new shelves!

A while ago I said to my husband, why don't we put shelves behind the bed? where there's empty space between the headboard that leans back, and the air duct that juts out. I looked for a long time and couldn't find any ready-made bookcase that would fit at just 9" deep. So he finally built some for me:

I held things up, moved cords for the drill around, painted. Took us about two days. Then spent a few hours rearranging my library to make use of it! Which was the fun part. These are all TBR books. First row in:

and the rest:

(And it's only half-I have eight other shelves of TBR). Happily this got them all off the floor, and allowed me to rearrange the permanent books so none are double-stacked or horizontally wedged in. As you can see in before and after pics below, of another wall in my bedroom. The stack on the floor in the corner is mostly books I read since the pandemic started. I had no place left to shelve them into the permanent collection.

Now there's space and then some! It's so nice they all have a bit of breathing room too.

new to me books-

What's a birthday, without a few new books? I placed an order mid-October with Powell's, and the last of them finally arrived today. I'm just delighted. Thank you to my husband, my parents and my in-laws who all enabled this little splurge!

a small splurge-

I miss the library. My kids do, too. Third-grader is bemoaning the fact that she's read all the books on her shelves and has nothing new (this is true). Well, except the Magic Treehouse series. She tried a few, didn't really care for them. So I put them up on the book swapping site I belong to, and let her pick some titles for herself. Half a dozen on the way now!

Then I decided to support an independent used bookstore, and made an online purchase. I looked for titles by some of my favorite authors that I've been wanting to try (most of which are not available at the library anyway). Did the same on the swapping site. Here's all those:

Discovered a fellow member with very similar taste in reading material. Who was offering two-for-one on the paperbacks. So I also chose a ton of unknowns, just for the heck of it. (I have lots of points on that site to use up). In the mood for juvenile fiction, so ended up with this lot, which came today:

Finally, picked these out for my kid. I might read some of them, too! She just got a new book for her birthday, so has something to read now. A family member gave her a gift card and guess what, she used it to order a book by her favorite author- however it's not out in print until July. Now she has more books while waiting for the one she really wants (seventh in the Upside-Down Magic series).

Of course, I'll always let her borrow age-appropriate books from my shelves, but she's not quite as keen on animal stories as I am . . .

shelf glimpse

A peek at one of my TBR shelves, although the focus when I took the photo was a plant (this was on my garden blog).

Some time ago I rearranged all my TBR shelves (there's twelve now, with three additional stacks on the floor). Mostly by subject- so if I was in the mood for fiction, fantasy, a memoir or natural history, it would be easy to find something. But I also shelved all the books I've heard about from other bloggers, and those already on my written TBR from other sources, together. Figured it would give me some motivation to read ones I can cross off an actual list. This selection comprises four shelves out of the twelve. Sadly, I keep looking at them but have not felt like picking any up yet. Still working my way through stacks of Audubon and Defenders of Wildlife. Tried to read more of Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell last night, made it through only three pages.

my other reading

Like many of you, I thought I was going to make a large dent in my TBR shelves these weeks, but have found it difficult to maintain focus and enjoy books. Instead I've been reading periodicals.

Three of these we have regular subscriptions to- National Geographic, Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Amazonas. The rest I got free once off CL- two large cloth shopping bags full. I gladly took it because most were exactly the subject matter I enjoy- environment and nature. Audubon, World Wildlife, Nature Conservancy, National Parks, Sierra, Defenders of Wildlife and more. The stack of them all on my bedroom floor is literally more than a foot high. I assumed when I picked these up it would take me years to get through them all- dipping in here and there, between regular books. Now it's kind of my mainstay. For how long I don't know.

They're all relatively recent- I think the oldest issue is from 2016- and it's nice that a lot of them have stories about positive change and progress. Monarch butterfly numbers on the rise. Wolves and cougars repopulating into new areas of the country. Land set aside for wildlife, species protected, operations harming ecosystems altered or shut down. Of course a lot is about things that need to be done, raising alarm for problems around the world. But I am glad to read the positive stories- people do care, and a lot of good is happening out there.

happy new year

I was travelling over the holidays. It wasn't intended to be a bookish trip (aside from the fact that I finally got through some books on my e-reader). We had quite a few flights and I didn't want to haul books around, plus I didn't anticipate finding many English books in the Spanish- and Dutch-speaking countries we visited (or at least, slim chance that among the small English selection there'd be anything I actually wanted). But in spite of that I brought two home:

