The Bub in the Belly

"If you want to know someone, take a look at their bookshelf".

Do you ascribe to that theory? I think there is some truth in that. Definitely, when it comes to the bookshelves in our home, you can see our past and our present, and perhaps even our future.

Our bookshelves have a little of everything and a lot of some things. A bit of this, a bit of that, a whole lot of other things. Hopefully, you'll think that we're well rounded people with varied interests and tastes, a love of design and beautiful things, people who are curious about the world, people who are always learning, and people whom you'll like to sit next to for some illuminating dinner conversation. Or you could take the view that we are scattered, unfocused and full of nonsense. Heh heh.

Anyway, I thought I'd share what we bought on our latest trip to the bookstore. Just for fun.

12 items. These were my picks:

- "frankie". A bi-monthly Australian magazine, chockful of real goodness. The other magazine that I've been enjoying is "Monocle". I also like to thumb through "Kinfolk" while I'm at the bookstore (I haven't bought an issue yet).

- "The First 20 Hours" by Josh Kaufman. I'm always interested in how the brain works and how learning takes place. I don't necessarily apply any of the theories, I just like learning about them and I like to get different opinions and perspectives. This book is about how learning processes can be broken down into simple and effective steps.

- "Far from the Tree" by Andrew Solomon. I had a recommendation for this book and although I wasn't looking for it, I picked it up when I saw it. According to the write-up on Andrew Solomon's website:
"All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent parents should accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on forty thousand pages of interview transcripts with more than three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges. Whether considering prenatal screening for genetic disorders, cochlear implants for the deaf, or gender reassignment surgery for transgender people, Solomon narrates a universal struggle toward compassion and innumerable triumphs of love. Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original thinker, Far from the Tree explores themes of generosity, acceptance, and tolerance—all rooted in the insight that love can transcend every prejudice. This crucial and revelatory book expands our definition of what it is to be human."

- "Programming for Beginners" by Kevin Partner. Something new. I watched the video on code.org sometime back and since then, programming is something that I've put on my "to-try-out" list.

- "Oil: A Beginner's Guide" by Vaclav Smil. This is a recent interest, for work.

- "Kawaii Cute Clothes for Toddler Girl" by enanna (Makiko Asai). This is a Japanese sewing book with patterns for sizes 80 and 90. I make a point to visit the Japanese sewing books section in Kinokuniya everytime we are there, and I have collected a few of these books plus a few of their English versions. Always a delight.

- "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr Seuss. Ryan has the pop-up version of this book. This is the hardcover version, I have plans for this one. Will share in the future. You'll notice that we didn't buy children's books this round. That's because we have too many at home!

The rest are Richard's picks. He usually hangs out in the graphic novels section, the design section and the magazine section.

- "Neon Genesis Evangelion" by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - He bought three and each is a compilation of three novels so that covers books 1 to 9. As stated on the back of each volume, "This is the manga adaptation of the landmark animated series that changed the mecha genre. Each volume contains three of the original graphic novels and includes pages of stunning, full-color art."

- "American Vampire" by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Dustin Nguyen. This is volume 5. Scott Snyder is an award-winning writer with many titles to his name, including Batman and The Swamp Thing.

- "Entertainment Weekly - The 100 All-Time Greatest" magazine. Special edition with a list of the 100 all-time greatest movies, TV shows, albums, novels and more.

That's it! That's quite typical of our haul nowadays plus some architecture and design magazines, some parenting/early education books and some photography stuff. What about you? What's on your bookshelf?