Top Shelf: Classics
Classic books have a reputation for being stuffy and kinda crap, but I've always found them to be really well written. Which is probably why they're classics. By far my favourite on this shelf is Dumas' The Three Musketeers, which reads like the pulpiest, most rip-roaring swashbuckling swordfighting adventure ever. It's originally in fairly old French, so I'm not sure how much of that is down to a more modern translation (maybe Tangerine can fill me in here?) but it's seriously good.
Second Shelf: Sci-fi (and Tolkien)
Third Shelf: Classics (The other kind)
I'm a bit of an Ancient History nut, evidently. This shelf needs two favourites - an ancient and modern one. As far as ancient writing goes, The Odyssey is it. It's a series of brilliant tales of cunning and adventure and myth (seeing a pattern here...). As for modern takes on history, I thoroughly recommend Rubicon and Persian Fire, both by Tom Holland, which are narrative history (think Crash Course) about Julius Caesar and the Persian Wars respectively. Entertaining, and actually factually accurate, though he takes a little license here and there.
Fourth Shelf: Fantasy
I wanted to pick Good Omens for this one, but I lent it to a friend and is therefore technically not on my shelf. So I guess this prize goes to The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. It's an awesome take on the Generic Fantasy Adventure™, but I have to warn you that the third book isn't out yet, and if you read the first two you will join me in actual physical agony over the wait for the third.
Bottom Shelf: French books, Popular Science, Movies and Video games(!?)
And that's my bookshelf. I was about to make an offer to lend you anything you liked that you see, but that's probably not all that practical.
OR IS IT.
No. No it isn't.
Well, I'll read Les Trois Mousquetaires both in French and English (if I can manage to find that here) and I'll tell you afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI love that you have such an order in your shelf!
ReplyDeleteAgreed! I try, but I can never decide how I want to arrange my books.
DeleteI love how you have a Darwin Awards book!
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me jealous. I want a book shelf too, dammit! I don't wanna shove my books into a closet!
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you have a bookshelf? :O EVERYBODY NEEDS A BOOKSHELF.
DeleteI know! It's horrible! I feel so deprived! :U (Even my thesis adviser was horrified when I told her I don't have a bookshelf.)
DeleteWhen we moved three years ago we didn't take this one shelf I had with us. It was a cheap one, wobbly and looked like it would become unusable soon, so it was not worth the hassle anymore. It had worked as my bookshelf for years and without it, I had none. I've been trying to look for a new one but they are always either ugly, too big, too small or too expensive. Or not available in stores nearby.
I keep my books in the same closet I keep my clothes. Well, some I keep in this small TV counter that I use as a night stand and a place for my printer/scanner/copying machine...
Didn't Scandanavians practically invent cheap, moderately reliable, fairly attractive flat-packed furniture though?!
DeleteOh Rocky. Finland is not a part of Scandinavia. Finland is Fenno-Scandia. Scandinavia covers the countries of the Scandinavian peninsula and Scandinavian mountains. Which is mainly Sweden and Norway. So...I'm not a Scandinavian really.
DeleteI get the feeling you are thinking about Ikea, though, the Swedish store chain, and its cheapo products. The closest Ikea to my city is in Sweden...across the border. And I don't have the means to get there.
Finns have been known for good, simple design too, but that doesn't mean the stores are full of that stuff, or that it's cheap (furniture is rarely cheap if you ask me. Yet again, I have zero income). Plus attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder. >__> And even the most attractive shelf might be too big or too small for my needs.
I'm picky about shelves.
Can I ask you something... "In The Eye of the beholder" it's a common expression in English?... Cause I only relate it with the D&D creature and the old school video games derived from this monsters XD.
DeleteYes. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a very common idiom, to the point that it's a cliche to say it. Which is probably why it might feel unnatural to say it, actually.
DeleteI was just going to say Sweden is just next door (or nearby) and they have lovely cheap, bookshelves. I'm surprised there isn't one in Finland though.
DeleteAhhhhhhhh, geography. I did know IKEA is Swedish, and I should probably have thought a bit before generalising like that :(. Especially since I frequently get it myself (Sydney isn't anywhere near Perth.) Sorry if I offended you.
DeleteBack on topic though, have you considered maybe making some? I've been meaning to throw together some of those floating ones from that Vlogbrothers video because they look *so cool*.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJVvA3cdFx4
@millie: There are Ikeas in Finland, but not too many of them and I live far away from all of them.
Delete@Rocky: Nah, you didn't offend me. But you did hit on a geographical fact I've had to explain a billion times before...even to Finnish people -facepalm-. Actually, our city's new slogan claims we're Scandinavian, too, and that kinda kills me. It's kinda the cherry on top of an already lousy marketing campaign. God I hate this new image they created for the city. It's just stupid and useless.
Making a shelf would be hard for me. We don't have the proper tools and I get the feeling that buying material would probably end up costing more than a pre-made shelf. We did consider trying to get a family friend to make us one but that idea kinda died for one reason or another.