thduggie’s blog

Time and again, we run out of space for our books.  The simplest solution would be to recycle the overflow, but that is almost unbearably hard.  We’d much rather give them up for adoption in a good home.

To facilitate this process, I am posting books here that are no longer needed in our house.  Our interests may have changed, they may have an awkward format, they may have been less interesting than the title implied.  They may have been great reads, exiled from the bookshelf only because the realization has settled in that we will not for a long time have the leisure to re-read them.  If you find a gift of yours on this list, it means it has been read and appreciated!  (I have tried bookcrossing, and have come to the conclusion that setting a book free in Switzerland generally means handing it the death sentence.)

Write me if you want one of these titles to grace your bookshelf!

Knaurs Lexikon der Weltliteratur, von Diether Krywalski, 1995 – Bevor es Wikipedia gab, mochte ich dieses Buch.  Nun brauche ich es nie.  (Added 2012/02/05.)

Generation X, by Douglas Coupland, 1991 – An interesting, witty portrait, with wry definitions and a number of neologisms.  A bit too much anomie for me to identify with, but the killer is the awkward book format, a big square.  (Added 2012/02/05.)

The Official Politically Correct Dictionary & Handbook, by Henry Beard and Christopher Cerf, 1992 – Satirical reference book with a number of real howlers that real people in all seriousness suggested using.  The only entry that has persistently stuck in my brain is “h’orsh’it. An artful contraction of ‘he or she or it,’ offered by Joel Forbes in 1975 as a gender-free pronoun.”  The serious ones are more frightening and usually in better taste.  (Added 2012/02/05.)

All in the Timing: Fourteen Plays, by David Ives, 1995 – I am keeping a copy, but I’d bought five, with the idea of gathering friends over for one-act-play readings.  Some of these are brilliantly funny, all are clever, but unfortunately there are those with coarse language that limits the enjoyment somewhat.  Still, “The Universal Language” alone is worth having a free book.  (Added 2012/02/06.)  (First copy given away 2012/02/12.  Three more left.)

Respectable Sins, by Jerry Bridges, 2007 – We used this as a Bible study help, and while Bridges addresses some real issues worth addressing, his writing is less than engaging.  Otherwise, I might keep it for re-reading.  (Added 2012/02/09.)

Métropolisation et Inégalités Sociales, de Michel Bassand, 1997 – Un livre du cours Science, Technique, Société à l’EPFL.  Je me rappelle la notion de la Suisse entière comme métropole; les détails ne m’interessent plus.  (A textbook from my social studies class, which has a cool map of Swiss towns and their classification, which I may scan before giving this book away.  The only thing I remember from Bassand is his theory that Switzerland itself works like a big metropolis.  I don’t need the book to remember that.)  (Added 2012/02/09.)

Help Me Believe, by Cliffe Knechtle, 2000 – Knechtle answers 39 questions about faith, truth, and their consequences in this 130-page book.  (Added 2012/02/10.)

The Navigator Bible Studies Handbook, 1994 revised edition – This handbook includes several Bible study methods and briefly explains how to use them.  (Added 2012/02/10.)

How to Say No to a Stubborn Habit, Erwin Lutzer, 1979 – I picked up this book used, with all good intentions.  I don’t think I ever made it through to the end.  It might help if you have a habit you can’t seem to beat; I don’t think it helps identify habits.  The bad habit that spurred me into buying it has since nearly vanished, with other factors (mostly people) playing a much larger role.  (Added 2012/02/10.)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon, 2003 – Bought at Narita Airport, I found it an interesting read, though the main character’s penchant for reporting pedantically what happened also means he pedantically reports all the foul language the people around him use.  It did strike me as an interesting glimpse into a different personality.  If you’re interested in reading more, here’s a review of Haddon’s book. (Added 2012/02/11.)

A Ready Defense, Josh McDowell, 1993 – The first problem with this book is its unwieldy size for a paperback.  It’s hard to hold it open well.  The second is that a number of McDowell’s answers don’t quite satisfy me.  I get the impression he doesn’t always understand the critics of Christianity, or dismisses them too easily.  Otherwise, it’s a good collection of relatively short answers to a broad array of questions around the Christian faith.  (Added 2012/02/11.)

