The Earliest Published Books On My TBR

This will take your breath away. I like to read old books. Really old books. Here are the books on my TBR that were published the earliest.

Have you read any of these?

I dare you to beat me!

Meditations	Aurelius, Marcus	165
Pillow Book, The	Shonagon, Sei	967
Tale of Genji, The	Murasaki, Shibibu	1000
Travels of Marco Polo, The	Polo, Marco	1300
Essays in Idleness	Kenko	1332
Travels in Asia and Africa	Ibn Battuta	1340
Gargantua and Pantagruel	Rabelais, François	1532
Book of Common Prayer, The	Anonymous	1549
Comedy of Errors, The	Shakespeare, William	1594
Merchant of Venice, The	Shakespeare, William	1600
Midsummer Night's Dream, A	Shakespeare, William	1600
Much Ado About Nothing	Shakespeare, William	1600
Othello	Shakespeare, William	1603
King Lear	Shakespeare, William	1608
Tempest, The	Shakespeare, William	1611
Winter’s Tale, The	Shakespeare, William	1611
Princess of Clèves, The	Lafayette, Madame de	1678
History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, The	Fielding, Henry	1749
Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, The	Sterne, Laurence	1759
Travels Through France and Italy	Smollett, Tobias	1766
John Woolman's Journal	Woolman, John	1774
Dangerous Liaisons	Laclos, Pierre Choderlos de	1782
Journey Around My Room	de Maistre, Xavier	1790
Journals of Lewis and Clark	Lewis, Meriwether	1814
Sanditon	Austen, Jane	1817

Thank you, Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits, for this week's prompt.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.   

Nonfiction November 2024: Mind Openers: Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam

Week 4 (11/18-11/22) Mind Openers: One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is the way it can open your eyes to the world around you–no plane ticket required. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Is there a book that, if everyone read it, you think the world would be a better place? (Hosted by Rebekah at She Seeks Nonfiction).

What nonfiction book has impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way?

The nonfiction book that rocked my world when I first read it in 2002 was Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam. I had no idea that Americans were so lonely and so isolated. I want to do everything I can to encourage people to connect with others in my small town and in the world.

The Sunday Salon: "...small everyday deeds of ordinary folk..."

    

Welcome! I'm delighted you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? you ask. 

The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week; it's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

What I Read Last Week:

Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy (Nonfiction November)

Star Wars: The Mandalorian (SciFi Month)

The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened by Bill McKibben (Nonfiction November)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Nonfiction November)

Ringworld by Larry Niven (SciFi Month)

It’s baack!

Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves is pleased to announce that she will once again be hosting Thankfully Reading Weekend, November 27-December 1st (Wednesday through Sunday)!

New to Thankfully Reading Weekend? Here are the details:

There are no rules to the weekend. We’re simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for the year. We thought it’d be fun if we cheered each other on a bit. 

If you think you can join in, grab the logo  and add your sign up post to the link-up here.  Include the link to where you’ll be posting your updates (Instagram, Threads, etc).  Jenn personally will be updating most on Instagram.

The official hashtag we’ll be using is #thankfullyreading. Join in for the weekend or for only a single day. No rules, no pressure!

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: I Choose Love

Nonfiction November 2024: Book Pairings

Destination Titles

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I am joining the 12 Books of Christmas Challenge this year, hosted by Katie at Just Another Girl and Her Books.

The Rules

This is supposed to be a fun, stress-reducing challenge, so the rules will be minimal.

1. Tell everybody about the 12 Books of Christmas challenge (#12BooksOfXmas). 
2. Build a blog post or create a Goodreads shelf of the books you intend to read for the challenge (you can see the host's list here). You can absolutely read outside your list, if the desire strikes; this is just a starting point. Then come back and add your name to the linkup. (Be sure to visit the other participants to see what they plan on reading.) Bloggers, please link back so that others can find the challenge as well should they wish to participate. 
3. Reviews must be posted between November 24th and December 24th. The review linkup will open on November 24th. Be sure to bookmark this page so you can come back and add your reviews!
4. Any winter holiday themed books count (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.) You can check out the books we read in 2017 by clicking here, 2018 by clicking here, 2020 by clicking here and 2022 didn't have any reviews linked because even the host failed on that score.
5. There are four achievement levels for this challenge, so read as few or as many books as you want.
6. Have fun!

