16
May232010
‘The Blogger’s Bookshelf’ featuring Laura (BCC Reviewer)
by Carolyn • Posted in The Blogger's Bookshelf
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The Blogger’s Bookshelf is a regular fortnightly feature here at Book Chick City. It’s where we get to tour each others bookshelves… and drool a little 
I can’t help but love these kind of posts, being kinda nosy an’ all, however it always ends up with me being completely green with envy! There are some great posts coming up, so I hope you enjoy. You can view the full schedule HERE.
I can’t help but love these kind of posts, being kinda nosy an’ all, however it always ends up with me being completely green with envy! There are some great posts coming up, so I hope you enjoy. You can view the full schedule HERE.Today I welcome BCC’s very own regular reviewer, Laura…
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I’m a little unorthodox in comparison to other book lovers when it comes to bookshelves. Unbelievably, I only have one book case, and even that I have to share with my Sci-Fi loving husband.
My bookshelf is located in my favourite corner of the front room. Next to my giant purple arm chair, retro hair-dryer style floor lamp & importantly in the winter, the radiator. My shelves store not
only my books, but my little pink netbook.
If you’re ever looking for me during my down time, you will often find me curled up in my
armchair with my netbook on my lap or a book in my hands. It’s my favourite way to relax.
If I’m lucky I’ll convince my dog Boris to curl up at my feet, my very own impromptu furry footstool.
My book tastes are very varied and I have everything from the complete works of Shakespeare and Jane Austen, to the trashiest chick lit you can find. I try to keep the shelves tidy and grouped by author, but this doesn’t always work for several reasons. Firstly I tend to be the family’s library, so more often than not there’s often one missing because someone else is reading it. Also a touch neurotically I like to place books together based on their height so that they look neater. Towards the bottom of my bookcase the books get double layered, my theory being that people won’t notice it’s less untidy down there.
Because of my one bookcase I tend to be quite unscrupulous when it comes to keeping books. For me books go into two camps: Books I want to read again and books I don’t. If I’ll read it again, I keep it, if not it gets taken to one of the local charity shops (where I have to be careful to not buy it back again). Personally, I believe I fund nearly the entire second hand book market in my town! It can sometimes be tough getting rid of them, a bit like ripping a plaster off an old wound it’s best not to think about it. I have to shove them into a bag and hand them over fast.
Then there are the books that I will probably never read again, but cannot bear to part with. These are usually books I have studied and are often annotated. These get relegated to a box in the loft.
The bulk of my books are kept in two storage boxes under my bed. All neat and tidy but not particularly convenient when the book you want to re-read is stored right at the bottom in the box right at the back.
Finally, this leaves my to be read pile. This tends to be quite huge as I do like to have quite a few bubbling away on this list to make sure there’s always something available for me to not only read, but suit whatever mood I’m in. For this reason it’s not uncommon for me to have more than one book on the go. So, I have my to be read pile and my to be read… soon pile. My to be read pile usually lives at the front of the storage box that’s easier to get into, and the place I keep my to be read soon pile tends to be transient. On my chest of drawers or a the moment on my bedroom windowsill. I have to move it around occasionally as one of my contrary cats may decide it’s their new sitting place and start chucking them on the floor!
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Thanks Laura!
If you want to know more about Laura check out the ‘About‘ page. Laura also kicked off my ‘Books We Love‘ feature, where she talks about three of her favourite books: Wuthering Heights, Bitten and The Time Traveler’s Wife. You can read post HERE.
16 Comments
Great post–thanks for sharing!
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I think it is a god-give talent for you to be so diligent in your method of keeping books or selling them! I only recently made my bookcases all tidy – which means; books in alphabetical order and books I know I'm not going to read or re-read sell or give away. Your bookcases and TBR soon & immediate pile feel/look so neat LOL
I love the look of all those well-read books so thanks for the tour! I enjoyed it
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Awwww. Boris is such a cutie!
I always love seeing peoples pets and books. Great post!
xx,
E.J.
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I'm so happpy that I'm not alone in putting tem in size order LOL!
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Putting yoiur books in size order is not at all neurotic……putting them in size order, then all the same colours together, then alphabetically within each colour…..now's that's quite neurotic. All those years working in the library have become ingrained. I remember when they began to print lots of oversize paperbacks that wouldn't fit into the spinners ..eeek!
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I love looking at other people's shelves!! This is a great feature!
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I wish I could be so disciplined as to get rid of books, but unfortunately I just can't part with them. The only books I do give away to charity are ones I didn't enjoy. Sadly, I will have to go through my shelves and piles soon as I now have well over 2000 books and really can't see where I can add more!
Great post Laura, thanks for giving us a tour!
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@Julie P thank you
@Leontine thanks. Now alphabetical order is not an order I've reached too lol. Also I have to confess to tidying the bookshelves before I took the pictures
@E J Stevens Boris is adorable I wouldn't be without him and I'm glad you enjoyed it
@Kris size order is more important than keeping them in series order sometimes
@Hilary that is taking book orderliness to a new level, plus I'm jealous you worked in a library – that was always a job I secretly quite fancied
@The Book Vixen I like having a nosey around other people's houses too
@Book Chick City as always you're welcome. My book recycling began as my husband & I used to live in a tiny one bedroom flat and there was just no room for my insatiable book appetite. It just seemed natural to continue when we moved to somewhere bigger.
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books and pets go together nicely IO think.
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Oh, I love these posts!
First off, what a well organised shelf. Even your tubs seem rather sorted – it is lovely and not at all neurotic.
Secondly, and more importantly, Boris is adorable. There is nothing better than to have a dog to curl up next to with a good book. ♥
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@Halgelrat they do most of the time, although my cat sometimes likes to sit in front of a book so you can't read & pay attention to him instead
@Kay thank you – I shall have to be careful or Boris will get a big head with all these comments
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Being nosy too, I love these posts! That armchair looks perfect for reading in!
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I LOVE this new series. What a great idea!!
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@Dot I love my purple chair – I get most perplexed when other people sit in it lol
@Ondo Lady – I'm looking forward to nosying around other people's bookshelves
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Nice feature! It's great seeing other readers solutions to handling the bookish pile up. Thanks for sharing! (Oh and the dog pic..so cute!) Happy reading!
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I really love this chair! Gorgeous!
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