We were visiting another city while doing our rounds of churches as missionaries and the local church put us up in someone's house. Except those "someones" were away for the weekend and no one had told us any more than the names of the home owners and that they had little boys, just like us.
It is a strange feeling — to tread on a someone else's private space with their permission or presence.
The main thing we did, on the snooping front, was look at their books. It is amazing what you can tell about someone from their book collection. As it was, we found out these two people's profession, the sorts of things they like to read, and that one of them had their Ph.D.
It isn't the only time this has happened to us, by the way. I guess people figure they can trust missionaries? But it is always a slightly weird experience.
Anyway, I'm going to show you a bit about me by showing you my library!
For starters, it isn't large, at least it isn't as large as it would be if we were living in Australia. We tend not to acquire books that we won't read more than once. We often rake through our collection looking for books to offload at Thrift Shop.
Because we live close to an English library (CAJ's), we mostly read library books, so our shelves are biased towards non-fiction, reference-type books.
So, let's have a snoop:
You can also see quite a number of music books. I don't play as much as I'd like either, but I'm happy to still have these on my shelf for those times when I do.
And I'm an OMFers, note the J. Hudson Taylor biography!
365 TV-Free days is a great book. So many ideas. I think this one will be coming with us on our 7,000 km road trip to Uluru.
And one non-book element here is Nessy. Can you see her? We once had a short-termer visit from Scotland who gave us this cute ceramic gift.
For Janet, there are some Footprints magazines stowed there on the left and a Bible Promise Book that has come in handy when writing cards for people.
The non-book item is a plastic origami case. Terribly useful.
I think that's enough snooping for now, I'll do another snoop another day.
Surprised by anything? I think I was surprised at how many crafty books I have on the shelf. Now I'm wondering if I really need all of them . . .
Heh heh heh ... glad to see Footprints rates a place on your shelf, especially when space is at such a premium!!!!
ReplyDelete:-)
Magazine Article Writing... hmmm. That's interesting! As for me, I find it hard to visit with people in their living rooms if there is a bookcase in back of them. I am so distracted seeing titles. I loved this post! What a fun game.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it Jamie Jo, I'd like to see other people snoop on their own libraries on their blogs!
ReplyDelete"Getting Published"? I want that one. Must check the library before they sell all their books and move to who-knows-where!
ReplyDeleteDo you recommend Colleen? I've seen the movie of "Tim" (Mel Gibson at 20 - Super yummy!) and read "The Ladies of Missalonghi" (which I think would have been a better book if she HAD plagiarised "The Blue Castle"). Never got to any others, I wasn't impressed with "The Thornbirds" on TV, despite the presence of the almost-as-yummy Richard Chamberlain.
Craft has never appealed to me: I don't see a use for most things done with it. Except cards. I was probably introduced via the wrong types. As I sometimes say, I have a moderate amount of talent, but not enough patience to stick at it & get good at it.
Judie, I do recommend Colleen. She is an intelligent writer, and writes well. Not all her books are to my taste, but her books are on the meatier end of fiction. I like her very much.
ReplyDeleteThe practical side of craft does bother me too. Probably part of the reason that I don't do too much of it. I do like to dream about it, and appreciate other's creations. It does also provide me with needed relaxation time. I made it through my week of meetings last week by cross-stitching and knitting! It helped me stay focussed.