Confessions of a book-a-holic: personal {dallas engagement & wedding photographer}

Monday, December 6, 2010


All growing up, going to the library was a routine part of my life. About every two weeks we'd all load up in our big van--Me, Benjamin, Rachel, Luke, Sam, Lawson, Emma, and of course Mom--and head to the public library. Mom would have to put time limits on how long we'd be spending there, because if left to our own devices we'd have been happy to stay all afternoon. Checking out always took forever, because between all 8 of us, we'd usually have about 70-90 books to check out, and when I was a little kid they still did the whole hand-stamp-the-inside-of-the-book-before-you-could-check-it-out thing. The librarians hands were cramping by the time they were done with us. And then my little brother used to complain that when the receipt for our books started printing it was embarrassing because people would stare when it started to roll off the desk and hit the floor. He finally got wise to the fact that if he got his own library card he could check out on his own and then act like he had no clue who the weird large family checking out 273 books all together was. And then there was the problem of having to find a new library about every 10-12 months, because we'd read everything out of the kids section in one library and start complaining to mom that we wanted to find new books to read.

I realize what you're thinking.

I was a nerdlet.

Actually, I still am.

Because books still really excite me. I could easily spend my whole paycheck on books, and still not have all the books I want. (someday I'm going to have a room in my house with floor to ceiling bookshelves, and one of those ladder things that slides back and forth;) And trips to the library...? Are still the highlight of my week/month/or however often I get to go. Problem is, with traveling so much, working so much, and just generally becoming addicted to work like I did this year, the amount of books I've read has gone waaaay down. And I miss it. So as part of my cutting-back-on-work-so-I-can-start-enjoying-real-life-again-campaign I went to the library a few days ago, checked out a few books, rounded up a few from home that I've been wanting to read for a while, some for the 2nd (or 3rd) time, and created a reading list for the month. ;)

I'm excited about being a nerd again ;)


(not pictured--the Narnia series. It's becoming Christmas tradition for me to read them every December)


p.s. I'm always up for a good book recommendation. Anyone read a good book (fiction/non-fiction) lately? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section! :)

Much Love.
Jessica Shae
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16 comments:

  1. Ahh! Good book choices!

    I highly recommend anything by Francis Schaeffer, but especially the following: Genesis in Space and Time, The God Who Is There, Escape from Reason, He is There and He is not Silent, and True Spirituality. Also, I highly recommend The Feminist Mistake by Mary Kassian.

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  2. Ohhh yes. I feel ya. This whole post is like an echo of me. :D
    My post of book-lovin. With pics of my bookshelves.. :) http://naomielle.blogspot.com/2010/07/personal-i-love-books.html

    Yaaaay for your reading list. I just read about 10 books on vacation to kick off my I'm-gonna-read-more-this-winter resolution. :)

    Reading right now:
    Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery (working my way through this series for the billionth time. It's gold)
    How To Pray by R.A. Torrey
    Some book by D.E. Stevenson that I don't remember the title for, but my sis recommended so it's prolly good. :)

    And so many more.

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  3. Oooo if you haven't read any of these I totally recommend them Redeeming Love, Authentic Beauty, Set-Apart Femininity (well pretty much anything by Eric and Leslie Ludy)

    Because of school and everything I haven't been able to enjoy much book reading (except text books that is) Which has also put me behind in photo editing, so it looks like my Christmas break consists of a lot of editing. Hopefully I will be able to read a few books I've recently purchased.

    Enjoy your reading time! :)

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  4. A little fiction... The Witch of Blackbird Pond is really good. Contrary to the title, it is not about a witch. :P I really really super enjoyed it!

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  5. YAY! I too want a library full of great books from floor to ceiling in my house someday :D Almost anytime I spend money, it's on books. I love reading classics, books by old Puritans and such (Oh, if you've never read "Letters of John Newton" by Josiah Bull, you NEED to!!! Seriously!! I wrote down SOO many quotes from his letters; he's very practical...I loved every minute of reading his letters), and just sooo many...oh! some other great ones! The Journey in Grace series by Richard Belcher is a WONDERFUL series! They're actually theological novels...haha, I know it sounds weird, but they're fantastic! He intertwines studying different theological subjects with exciting fictional stories :D.

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  6. Fiction, eh? I'm working my way through The Visitation right now... good stuff.

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  7. I loooove reading too and am so sad I haven't been able to do much of it lately. Well, besides business book. Reading Lovemarks right now, and it's taking me forever to get through it. Not because it's not interesting, but because I just don't have time to sit and read! :-(

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  8. O yes, I could have written this post, I don't remember not being addicted to books. Right now I'm reading Shogun, it's historical fiction about the first Englishman to discover Japan, circa 1600. I like it so far :)

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  9. My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a FANTASTIC historical fiction novel. I never wanted to stop reading, cause I always wanted to know what would happen next.

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  10. I'm just finishing the non-ficiton book, Son of Hamas, by Mosab Hassan Yousef. If you've ever been interested in further understand the Israel/Palestinian conflict, this is a most read!

    Oh, and Glenn Beck's, Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government, is a fun and informative look at our country's problems.

    Well, those are my recommendations. :)

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  11. I love me some Jane Austen...Pride and Prejudice is the best! :) I also love the classics like Les Miserables, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. They're all good reads. Oh, and Melody Carlson and Mary Connealy are also very fantastic writers. I adore all their books as well. :)

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  12. Ted Dekker is an amazing Christian/Fiction author. Check out Blink and Blessed Child! Also, Brock and Bodie Thoene's A.D. Chronicles. ;D

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  13. Jessica Shae, you're a girl after my own heart!!

    "someday I'm going to have a room in my house with floor to ceiling bookshelves, and one of those ladder things that slides back and forth"

    Me tooooo!!! I tell everyone this! :)

    I'm currently reading "Boundries" and then next on the list is "Radical" and then I want to get stuck into some missionary stories! There's soooo much I want to read, and I keep telling myself, no more buying books until I've read the ones I've got!

    You're so blessed to have Christian books in your library. They generally don't, here in Australia. And books are 25 - 50% more expensive in Aus than the US. Not fair!!

    Not sure if I've ever commented, but I've been reading for a while. I think you're so beautiful, inside and out, and I LOVE your style photography! I decided that if I ever got married in IL, you'd be my photographer. (My bf lived in IL. Well, he still does, we just aren't together anymore :( )

    Happy reading!!

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  14. gettin' married, Jessica? LOL. Just kiddin'. I love your photography! God bless you :)

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  15. Spectacular Sins by John Piper. It's a very small but very wow book.

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  16. Your description of the floor-to-ceiling shelved library with a ladder on wheels is my mother's dream!

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Oh hey!
Thanks for taking the time to say hello, it makes my day everytime! :)

Jessica Shae