I plan to read twelve of my favorite Christmas-themed picture books this year.

Vote on your favorites on this Goodreads list.

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

How about another quilt from

the International Quilt Show in Houston?

Good Thing #2:

My husband and I went to the Houston Gem & Mineral Society Show

last week and talked to several lapidaries with their machines.

Good Thing #3:

🩷

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.

 

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

  

Today's Featured Book: 

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers

Genre: SciFi

Published: August 18, 2015

Page Count: 423 pages

Summary: 

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
 
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

As she woke up in the pod, she remembered three things. First, she was traveling through open space. Second, she was about to start a new job, one she could not screw up. Third, she had bribed a government official into giving her a new identity file. None of this information was new, but it wasn’t pleasant to wake up to.

Chambers, Becky. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers Book 1) (p. xi). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of My Head is Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

Jenks walked to the bench, dragged over an empty crate and climbed up to have a look. The piles of junk that covered the bench had merged, creating one nebulous omnipile. He sifted through the contents. A bundle of three-gauge fuel tubing. A half-eaten bag of fire shrimp (“Devastatingly Hot!” the label boasted). An assortment of dirty mugs. Several sets of schematics with added notes and doodles. An unopened box of—Jenks paused and craned his head toward Kizzy. 

“Out of curiosity,” he said. “What are you doing?” 

Kizzy showed him her palms. Her work gloves were caked with dense green slime. “Gunk trap’s clogged.” 

He looked back to the box on the bench. “You could have that done in three seconds if you used fixbots.” 

“I don’t have any bots.” 

“Um, so, this box of bots I’m looking at is what, then?” 

Kizzy’s head reappeared. She squinted at the bench. “Oh, those bots.”

Chambers, Becky. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers Book 1) (pp. 56-57). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

November 15-21. Do you like to annotate your books or keep them untouched?

Shudder. Keep them untouched. Of course. 

Destination Titles

If you find yourself wandering around my Favorites Books stack, 

be forewarned that you may end up in some odd places...

Red Lobster Restaurant...

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

A Street in Chicago...

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The Attic...

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

The Moon...

Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik

A Farm Run by Animals...

Animal Farm by George Orwell

An Obscure Town in Japan...

The Roads to Sata by Alan Booth

Wherever It Is That the Red Fern Grows...

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Where the Sidewalk Ends (Could That Be Near Where the Red Fern Grows?)...

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

A Rather Unpleasant Island...

Rotten Island by William Steig

The Bathtub...

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood

Thank you, Rachel @ Sunny Side for this prompt!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.   

Nonfiction November 2024: Book Pairings

Week 3 (11/11-11/15) Book Pairings: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it's a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. Or (because I’m doing this) two books on two different areas have chimed and have a link. You can be as creative as you like! (Hosted by Liz at Adventures in reading, running and working from home).

Pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title.

Germinal by

Émile Zola (fiction)

Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond (nonfiction)

Germinal is a novel by the French writer, Émile Zola, first published in 1885. It tells the story of the wretched poverty of mine workers in Northern France.

Sociologist Matthew Desmond looks at the reasons why one in eight children lives in dire poverty in the richest country in the world, why corporations who make huge profits pay meager wages, and why people live and die on the streets in his book, Poverty by America.

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (fiction)

The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt (nonfiction)

A new regime begins in Ireland, and small terrible things begin to happen to ordinary people. Scientist Eilish Stack is horrified to find that her husband, the father of her four children, has been carted off by the secret police. And that's just the beginning in the novel Prophet Song.

Author Hannah Arendt looks at the beginnings and characteristics of totalitarian governments, focusing on two totalitarian governments in our time, Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, in her book, The Origins of Totalitarianism.