The books in The Stack (today, that is. sigh.):
- The New Penguin History of the World: Fourth Edition by J.M. Roberts
- The Authority of The Bible by C.H. Dodd
- Space Lords by Cordwainer Smith
- The Quest of the Historical Jesus by Albert Schweitzer
- The Instrumentality of Mankind by Cordwainer Smith
- The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, edited by Hans-Friedrich Mueller
- Shadow & Claw: The First Half of ‘The Book of the New Sun’ by Gene Wolfe
- Sword & Citadel: The Second Half of ‘The Book of the New Sun’ by Gene Wolfe
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
- Ubik by Philip K. Dick
- Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony by Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon
- Crossing the Threshold of Hope by Pope John Paul II
- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, translated by David McDuff
- Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
I like to stack my books. Every time my book acquisitions out paces my reading ability I start to stack. Usually this happens around the holidays when Birthday books, used books, borrowed books and Christmas books begin to pile up.
I have three rules for going about this. They contradict each other but I’m pretty serious about them.
Rule 1
Books must be placed in The Stack in the order they are received. Newest books at the bottom.
Rule 2
Books may be moved around in The Stack. e.g. Move a fun book next to a serious book to prevent dementia.
You’ll notice I have Cordwainer Smith bracketing Albert Schweitzer softening me up for Gibbon with a Gene Wolfe chaser. One just can’t read too many serious texts in a row.
I also have two old books from the Upper Fort Stewart Library in there as well. Old books are dealt with in the third rule.
Rule 3
Old books, read once, are put at the bottom of The Stack. Old books, read once, may not be read again until all new books are read or until you forget about The Stack because you bought a really cool new book which you can’t wait to read and, really, who can keep stacking up books like this?
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