The first is a YA (or J Fic?) graphic novel El Zoo Petrificado by Joris Chamblain (The Petrified Zoo). Turns out the original isn't Spanish but French, so this is already a translation. I looked it up when I got home and there doesn't seem to be an English version yet. We were in a small newstand/gift shop in a main bus station on Gran Canaria, killing some time and making a purchase to get change for the bus. Picked out a few items for the kids as souvenirs, and this book kept catching my eye. I thumbed through it in the shop- it appears to be about some kids who together with an old man start painting animals on the walls of a derelict zoo- and then I don't know what happens. I was really intrigued by the artwork and apparent subject matter, and I thought I just might be able to understand enough of it to enjoy it rather than struggle at translating every other word, since it's written for youth. We'll see! If I do manage to read it, this will be the first foreign-language book featured on my blog.

The second book has quite another story. On our last day abroad we stayed in a nice but very futuristic-feeling airport hotel, Citizen M. It had lots of large, open areas set up like living room spaces, to relax or eat in. With tons of floor-to ceiling shelves full of fake plants, classy bric-a-brac and books. It looked like someone just bought a ton of unwanted, cheap books secondhand to fill these shelves and make it look homey. But book nerd that I am, I actually scanned the titles while eating, and found this one by Peter Dickinson that caught my interest because it has similar subject matter to another book I'm reading right now (Elegy Beach by Peter S. Beagle); in both stories the alteration of the world is called The Change. I like the illustrations, too (but the cover image is pretty awful).

I read the first few chapters while my husband watched the news, and then approached a staff member on the way back to our room. I asked if the books were decorative only, or if I could read this one? He shrugged: Oh, sure, you may keep it for yourself. He probably thought it was funny or odd I wanted this old, juvenile apocalyptic fiction. But I was tickled pink.

Here's another foreign book I've newly acquired. This one is a gift I received in the mail, from the Netherlands. One of my vector artworks is being used by a village association in Westenschouwen to represent their legend of a mermaid. My drawing was included in their book of the village history, and they sent me a copy of it! I've asked my husband to read and translate it to me a bit at a time- so far we've gotten through the introduction (he is fluent in Dutch, whereas I know about four words). I have written more about it over here, on my art blog.

Not to be outdone, my husband also picked up a new book while we were at a museum in Galdar. There was a countertop next to the lockers with a row of books and a notice about Book Crossing! None were in English, but my husband happily picked out a German crime/thriller, and left in its place a Dutch paperback he'd finished reading earlier on the plane.

On a different note, I was disappointed to find I can't do book splurges from Loudoun County surplus anymore. There was a little storefront just outside of town where unwanted stuff from government offices was sold off. Including tons of books weeded out of school libraries. I used to go there once every other year or so, and I could fill up three or four boxes of books for what amounted to thirty dollars- it ended up being less than twenty cents a book. I hadn't been in a long time (since I got so much from The Book Thing recently, and a large regional library sale earlier in the year). I was looking forward to taking my older daughter this vacation week. But it's now closed. They now only conduct online auctions, and unfortunately I don't want to buy huge lots of books unseen. I'm not in the business anymore of selling off used ones on Amzn (tried that already, didn't work out for me). Well, I guess it's better to not overdo it on the used books anyhow. There are two tall piles in my bedroom already since I ran out of shelf space, and I need to work at getting the floor cleared again!

book piles and thoughts

It was my birthday last week. I found, to my delight, that the Book Thing of Baltimore had just reopened (they were closed for a year due to a fire). It is basically a free book exchange. The place holds over 200,000 donated books. I asked my husband if for my birthday treat, we could stop there (for several hours) on the way to visit family. He obliged- and I wasn't the only one who got books! We donated, too- my kids and I all cleared some space off our shelves. We gave the Book Thing three boxes full of books, and brought home five in return. My six-year-old picked out nine books (in good taste- some Little Critter, a few Golden Books and a picture book about collie puppies that I remember fondly from long ago), my teenager got about fifteen (YA fiction and some cookbooks- she's honing her skills), my husband found just over twenty- mostly on history and languages. I combed all my favorite sections: sci fi/fantasy, general fiction, travel, classics, biographies, gardening, biology, animals/nature, women's studies, anthropology and staff picks. Here's my glorious haul. I don't at all feel bad for adding so many piles to the floor in front of my TBR bookcase- it will probably be a year or more before we visit that place again.

