Larkin' about

     What better way is there to spend a bank holiday than reorganising the book collection?! This task was long overdue as things have been getting out of hand, bookwise. We have piles on the floor, hundreds double-stacked, and can't find what we want. Extra shelves are needed - another headache - but for now we are sorting what is already housed and reasonably well-organised, sending a load to the charity shop and consolidating a few things to make space elsewhere.

    Any gaps are purely temporary as we bring books from other parts of the house and arrange alphabetically within subjects. We've done essays, plays and poetry so far and our work has yielded one or two surprises.

     You may remember a post a while ago when we discussed bookmarks, and Mr. C. confessed that in extremis he had used an oatcake to keep his place. Baked goods and bus tickets are the least of it: as I was dusting his copy of Philip Larkin's Collected Poems I discovered his missing credit card. Appropriately, it was marking the page of a poem on age. 'Nuff said.

Comments

[Margaret Powling]

What a great way to spend a cold Bank Holiday Monday, sorting books! I'm the book person here (Himself does most other jobs but leaves the bookshelves to me!) but it's a tiring job which I don't enter into lightly! I have to be in the mood and that is usually when I lose patience with the piles which are constantly toppling over and I know that a drastic 'weed' is necessary once more. Unlike yourself, I don't have any plays and only a little poetry (not overfond of poetry, never have been, much preferring prose and I tend to think that much modern poetry has simply been set out prettily on a page to look effective. Now I'm waiting to be shot down in pieces as being a total philistine!) Isn't it interesting, though, looking at someone else's bookshelves? When I buy the monthly style glossies and see bookshelves, I get out my magnifying glass, turn the page sideways, and read the titles! I wonder who else does this?

[rosie]

What a lovely way to spend a cold day! I think we need to follow suit at my house: poetry is languishing in the hallway (with the African fiction), contemporary British fiction is in the attic (suspect terribly academic husband is embarassed by my enjoyment of popular fiction) and art books are scattered through 4 rooms...

[Fiberjoy]

Waving hand at the back: Yes, I scrutinize pictures for the titles on other's shelves.

In February we made a trip to Ikea and bought a couple more Billy bookcases. A huge drawback is the fixed middle shelf spot.

[R J Keefe]

It is so good finally to have reached the SECOND volume of the Loeb Virgil. (And I thought I was so clever, getting out of having to read the Aeneid in school!)

[Mark Thwaite]

"When I ... see bookshelves, I get out my magnifying glass, turn the page sideways, and read the titles!"

Yup: don't worry Margaret, you most certainly aren't the only one, I do this too.

If I see a picture of a bookshelf -- indeed, if I see someone reading on a bus or a tube -- I have to know!!