Bookshelves as an expression of personal identity

[Brian G Turner]

Something needs to be done about these book shelves...

I've recently begun the process of downsizing the number of physical books I have. This is partly because I have to make room for more academic text books. It's also because since I became ill it's become inevitable that at some point we'll need to move to a bungalow to better accommodate this - and that means beginning the process of removing anything we won't need.

I love my books. I have a book addiction. Every now and then I like to simply look at my book shelves and admire the titles there - fond reads and soon-to-be fond reads (as I eventually work my way through my to-read list).

I know I've sometimes kept titles because I've always imagined talking to visitors about them. My shelf of epic fantasy books is a good example of this, and how the strengths and weakness of different authors and titles could be discussed.

But no on really ever visits my home, not even before lockdown. Because I've mostly always worked from home, I don't tend to go out into the real world and so I've tended not to make friends in the real world. Living in a small town means there probably aren't many people with similar interests at all. And having two scary German Shepherd Dogs seals the issue of visitors.

So I've finally realized the need to not be so precious about some of my books. And that has begun with my epic fantasy bookshelf. And my historical fiction shelf.

I buy the Kindle version of most new books as well as favorites anyway. So there's no need to keep the paperback versions of my Joe Abercrombie or David Gemmell books when they're already on my Kindle. Same for Robert Fabbri's Vespansian series and Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan series. Plus there are books I doubt I'll ever read again, and even if I'd like to talk about them, there's no one here to discuss them with. So they have to go as well.

But once I started removing these books - and there were quite a lot on just those two shelves! - I felt like I'd dismantled part of my sense of identity. The books on my shelves define me in some very visible way that my Kindle books cannot.

I do love my Kindle books. But rather than look at my Collections on there, I prefer to look at my Wishlists on Amazon for books I plan to get next - not least because textbooks can be expensive and I need to budget carefully. My Wishlists also form a part of my self-identity I think, though not as much as the books on my shelves.

It's strange how a visual display, only usually seen by me, can form a part of that. And it's strange how it's harder to achieve that in digital terms.

Still, even though I need to get rid of more books - ones I've carried over for years - there are plenty of books on my shelves, and there will remain plenty of books on my shelves. And as quite a number of textbooks on my Wishlists aren't available as Kindle books, there are many more coming.

I am sure with that my sense of personal identity will change. And, who knows, perhaps I'll be able to speak with other people in person about them, too.

 

[HareBrain]

Brian, it's too much of a tease to post a bookshelf photo where we can't read the titles! ;o)

 

[Foxbat]

I have bookcases all over the place but they’re essentially in any spot that has the space. They’re in almost every room. I even have a bookcase in the cupboard under my stairs and in an old toilet I converted into a small utility room. The one thing they are not is on public display. If they are any expression of personal identity, I obviously don’t wish to share who I am.

Edit: I just realised that this isn’t the same board anymore

 

[Brian G Turner]

Brian, it's too much of a tease to post a bookshelf photo where we can't read the titles! ;o)

I normally feel the same - but my fiction shelves are doubled-up so half the books are blocked from view anyway! Too many books, if there is such a thing.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I got over seeing books as possessions by opening the shop. I‘ve sold many much loved books since. I also continue to buy them too but in a different way. Most i read and then pop into the bargain room to sell. Only a very few get kept which means I now know which ones truly matter to me.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Yes, we have bookshelves all over the place in our house, and since my husband's taste in reading matter overlaps with mine to a large extent the books through most of the house are a mix of his and mine and books we have both read (and in many cases reread and reread) and so are less representative on an individual level. However, we each have an office area where we keep our research books and some of our favorite fiction, and those do tend to represent something more personal. (Though if these were more visible I rather suspect we'd be more likely to be reading a lot of each other's books then we are now.)

 

[Pyan]

Bedroom bookcases.
General:

JRRT:

Ferret away!

 

[Juliana]

I do love seeing bookshelf photos!!!

We only have a couple of bookcases ourselves; I buy a lot on Kindle or borrow from the library. We've been through too many moves (including one huge international one) to have kept a lot of books. Nothing like a forced clear up due to moving to learn not to be too attached to physical copies! But I love living vicariously through other people's 'shelfies'.

