Bookshelves, yours, mine, ours?
Whenever I visit someone’s house for the first time, I try to sneak a peek at their bookshelves. It’s amazing what you can tell about a person from their books. Take my old roommate, for example; she had a small collection of Christian lit. and YA novels. Just by glancing at her shelf, I knew that she was religious and liked to occasionally read for fun. I’m sure I’m not the only person who plays this game. It’s like puzzle, and each book is a clue about someone’s interests and personality. This is also a great way to spark conversations with your new acquaintance. (“Oh, you’ve read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child? Is it worth the hype?)
Recently, I started to wonder what my books said about me. If someone glanced at my bookcase, what kind of person would they think I am? As a little experiment, I tracked down all the books I’m currently reading (I have a horrible habit of reading four or five at a time) and put them in a pile. Here’s what I’ve got: Christopher McDougall’s Natural Born Heroes (World War II history book about the Cretan resistance), Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave (fantasy novel about young Merlin), Herodotus’ The Histories (classic account of the Persian wars), Louis L’Amour’s Education of a Wandering Man (memoir of a prolific Western-fiction author), and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones (collection of essays about the writing life).
So, what do these books say about me? I honestly have no idea. They only have two things in common: they’re all books, and I’m reading them. Other than that, they’re completely random, with no unifying themes, subjects, or genres. Would someone looking at this stack think I was well-rounded, or just nuts? I’ll compromise and say I’m generally curious and a tad eccentric in my reading life.
This has been an interesting little exercise. I’d encourage you to take a look at your own collection and see what it says about you. You might be surprised.
Permission given to reblog. Thank you to Wisdom House Books by Anna Dallara.
Oh, that’s interesting! I do that too. When you don’t know the person, it can tell you so much about them. My former roommate had books on solving conflicts, I should have taken that has a hint. ^^; She had, indeed, no natural ability to avoid conflicts.
Somebody looking at my bookshelves could probably tell many things: I’m disorganized (though that much is obvious from the entrance), I LOVE reading, I’m a knowledge hoarder (*cough* nerd), I speak several languages, I like Buddhism, and I’m a writer. Actually, you can tell all that just from the books on an around my nightstand. And that only the most obvious; Sherlock could probably come up with a detailed analysis of my personality.
I think bookworms as a rule will read several books at the same time. I mean: there’s the literature book, the light read, the textbook, the book on personal growth, the other nonfiction book, the impulse flash-read (book you start on an impulse even though you’ve already started another book in the same category and finish within a week or less depending on length), etc. XD
From your 5 books, I understand that you like history, you’re interested in other cultures, you’re a writer and you love reading and literature. You might enjoy psychology and philosophy. ^_^
Ida, thank you. Sorry I was late in responding, but comments very often elude me, I have to go searching. I enjoyed your response. That’s a good description, ‘I’m a knowledge hoarder.’ Yes, I understand. I do like history, and as an interior designer, architectural consultant, artist, professor, writer, you can only imagine my 2000 book library, part of which is a Library of Congress for my students to have uses. I have begun donating to my local library. A unique library indeed, built in the 19th century, and they have amazing collections. Every year they run book sales to raise money for their operating expenses. Folks know they will find book treasures.I am a writer, but have very little time to read. I have to squeeze the reading in, just like the writing. Thanks again!