BAN Books

Scribblings

11-5-07

I don't expect to have too many entries here, but I do have an interesting idea that had nowhere else to go.  I'd like to share my personal library, which consists of two bookcases.  Normally my ladder bookshelf is full of National Geographic magazines, National Geographic books, and various "artifacts" from my travels.  Also a rope I made at summer camp.  But in the Station, it is the keeper of all my favorite books, as you can see from the picture. 

Let's work our way up, shall we?  I love rhetorical questions.  They're like mini-power trips.  As you can see, below my bookshelf, I have piles of books and magazines that didn't make the cut.  Actually, it's just easier to keep all of them in piles, because one is oversized Rolling Stones, one is my National Geographics, one is for the books I just bought (Cat's Cradle and the New Dinotopia) and the books I'm reading (Watchmen), and the final one is a binder for our sci-fi project atop two Star Trek guides.  

So the bottom shelf of my bookcase (here and in the Wood) is full of magazines, which means mostly Entertainment Weekly and Time, but the occasional Empire works its way in.  I also save space on the bottom shelf for books that are too large to go elsewhere, usually my big reference books.  DK makes the greatest reference books these days, from their image-abundant travel guides to their larger science books to their kids books, you know, ones on birds or rocks or dinosaurs.  My large reference books are mostly about space, but I included my Dinotopias and my childhood Myths and Legends hardback as well.   

The next shelf had my school books last semester, but this time through I cleared 'em out.  Instead I have my letter-writing equipment (wax, an envelope, and what I've decided will be my House seal for all eternity), my travel guides (Prague, New Zealand, and Europe), and last, but not least, the entire series of the Twilight Zone on DVD.  I needed a place where the box wouldn't get banged up (hence my clearing out my schoolbooks from the shelf), and this way, they're closer to my laptop. 

The middle shelf is the perfect spot for my portables--my keys, sunglasses, and phone--so I don't have much room for books.  Thus, it's the paperback shelf.  The bookstop is an Italian leather journal, no big, but I have yet to baptize it.  However, for those who can't get enough, I have decided that it will not be a diary, per se, but more a cross between a sketchbook, my Picture of the Day scrapbook, and a...journal, I guess.  What I'm trying to say is it won't have entries like "Dear Diary, this is what I did today and this is how I felt," but like, a list of our recent quotes of the day or a drawing or something.  Anyway, my paperbacks include my Cormac McCarthy collection (No Country for Old Men, The Road, and All the Pretty Horses), the His Dark Materials trilogy, and a couple books I started over a year ago (The House of God, Good Omens).  And never forget Finding Serenity, a brilliant collection of essays that serves as both proof of the art of television and a souvenir from our spontaneous Disneyland trip.  Partially obscuring these books is my sheriff's badge, my Harry Potter wand, and a picture of Robin Darjeeling from our short film. 

And the top books remain on the top shelf.  At home this is my fantasy saga shelf (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, His Dark Materials, and Dinotopia fit just perfectly together), but here I have a limited collection.  The final three Harry Potters are an excellent bookstop, and the left side is for my graphic novels (Maus, Watchmen, Stardust, Southland Tales, The Dark Tower comics).  In between I have some sci-fi short story collections, the beautiful and haunting Lovely Bones, my guides to life by Chuck Klosterman, and, inexplicably, the beginning of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga, which I will probably not start until at least Book 5 is out.  And over on the right is the perfect slot for Steph's graduation gift to me, a picture of herself with white-out descriptions. 

Similarly, the highest shelf is too small for books but just right for souvenirs.  The centerpiece is, fittingly, a bronco buster.  I also have my Halloween ring, a picture of my Germany trip group, a mini-book my mom made of our Disneyland adventure, and a sweet home-made Valentine.  Overall, I'd say my bookcase is pretty representative of its owner, and I think it says something that my school books have been excommunicated from it. 

Return to home page.