Between 2 Fires, Jack Kincaid, 2002 – I’d already mentioned this book and given a brief summary here.  The difference is that now you can not only borrow the book, you can own it!  (Added 2012/02/11.)

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard, 1974/2007 – Dillard can write beautiful imagery, and if you like luxuriant meditations on nature with plentitudinous arcane sources thrown in, this may be just the book for you.  We have two copies one copy to give away.  (Added 2012/02/13.)  (First copy claimed!)

Hamlet, Band 1: Text, William Shakespeare, Englisch/Deutsch – Als Maturlektüre gekauft, als Einstieg in Shakespeare geschätzt, aber mittlerweile brauche ich die deutsche Übersetzung nicht mehr und besitze einige andere Hamlet-Ausgaben.  Deutsche Übersetzung von Holger M. Klein.  (Added 2012/02/13.)

Lies und werde reich, Al Imfeld, 2007 – Das Buch hatte ich gratis erhalten; weshalb, weiss ich nicht mehr.  Imfelds Vignetten sind gut geschrieben und interessante Denkanstösse.  (Added 2012/02/13.)

Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut, 1973 – I read this in college because Vonnegut is a famous author.  What I remember most is that the book contains a juvenile illustration of an anus.  So if you want to see how an acclaimed author draws an anus, and uses a less medical term for it, here’s your chance.  (Added 2012/02/16.)

The New Venture Adventure, Ueli Looser/Bruno Schläpfer, 2001 – An exception in this list in that I’ve not read it, only thumbed through it.  This book tells you how to write a business plan.  (Added 2012/02/16.)

Es fängt damit an, dass am Ende der Punkt fehlt, Emil Waas/Margit Waas, 1973 – Lustige und anscheinend echte Stilblüten aller Art, z.T. noch in Sütterlin geschrieben.  (Added 2012/02/16.)

If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, John Ortberg, 2001 – Hardcopy, but dog-eared and with a few comments of varying maturity.  Includes the first chapter of Ortberg’s following book, the title page of which Joseph partly ripped out.  You can read more about the contents on my blog post.  (Added 2012/02/17.)

Right Behind, Mr. Sock and Nathan D. Wilson, 2001 – If you’ve read “Left Behind” and groaned, you’ll find this one funny.  If you haven’t read “Left Behind,” you’ll probably toss this book posthaste.  If you don’t like snarky parody that’s often spot-on but also often merciless, stay away.  At less than 100 pages of story, at least it’s a quick read.  (Added 2012/02/17.)

Our Dumb Century, Scott Dikkers (The Onion), 1999 – “Michael Jordan Shot For His Sneakers” and other goofy headlines with silly short articles.  The book is very small, leading to a pretty good guffaw per pound ratio.  (Added 2012/02/19.)

Anxious About Empire, Wes Avram (Editor), 2004 – Theological reflections on the 2002 National Security Strategy for the United States of America.  Includes essays by Wendell Berry, Robert Bellah, and others.  (Added 2012/02/19.)

Die schönsten Gipfel der Welt, Reinhold Messmer, 1989 – Beautiful photos with commentary from a mountaineer’s perspective, this is a lovely coffee table book (if you skip the philosophical musings).  Unfortunately, coffee table books and little kids aren’t terribly compatible.  (Added 2012/02/19.)

L’An deux mille quatre cent quarante, Louis-Sébastien Mercier, 1770 (publié Editions Ducros, 1971, avec introduction et notes de Raymond Trousson) – J’ai choisi ce livre pour un projet d’école, et je ne l’ai pas entièrement lu.  Ma prof de français, l’ayant abandonné plus tôt, ne le remarquait pas.  Ce livre étant la première “uchronie,” autrement dit une utopie séparée de la réalité par le temps et non pas l’endroit, il est le précurseur des uchronies Orwelliennes et autres.  Pour un francophone, ceci pourrait être une lecture interessante.  (Added 2012/02/20.)

The Whisper of the River, Ferrol Sams, 1984 – Porter Osborne, Jr.’s coming of age in college during WWII in Georgia.  Wise bits alternate with poignant bits and bawdy bits, language not always safe for kids.  (Added 2012/02/25.)

