A little piece of 'hoof work'.....
After a brief discussion with someone (not a million miles away from here), we came to the conclusion that studying someone's bookshelf is a pretty good clue to the kind of person you are dealing with...
Content: of course...the books on the shelves are a fairly good indicator of who you are dealing with....if you look at my shelves...you would immediately figure out what work I do, you would know that I love good wines, I am fascinated by Bill Clinton, Lawrence of Arabia, JFK, Jackie Kennedy, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Indian Mutiny, Tudor and Stuart England and Scotland, The Tsars, the Medicis and Arab history, politics and characters. I love Kipling, the Brontes, Jane Austen and Tennyson and a fairly healthy amount of chick-lit! I enjoy running (not really possible here!), photography and travel, have cats, am interested in most things aeronautical (as long as they have wings and engines!) obviously live in the Philippines and have a Mac and an iPod and make huge amounts of fresh juice!!! I do not have any issues with misplaced dairy products, have no problem with the planets vs. relationships and don't like Chicken Soup, I do, however, need to be reminded periodically when 'he's just not that into me'!!
Beware the person who has a few lonely titles sitting on otherwise empty shelves...particularly those titles cobbled together in order to portray an image...the hard macho type (not sure what would be on those shelves!), the soft sensitive type - am guessing this would include the likes of Mars and Venus and that ilk...
Condition of the books: Now, anyone can go out and buy books and stick them on a shelf....anyone can even buy a book...crack the spine in a few places and then put it on the shelf....you have to look for the real signs of reading...and love and attention...curled edges, browned pages, so many lines down the spine that the title is wearing away....not ideal for books...but generally a sign of love and affection...and actually reading the damn things.
Arrangement of the books: and here no doubt I will offend someone...book shelves should be haphazard because in my eyes...the booklover will know exactly where the books are placed - every time...anyone who arranges them alphabetically or (God help me!) by colour...should be introduced to Fahrenheit 451.
As Thomas Jefferson said "I cannot live without books"...
Book shelves are a window to character, the soul and someone's life! Here are a few of mine....
And before anyone comments on the two copies of Bill Clinton's 'My Life'...one is signed by the great man himself...after fixing his blue (very!) eyes on me and smiling...! That was a good day!!!
Content: of course...the books on the shelves are a fairly good indicator of who you are dealing with....if you look at my shelves...you would immediately figure out what work I do, you would know that I love good wines, I am fascinated by Bill Clinton, Lawrence of Arabia, JFK, Jackie Kennedy, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Indian Mutiny, Tudor and Stuart England and Scotland, The Tsars, the Medicis and Arab history, politics and characters. I love Kipling, the Brontes, Jane Austen and Tennyson and a fairly healthy amount of chick-lit! I enjoy running (not really possible here!), photography and travel, have cats, am interested in most things aeronautical (as long as they have wings and engines!) obviously live in the Philippines and have a Mac and an iPod and make huge amounts of fresh juice!!! I do not have any issues with misplaced dairy products, have no problem with the planets vs. relationships and don't like Chicken Soup, I do, however, need to be reminded periodically when 'he's just not that into me'!!
Beware the person who has a few lonely titles sitting on otherwise empty shelves...particularly those titles cobbled together in order to portray an image...the hard macho type (not sure what would be on those shelves!), the soft sensitive type - am guessing this would include the likes of Mars and Venus and that ilk...
Condition of the books: Now, anyone can go out and buy books and stick them on a shelf....anyone can even buy a book...crack the spine in a few places and then put it on the shelf....you have to look for the real signs of reading...and love and attention...curled edges, browned pages, so many lines down the spine that the title is wearing away....not ideal for books...but generally a sign of love and affection...and actually reading the damn things.
Arrangement of the books: and here no doubt I will offend someone...book shelves should be haphazard because in my eyes...the booklover will know exactly where the books are placed - every time...anyone who arranges them alphabetically or (God help me!) by colour...should be introduced to Fahrenheit 451.
As Thomas Jefferson said "I cannot live without books"...
Book shelves are a window to character, the soul and someone's life! Here are a few of mine....
And before anyone comments on the two copies of Bill Clinton's 'My Life'...one is signed by the great man himself...after fixing his blue (very!) eyes on me and smiling...! That was a good day!!!
posted by Madame Chiang at 9:14 am
3 Comments:
on arrangement of books - i agree with you there 100%. I wince whenever I see books arranged according to height! Or covered in clear plastic!
An excellent post Mme Chiang. As an inveterate bookie, who does not bet on the gee-gees, I love browsing bookshops to fill my shelves, especially second hand or antiquarian ones. I buy off E Bay, Abebooks.com, anywhere I can get a new treasure. Most are read, some are just handled with love, some are reference books I simply must have. My bookshelves would also give insight in to my soul but I won't post photographs here. I can't imagine anybody would be keen to know that I have all of the so-far published volumes of The Moths of Borneo. Vol 18 is a cracker.
ate: couldn't agree more...covered in plastic is not good!
Caerphilly: browsing second hand book stores is my idea of heaven! A few years back on a rare visit to the UK my parents took me to Hay on Wye - thinking it would be my idea of heaven on earth...it was and yet two days was too short and my brain short-circuited! I just couldn't get my head around all those wonderful books! They were both so sweet standing around waiting for me whilst I wandered aimlessly through rows and rows of books.
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