The first two in this stack I have actually read, and been on the lookout to add to my collection. The rest, I am familiar with the authors so eager to try more of their work:

These are ones I instantly recognized because they're on my listed TBR:

A few oversize/ photography heavy books:

The ones I got just because they looked interesting:

and a few possible oops- I already had a copy of Thirteen Moons- promptly sent this one out in the mail thru Paperback Swap when we got home. I know I have tried Mary Renault several times and not really enjoyed it... and I am pretty sure I once had a copy of Wild Animus, tried it and discarded onto the swap shelf. I guess the cover blurb caught my eye for the same reason again!

The book love didn't stop there. I received a few gift cards- one for Powell's! -and after getting a few items for my aquarium, I mostly used the rest to round out my collection of Gerald Durrell. The first one arrived today- Ark on the Move (with photos!) Thumbing through it I fear I made a mistake: it has chapters about pink piegons and bats, so I think this is another case where one of his books was published under two different titles. I've also ordered Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons- and I bet it's the same text. Will have to make a few returns... I wish I could find a list somewhere of his titles pointing out which have alternative titles.

While I was updating my LThing catalog today, I took the time to add in all the titles I have on my e-reader. I didn't realize so many. One hundred. I've only read seventeen of them! It feels odd to put them in my catalog. Do you count e-books, when you're tallying up your books? They feel intangible: I often think- if my device suddenly quit working, or got lost or destroyed -all those books gone in an instant (I should copy all the files to my computer as backup). And yet there's a plus to that: if there were a fire, and I wasn't preoccupied with getting my kids safe out of the house, I'd probably grab my sketchbooks and the e-reader. It would only save a fraction of my library, but it would be something. There's so much unread stuff on it because I tend to forget they're there. Upcoming travels, it will finally see some use again.

book splurge

Yesterday the library branch next town over had its annual sale. The two branches closer to me raised their prices the last sale I went to, but this one still had hardbacks at $2 and softcovers $1 each. I don't mind spending when it supports the library! Here's my haul, with a few notes:

I've still got a mild fascination with sailing and fishing operations. Thus Fishdecks. Nature Wars is about how urban sprawl is mixing with wildlife that adjusts to human presence -kind of like that book that called them 'weed animals' I'm thinking, only a lot more current. I'm finding that the more gardening I do, the less instructional and encyclopedic books appeal to me, but gardening narratives sure do. Those in this stack appear to be more of the narrative type, except for Success with House Plants. It just looked so thorough I couldn't pass it up, and the pictures are very clear. Ditto with the aquarium fish book. I probably don't need another bonsai book, I haven't even read or applied the use of the ones I already have, but this one was very attractive. The horse book here looks a bit dated (especially in quality of photographs) but it seems to be full of stories illustrating the various points, so I thought it might be good. I'm gradually adding to my Calvin and Hobbes collection. But I haven't paid attention to which of the volumes are compilations of several others, so I probably have a duplicate or two.

These I all got just because they looked interesting. The Wild Truth is about Chris McCandless, told by his sister. I wasn't aware that she'd written a book! A Wayside Tavern is a duplicate- oops. I have another copy of that one picked up at the last sale. Caught my eye for the same reasons... I have not yet read any James Fenimore Cooper so here's a go with The Deerslayer. I just looked it up- it was the last book he wrote of his series, but it's a prequel to all the others- so probably a good one to start with! Alien Animals looks interesting, although another old, dated book- about introduced wildlife in various areas of the world and the problems they cause. Unicorn Mountain is an older fantasy novel about unicorns that are discovered living near a ranch and someone wants to get footage for a wildlife tv program but then they find out the unicorns have a disease so should they intervene? I like the straightforward-sounding approach to unicorns (the story doesn't appear to have magical elements). Backyard Giants is about competitions to grow the biggest pumpkin. Castaway appears to be about some guys who deliberately lived on an island to see how they could survive there- reminded me of Thor Heyerdahl's books when I thumbed through it- due to the writing style and age of the photos.

And these titles caught my eye because I've seen them on your blogs and they are probably all on my TBR lists here somewhere. I'm reading One Thousand White Women right now. It will be interesting to come back here in a few months (or years, who am I kidding) to see how my actual reading of these compares to the initial impressions that made me pick them up.

I also got a few knitting books for my twelve-year-old.

the DARE

So I'm participating in James' (supposedly) final TBR Triple Dog Dare. I just forgot to post an announcement because I've been busy. The Dare basically means from now to April first I will only read books off my TBR shelves. With one exception- this short stack of library books I checked out earlier last month. Most of these titles were on my TBR lists, so they count too I think. But the main goal is to actually get through more of those books that have been patiently sitting on my shelves for so long...

