Of Bibliophiles and Bookshelves
When I walk into someone's home the first thing I look for are the bookshelves. It may seem like a strange thing to do, but books say a lot about a person. It's rather like people that have never had a pet (dog, cat, hamster, bird, guinea pig, or fish) I simply don't trust them. It seems to me that something is lacking or missing, like a salad with no dressing. If I find no books I begin to wonder about that person. How can a person not like books!
Bookshelves tell me a story, what a persons interests are, do they like fiction or nonfiction. Narrowing it down even further, do they read romance, gothic tales, westerns, detective novels, mysteries or science fiction/fantasy. Perhaps the shelves are loaded with history, biographies, do it yourself, crafts, farming, art, religion, travel and photography. Drilling down further, do they have niche collections of pulp fiction, old books, books only on one subject or genre, LGBT material, medical texts, autographed 1st editions, esoteric and conspiratorial.
Without fail it is a predicable method for deciding if they become acquaintances or friends. It's not being judgmental it's simply a matter of deciphering whether or not we have anything in common. Wasting time getting to know someone who has no shared interests is like mixing oil and vinegar, it simply won't gel. What conversation could you possibly have besides smalltalk! Small talk is being polite and usually very brief.
Chances are people who enjoy graphic novels are not going to be entertained by someone who enjoys reading the "The Encylopedia of Natural Medicine" or The Foxfire series of books.
Bibliophiles are not easily lured into activities which serve no obivious purpose. We may be obsessive collectors, voracious readers, practical dreamers, and even aspiring authors. Casual readers don't usually keep their books on shelves, and it's even more likely they donate their books to Goodwill or give them away to friends. Book lovers would never do such a thing, we hang onto our books like alcoholics cling to the bottle. We agonize if space on the shelves is running low and we must rearrange a section to make room for just one more.
Are you a Bibliophile and if you are what's on your bookshelves?
All text owned by @mother2chicks
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As you, when I walk into someone's home for the time, I look the bookshelves and they usually tell me a little about the owner of the home ^^ Me and my hubby are book lovers and we always have our (many) bookshelves full of different books ^^
I always appreciate a fellow bibliophile, thanks so much for coming by. I like history alot particularly the medieval period and Victorian era. I have a variety of books mostly non-fiction.🐓
Sorry for the F bomb but this is something I truly believe in.
Now in my library of sorts you will find Rand, Hemingway, Anais Nin, Henry Miller, Fitzgerald, Victorian prose and poetry, compilations by authors big and small and lots of classics, coffee table books and my son and I's collection of antiquarian goodies, leather bound gilded books with gorgeous illustrations and fonts. Books are something I truly adore!
Hi friend hope you had a pleasant day! That was funny...The F bomb is fine with me, I used to tell my mother it's the equivalent of her using the words"damn" and "shit.😉 Sounds like you have a fine collection! I also have some of Anais Nin and Ayn Rand. Some really old obscure titles, lots of history, secret societies and religion, treasure hunting, lots of non-fiction. A smorgasbord and it started when I worked in a book store during my 20's. I love them all.
I need to be your neighbor hahaha we'd never get anything done being bookworms and watching the chickens lol
So true, when we were not pilfering through books and watching the girls we would get into such trouble. It would be such fun!
Have you played practical jokes on people to get even? That would be a good post.
It would be fun though! haha sometimes when I am with my coaching clients on Skype, specially the ones overseas, I do my sessions outdoors and they see the hens running about and they love that. I think chickens are therapeutic. lol
Being the only girl I had to play practical jokes to survive in a house full of brothers lol
We have three filled to the brim. I knew I was a bibliophile when I bought a complete set of Harvard classics, still in tubs so i guess i need a forth bookshelf..
You are indeed a bibliophile! Go get you another bookshelf and fill it up. Thanks for stopping by it's appreciated.🐓
Thank you! Its a 54 book set
That's quite a large set! Thanks for the resteem🐓
You are stealing my heart tonight, another great read.. It is so hard to find people of like mind, even in our small town..everything is becoming so mottled in our country today. Whats bad will appear good etc. In this way, I think perhaps, we can access a person, by their books.
Have a great day!
Melissa
So true about finding people of like mind and we can indeed agree "up is down" these days. Loved the last line in your comment "In this way, I think perhaps, we can access a person, by their books."
Lines are blurred and it's difficult to trust people these days. It's a lack of civility, there are powers at work trying to tear our nation apart. Thank you for coming by...following you🐓
Thank you for the warm words..looking forward to your next great post!
So fun to upvote such wonderful effort. :)
Melissa
To be honest, my book collection is fairly small...but one of my favorite places to be is the library. I'll be heading there soon to pick up a book I have on order and dropping one off I finished. :) I always have a stack. lol
That's funny I'm sitting here in the library right now using wifi. I do the library no less then 3 times a week. 🐓
I'm not a bibliophil but I do have a book collection. It's not your usual books that you would find on a bookcase; they're law books lol. Real exciting, huh? I enjoy non-fiction books if I decide to read one. To be honest and I'm actually ashamed to say this but other than LE books, I have only read one book from cover to cover in my entire life. I have a short attention span and it's really hard for me to stay interested in reading material unless it intrigues me.
No shame in that my friend. I am pretty much the same way. Have found as I have gotten older that it is a little easier to concentrate than it used to be. I had a good friend in Houston that started out as a police officer. Loved the law. Got his law degree and was a great lawyer. He possessed a rare thing that most lawyers don't have genuine concern for for the good. The water slide was for the elementary kids after a hot first week of school. They reward them every year with a bit of fun! Wish I had one. Be well! 🐓🐓
Aren't ya just a lil bit curious what book it was that I read completely? I was trying to bait you to ask but it didn't work lol.
I have to admit you caught me in the middle of my first cup of coffee. Duh! So what was the name of the book you read cover to cover? I have to laugh at myself for being such a ding dong! Haha🐓🐓
No, you're fine lol. I was just playing. The only book that I have ever read from cover to cover (except for law books) was Helter Skelter. When I read that book, the internet was either non existent or just not popular yet. I was extremely intrigued with the story and all of the facts, especially when the officer found Manson hiding in the kitchen under the sink. Manson was a small man, so he was able to cram himself in the small cabinet. A small portion of his hair was sticking out of the door and that's what drew the officer's attention.
Talking about this reminded me of one time when I was looking for a wanted man inside a house. I was looking inside a bedroom closet and found someone hiding underneath a pile of clothes on the floor lol!
Oh that was a terrible scene. I remember how gruesome the whole thing was. His ability to convince his followers to kill was the most evil thing I had heard of at the time. Good pick! Do you watch the true crime shows? Or "Breaking Bad" anything like that? 🐓🐓
No, it's strange I guess because I don't watch COPS either lol. It's hard to explain why watching it on TV doesn't interest me. I find myself critiquing the officer's and... I don't know, I guess where I've experienced so much of it in real life, I don't really care to watch it on TV, if that makes any sense at all?
Hee hee - now I understand why we're friends! We're having bookshelves made because our current ones aren't big enough to handle all our books, and there's no way we could get rid of them...that would be like giving away children! Loved this post. Btw, I also like looking in people's pantries (I ask first) and at their music collections if they haven't gone all digital already. You really put the book/friend relationship well! 😊😊
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Interesting! Nice! I upvoted you!
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