 

[CTRandall]

The majority of my books are stored in the loft a several canvas US Mail bags that I used to ship them when I crossed over to England. I have easy access to a couple of dozen on shelves in the house but my wife won't let me put out the rest, so I have to go into the loft every couple of weeks and dig through the bags for this or that reference. It's a strange little ritual but I know where most things are in the piles, so it doesn't take long. Still, it feels like I'm dredging through my unconscious mind, occasionally pulling out a half-remembered gem or finding things that were better left forgotten.

 

[Astro Pen]

Two of the non SF bookshelves There are seven of these eclectic rackings altogether.
Full size posted so you can click it and zoom the titles to see what volumes we share.
And yes, I do have a collection of miniature handbags as well as the Crestas and Chevy Impalas. Like I said,eclectic.

 

[Harpo]

 

[BAYLOR]

I have 4 bookshelves stuffed with books, and books in boxes and draws . I have hard time letting go of book, even after ive read it.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

We do occasionally donate books which neither my husband nor I has a desire to reread. And boxes of books have been lost when we moved house, and the losses were only revealed when we unpacked the boxes, too late to do anything about it. (I am still grumbling about this decades later.)

I am fortunate that my husband and one of my daughters are both good at carpentry, so when we need more bookshelves we only need to buy the materials and presto! bookcases. Except, although our house is a good size, we are running out of space for the bookcases. Not everyone in the family is an avid reader, and strangely enough they have other uses for their bedrooms than to house our books.

Fortunately, ebooks take up no room, so the fact that John and I are both buying more of those, mean we are running out of space at a slower rate than before.

 

[Grognardsw]

I too enjoy seeing others bookshelves, particularly genre collections. Here is a barrister holding my science fiction reference and history books. Over the years I’ve picked up various of these types of bookcases, liking the old style and dust prevention.

 

[Alex The G and T]

Oh, dear.. is this really a reflection of my identity? Well, I suppose it is. I maintain a tight and orderly focus on current events. The past, I allow to fall as it may.
Big house, lots of space for everyone. The one room I demand is mine, and mine alone (Which doesn't stop others fro dropping miscellanea on me)

But the one in the living room must stay more orderly. I built this bookcase myself, BTW.

And in the upstairs hall, between the bedrooms we have the family collection of 32 OZ books, and a very odd assortment of other books, in a bookcase I've had since childhood.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Bedroom bookcases.
General:

View attachment 77199
JRRT:
View attachment 77200

Ferret away!

Definite win in the bookshelves of chronners IMO. I was intrigued to see Michael Crichton on there, Pyan. Especially State of Fear. What did you think of it? I think it gets a bad rap because of its apparent climate change stuff but I really enjoyed it. I think one of my favourite Crichton books is Airframe. Have you read that? It's incredibly dry, essentially about aeroplane slats deployment on take-off and landing but it was wonderful.

Oh, dear.. is this really a reflection of my identity? Well, I suppose it is. I maintain a tight and orderly focus on current events. The past, I allow to fall as it may.

You are in excelent company... I'm not posting a pic of mine as I'd be beaten out of town for being a sloven!

 

[Stephen Palmer]

 

[Phyrebrat]

@Pyan did you see my question re State of Fear?

 

[Pyan]

I was intrigued to see Michael Crichton on there, Pyan. Especially State of Fear. What did you think of it? I think it gets a bad rap because of its apparent climate change stuff but I really enjoyed it. I think one of my favourite Crichton books is Airframe. Have you read that? It's incredibly dry, essentially about aeroplane slats deployment on take-off and landing but it was wonderful.

I'm afraid it's quite a long time since I read State of Fear, and I can't really remember the plot - but I'll put it on my TB(Re)R list.
I enjoyed Airframe - I agree it's rather dry, but to me it fits into a category that I mentally categorise as faction. Jurassic Park is similar - I read the book long before the film came out, and while I realise that you can't really fit an accurate transcription of a 400+ page book into a 2½ hour film, I was astonished at the butchery done to the 'science' for the film script. There's a lot of 'dry' passages in the book that just disappear, and half of what I really enjoyed about the original vanishes. Hey-ho...

 

[Pyan]

And in the upstairs hall, between the bedrooms we have the family collection of 32 OZ books,…

Those must be weighty tomes, at 2lb per volume…