Let's see how it goes!

TBR management- and The Dare!!

I saw this meme on So Many Books and thought to do it too, then got distracted (lots of work right now) until James' posting about the TBR Dare reminded me. So here we go.

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?
It used to be a handwritten thing that I jotted titles down on, and then often forgot about. The handwritten part got shuffled onto this list -as much of it as I could find. Then at some point I started making regular postings whenever I added a slew of titles to the TBR. It's not organized in the same way- the TBR page list I just delete titles when I finally read them, but with the postings I go back and link the title in the post to the current review of that book. I try to keep things sorted which books are in in my library's system and I can methodically look for with a good hope of actually reading them. Books that aren't at the library I just hope to come across someday when hunting at used sales or secondhand shops...

And then there's Library Thing. I do have a tag in my catalog for unread books. I use it to get a count every now and then. Or to quickly look up a title and see if it's a book I already own.

Is your TBR mostly print or e-book?
Well I thought it was mostly print. But I just looked and realized I have 67 unread books on my e-reader that I got from Project Gutenberg. One day I discovered this has a lot of older, out-of-print titles that interest me and I got all excited about it. I should look for more! But I only tend to read on the device when I'm travelling, so I have no idea when I'll get around to these...

How do you determine which books from your TBR to read next?
It varies. Sometimes I deliberately look for a book on my shelf related to a subject interesting me at the moment, or that another book or reader has reminded me of. Sometimes when I'm at the library with my kids I'll pop over to my favorite section (dewey decimals 570-590!) and look to see if I recognize anything on the shelf from my TBR list. And sometimes I just stand in front of the bookcase at home and pick something at random. Speaking of which, here they are:

Yes, I do still have piles on the floor. But I'm hoping that eventually I'll clear enough unwanted books out that everything will fit on the actual shelves again.

A book that has been on my TBR the longest?
List or physical? There are probably titles on that TBR page in the navbar that I jotted down on notepaper up to ten years ago, but I don't know which ones they are. According to my Library Thing catalog, there are only three unread books that have been on my shelf since 2007: The Wonder of Birds, Walden (which I've tried and failed to get through twice so far) and Famous American Illustrators- a reference book I acquired for a class in art school and hung on to.  I might have missed a few though; every now and then I read a book and when I go to update the LThing listing it simply isn't in there.

A book you recently added to your TBR?
Well, for the list it would be Leaf by Daishu Ma or Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman, which I've just tagged in my feed reader but haven't yet put in a TBR post. Also The End of the Game by Peter Beard, I just got this one from Paperback Swap in the mail today and I'm really excited about it!

A book on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover?
Hm. Lots of books are on my shelf because they were very cheap secondhand, and just caught my eye. I guess a good example is Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanora Bennett. I don't know anything about this book, but the cover image certainly is striking. It has a sleeve over the cover that wraps all the way around

the front image without the sleeve wrapping is this:

I think it's about a painter, and a woman who sat for a portrait. Definitely intriguing!

A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading?
This would only be reference books, and they're not on my list, just shelved. I have a Healthwise Handbook which I dip into now and then for a quick answer. I have plenty of cookbooks I might never use (not even in my LThing catalog). I have a book on making your own custom picture frames from back in the days when I was painting, but I never used that one either.

An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for?
Can't tell you. I don't usually keep track of what's up-and-coming. I do add such titles to my list when they catch my attention from others' blog posts, but I don't remember which ones they are.

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you?
I have Frost Dancers by Garry Kilworth on my e-reader because a fellow blogger not only recommended it when she found out I'd read the author's book about foxes, but she sent me the file! That was great. I can't really think of a title that's been recommended to me by lots of folks.

A book on your TBR that everyone has read but you?
I can't think of one right now. The books I like to read aren't of a very popular genre (nature writing and animals) so ...

A book on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
The End of the Game which I just got. It has awesome photographs and I just found out from the flyleaf that the author was Karen Blixen's neighbor and published some of Kamante's pictures in this book too!

How many books are on your TBR shelf?
Current best count is 153. Well, if I add on the e-books it's really 220. That's less than it has been in years. Mostly thanks to The TBR Dare! Which I am going to participate in one last time (if it really is the last).

Go on over to James' site and read about it.

this is what 926 books look like

all piled up in one room, waiting for shelving to be installed.

