories connected to reading them aloud to Scout and Funsocksgirl. We read the entire 4 book series THREE TIMES aloud at an average of 1 hour per chapter.

3. My Bird and my Wildflower Identification books I use these 2 (I am cheating by calling them 1 book) field guides ALL THE TIME. They are my absolute favorite "look it up" books.

4. Your Home and You This is a circa 1960 home-ec textbook for high school students. I got it when I was in the second grade and my mom wrote my name and address in the front - even our phone number. It's still in excellent condition even though I have read it numerous times. I even used it as a jumping off point for Funsocksgirl's home-ec experiences. The photos and captions are hilariously out of date. I love this book!

It's sentimental value to me is even more amazing when you consider that I absolutely REFUSED to take home-ec in Jr. High or High School. I went for wrestling and weightlifting instead (yes, really). Ironically, I grew up to be a homemaker. I cook, clean, sew, craft, decorate, shop and teach - and I love it!

Go figure, eh?

5. A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price: Copyright 1965. This would be, yes, Vincent Price the actor.

Price has a wonderfully engaging writing style. Apparently he and Mary were quite the epicures. They were also filthy stinking rich, so they traveled all over the world and ate, quite literally, at all the best restaurants. This book is a compilation of menus from those restaurants along with some of the recipes. Each restaurant and each recipe is accompanied by pithy, entertaining stories and details and cooking hints. The book is also full of color photos of the eating establishments and of Mary's and Vince's presentation of the foods in their own gorgeous home.

This is the book that set my sights toward staying at the Wayside Inn for our 25th wedding anniversary which you can read about Here and Here.

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And Now, Announcing ANOTHER GROOVY GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thanks to a wonderful suggestion by Connie at Cleveland Girlie, I have decided to do a Pay it Forward Giveaway.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 2 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. The only thing you have to do in return is Pay it Forward by making the same promise on your blog. I have a really cute little craft ready to go, so get busy - comment and then PAY IT FORWARD!