Too Fond of Books

She is too fond of books and it has turned her brain. --Louisa May Alcott

Susan here, thinking there are So. Many. Books. in the world right now, including in my house—I’ll never find the time to read them all. And yet I keep acquiring them. They look so good and enticing on the shelves, and stacked in toppling piles here and there . . . they even look great in rows and rows in my Kindle . . . There’s a comfort in being surrounded by books, by that wealth of knowledge and thought and imagination, by the color and texture and scent of the pages and covers, by the promise they hold, and the memories that others keep for us. Regardless of whether or not we’ve read the books that surround us, as many of us know--there can never be too many books.

A room without books is like a body without a soul. --Cicero

Yes. What Cicero said. 
(The historian in me wants to add that he wasn't talking about books per se, but scrolls or early codices, so his quote might be closer to "A room without scrolls is like a body without a soul," which has a nice little ring to it.)

Some of the zillions of books I’ve read and reshelved could eventually be redirected to other hands and other homes, but mostly I'm not that efficient, and most I will keep. If I haven’t read them yet, and there are plenty of those, I maintain all good intentions to do that. And I’m visual enough that I need to see the Unread where they cluster on shelves or in baskets. A great many have been read or at least browsed and skimmed, so I know what’s there if I need it, particularly so for the research books, which I try to group in ways that I can find them again as needed--Scottish and British history, medieval, costumes, legends, that sort of thing. 

 

Then there are the truly special reads—books that I’ve read that I don’t want to let go. If we ever downsize and have to pare the bookshelves, I’ll load up the e-reader with the books I cannot live without, to paraphrase Th. Jefferson.

Those particular books are the ones that hold deep personal meaning for me, memories and emotions, innermost ties to some realization that changed me or opened up some world to me, books that still hold fascination or a place of comfort that still feels so warm and loving that I will return to them again and again. Some I read in childhood, some later, some in the past year or less. You never know when a special book will appear in your life—it’s always unexpected, a book that connects so individually and intimately and uniquely to us that we want to hold it close and we want to share our joy in it too. Yet what captures one person may not click for the next reader.  

I cannot live without books. --Thomas Jefferson

So I have a few questions for you today about your book collections—the Unread, the Read, the Special Reads. 

I’ll answer first myself, best I can. We’re very, very fond of books here at Wenches, and none of us can live without them, in whatever form they take—and we love best to share that love. There’s always that chance we’ll find a new treasure for our shelves.

What book would you never, ever give up? The best you've read, or the most meaningful?

One book?! Oh wait I made up this question. Make that books.
Probably Mary Stewart’s The Moon-Spinners, not only because of the lovely quality of the language and imagery, but because it was the first romantic novel that caught me as a young girl, and holds up with re-reading. And the gorgeous Ann of Cambray by Mary Lide (which inspired me to finally try writing a book, and a medieval--not to match or outdo, but to try to stretch to her standard). Another is The Hobbit--a book that contains an entire universe of story for a reader and a writer. There are nonfiction books too--Thomas Costain's chock-full, gossipy series on medieval England, Barrow's brilliant study of Robert Bruce, Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit, and more. . . .

Which books would you be content with if you were stranded on an island? 

See "books I could never give up," above. I'd need a box of books ... all of Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense novels, and plenty by Anya Seton, Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. I’d be happy too with the full set of Harry Potter books. For nonfiction, I'd toss in Seabiscuit and Costain, maybe Fred Anderson, whose studies of American history are impeccable. If I have to sit on that island avoiding the sun (I burn so bad), I want books that are clever, riveting, beautifully written. And I want a lot of them if I have to stay there! 

Have you ever felt so connected to a character that you wished they were real?  

Pippi Longstocking. As a kid, I wished I lived next door to her. When I was older, I deeply connected with Jo March in Little Women and with Jane Eyre. In the last few years, Flavia de Luce, that clever girl, surprised me with how much I have connected with her in Alan Bradley’s mystery series.

What books are on your nightstand right now?

Roomies by Christina Lauren, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Pam Grout’s Art & Soul Reloaded, and a Kindle that is totally loaded.

