Bookshelf

Whenever I visit someone's home for the first time, I always like to check out their bookshelves. I think it's a great way to really get to know that person or family.  Sometimes I see books that I've also read which can lead to interesting conversations, or I sometimes see books I've been wanting to read.  Sometimes you can see a leaning toward certain topics or interests like cooking or science fiction or art.  Or you can clearly see a person's favorite author or series.  I just find it fascinating I guess. In keeping with the bookshelf theme, I thought I'd give you a peek at our current bookshelves.  I should clarify, however, that in our office we have two shelves.  A tall, narrow, traditional looking shelf that houses my books.  And then there is a wide, open-backed shelf that is home to all of Mike's books.  We appreciate each other's books, but there is a clear difference in interests!  

Here are my current shelf selections:

 I could read Anne of Green Gables every year. If I could go back in time, I'd live on Prince Edward Island in the early 1900's.  With Matthew and Marilla of course.

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning was one of the most interesting and challenging books I've read in the last few years.  

I still love young adult fiction.  Fair Weather by Richard Peck and Fever by Laurie Halse Anderson are great reads.  

I really like Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti.  Three and This Present Darkness are two of my favs.  

The two standouts on this shelf are A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.  I still find myself daydreaming about them sometimes.  This shelf also has a lot of books I have yet to read.  There's nothing better than a good book and the time to sit and read it!  

Here's a peek at a couple of Mike's shelves:

This one's a little blurry, but you can see a book on one of Mike's favorite artists:  

Jean-Michel Basquiat.

These are some of his favorite design books.  He once told me that if our house is ever on fire and our children and cats are safe, I need to grab this stack of books.  =)

So there you have a glimpse into two of our bookshelves.  Feel free to browse.  Do you have any books worthy of grabbing in a "house on fire" situation?  What are some of your favorites?