Book-addled Brain

    This book is...A Not-Stash library book. A dystopian satire on the dangers of ever-expanding digital connections. My husband had been after me to read it for years, and while I think it was worth my time, I'm not as much of a fan as he is. Although it is described as a thriller, the storyline is a slow build. Eggers takes his time leading us deeper and deeper into the Circle, and I found some sections surprisingly tedious, although in certain places tedium may have been the point. His main character, Mae, is sympathetic enough-- at times-- although I often felt that she wasn't a fully realized character as a much as a plot device that existed to make a certain point. I struggled to make emotional connections with most of the characters, the exception being Annie, whose narrative was actually more compelling than Mae's in many ways. I'll be interested to see what he does with the sequel. Author: David Eggers Rating: 4/5    

    This book is...A Not-Stash library book. A parable on the unexpected difficulties and dangers of good intentions in postwar reconstruction. At times satiric, at times sober, at times surprising...the book builds to a final moment that jabs you like a sudden poke to the ribs. This is my favorite Eggers book so far and the one I would most readily read again. It might even end up on my shelf eventually. Author: David Eggers Rating: 5/5

   Back to the shelf stash. This book is....a guide to understanding marriage in terms of what the author describes as the greatest male and female needs. Author: Dr. Emerson Eggerich Keep or Donate: Donate ! This book is the first to fail the 50 page test. I found his premise reductionist at best and couldn't really get past the part when he said that a greeting card store was a representation of a woman's most deeply held values. I'll be a charitable reader and assume he had no idea how utterly condescending that was (along with talk of "pink sunglasses" and "blue sunglasses")...but this is not the book for me. Rating: 3/5. Charitably

    This book is...A Friend-Shelf Book. A compassionate, person-centered discussion of the complexities of our society's gender questions. Social media makes it quite easy these days to reduce people who disagree with us to caricatures but Preston Sprinkle stays focused on the human experiences behind these questions and discussions.    Rating: 5/5  

This book is....A Not-Stash library book. A Swiftian satire on the Trump presidency. Need I say more? Rating: 4/5

  This book is..... another Non-Shelf Stash library book. It is one of those delightfully odd end of the world books that had me hooked from the premise of a prophetic hermit crab...which was only about the fifth weirdest thing about the story. The main character's best friend, Roy, is the kind of sidekick we should all be so lucky to find in an apocalypse. There's some philosophical-theological musing but the story is at it's best when it focuses on its quirky but relatable cast of characters. Rating: 4/5

 Because, Dear Reader, I get distracted from my own shelves sometimes often but still have opinions about what I read in my prodigal bookworming. This book is....a Not-Stash library book. It caught my eye on the shelf and turned out to be a meditation on life and family that was both comedic and moving. Thoroughly refreshing. Jason Gay has one of those authorly voices that keep playing in my head like a narrator even when I am not reading the book. Rating: 4/5

 This book is....an overview of the intellectual and cultural development of western thought along with analysis and advocacy for the Christian worldview Author: Francis Schaeffer Rating: 5/5 Keep or Donate: Keep. Although it was written in 1976, Schaeffer's insights are in many ways still relevant. I think the book has a place in our current dialogue on Christianity and culture even if its specific cultural moment has passed. My favorite part of the book was his clear and articulate overview of the different phases of Western thought/culture

    This books is....Book 2 in a famous series of morbidly humorous children's fiction that follows three bright orphans through various unfortunate events. Author: Lemony Snicket Rating: 5/5 Keep or Donate: Keep, obviously. If the first two books are any indication, the series deserve its reputation as well-written, witty, and wonderfully dark.

  This book is...a survey of the "poetic effort" of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C.S. Lewis Author: John Piper Rating: 4/5 Keep or Donate: Keep. It is a solid look at the value of seeking to express beautiful things in worthy language. Each of the men featured does this in a different way. Piper highlights what we can learn from them and how we can apply it to our own lives as a spiritual discipline and means of service.

    This book is....reflections and suggestions on home design Author: Joanna Gaines Rating: 4/5 Keep or Donate: Keep! I was expecting overly-aspirational design advice that didn't connect with my decidedly-not-aspirational home. And yes, there were plenty of beautiful spaces to admire but there was also a lot of practical advice that could be applied to any home. I also enjoyed Joanna's honest and often insightful reflections on what it means to put ourselves into our spaces.

      This book is....an eerily prescient pandemic thriller that I found at Dollar Tree. It was written in 2005 but the parallels to our Real Pandemic were uncanny. Author: Daniel Kalla Rating: 3/5 Keep or Donate: On the fence. Apart from its now-historically-interesting premise, it's a fairly standard medical thriller that I enjoyed reading but don't feel the need to keep. On the other hand, my girls want to read it so maybe it will survive on the shelf a little longer. UPDATE : Decided to donate

      This book is....a collection of short stories by censored authors along with their essays/reflections on censorship Author: Miscellaneous Rating: 4/5 Keep or Donate: Keep it for the well told stories and the reminder of the importance of free imaginative spaces.

      This book is....military sci/fi fantasy thriller Author: Myke Cole Rating: 3.5/5 stars Keep or Donate: Keep as a reference for if I want to write any Big Exciting Action Scenes in a novel someday. The jinn Ninip was the most interesting character by far. Another notable bit is that this book has the most unflattering description of my city that I've read thus far. So noir! I'm torn between excitement that we showed up in a thriller and concern about exactly what part of town the poor author found himself wandering through.

  Whoever you are, hello. Whether by accident or intent you've found my reading log, Book-Addled Brain. Over the years I have accumulated books faster than I could read them, and my beloved bookshelves are now quite full. I recently started a Big Read through my stash to decide what to keep what what to donate. This is my space to chronicle what I read and what I think about it. Also to post the occasional Literary Snark. You can be my Dear Reader and we'll pretend this is one long bookish chat in some timeless tea parlor where rain is always tapping on the windows, fire is always crackling in the hearth, steam is always curling from the kettle, and the scones are always magically calorie-free. Of course, there's also the chance that I'm only talking to myself, which is fine. I am delighted to be my own Dear Reader. Myself and I are known to make merry conversation (though it is admittedly tricky managing two tea cups).