Will you ever get through your reading pile or complete your book collection?

No.  

Your turn! Would you take a moment to answer one (or more) of these questions, and share with us which books have found permanent homes on your shelves?

 

Comments

[Mary T]

If I were stranded on an island I would like to have PERDITA and SWEET AND TWENTY by Joan Smith and A LOYAL COMPANION and MISS TREADWELL'S TALENT by Barbara Metzger. These books make me laugh and laughing helps me when I am sad. Being stranded on an island might make me sad (smile).

[Liz V.]

If marooned, don't want depressing, so Moonspinne, yes. But Stewart's Madam, Will You Talk is even better. Helen MacInnes' Above Suspicion. Barbara Michaels' Annie, Come Home. Could I take two boxes?

[Andrea Penrose]

Wonderful post, Susan. I'm in awe you could answer your own questions. Don't make me choose between my books! But okay, the desert island. Here I'm going to cheat! The complete set of Harry Potter, the complete set of Mary Stewart romantic suspense (The Moonspinners is among my all time favorites, for the exact reasons you mentioned) the complete novels of Jane Austen. For nonfiction, The Birth of the Modern by Paul Johnson, all of Richard Holmes's delightful histories, and a whole bunch of art books—Turner, Delacroix, Cezanne, Picasso , . ..um, I may need two islands!

[Kareni]

You realize that these are truly horrible questions, don't you?

What book would you never, ever give up? The best you've read, or the most meaningful?

As a teenager, this was probably Ruth Doan MacDougall's The Cheerleader; it's a book I fear re-reading since I have no idea what I would now think of it. I lent it to a teen baby sitter at one point, and it was not returned. I found another copy which resides happily (unread) on my shelf.

Which books would you be content with if you were stranded on an island?

Do I get to take my Kindle and a solar charger? Will there be wi-fi so I can download from the ... cough, cough ... thousands of books I have in the cloud?

Assuming paperbooks only ~ some current favorites include Anne Cleeland's Acton and Doyle series, S.K. Dunstall's Linesmen series, Lyn Gala's Aliens series, perhaps all of JD Robb's ...in Death series [I stopped maybe ten books ago but would like to get caught up], and a one volume OED with magnifying glass so that I'd have plenty of new stuff to read.

Have you ever felt so connected to a character that you wished they were real?

I don't think so.

[Janice]

Desert Island choices? -- Fiction only - the same old ones: The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings; all of Jane Austen's completed novels; some Georgette Heyer (These Old Shades, Devil's Cub, The Quiet Gentleman, The Reluctant Widow, A Civil Contract); Murder Must Advertise and the Harriet Vane sequence by Dorothy Sayers; Robert A. Heinlein's juvies.

I too have many books I haven't gotten to yet, and every once in a while I get to one bought years ago and find it doesn't hold my interest at all and I wonder what ever led me to it at the time (I used to think it was bad luck to leave a bookstore without purchasing something, but alas, this superstition hasn't saved any bookstores that I know of). I too like to have print copies in TBR piles. I find keeping track of what's on my Kindle is too much like work. I like to have books out where I can see them. I wonder what will happen to them when I am gone; none of my relatives are "bookies", so some charity will probably get them. I hope they get into new readers' hands but maybe they'll all just get pulped. I think people trust this new electronic age too much; over the centuries bound books have survived much better than electronic ephemera have so far.

[Sue McCormick]

On the desert island, If I can't take my e-reader, I'll go with Stuart, Rawlings, Sayers, and Christie (as mentioned above). For the non-fiction I wand Catherine Drinker Bowens: A Yankee from Olympus, John Adams and the American Revolution, and the Lion and the Throne in which she explores the development of our legal system in
Great Britain, and then the United States (in reverse order) plus her Miracle in Philadelphia, which covers the Constitutional Convention.

I am incapable of paring down choices in any other situation.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Susan, I refuse to list favorites, but so many loved titles have been mentioned already! Mary Stewart, Costain's Plantagenet series, Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, Paul Johnson's BIRTH OF THE MODERN--and more, more, more!!!!

