This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is Top Ten Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read. Goodreads informs me that I currently have more than 3700 books on my to-be-read list, and Rudi would probably tell you that’s only half the real number. But while some books I mark off and then forget about and others I intend to get around to, there are definitely a smaller subset that I should have gotten to by now. There are ten of those titles, all of which I own:

1. The Odyssey by Homer: Sure, we all know parts of it. But knowing parts and having read the whole thing are two different things.
2. Walden by Henry David Thoreau: Karen and I started reading this some number of years back, and while I’m pretty sure she actually finished, I kept falling asleep while reading it.
3. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler: A classic, which I’ve been meaning to read for ages. I think there’s a local bookshop doing a close reading of it this month. Maybe now is the moment.
4. Paradise by Toni Morrison: I had pretty much read everything Morrison had written when this came out, and then I just couldn’t get into it, although I can tell you the first line.
5. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver: I waited in line for ages to get this signed when it first came out.
6. Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune: I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea. Why have I dragged my feet?
7. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman: I enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, but haven’t pushed myself to wrap up the series.
8. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett: Karen gave me what is supposedly an utterly delightful book by an author I enjoy several years back and it sits on my shelf singing to me.
9. The Tempest by Shakespeare: While not the only play of his I haven’t read, it’s probably the best known — and it prompted a whole season of The Librarians.
10. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo: I nominated this for an award (which, I’m pretty sure it won), without having read it. Oops.

How about you? What books are you surprised you’ve never read (and are they currently sitting on your shelves)?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My parents’ cats and our cats, all such characters (Coal is lying asleep on his back in the middle of the living room rug, legs all tucked up, as I write this, inviting me to hurry up and rub his belly…)

2. Lunch and a rainy walk with Karen

3. I ran into some of my middle-schoolers when I stopped by their school this week, and they invited me to their 8th-grade graduation.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Flowers on the pea vines and a couple ripe strawberries from my garden plot

2. Supper out with Jason

3. Jessica and Misty, whose jobs have kept them away, back in the fold for summer volleyball

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. We had a big rainstorm Wednesday night. It wasn’t enough to put a dent in the drought, but with still no water on at the garden, the 1/4–1/2″ of rain makes a huge difference to the plants in the ground. And it helps tamp down the dust for outdoor volleyball.

2. Nearly everyone on the team has signed up for this next season of volleyball. It sometimes requires cajoling and multiple messages to get a few of our friends registered in time, but it’s worth it knowing we’ll get to spend time together this summer. Plus, it makes it less stressful for me knowing our roster is deep when people call out for a game.

3. The Mets swept their series against the Tigers this week, and their young 20-something outfielders had a very good showing (including the one making his major league debut). We caught part of two of the games on tv and are excited to see them play in person next week.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My team’s schedule has gotten harder as the season progressed, with our final three games against the best teams in the league. We lost the last two weeks in nail biters, and there was a distinct chance that if we failed again we wouldn’t advance to the playoffs. So, we didn’t. We scored point after point, slowly surprising the undefeated #1 team and ultimately beating them in straight sets. It’s not to say we didn’t make mistakes; we all absolutely did. But we also pulled off great plays, covered where we should have, and stayed out of our heads when things didn’t go our way. It’s been a while since we’ve had a magical game like that, where we were wholly in synch, and it truly felt amazing.

2. Sunday afternoon, I took myself up to the annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. As per usual, I arrived a little later than I would have liked, but still had a couple hours to eat a funnel cake; watch a sheepdog demonstration; admire sheep; wander past every vendor; and buy sparkly yarn, honey, and plants for the garden.

3. Rudi and I had tickets to this afternoon’s baseball game and the Nats ended the day victorious. The weather turned out to be perfect, a former team favorite since traded away (Josh Bell) had a hit for the other side, and our team played a good game of baseball across all nine innings.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Saturday volleyball resumes in earnest, and old faces stop by to celebrate.

2. My team heads out to dinner after a well-fought loss. It’s so good to gather together around a table.

3. The old garden manager and I finally get a call together where he tells me that it won’t be possible to add me to our old bank account after all and that I’ll need to open a new one. It has long been leaning in that direction, and it’s nice to finally have a concrete answer, even if it means more work for me.