There's another few dozen TBR books under the bed as well

this stack next to my smaller aquarium

and my regular TBR shelf that's full of clutter because I don't have things all organized and put away yet. Oh, and the count is off- some more books here on the floor in front of little shelf that my father-in-law gave me (unfortunately I won't be keeping most of them- half are of a genre I don't usually read, and the other half books I know I love- because I already own copies of them!)

And last of all, the book I'm currently reading. It's taking me a long time to get through this one, but what a fantastic read!

another Dare completed

Yesterday was the end of the TBR Double Dog Dare! hosted yearly by C.B. James.

If I count up how many book posts I've done since the Dare started, I read 22 books and abandoned one. There were a lot more I shuffled onto the discard pile, where I sampled twenty pages or so and then just realized I didn't want to continue, and the book didn't merit a post- I didn't get far enough into it to say much about it. My "unread" tag on LibraryThing now has 174 books remaining (down from 190-something three months ago), I don't have exact numbers because several times lately when going to mark a book off the unread list I realized it wasn't on there to begin with. I usually try to put books into the catalog when they come into my house, but I've missed some.

My TBR shelves are now down to eight and a half- it feels a lot more tidy and manageable. I no longer have stacks of unread books on the floor (except for one of cookbooks) or across the tops of shelves. Feels like I'm getting somewhere!

I only brought a few new books in during the Dare- one about an elephant that I won from Wolfshowl, and a lovely illustrated version of Pinocchio I just found at an antique store yesterday. I had one little lapse early on in the Dare, when I came home after a long day with a bag full of books a friend had given me for the kids. Including a cute little series about a hamster, and I sat down and read the first one on the spot. Then realized I broke the Dare! I've since held off reading the rest of the Freddy books... So I didn't really stick to it 100%. But I feel like I accomplished a lot on the TBR pile, and that's something.

ugh again

One glimpse of a pest will put me into a frenzy of cleaning. I saw this again- just one, scurrying away from the door, but twice as big as the few I saw last year (and never again since, until now). Prompted me to spend hours today super-cleaning the front part of my apartment- doing things I usually neglect- like moving furniture and using the nozzle attachment to get into all the little crevices where walls meet the floor, emptying my front hall closet to thoroughly sweep the floor (discovering that my kids have too many shoes. My three year old has more shoes than I do!) And, of course, I went through all the bookshelves. Removing books, dusting, fanning the pages, flipping the shelves, replacing. Again and again. Looking for signs of silverfish- sprinkles of their droppings, white dust of shed skins and most of all, chewed-on pages. Examined very closely my older, used books some already yellowed pages and tattered edges. Thankfully no signs of insect damage. So wherever those things come from, at least they haven't found my little library yet. But of course going through all the books makes me treasure them again. And this time I had an eye to what my daughter might like to read.

She's about to turn ten, and reads at a sixth or seventh-grade level. I used to have a lower shelf with some books sorted on it just for her selection, but she seems bored with that. I've found that she doesn't much like the animal stories that enthralled me as a kid, so I will probably never get her interested in Black Beauty or The Yearling. She likes stories with magic or mystery in them, and also historical fiction- she read a ton of the Magic Treehouse series and the older Nancy Drew books a while back. She loves Harry Potter, has seen all the movies many times, but so far only read one book of that series! So I've tagged a bunch of books off my shelves, to suggest and hope she'll read them. I'd love for her to love the books I've loved!

Half Magic by Edward Eager
Socks by Beverly Cleary
Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassidy
The Secret Garden by Frances H. Burnett
A Little Princess by Frances H. Burnett
the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Fox Farm by Eileen Dunlop
Summer Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
the Kitchen Madonna by Rumer Godden
Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
A Wizard of Earthsea (and its sequels) by Ursula K. LeGuin
A Wrinkle in Time (plus sequels) by Madeline L'Engle
A Book Dragon by Don Kushner
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
all the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling
the Iceberg Hermit by Arthur Roth
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
the Changeling by Zilpha Keatly Snyder
the Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatly Snyder
Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
the Neverending Story by Michael Ende
the Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Dragonsong (and its sequels) by Anne McCaffrey
Amy's Eyes by Richard Kennedy
the War Between the Pitiful Teachers and the Splendid Kids by Stanley Kiesel

Yeah, lots of those are classics or animal stories- but one can always hope!
I've got another selection for a little further on, when she's a bit older (some are more complex and I'd think she'd get bored- others the content is a just more mature).

the Lastborn of Elvinwood by Linda Haldeman
Thursday's Children by Rumer Godden
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
the Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
the Fur Person by May Sarton
Ratha's Creature (and all sequels) by Clare Bell
Bright Candles by Nathaniel Benchley
Light a Single Candle by Beverly Butler
Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser
Sabriel (and sequels) by Garth Nix
the Mimosa Tree by Vera and Bill Cleaver
the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
Saturday the Twelfth of October by Norma Fox Mazer
Izzy Willy Nilly by Cynthia Voigt
A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt
Nightpool by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
the Ivory Lyre by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
House of Stairs by William Sleator
Interstellar Pig by William Sleator

(what do you think of my picks?)