[Janet]

I'd take almost all of Mary Stewart. (The Gabriel Hounds has not aged well, in my opinion.) The Lord of the Rings. Pretty much all of Georgette. The Roselynde novels of Roberta Gellis. And all of Lois McMaster Bujold! If I had that solar battery and my kindle, I'd keep the J.D. Robb books, Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series, Dorothy Sayers, and Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody books.

[Laura Boon]

I love that quote by Louisa May Alcott. Despite the 'too' in it, I always thought the turning was for the best. Who doesn't want to be turned? It seems to me that if I was stuck on a desert island, I would want the comfort of familiar, great reads. I would want a lot of the Wenches to keep me company - Anne Gracie's Chance Sisters Quartet, Joanna Bourne's Regency Spy Series and All A Woman Wants by Patricia Rice, to name but a few. Then there are the Loretta Chase books clustered in a loose series around Lord of Scoundrels; Anna Campbell's Sons of Sin series; Tessa Dare's Romancing the Duke; and Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers. Since I am an eclectic reader, I'd also want Christine Feehan's Shadow Rider series, the books in Thea Harrison's Moonshadow series, all the books in Rhenna Morgan's contemporary Men of Haven series and Lucy Parker's London Celebrities series. Oh, and Ellie Griffith and Fred Vargas's crime novels. I hope I'm not rescued until I've re-read them all!

[Karin]

For some reason Muriel Spark's "A Far Cry From Kensington" really speaks to me, although many of her other books are good too. I am particularly attached to some autobiographies, and I couldn't let go of Roald Dahl's "Going Solo" or Jill Ker Conway's "The Road from Coorain". I would definitely need Sayer's 4 Lord Peter books featuring Harriet Vane on the desert island, along with some classic romance by Jo Beverly, Lisa Kleypas, Elizabeth Hoyt, Anne's "Perfect" series, the Spymaster books, Edith Layton, Georgette Heyer, Liz Carlyle, of course the list goes on and on. I have never gotten around to reading much by Barbara Samuel or Stella Riley, so I would take their complete works, and hopefully on the desert island there would be time to finally read them!
On my side table right now in the living room waiting to be read(there are more in the bedroom, but these are just the books I can see from where I'm sitting) are Miss Buncle's Book(D.E. Stevenson), The Summer Before the War(Helen Simonson), Barbarian Days(William Finnegan), Travels in Siberia(Ian Frazier), and Untie My Heart(Judith Ivory). The bedroom pile has more romance because that's what I like to read before going to sleep.
No, I will never get through my reading pile. There are boxes of unread books in my closet, and many more on the shelves.

[Mary M.]

Island-stranded, I'd be grateful for any reading, even a medical pamphlet or the proverbial matchbook cover. But I'd fall on my knees and cry for joy if a complete set of Carol Nelson Douglas's Midnight Louie mysteries washed up beside me. More than two dozen volumes with an unmatched cast of entertaining characters and situations that never grow stale for me.

[Annette N]

Stranded - all of the Amelia Peabody books. Then I would not care when or if I were rescued.

When I was a child - I identified with Jo March and Nancy Drew but also Betsy Tacy and Tib from the Maud Hart Lovelace series. I wanted to be able to have friends like those...I lived where there were nothing but boys.

Right now I am reading Katie Fforde's Restoring Grace as well as The Big Book of Female Detectives.

[Vicki L.]

If stranded...well, decisions, decisions. For non-fiction I would want the biggest, most detailed set of encyclopedias possible so I can read about any and all subjects. I'd like an Almanac, not a Farmers, but the kind they used to put out every year on all kinds of facts, figures, laws, etc. The ones that were for the US, the world, etc.

When I was 18, my family went on a 8 week camping trip and I can't tell you how many hours us kids spent looking at and reading things in the almanac because there was NOTHING ELSE to read.

I'd like all the Stephen Ambrose books because he covers a really wide variety of topics and he writes so well. I'm sure there are some I haven't read.