Thank You for Smoking, Christopher Buckley, 1994 – A funny satire of politics and the tobacco industry, with the enduring mental image being Mr. Rogers’ skull.  Neither language nor contents safe for kids, but it boasts a pretty crazy plotline.  (Added 2012/02/25.)

Geheimnisvolles Nepal, Thomas Hale, 1986 (dt. 1989) – Ein Missionsarzt in Nepal berichtet über seine Erlebnisse in seiner abgelegenen Krankenstation.  (Added 2012/02/25.)

Rising Sun, Michael Crichton, 1992 – A murder mystery against a backdrop of Japanophobia, complete with the Yank-gone-native who can neatly explain and predict Japanese behavior and use that knowledge to solve the crime.  The narrative is fast-paced – it is Crichton, after all – but the alarmist tone about Japanese economic domination is a bit much, twenty years later.  I’d recommend this as a travel book, and as required reading before reading Buruma’s “The Missionary and the Libertine.“  (Added 2012/02/26.)

Junky, William S. Burroughs, 1953 – Burroughs writes his account of heroin addiction, a subject matter he knew first hand.  It’s well written, but doesn’t particularly intersect with my life.  (Added 2012/02/26.)

Red Storm Rising, Tom Clancy, 1986 – A thick, detailed, cold-war-turned-hot thriller from one of the masters of the genre.  I remember reading it in 1996, during lunch breaks at my temp job at the bank.  Exciting, but too thick to re-read.  (Added 2012/02/26.)

Games for the Superintelligent, James Fixx, 1972 – Many puzzles, all of the more creative sort than Sudoku and other tests of endurance.  (Added 2012/02/27.)

More Games for the Superintelligent, James Fixx, 1976 – The follow-up on the above book.  Most of these puzzles require more perseverance than I am willing to muster without coercion.  (Added 2012/02/27.)

How to Master the English Bible, James Gray, revised edition 2000 (S. Boutwell) – James Gray lays out his approach to internalizing the Bible in this short book, which if I remember correctly consists of reading individual books of the Bible straight through multiple times.  (Added 2012/02/27.)

God facts, Dick Williams, 1973 – Out of print, and not availabie on Amazon.  Published by the CPAS under their Falcon book imprint.  From the blurb on the back: “Author Dick Williams, writing in the same style as in God Thoughts [i.e. in free verse poetry], explores the facts of the Creed.  His form of expression should appeal to those still thinking their way through Christianity, as well as to those using it in private or group readings.”  (Added 2012/03/11.)

Am Gletscher, Halldór Laxness, 1968 (dt. 1989) – Eine skurrile, kauzige Geschichte eines jungen Mannes, der am Ende der Welt den seltsamen Geschehnissen um den dortigen Pfarrer als Bischofsgesandter nachgehen soll.  Wem verschrobene Charaktere und im Nährboden nordischer Mythologie verwurzelte, eigenwillige Erzählkunst liegen, kann mit diesem Buch einen Nobelpreisträger abhaken.  (Added 2012/03/11.)

Combat de fauves au crépuscule, Henri-Frédéric Blanc, 1990 – Un roman facile à lire, qui s’adonne habilement et avec suspense à  la réflexion sur l’isolement.  Charles Cuvelier, héros de la pub, se retrouve piégé – dans un ascenseur et par son habitude de manipuler par la parole.  “Certains étaient prêts à tout pour avoir l’air originaux, d’autres étaient capable du pire pour faire comme tout le monde.”  [Similar in its message to Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities," but shorter and more fun to read.] (Added 2012/03/11.)

Die Offenbarung in verborgenen Bildern, Patrick Asché, Ulrich Gall, Christian Kurzke, 1995 – Die in den 90ern populären 3D-Bilder, thematisch an die Apokalypse nach Johannes angelehnt.  (Added 2012/03/18.)

Living and Working in Switzerland (10th edition), David Hampshire, 2004 – Janet brought this along and the well-organized information therein certainly was a help in getting her bearings.  She has since graduated to the next level.  I personally regret the short description of the Swiss toward the end, but that’s not why you would want the book.  (Added 2012/03/18.)

Weltgeschichte vom Mittelalter bis zum Beginn des 18. Jahrhunderts, Karl Schib, Hans Hubschmid, 1987 – Unser Geschichtsbuch im Gym.  (Added 2012/03/18.)