I've made a little system, quite simple. I put a paper strip in the selected books, sticking out, with the title written on it. When my kid wants to read a book, she can just give me the slip of paper and then I know which one she's borrowed. I think she likes the idea that she gets to "check out" books from mom's library, ones earmarked especially for her.

The little one is growing into a reader too:

long-term goals

I have, for many years now, been slowly working through several goals in relation to my reading. The foremost of course are to read all the books that I own, read most of the books on my written TBR list, and to write about all the books I can remember having read. This last I've been slowly making progress on- I have a few compiled lists from the years before I began blogging, and whenever I write a past reads posts, it catches up some on that.

But I've been thinking lately about yet another goal.

I would like to take one year, and only read books off my permanent shelf. I wonder if I could make it through them all- it would be about seven hundred books, far beyond the usual amount I read in a year- but then, they would all be re-reads, so maybe I'd go through them faster. I think much of it would be enjoyable, delightful in fact, as I've kept these books because I loved them. But I'm also afraid at meeting some serious disappointments- many I have not read in a decade or more, they might not stand up to a re-read. Especially those I haven't read since my childhood, or teen years.

So... am I crazy? I'm wondering if I'll ever do this at all. But definitely feel the need to meet one of my other goals first. Getting through all the books on the TBR shelves, at the very least.

diving into the Dare

A new year, and the Dare is underway. I'm participating for the fourth time. Last year I manage to stick to it all the way to April, and read thirteen books off my shelves. In 2012 I cleared seventeen books. 2011 was siderailed by the urge to read pregnancy books, so I only did the Dare for one month. I'm planning to go all the way again this year, although I still have a handful of fish books from the library in my house. But they came in before the year rolled over, so that's fine. Here's what's on the reading menu this year!

This is my main TBR shelf, plus that stack on the floor to the side.

I also have this small bookcase, the bottom shelf holds a lot of coffe-table nature books, mostly National Geographic ones and books featuring some national parks.

There's also a lot of large books full of nice big photographs on this shelf that I haven't read yet, most of them about animals.

And we can't forget the addition of some fishie books that were recently given to me!

That's a total (if my LibraryThing tally is accurate) of 244 books I have available to read off my own shelves. Let's see how big of a dent I can make this time.

the dim and far away future

Have you ever wondered what will happen to your personal book collection when you die?

Not that I expect this to occur any time soon, but sometimes I think about it. I picture myself decades from now, an old lady in a little house or nursing home all alone yet not too lonely as I am content to be surrounded by my books and have ample time to reread them all!

And then I wonder where they will go after me... I would of course leave them to my daughter, who's becoming an avid bookworm in her own right, but she's not really interested in the animal books so she might not really want them all. I wonder if a library might take the collection but I know the actual fate of most books donated to libraries: they end up in the annual library sale and if not purchased, get recycled. Very rarely do they get into circulation for library patrons. (All you librarians out there correct me if I'm wrong!)

Sometimes I fantasize a dreadful future where the wildlife has all gone extinct, but my odd collection of animal reference books will be valued for its subject matter. But of course, any public library has a more extensive collection than mine about the same, so why would my books be special? ha ha

I just hope wherever they do go someday, they would continue to be appreciated!

threat averted (I hope)

I recently spent half a morning involved in a serious cleaning operation and inspecting the bookshelves thoroughly, taking out each volume to fan its pages and dusting around, atop and behind all the books.

Because I found this nasty little critter:

photo credit: Pjbryant

Three of them, actually. Scurrying up the wall. Silverfish. They EAT BOOKS. Also cotton, starch, flour, etc. Multiply like crazy. Hard to get rid of once you have a serious infestation.

