For Fun: Stocking A Library


Ironhold
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For fun - 

 

You're tasked with helping to stock a brand-new library that will be open to the public.

The usual items - an encyclopedia set, a dictionary, a thesaurus, local newspapers, holy books, and such - are already taken care of. 

What's the first book you order to put in there? 

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Honestly? How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Sure, it’s dismissed as self help and vapid, but it’s anything but. 
 

It does not take great insight to see that many adults are sad, angry and lonely, looking for meaningful relationships. I truly believe that if more people read that book it would give them the tools needed to go out and form meaningful friendships. 
 

It’s true that nothing will make everyone like you, and haters will always find reasons to hate. But this book can truly change your life for the better 

Edited by LDSGator
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3 hours ago, Ironhold said:

For fun - 

 

You're tasked with helping to stock a brand-new library that will be open to the public.

The usual items - an encyclopedia set, a dictionary, a thesaurus, local newspapers, holy books, and such - are already taken care of. 

What's the first book you order to put in there? 

The Book of Mormon…

 

… There, now that I got the required (yet true) answer of of the way…

Self Help: Atomic Habits 

Fiction: Ink Heart (followed by the rest of the series)

Edited by Fether
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1 hour ago, LDSGator said:

Honestly? How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Sure, it’s dismissed as self help and vapid, but it’s anything but. 
 

It does not take great insight to see that many adults are sad, angry and lonely, looking for meaningful relationships. I truly believe that if more people read that book it would give them the tools needed to go out and form meaningful friendships. 
 

It’s true that nothing will make everyone like you, and haters will always find reasons to hate. But this book can truly change your life for the better 

I read 1-2  “self help” and “vapid” books every month and they keep me feeling excellent and giving me energy to be an incredible husband, father, Saint, and provider. 70% of who I am today has come from those types of books.

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10 minutes ago, Fether said:

I read 1-2  “self help” and “vapid” books every month and they keep me feeling excellent and giving me energy to be an incredible husband, father, Saint, and provider. 70% of who I am today has come from those types of books.

Wonderful to hear. I don’t read many of them, in fact, I’ve only read a few in my life.
 

But I think the genre is incredibly over bashed. Usually by people who either lack the courage/strength/desire to change or are just ignorant of the genre. 

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Multiple copies of:

The Law - by Frederic Bastiat

The Richest Man in Babylon - by George S Clason 

The Economics of Poverty - by Alan B Batchelder

Values and Teaching - by Louis E. Raths, Merriall Marmin and Sidney B. Simon

 

Although these books were written many decades in the past (last two out of print) they are more applicable to today than when they were written.

 

The Traveler

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Interesting question.  Not the more common questions...

  • What is your favorite book?
  • What is the most important book?

Given your conditions of other books already included, what additional book would I add?  If I had only ONE choice:

https://www.amazon.com/Elbert-Hubbard-Treasury-Inspirations-Provocations/dp/153744025X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1J9VJZMQB2DTV&keywords=elbert+hubbard&qid=1641492463&sprefix=elbert+hubbard%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-3

***************************************************************************************************************************

But if I were put in charge of stocking the entire library, what LISTS of books would I include?

Two Required Reading List books for the required "classics" shelf: (Each of these contains many sub-lists, like the complete works of Shakespeare).

  • Great Books of the Western World
  • Harvard Classics
  • Thomas Jefferson Education reading lists (adult, youth, and children)

Common Educational books that are NOT common core compliant:

  • English (this should include essay writing with an emphasis on Elements of Style by Strunk and White.
  • Math (Basic stuff with the old-fashioned HOLT Math Curriculum from basic arithmetic to Calculus).
  • Physicsc Chemistry, and Biology (Up through 1st year College Technical Major)
    • I've found that non-technical majors have GE requirements that basically just re-hash what was learned in high school.
  • Economics (specifically anything by Sowell, Friedman, or Hayek)
  • What every XX Grader Should Know series of books.
  • Foreign language:  I've found the three-line Berlitz method to be the best for languages with the Roman Alphabet.  But the Barron's Diplomatic courses (with Audio) is better for languages with different alphabets).  Duo-Lingo & Rosetta Stone are fun for show.  But they don't go very far.

Self-Help Books

  • The writings of Elbert Hubbard
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People
  • 12 Rules for Life
  • The Seven Principles of Highly Effective People
  • The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work
  • The works of Tom Peters
  • And They Were Not Ashamed

Individual books that seem to be about money, but are really about all aspects of your life.

  • The Greatest Salesman in the World
  • Richest Man in Babylon
  • Think and Grow Rich
  • Total Money Makeover
  • Rich Dad, Poor Dad

My favorite books of all time (included several of the lists above):

  • The Count of Monte Cristo
  • Jane Eyre

Then the "Fun" books should also be there.  But that will vary from individual to individual.