The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu, ca. 1021 (this edition 1974) – One of the earliest novels, and a Japanese classic, here in an abridged translation by Kencho Suematsu.  For lovers of courtship, dalliances, and poetry.  (Added 2012/03/25.)

Das Parfum, Patrick Süskind, 1985 – Eine beliebte Gymlektüre, da kurzweilig und üppig und von animalischen Trieben handelnd.  Als Reise durch die Welt der Düfte ein literarisches Vergnügen, aber die ekelhafte Hauptfigur trübt den Genuss doch.  (Added 2012/03/25.)

Langenscheidts Taschenwörterbücher, I Englisch-Deutsch, II Deutsch-Englisch, 1929 – A dictionary of some philological and typographical interest due to dated vocabulary and everything but the English words being in Fraktur typeface.  (Added 2012/03/25.)

Xenophobe’s guide to the Americans, Stephanie Faul, 1994 (updated 2004) – From the back cover: “[A]n irrevent look at the beliefs and foibles of nations.”  The guides are often funny, often insightful, and thin and compact to boot.  Along with the guide to the Americans, we’re offering the Xenophobe’s guide to the Canadians (Vaughn Roste, 2002), the Xenophobe’s guide to the Japanese (Sahoko Kaji, Noriko Hama, Jonathan Rice, 1999/2002), and the Xenophobe’s guide to the Swiss (Paul Bilton, 1995/1998).  (Added 2012/04/01.)

The President’s Daughter, Jack Higgins, 1997 – Higgins doing what Higgins does: a fast-paced thriller that doesn’t leave you lots of time to worry about less-than-perfect prose or character development.  I may read it for fun while it waits for a new owner.  (Added 2012/04/01.)

The Sovereignty of God, Arthur W. Pink, 1930 (this edition 1984/1999) – A rigorous, unsparing book that looks both at God’s sovereignty and our position vis-à-vis this almighty creator.  Pink doesn’t soft-pedal truths, and some of his sayings may well offend (such as his vigorous insistence that God doesn’t love the sinner).  Not too easy a read for the subject matter alone, its style is a bit cumbrous too, but worth the effort.  (Added 2012/04/01.)

Die Eiswand, Yasushi Inoue, 1968 – Ein spannendes Buch über Freundschaft, Liebe, Tod, und das Bergsteigen.  (Added 2012/04/01.)

Fasnacht Liestal, HP. Meyer, 1993 – Ein reichbebilderter Band zur Geschichte der Liestaler Fasnacht.  Nicht auf Amazon erhältlich.  (Added 2012/04/09.)

Fabian, Erich Kästner, Neuauflage 1950 – Ein gesellschaftskritischer Roman Kästners, der mit den viel bekannteren Kindergeschichten wenig zu tun hat.  Kästner lässt die Hauptfigur den moralischen und politischen Zerfall der Gesellschaft zur Zeit der Weltwirtschaftskrise beobachten.  (Added 2012/04/09.)

Walden Two (Reissued), B.F. Skinner, 1976 (original work 1948) – Skinner‘s behavioralist utopia.  According to Skinner’s 1976 introduction, events and discoveries since 1948 have mostly proved him right.  We’re probably living his utopia to some degree, except that the people who have access to the behavior-shaping tools have no intention of giving them up.  (Added 2012/04/09.)

Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein, 1961 – It has the reputation of a classic, but I’m not sure it deserves it.  Heinlein starts with an interesting premise, which devolves into a preachy free love advocacy tome.  (Added 2012/04/14.)

Des questions à vos réponses (à propos du christianisme), Presses Bibliques Universitaires (8 auteurs différents), 1990 – Un livre apologétique avec une approche un peu différente: “Des réponses un forme de questions à partager avec celles et ceux qui sont sceptiques, mais aussi avec des croyants dont les certitudes inébranlables cachent parfois des doutes inavoués.”  (Added 2012/04/14.)

Latein für Angeber, Gerald Drews, 1991 – Eine lehrreiche Sammlung, die ich aber höchst selten verwende, weil mir die Zeit zum Angeben fehlt… (Added 2012/04/14.)