For Fiction - hmmm, D.E. Stevenson - lots of hers. Mary Jo's at least 30. Jayne Ann Krentz, Jayne Castle, Amanda Quick. Definitely all the Dust Bunny books. Not her last 2 or 3 Quick and Krentz books. Linda Howard's Mackenzie series. LIsa Kleypas - oh yes! Georgette Heyer - every single one... Anne Gracie's, Joanna Bournes Spymaster series. Kristen Painter's Nocturne Falls series because they are sooo silly. Definitely Agnes and the Hitman. That is a book I re-read at least once if not twice a year because it is so crazy. Jennifer Ashley - Mackenzie's...

Duchess of Asherwood, Touch not the Cat, Red Adam's Lady, Trustee of the Toolroom, A Town Like Alice....so many individual titles I can't do without. Plus Joan Wolf, Catherine Coulter and Mary Anne Gibbs early early regencies, that have weathered time well.

Robin D. Owen's Celta series. Janet Chapman, Clare Darcy, JOan Smith, Joan Wolf, Rosamund Pilcher. Elsie Lee...definitely can't give those up. Lori Foster, Stephanie Laurens, Linda Lael Miller, Robyn Carr - Virgin River series....Emily March.... Dorothy Gilman's Mrs Pollifax series. Oh yes...need it. JoAnn Ross... Sharon Sala - there are 2 of her series I can't get enough of...

By the way, I'm being washed up with a waterproof shipping container that is packed FULL of paperback books...grin. It also has 15 Kindles pre-loaded and 16 solar collector's to keep all the Kindles powered up. And it has 3 or 4 hot spot things powerful enough to connect and download more books... We mustn't forget the solar lights that can stay lit for hours so I can continue reading long into the night. Ahem.....

No...I can't narrow it down any more than that...

[Margaret]

So I clicked on the Ann of Cambry link, only to see I had bought it two years ago - no doubt after reading a positive comment about it right here! It's somewhere in my stacks and piles of books that fill every available inch of my sinking-under-the-weight-of-all-the-books house. My husband and I got to know each other by meandering through bookstores together, and we've fed each other's addition ever since. Forget that silly island! We're ready to face the apocalypse safely ensconced in our own overflowing library. Now back to my books: at the moment I'm enjoying a new YA on the main level, a wonderfully suspenseful Suzanne Brockmann through my earbuds, and a beloved Mary Balogh next to my bed. Bliss.

[Oana-Maria Uliu]

Oh, I wouldn't refer to The Cursed Child as J.K. Rowling's.

What books would I never give up? I suppose I could live without books at this point in life, given the fact that I always have stories in my head and I can write my own books. I don't want to, though. I love books.

Recently I've become really fond of the Song of Ice and Fire series, yet the first thing that came to my mind when I read your question was that I would always have a soft spot for Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. As a child, I used to be obsessed with Karl May's Winnetou.

Last year I read The Dovekeepers and I loved it.

I'm also fond of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series and I wish Harry Potter had been written when I was a child. I like J.K. Rowling's other books, too.

If I were stranded on an island, I wish I had a book which should contain advice on how to survive.

Special connections with characters I wish were real? Varys, Petyr Baelish, Tyrion Lannister, and the Hound from the Song of Ice and Fire series, Old Shatterhand as presented in Winnetou, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black from the Harry Potter books, not from the films, and, of course, I have special connections with my own characters, but those are not relevant in this particular context.

What books are on my nightstand right now? Nicola's Phantom Tree (read), Karen Brooks's The Locksmith's Daughter and The Brewer's Tale (read), Philippa Carr's Daughters of England series (partially read), George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire (volumes 1-5: read), Donna Tartt's Secret History (to be read), Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone (to be read), and V.H. Leslie's Bodies of Water (to be read) + Lee Mackenzi's Gentleman's Guide To Vice and Virtue (currently reading).

[Peg]

Ooo, we like some of the same slightly less famous books/authors. Red Adam's Lady is one of my all time favorites. Clare Darcy is a comfort read, also Elsie Lee. I'm with you about taking along an almanac; I used to read encyclopedias for fun.