Wednesday, May 04, 2005
My Library
Today's Count 480 books but not including reference books, Bibles and study tools, textbooks,etc
Books read 13.5%
Categories
Canadian Literature 32 books
Most unread author is Alice Munro. I have 3 of her books, all unmarked..
American Literature 30 books
I have a beautiful copy of Moby Dick and The Bounty Trilogy. (Too beautiful to mark?)
English Literature 19 books
I have copies of Shakespeare from University days and Dickens, of course. etc
Other Literature 14 books
Joyce's Dubliners story, Three Sisters, stumped me. It is very marked but the collection is unfinished.
Fiction 18 books
I was introduced to Maeve Binchy and go to her if I need to.
Anthropological Nonfiction 6 books
I was really in the mood for Aku-Aku.
Historical/Political 11 books
Funny collection of cartoon style books on Marxism for Beginners, Nicaragua for Beginners and Peace for ...
Philosophy 14 books
One day I will actually read one of these, perhaps Plato in 90 Minutes.
Poetry 14 books
Such beautiful words have been written. I have a collection of Sylvia Plath's poems and Ted Hugh's Birthday Letters in response to her words. I have enjoyed The Best Loved Poems of the American People which a friend of mine detests but it has entertained me in the past. Then there is a collection of poetry written by schizophrenics.
Mythology 4 books
After reading Metamorphosis, I obtained a few more books from antiquity, except I can never remember if I have the Odyssey or the Iliad while in the middle of a bookstore.
Religious Books (self-help, fiction) 59 books
I once hosted a religious book party where only my roommate and I were present. The salesperson said not to worry as she usually didn't make so many sales.
Entertainment 4 books
A couple of books on old movies and the origin of theatre.
Photography 4 books
I have a beautiful book called Islands at the Edge. It is about Queen Charlotte's Island which is located off the coast of British Columbia. My husband and I traveled there on our honeymoon.
Children 23 books
I have books ranging from birthday party ideas to how to deal with teenagers.
Marital 13 books
So far I haven't needed the help. Just kidding. My favorite title is Intimate Enemy. I also have, as must every bargain shopping wife, Being Married Happily Forever by Ernest Borgnine's wife. It has a great cover and even some sound advice but I only got as far as chapter 4.
Humor 2 books
What can I say?
Self Help 53 books !!
It is difficult to pass up a possible cure for some lingering problem areas. Great titles are Creative Agression ( I felt I had to hide this from my husband along with the Intimate Enemy) and Brain Building.
Business 14 books
I was at a garage sale and the owner who was a retired salesperson thought I needed advice and gave me a bunch of free books.
Exercise 9 books
I read 44.4% of my exercise books, which is a record of all the other categories.
Diet 4 books
My dieting days are over, I hope, but what is left is meager in comparison to what I once owned on this subject. My favorite one in this category, which doesn't necessarily mean I read it, is Losing It:America's Obsession with Weight and The Industry That Feeds On It (by Laura Fraser for those interested).
Beauty 7 books
What clothes to wear( from the 80's) and how to do my nails, which I don't have time to actually do but which my 13 year old daughter might appreciate. She used black marker on her toes the other day. Shh...
Speaking 5 books
I am sure there are great ideas in there.
Writing 12 books
More great ideas sitting there.
Art/Creativity 35 books
My favorite title is So You Want To Be a Rock Star and 50 Great Scenes for Student Actors. Hey ,there is a lot you don't know about me !
Time/Money Management 16 books
I sometimes get real keen on finding the perfect balance and sometimes not.
Native Indian 27 books
I keep my native books in my native accessorized bedroom. They look great with my husband's westerns.
Neuroses 17 books
This section is kept beside my bed, hopefully in such a private spot no one would dare to browse through.
There is a huge used book sale on right now at a mall nearby. I have been there already and only spent $3.25. I overheard another shopper say that she already spent $50 that morning and here she was back again in the afternoon. She exclaimed, "and the week is only beginning."
Some people just cannot control themselves!
I plan on taking the kids tomorrow...
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I am afraid to count my books. There are 7 bookshelves in my house...all full of books...I have about 50 cookbooks alone. I think my poor husband is starting to panic whenever the UPS man shows up with an amazon.com box....
My husband said that it is probably better not to count after yesterday's lamentation that I had only read 13.5% of my books. The thing is the more I buy the lower the % will get. Pretty soon I will have read nothing!
Hee..I have the same situation. And, I wonder if we don't buy any books utill all of the books on our shelves are read is well. Or do we still have to collect them more and more? Aww..really big questions for me.
I am curious as to other people's percentages? Anybody interested in doing a tabulation.
If you'll give me a few days, I might get back to ya on that....
True that. Sometimes I think I like having books more than I actually like reading. I read so very little by comparison. I used to have around 500 books, but I sold the ones I realized I was never going to read. I have a lot of short story magazines, too. I love short stories. Mostly because they're short. Less reading. Oh, the hypocrisy from someone who wants to make his living writing. Anyhow, thanks for your comments on the tag-board on my blog. You're words inspired me...
Oh, my. We have a room dedicated, and I can't even imagine attempting to count all of ours. We are still trying to get them neatly ordered in sections on their shelves, and are realizing that no matter how well we organize them, we are out of space.
I'm pretty good at reading the books I buy, but when I moved in with my husband, I inherited several hundred (possibly over a thousand) more. Alas, my percentage is probably miniscule now.
Subjects run the gamut: fiction and non-fiction, philosophy, politics, art, design, music, classic lit., biographies, old geography, anthropology, religion and spirituality, several languages, various textbooks, poetry, business, self-help, comics, sailing, cars, electronics, writing, cookbooks (vegetarian for me, otherwise for he), children's books, travel... you name it, we probably have it. We also have a little shrine (okay, shelf) just for my husband's books so he can feel famous and special.
I have to smile, remembering the times I couldn't afford books. When a particular subject caught my interest, I would pillage the library and return home with armloads, which I peeked around rather than over. The next day would find me sitting on the floor, surrounded by several open volumes. If they spread out too far for me to reach, I simply stacked them in staggered piles.
Lately, I tend to buy for pleasure rather than knowledge. This may have quite a bit to do with the fact that, while I'm in school, my brain can only encompass so much in a set period of time. I only read fluff on my off time during the semester.
I have tons of books, mostly theology, history, biography, and self-help. My wife has health, geneology, and bird books. Then there are 2 old encyclopedia sets, the Great Books set, various other reference books, a smattering of art and fiction books -- and every Bible translation I have ever been able to get my hands on.
But how many there are and what percentage is what I could not begin to guess. I do know that our living room resembles the public library.
Wow!
This is fascinating. I don't think I could count my kids' books in my total, but you definitely have me curious about what percentage of the books in my household I've actually read.
I re-sell many of my used books (the read ones), so I don't think my count would have quite the accuracy of yours . . .
My friend, Barbara, of Trying to Catch Up, sent me over here because I was just posting about books on my shelf that I've bought and have not yet read. But I only included those I actually intend to read!
CS,
I love homes accessorized with books.
Anita,
I am glad to have another bibliophile visit. I remember you too, you are the blogaholic that won't quit!
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