My Bookshelf
Whenever I go to other people's homes, I stare at their bookshelves looking for books that I have read and approved of; and anything that might give me a clue as to the owner's tastes, interests or personality.
It occurred to me recently, though, that my own bookshelf might not be a good reflection of who I am and what I like. Half of the novels have not been read yet and there are an awful lot of recipe books, but there are authors whom I admire that are not represented.
Why should this be?
Part of the answer is that while I love reading, I seldom buy books, favouring the public library or loans from friends. The only exception to this is the circumstance where due to bad planning I find myself at a train station or an airport without a storybook. Now, the kinds of books to read on a plane are not necessarily the same books that you would chose to collect, so some of these I keep and some of them I give away. The thing is, that the ones that I give away are usually the good ones ( 'How to be good' by Nick Hornby is the book that I have transiently owned the most copies of) so the less interesting stuff seems to accumlate and collect dust.
Small sidetrack: Other authors that are good to read while travelling are: JK Rowling, Agatha Christie, Jeffrey Archer; Joanne Harris; Trudi Canavan.
Apart from the recipe books (my strengths do not lie in the kitchen!), there also seem to be a disproportionate number of religious books. This is perhaps logical as for many years Christianity was an important part of my life and, despite a quite ruthless cleanout in 2003, it has been difficult to part with some of the more insightful or beautifully written books on the subject. Perhaps on some level, I think that I will return to them when the next phase of my development begins.
And finally. The bookshelf may not represent my literary taste, because the books that I re-read accumulate under my bed!
It occurred to me recently, though, that my own bookshelf might not be a good reflection of who I am and what I like. Half of the novels have not been read yet and there are an awful lot of recipe books, but there are authors whom I admire that are not represented.
Why should this be?
Part of the answer is that while I love reading, I seldom buy books, favouring the public library or loans from friends. The only exception to this is the circumstance where due to bad planning I find myself at a train station or an airport without a storybook. Now, the kinds of books to read on a plane are not necessarily the same books that you would chose to collect, so some of these I keep and some of them I give away. The thing is, that the ones that I give away are usually the good ones ( 'How to be good' by Nick Hornby is the book that I have transiently owned the most copies of) so the less interesting stuff seems to accumlate and collect dust.
Small sidetrack: Other authors that are good to read while travelling are: JK Rowling, Agatha Christie, Jeffrey Archer; Joanne Harris; Trudi Canavan.
Apart from the recipe books (my strengths do not lie in the kitchen!), there also seem to be a disproportionate number of religious books. This is perhaps logical as for many years Christianity was an important part of my life and, despite a quite ruthless cleanout in 2003, it has been difficult to part with some of the more insightful or beautifully written books on the subject. Perhaps on some level, I think that I will return to them when the next phase of my development begins.
And finally. The bookshelf may not represent my literary taste, because the books that I re-read accumulate under my bed!
posted by Bronwen Dekker at 10:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home