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6 hours ago, Comp said:

I've never heard of it. What are some reasons you would you recommend it?

David O McKay had a VERY strong journaling habit and because of this we have a large amount of records of his day to day dealings and inner thoughts. He helped bring the church world wide and he was one of the Prophets alive during the civil rights movement. I’m sure there is more coming because it is like a 25 hour long audio book and I’m only 3 hours in.

So far it has shared David O McKays dealing with public slander from a family member, him eating rum cake and tell everyone to chill out, problems  Bruce R McConkie and Joseph Fielding Smith caused for the church, the birth of non-doctrinal teachings that still permeation in the church, some of the things the brethren were concerned with in their meetings, the racist views he held, and a statement from him where he says he has never seen Christ (which isn’t a big deal, but you don’t see much of)

It does an incredible job of painting a picture of what our leaders are like and how just like us they are. There are a ton members today that hold on to these unrealistic views that the Prophets are somehow ascended to a higher plain than us and speak with God face to face every day. I think everyone should read this book and stop mystifying the brethren  that lead us. Let’s follow them to the end, but don’t expect them to be something they are not.

Edited by Fether
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For the kids' section:

  • All the "Tim" books by Edward Ardizzone (plus any other books by Edward Ardizzone, especially "Johnny the Clockmaker" - it lacks the punch of the "Tim" books, but it's a nice bedtime read.)
  • "Green Smoke" by Rosemary Manning (Yes I know she was a lesbian, but I really don't care)
  • "Stig of the Dump" by Clive King (try to get one with Edward Ardizzone's illustrations)
  • All the "Pooh" books by A.A. Milne.
  • "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Graham (Make sure it has Ernest Shepherd's illustrations - though Arthur Rackham's are quite good too. Avoid editions illustrated by Paul Bransom. Bransom's artwork is *really* beautiful, but it does no justice to Graham's characters.)
  • Anything by Edith Nesbit, but especially "Nine Unlikely Tales" and "The Enchanted Castle".
Edited by Jamie123
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6 hours ago, Fether said:

does an incredible job of painting a picture of what our leaders are like and how just like us they are. There are a ton members today that hold on to these unrealistic views that the Prophets are somehow ascended to a higher plain than us and speak with God face to face every day. I think everyone should read this book and stop mystifying the brethren  that lead us. Let’s follow them to the end, but don’t expect them to be something they are not.

Perfect post.

The old joke goes like this-“The pope claims to be infallible but no Catholic believes it. The prophet says he is not infallible but no LDS believes it” 

 

For the record I think the prophets and leaders are great men, but they are humans like the rest of us. 

Edited by LDSGator
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4 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

For the kids' section:

  • All the "Tim" books by Edward Ardizzone (plus any other books by Edward Ardizzone, especially "Johnny the Clockmaker" - it lacks the punch of the "Tim" books, but it's a nice bedtime read.)
  • "Green Smoke" by Rosemary Manning (Yes I know she was a lesbian, but I really don't care)
  • "Stig of the Dump" by Clive King (try to get one with Edward Ardizzone's illustrations)
  • All the "Pooh" books by A.A. Milne.
  • "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Graham (Make sure it has Ernest Shepherd's illustrations - though Arthur Rackham's are quite good too. Avoid editions illustrated Paul Bransom. Bransom's artwork is *really* beautiful, but it does no justice to Graham's characters.)
  • Anything by Edith Nesbit, but especially "Nine Unlikely Tales" and "The Enchanted Castle".

Nice to see you back @Jamie123

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/11/2022 at 5:49 AM, Fether said:

David O McKay had a VERY strong journaling habit and because of this we have a large amount of records of his day to day dealings and inner thoughts. He helped bring the church world wide and he was one of the Prophets alive during the civil rights movement. I’m sure there is more coming because it is like a 25 hour long audio book and I’m only 3 hours in.

So far it has shared David O McKays dealing with public slander from a family member, him eating rum cake and tell everyone to chill out, problems  Bruce R McConkie and Joseph Fielding Smith caused for the church, the birth of non-doctrinal teachings that still permeation in the church, some of the things the brethren were concerned with in their meetings, the racist views he held, and a statement from him where he says he has never seen Christ (which isn’t a big deal, but you don’t see much of)

It does an incredible job of painting a picture of what our leaders are like and how just like us they are. There are a ton members today that hold on to these unrealistic views that the Prophets are somehow ascended to a higher plain than us and speak with God face to face every day. I think everyone should read this book and stop mystifying the brethren  that lead us. Let’s follow them to the end, but don’t expect them to be something they are not.

Thanks for sharing - sounds really interesting! I didn't know that there were journals and would love to get a glimpse into a prophet's thoughts. I bet it is especially interesting given the time frame he was prophet. Thanks for mentioning the book!

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  • 4 weeks later...

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