As I have much less space for books than I used to have, I had to come up with a system to choose which book would stay and which would go. I think I have mentioned earlier that I usually save nonfiction books, but only save fiction books that I really love. In this case I know that the books standing on my shelves are my absolute favourites. I don't throw away the other books but give them away to friends or second hand shops so other people can enjoy them. The other reason why I choose this way of preserving some books is that I rarely re-read a book. There are exceptions of course, but rare.
I wanted to share with you my favourite books that I keep on my shelves. This series will be a list of nonfiction and fiction, starting authors on letter A.
Adkins, Lesley and Boy - The Key of Egypt, The Race to Read the Hieroglyphs
Armstrong, Karen - A Short History of Islam
Ashdown-Hill, John - Eleanor, The Secret Queen - The Woman who put Richard III on the Throne
Alighieri, Dante - The Divine Comedy - Hell
Alighieri, Dante - The Divine Comedy - Purgatory
Alighieri, Dante - The Divine Comedy - Paradise
Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice
Auster, Paul - The Book of Illusions
The Divine Comedy - I had them on my shelves for ages, and finally got to read them. Not an easy read, but still enjoyable the way it was written.
Pride and Prejudice - My absolute favourite of Austen's books, and this I have actually re-read. Maybe even more than once. Not to talk about the TV-series which I have seen several times.
The Book of Illusions - Also a favourite Paul Auster. I was totally hooked by the story of silent comedian Hector Mann who vanished from sight way back in 1929. When a professor embarks on a journey to find out more about this man, curious things happen.
THis is a fun post and gives me ideas to ponder. The books on our shelves -- and why we keep them!
ReplyDeleteJeanie, looking forward to see what you come up with. I thought it was a good way for me personally to reflect on the books I save. Why do I like them?
DeleteMy system is similar to yours. I keep mostly nonfiction, with a shelf of fiction I might read again.
ReplyDeleteWell Deb, sounds like the system I decided to follow. It does not mean I will read them all again. The nonfiction are always good to use to look things up. The fiction shows what you really like. Possibly some of them will be read again.
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