What does my bookshelf say about me?  I read an article in the Omaha World Herald a few weeks ago that spoke of how a book collection reflects the person who owns it.

Do I need more science fiction and mystery in this bookshelf?

I walked through my house, pouring over the titles on each bookshelf. My eclectic collection reflects a lot of disparate interests. Two double-wide, seven-feet-tall shelves line my family room. Two four-shelf cases grace my living room. Three tall shelf units (the type you can buy at Shopko) line my basement family room. Other shelves hold kids’ books. And all are full, even though I cull them annually for our church garage sale.

Is this enough Plains history and science?

The first and easiest thing my bookshelves say is that I probably own too many books! I may be a book hoarder. At the very least, I have trouble parting with books I have loved, books with beautiful bindings, books about my favorite subjects, books I want to read again, and books I mean to read soon. Books fill each bookshelf fairly well, and I find it more difficult every year to fill a box for the rummage sale.

I could use more world and English literature in this bookshelf…

My shelves also tell of my background working in libraries and bookstores. Being the daughter of a librarian, my books are shelved by genre, author, or time frame, of course. Two of the basement bookshelf units contain science fiction/fantasy, while one contains mysteries. The living room units are full of historical nonfiction and science. The shelves in my family room are divided into world literature and English literature on the north, while American literature and fiction overflow on the south.

I can never get enough American historical novels…

How old was I when I first read of Elizabeth and Darcy? Who was that professor who helped me see the inner beauty of Wordsworth’s poems? How much better would my term paper about Thomas Jefferson be if I wrote it today? What interesting worlds can be created by authors who let go of the world as we know it? Don’t I need another book about Lewis and Clark? What’s the newest National Park adventure by Nevada Barr? When will Sheriff Longmire run into Joe Pickett?

Anyone for some historical nonfiction?

The books on my bookshelf follow my own footsteps through life. Thornton W. Burgess, The Boxcar Children, Louisa May Alcott, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and Anne of Green Gables were my childhood friends. I graduated to Bronte, Austen, Elswyth Thane, Mary Stewart, Neville Shute, and A. J. Cronin. Then I found Michener. Oh, the glory of Michener – start at the very beginning and leave nothing out!

Don’t judge me for my affinity for children’s books!

I favor all books about King Arthur, many novels about the Tudors, early American history – fiction and nonfiction, Nebraska and western history and fiction, science fiction and fantasy, mysteries, and religious fiction. With the recent explosion of young adult fiction, I find myself drawn to them for fantasy page turners when I don’t have much time. But I am apt to choose almost any genre, depending on my mood.

I guess my bookshelf collection proves that it’s not so important what I’m reading as it is that I am reading! And I am a book hoarder.