My Library

Posted January 27th, 2007 by JennyWren


Inspired by Petroglyph's adding a (web link) to LibraryThing, but much less organized than that program, I thought I'd have a little more listing fun by sharing some of the titles on my shelves.

Now, don't worry, Icon, I'm not about to catalog every book in my house! ;) I don't think it would be possible. Does anyone else have the "book problem"? Even after selling or giving away truckloads of them, I still don't have room to unpack all of the boxes upstairs.

Aside from thousands of kids' books, cookbooks, homeschooling books, classics, fiction, and that set of Great Books of the Western World that I finally mooched off of my mother, I do have one shelf full of "my books", in the livingroom. This holds the books that I want within reach at all times, that I refer to or pull off when I need something to read. Sometimes it also includes current fiction or a new book that I'm in the middle of, but mostly it's turned into a reference shelf, of sorts. I've noticed the same tendency in my husband; he's a fiction fan, but the books that he keeps near his desk are always related to his current interests and work: programming, writing, anime drawing.

Anyway, I apparently have more "current interests" than him, because my books take up quite a bit more room! ;)

So while you're visiting, here's a glimpse at what's there now (they used to be organized, but shelf height, random reading, and general household chaos fixed that pretty quickly):

First shelf:

* The Complete Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyczyn
* Profits from Your Backyard Herb Garden, by Lee Sturdivant
* Herbally Yours, by Penny C. Royal
* Encyclopedia for the Home, by Maud C. Cooke, the Educational Company (1902)
* ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, by A. I. Root (1975 edition)
* Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival, by Tom Brown
* Backyard Composting, by HarmoniousPress
* A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
* Bible
* Handbook of the Trees of the Northern States and Canada, East of the Rocky Mountains, by Romeyn Beck Hough, B.A.
* Helping Orphaned or Injured Wild Birds, by Diane Scarazzini
* Care of the Wild Feathered & Furred: a Guide to Wildlife Handling and Care, by Mae Hickman and Maxine Guy
* McMahon's American Gardener, by Bernard McMahon (reprint)
* Midwifery and Herbs, by Willa Shaffer
* The Glory of the Garden, edited by Bronzert and Sherwin
* The Writer's Market Companion - Hey, that's not mine!
* Herbs for Sale, by Lee Sturdivant
* Chickens in Your Backyard: A Beginner's Guide, by Rick and Gail Luttmann
* Time and Again, by Jack Finney
* The Backyard Orchardist, by Stella Otto
* The Backyard Berry Book, by Stella Otto
* Natural First Aid, by Brigitte Mars
* Peterson First Guides: Wildflowers
* Beekeeping: The Gentle Craft, by John F. Adams
* Trees of North America, a Golden Guide to Field Identification
* Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken and other Poems, Dover reprint of Mountain Interval
* Sink Reflections, by "Flylady", Marla Cilley
* Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills, Reader's Digest

Second shelf:

* Basket full of catalogs: gardening, beekeeping, chickens, homeschooling, junk
* The Indoor How-to Book of Oats, Peas, Beans, and other Pretty Plants, Hazel Perper
* Christy, Catherine Marshall
* Park's Success with Seeds, Ann Reilly
* Edible Wild Plants, Oliver Perry Medsger
* The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable, Juliette de Baraclai Levy
* The Complete Book of Annuals, Rockwell & Grayson
* Hmm, there are a couple of poetry books missing here…101 Famous Poems, for one.

Shelf three:

* Ooh, some pictures of my kids were tucked in here!
* The "Have-More" Plan, Ed and Carolyn Robinson
* The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emery - a wonderful book
* An issue of Hobby Farms magazine, on dairy goats
* Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew
* Catfish Ponds and Lily Pads: Creating and Enjoying a Family Pond, Louise Riotte
* Fences, Gates, and Bridges and How to Build Them, George A. Martin
* How to Grow More Vegetables,etc., John Jeavons - newest addition to the shelf!
* Four-Season Harvest, Eliot Coleman (also new)
* Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Rodale Press
* Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition…, Sally Fallon
* Insert more gardening books here, this is getting old…
* Natural Horse*Man*Ship, Pat Parelli
* Gnomes, Poortvliet and Huggen
* Seed to Bloom, Susan Powell
* Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth
* Life Skills for Kids, Christine Field
* Not for Packrats Only, Don Aslett
* Some more gardening and herb books
* Clutter's Last Stand, Don Aslett

Last shelf (whew, not much here):

* A bunch of home improvement, weatherizing, construction, do-it-yourself, etc. books.
* the next few are Reader's Digest Books:
* Strange Stories, Amazing Facts
* Mysteries of the Unexplained
* The World's Last Mysteries
* Mysteries of the Ancient Americas
* American Folklore and Legend
* America's Fascinating Indian Heritage
* The Step-by-Step Needlecraft Encyclopedia, Judy Brittain

And there you have it! The other books I refer to regularly are related to homeschooling, painting or crochet, I keep them in different spots. And the nature guides have ended up in the kids' rooms.

What's on your shelf?