I guess it is really no surprise that when you look at the shelf as a whole, it kind of looks like a rainbow threw up on it. I have always tried to live a life of color through art, and a wide range of interests. The complete lack or conscious grouping or sorting of any kind doesn’t really help focus the eyes either, I suppose. But that is kind of how my life goes. Just one excessive pile of controlled chaos. A curated mess. If you break it down by shelf, though, you see small moments of unknowing jokes, or transitions in taste, and even a timeline of a relationship.
I should point out that this particular “bookshelf” lives in my bedroom, so other than my graphic novels, this may be the most intimate collection in the house. From my point of view, it is easy to understand why this collection is so personal, but let me explain: in this collection you see gifts from people I care about, books that I go back to again and again, books that inspire me when I stop writing, books that you need to read curled up in the bed so you can hide under the covers, books you can read aloud in the quiet of your personal space. Anyway… onto the books.
Top Shelf: Or the shelf almost too high for me to reach… You can probably conclude that alternate title from the dust bunnies camped out on the left side of the shelf. There is an interesting sliver of “required reading” titles camping out alongside the Chuck Palahniuk collection. He is one of those writers, for me, that I see-saw between love and loathe. On one hand he has written some things that disturb me down to my very essence of being, but on the other hand, he is so talented that he has managed to write some things that disturbed me down to my very essence! As an aspiring writer, you take note of authors who can affect you in such a way. I also have to giggle that this shelf holds both Princess Behaving Badly, a nonfiction book about some unsavory royals of the past, AND a Get Fuzzy collection.
Moving down is yet another display but this one makes me giggle. Next to Rick Ross’s biography, and the Good Booty book, all about hip hop music’s influence on culture is right next to The Slang of Sin. I can’t help but conjure up a very strange version of the 80’s classic “Footloose” in my head. Further down is a mini collection of Ian McEwan, a man who writes to explore morality next to my favorite narrative writer, Jonathan Ames, who has no morals. At all. None. Finishing off this shelf on the right are favorites that I like to keep close to me to reference when I am feeling down, like The Princess Bride, and How to Build a Girl.
The third shelf hints at my deep love of all things comics and manga with titles like Through the Woods and the Scott Pilgrim series. This is also the shelf that holds some of my favorite shark books and the books my partner snuck in. I don’t mind though, Usagi Yojimbo is a classic, and his interest in horror fiction is spot on. You can see many of his other books on the top shelf as well, that man loves to read about zombies of all types.
The final shelf is full of books, and series, that have made my heart swell for one reason or another. I love going back and diving into the hilarious personal details of the marriage of Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly in The Greatest Love Story, and taking a spin across the universe in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The world of Jackaby kept me captivated through four books, that is a feat. My attention span can barely make it through a 2 hour movie without pausing to walk around. Girls Like Me, The DUFF, and Vicious captured those dark insecure, and sometimes painful parts of me that can’t accept myself. R. H. Sin’s poetry may not be for everyone one, but my experience has been that he breaks me down and builds me up with his short concise observations into the lives of lovers. And Bad Dads is a perfect journey through the fan art inspired by Wes Anderson’s library of movies. One of my all time favorite directors whose use of color palette and emotion always move me. This was one of the best gifts I ever received, but ashamedly, I can’t remember who gave it to me…
So that’s it. That’s my journey. Thanks for taking this journey through titles with me. Now look on your own shelves and try to find those hidden things you didn’t know were there, like I did.
Kristie Hill, Library Associate
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