It's in my small office room that I've seen them. My office doesn't house a lot of books; there's just a handful of reference books in there but also all my sketchbooks, which I hold dear. And I don't want my documents getting destroyed either. The strange thing is that I've seen the silverfish near the file cabinet, but carefully went through all the drawers and see no damage to any paper. Nor is there any dampness there, which also attracts the pests. (I have been very careful to keep my books away from dampness, as I have a horror of mold). I am hoping they are just scouting from an adjacent apartment, and haven't actually set up house in my walls or corners, yet.

I've called the management to send in pest control, before this gets out of hand. I was horrified when I first saw an insect run up the wall; I thought it was a roach and I detest those things. I was perhaps even more horrified when I realized it was a silverfish and could easily destroy my entire library. My boyfriend joked about it, saying "they like to eat books? Well, they've come to the right place!" but I didn't think that was funny at all. Especially concerning as I have plenty of older books acquired from used shops, with yellowed, weary pages (tempting to pests). It did spur me on to dust everything very thoroughly.  So I went through all the bookcases in the other room methodically (do you know how tiring it is to move 897 books? -current count- even if just lifting a few at a time off the shelves and then putting them back?) The good thing is that I found no signs of damage there (thank god).

Strangely it was nice to go through all the books, even for such an alarming reason. I paused over many, turning a few pages, remember why I enjoyed them so, wonder when I'll get to visit them personally again. I keep thinking it would be nice to only reread my favorites off my own shelves, for a whole year. I wonder how many I would get through... If anything it was even more pleasant to look through all the TBR shelves, suddenly struck again by my interest in all these books and hoping to get to them sooner now, rather than later.

I did a bit of shuffling too, moving a few to another shelf and removing two volumes altogether, which made enough space to properly shelve upright the handful that had been sitting horizontally across the tops of other books. I've heard that it isn't good to cram your books in tightly wedged together, they need room to breathe a little bit. But I'm guilty of crowding them in, and actually wedge them close on the bottom shelves on purpose to deter my toddler from pulling them off the shelves!

I gave my older daughter a complete set of the Chronicles of Narnia. It has all seven books bound together in one fat volume. With the original illustrations by Pauline Baynes. I happen to have all seven books individual as well, ones that I sought out at used sales as a kid until I had collected them all. Don't really need the redundancy and my daughter was thrilled to have it for her own!

What about you? Do you squeeze your books in as tight as they can go? Have you ever come across critters that threaten your library? I seriously hope this is the last I see of them!

stacks of books and a red rubber pony

Because I know you like to look at books. Or you wouldn't be here, right? And finally, after moving about five months ago, I have organized my bookshelves! They were all a jumble, just put up any-which-way when unpacking from boxes. Here's some of the sorting that went on.

First I pulled all the keepers off the shelves. The books behind the red pony, on the floor and three shelves just to the right behind his butt, are all unread books. Yikes! The lowest middle shelf is juvenile fiction I keep accessible for my daughter, the next bottom shelf (going right) is baby board books for my toddler, and the last bottom shelf in corner is oversize coffee-table type books.

Then I sorted them into two main heaps: fiction and non-. Asked my kid which she wanted to "play" with- she was making stacks of books into stairs for her slinky to walk down. She said the fiction, because guessed there would be more books in that pile. And she was right, I think! Here on the floor are all the fiction, with non-fiction shelved again to the far right, organized more-or-less by subject.

That was it, I took a break for a day. This afternoon took all the fiction books and sorted them into piles by first letter of author's last name, and then further sorted each stack as I shelved them, until all were alphabetized.

It was quite a task! In the process I also dusted and flipped most of the shelves (they start to bow downwards under the weight of books so I turn the adjustable ones over periodically). I found in the sorting that I have a lot of books whose author name starts with S. And not a single one with I or Q. And only one book by a Z author- can you guess which?

I also found that I miss my books. Handling them all and turning a few pages here and there made me really want to sit down and read them all. But I have had little time for reading this year (as I'm sure you've noticed by the frequency of baby-book posts here). I did however note a lot of authors I want to read more of, and am surprised I haven't yet. Must find a way to remedy that! They are:

Marion Zimmer Bradley- only read Mists of Avalon and always wanted to try more
Orson Scott Card (the Ender books- I still haven't read the two most recent ones)
Pat Conroy- only have read Prince of Tides and must read more!
Bryce Courtenay- only have read Power of One and want to read more!
Barbara Hambly- want to read more of her stuff beyond the Winterlands series (which I loved)
Richard Kennedy- did he ever write anything besides Amy's Eyes? must find out
Gregory McGuire- liked very much Wicked and the stepsister book, I know there's a lot more!
Neville Shute- only read A Town Like Alice, must try more
Barbara Kingsolver- loved Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Prodigal Summer and Poisonwood Bible; I suspect I'll like most everything she's written.

that all sounds very repetitive- must have more!- but it's the prevailing sentiment about books!

