Sharing your shelf is sharing a little bit of your self.
SCENIC WRITER’S SHACK asked its readers recently to send in a photo of their home book case – aka a ‘shelfie’.
SWS kicked things off by posting the pic below – taken from inside company HQ. Here, books such as Bram Stoker’s DRACULA – written 124 years ago – are made to share shelf space with cast-signed framed photos from the 1960’s television series LOST IN SPACE. Classic hybrid shelf, in other words.
You guys responded brilliantly to the photo call, generously sharing what was inside your homes, and, in another sense, what’s inside your heads. Here’s a selection of those received –
Scoping out reader’s bookshelves makes for interesting literary eye-candy, to be sure. But what would you expect from the esteemed book altar of a pro author?
Professional writer Bridget Whelan – https://bridgetwhelan.com/ – based in East Sussex, England and boasting in excess of 7000 internet followers, was kind enough to share home snaps of her not one but four warehouse behemoths.
This is book love on a truly panoramic scale.
The human eye can detect shelf sag as slight as 0.7 of a millimeter – that’s less than the thickness of a plastic credit card.
Wanna see more? You do? Then go ahead and click HERE.
Last month, SWS reported HERE on the books shortlisted in the fiction category of the AMERICAN BOOK AWARDS. Congratulations to American author Jason Mott whose fourth novel HELL OF A BOOK has taken out the top prize.
Scenic Writer's Shack 
That was a fun look Glen. Plus this quote is brilliant 🙂
“The human eye can detect shelf sag as slight as 0.7 of a millimeter – that’s less than the thickness of a plastic credit card.”
Most my books are old 70s tv series and films that I picked up from Charity shops in my early teens to young adulthood. Boxes full under the bed. I’ll never read them but I love them.
My shelve consist of comic books, mainly Alan Moore, plus books about space programs and rocket tales. A few scientific books I’d never ever dream of reading plus books I loved many years ago that I would love to read again but I know I won’t. Well maybe in retirement. One of my favorites that I always recommend to people and strangely never hear from them again is “The Roaches Have No King” by Daniel Evan Weiss. It’s about a cockroach called Numbers (he was born in that section of the bible) and his crazy life living in a NY apartment. It’s bonkos.
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I too profess a love of comics Wolfie.
And you are so right about books you have around the house which you know you’re never going to get around to reading but are still just nice objects to have around anyway in much the same way as holding onto something like an old radio that you know a voice can still come out of if ever you were to switch it on again.
Speaking of the ‘Roaches’ book, I read this comment on-line regarding it –
“I read ‘The Roaches Have No King’ in 1990-ish when it was first published. I was working at a bookstore at the time and borrowed it, loved it, returned it-and promptly forgot the title but I still remembered the story and how much I enjoyed it. I still think it’s one of the best and most original novels I’ve ever read- and I read a lot.
I had forgotten it until my son asked me to recommend something new for him to read. I started telling him about the story and he was keen to read it (we googled the title) but it doesn’t seem to be in our library system. But- it’s still for sale! One is on the way to us- Thanks Amazon!!! I frankly can’t wait to re-read it!”
Thankyou Wolf for checking out this thoroughly bookish post of mine!
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Love the radio bit which I total believe too.
Haha good to see there is someone else out there with a love of roaches other than the weed variety. Though the author was certainly puffing away when he wrote that book. 🙂
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And by ‘puffing away’ I’m pretty sure you don’t mean on the home treadmill.
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Pingback: So, what does your bookcase look like…? | BRIDGET WHELAN writer
A thousand thankyou’s for linking this Bridget!
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What’s the old cliche Glen we only buy the magazine to read the articles!
Bryan
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They didn’t call Playboy Magazine the ‘thinking man’s erotica’ for nothing!
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That really turned out well! I’m so sad that Colossus couldn’t be involved. But that one author lady had us beat anyway with four colossus-sized bookcases.
Also love the obsessive compulsively organized bookshelf: Proven to bogus, religions spaced 6 inches apart, lol.
Looked up Hell of a Book, which I hadn’t heard of. If it’s written dynamically, sounds like it could actually be a hell of a book! But I’m a little burned out on race, family, love, and “justice”. Although you wouldn’t know that from my constantly blabbering about racial injustice, eh? 🙂
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I’m so glad you chose to respond to this post Stacey. I’ve been eagerly awaiting your comment.
I agree about books themed along the race – family – love – justice, line. A little too ‘woke’ for my tastes as well I’m afraid.
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You know, it didn’t pop up in my notifications. I only saw the posting when I was looking for your blog address again to put it in with Pam’s first love piece.
One of the greatest things above: the video of the guys rapidly moving that huge shelf of books through the library. Why are they in such a hurry, lol??!! I’ve never seen one moved before. So neat!
All of the jokes about book classifications are so true, too.
BOOKS I WANT TO READ
BOOKS I SHOULD READ
BOOKS I STARTED TO READ BUT CAN’T MAKE MYSELF FINISH
There’s just too many books, in the end, Glen ! ! ! Not enough time.
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This blog would be so much less without you Stacey.
Thankyou again so much for another great comment.
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I’m happy to see that people aren’t organizing books by color. A friend who worked
in a used book store once had a customer ask, “Where are your red hardcover books?”
He gestured saying, “Wherever you see them.” I asked my friend what that was about and he
said the customer wanted an entire bookshelf with red books so the books would fit in with his home decor.
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An entire bookshelf of read (past tense) books? That I can understand.
An entire bookshelf of red (the color) books? That might just be the literary equivalent of power dressing.
Gotta admit it would be eye-catching if you could get your hands on that many red cover (plus spine) titles.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/28312.Books_with_Red_Covers
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Love this! Thanks for preparing and presenting a humorous but thoughtful precis on the much neglected bookshelf!
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As an author yourself Stuart, I’m betting your bookshelf(s) is a sight to behold!
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