And then there's quite a few authors that are out-of-print or not popular (at least, not in my library) so I keep them in the back of my mind for hunting in used bookshops, to see if I can make more discoveries: David Stephen, May Sarton, Richard Balch, Will James, and Rumer Godden begin that list.

And has Elizabeth Marshall Thomas written any more books about prehistoric peoples? because even though I found lots of criticism on the accuracy of her depictions in those, I still enjoyed them a lot...

rearranging

I have just spent the better part of two days rearranging furniture and shifting some 750 books in order to have them all situated in my bedroom. This is because before the bookshelves were mostly in the room the kids use as a playroom, and the baby was starting to pull books off shelves, or (worse, I think) pick at and tear the edges of dust jackets. This is one of her favorite activities; she has more fun pulling all her books off her shelf than actually reading them (lately she tries to turn the pages herself and sometimes gets frustrated trying to open the book at its spine! lots of screaming ensues- it's so funny).

So I moved them all. In the process everything got thoroughly dusted and all the adjustable shelves flipped (because they start to bow from the weight of books- does anyone else do this? flip their shelves periodically?) and the nonfiction section re-organized a little bit. I also pulled a short bookcase out of my closet and dedicated it to TBR books. It all looks so nice and tidy, now. Before, there were plenty of books tucked in horizontally across the others because I didn't have more shelf space. With the addition of one little bookcase I was able to spread everything out evenly, with room to spare. The TBR is in the little bookcase, but doesn't quite fill it completely, and also the last lower shelf of the tall cases. The tall case next to the lamp is all non-fiction, which continues around the corner and fills the second bookcase too (except the bottom shelf which has oversize books). The rest is all fiction. Bottom two shelves behind the rocking chair has random stuff like magazines and sketchbooks, which I could move out when the room is needed for books. Across the top are the puzzles and games.

I'm pleased overall. Something about moving and re-organizing and re-familiarizing myself with all my books feels very satisfying. I keep turning over in my hands titles I'd dearly love to re-read! And now my bedroom feels like a little library, which is very cozy.

If you look real close, you can see a flat black thing on top of the small shelf- that's my kindle. It has twenty-three books on it now! You can click to zoom in on the photo, but I don't think it's clear enough to read many titles.

the dare shelves

In anticipation of dedicating the first several months of 2011 to reading off my TBR shelves alone, I've gone and organized them all more or less by subject. Sometimes I just like sorting books. It makes me feel pleased. Here's what I've got.

The small two-shelf piece in my bedroom now holds all the adult fiction. In no particular order. Bottom right corner has what I think of as the "heavy books"- a few classics and chunksters I've failed to get through before or just been feeling intimidated by! (Starting with the orange spine of Dubliners and going over to the red-bound Dickens novel).

Out in the living room I have a tall bookcase that only holds TBR books. The top shelf here has all the memoirs. (If you click on any of these photos to enlarge you should be able to read some titles, although some are a bit blurry). At the end there they run into adventure stories (mostly of seafaring types) and the second shelf is non-fiction on various subjects, from earthquakes, global warming and writing to cooking, gardening and plant care. There's a few slim volumes of poetry in there too.

The next shelf down finishes up the plants and has nature and animal books. Bottom shelf starting at the left has juvenile books about animals (mostly fiction) then some YA and a few fantasy books, ending with Catching Fire (I don't have the first one in the series so I probably won't get to read that one or I'd be breaking the Dare by visiting the library!). The last eleven books on that shelf don't count; I've actually read them before. The only reason they're sitting in the TBR is that it's been so long since I last read them I'm not sure if they're ones I want to keep. So I plan on giving them a new read before I decide to shelve them with the collection or hand on.

I almost forgot to include the oversize books off my "coffee-table" shelf, in the other bookcase that holds all my permanent collection. Most of these are nature/animal books, with a few on gardening/food and art.

And that's it! Now I feel like I'll easier be able to zero in on what I'm in the mood for, when searching for a read during the Dare. My Library Thing says I've got 121 unread books but when I try to count them on the actual shelves it's more like 184; I must've forgotten to enter a few titles when they came into the house. Still, plenty to choose from!