1 EAGLETON NOTES: What Do My Books Tell You?

.

.

Wednesday 18 May 2016

What Do My Books Tell You?

Meike made a comment on a recent post "It does help getting to know a person better when you see what kind of books they have, doesn't it?" That reminded me of a couple of posts I did 5 years ago on the books in my bookcases. 

I started the first post with an anecdote from 40 years ago.  I was waiting for a colleague.  He had just moved in a few doors away not long after we moved to Lewis.  I was looking at his bookcase.  I have no idea at all why I asked but something made me ask if he minded me looking at his books.  He replied that he didn't like people looking at his bookcases because books were a private thing and you could learn too much about a person by knowing what books were in their bookcase.
In the second post the subject of electronic books and the lack of book cases to look at was raised (I think by Monica). 

I had been looking for a book today. I knew it was a proper one but I checked the Kindle to be certain. It made me realise that I had a pretty eclectic set of books on it and thought I'd share them and see what you could tell from them. And if you can tell anything about me then you are a "better man than I am Gunga Din".






26 comments:

  1. Except for the bible I've never heard of any of these titles. Now my friend, what does that tell you about me?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Red it tells me that my book list isn't representative of the top 100 most read titles!

      Delete
  2. Saw several titles that I've never read but which sound very intriguing. One in particular caught my eye - Michael Wright's "Je t'aime a la folie."

    I've been thinking about this lately. Looking at my bookcases, you would immediately suspect I am an Anglophile! xoxox DeeDee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DeeDee it was a shame that Michael Wright only wrote those two books in the series. Whilst there are many books written by people from the UK starting a new life in France these were a rather better read than many (in my view).

      Delete
  3. Well I'm never one to judge a book by its owner....nor the owner by the book.
    Looks like you have a far-flung appreciation for many subjects.
    Wonder what folks would think of the books in my bookcase. From the wide assortment they'd reinforce their perception of me and deem me indeed a mad woman.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To be hones Virginia many of the titles (eg The Iliad) are there for reference and curiosity and are not books I would ever sit down and read (would anyone other than a scholar?).

      Delete
  4. I still have a bookcase ( almost singular rather than the old plural versions) but have hundreds of e-books. I don't mind that people cant see the titles anymore as some of them probably are too revealing in the light of recent events, but I do miss sharing the joy of lending books I have enjoyed to people. It also means they don't get the pleasure of even seeing whether we have similar book tastes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fi I still have a very large number of books (and CDs) in bookcases. To me it's part of the living room and who I am and I have always (so far) resisted suggestions that my house would look 'better' without them although I would certainly have more wall space for pictures. Mind you I would then have to build even more storage in the loft because I couldn't actually get rid of all the books: perish the thought.

      Delete
  5. Oh! Dear! I think you might be me; or me you!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lees why the "Oh dear!"? I think we should compliment and complement each other.

      Delete
    2. Oh bum! Having corrected the last response, Lee, the spillchucker got the better of me and your name. Many apologies.

      Delete
    3. Hahahahaha! No worries, dear! ;)

      Delete
  6. Is The Cameron Fiend any good?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adrian it's a strange book. I can't recall who recommended it but I started it and decided it definitely wasn't my cup of tea. The language is rather arcane and I could cope with that but the story wasn't for me.

      Delete
    2. Graham, I suspect I'm to blame. :) And I read it because Meike read another title by the same author. (Which I can see you also downloaded, but apparently never opened!)

      Delete
    3. Thanks Monica. I like it when mysteries are solved.

      Delete
  7. It tells me that you like to download free books (like me) 📕📗📘📙

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Peter May books intrigue me ~ is he a local author? Are those books fiction or non-fiction? They look like fiction to me.

      Delete
    2. Carol, he's a Weegie. I think he lives in France now.

      Delete
    3. You're correct Carol: especially books I would want for reference like some of the ancient Greek texts because one can search them using the Kindle app. Adrian is correct although you may not know that a Weegie is a Glaswegian. His books are brilliantly researched (he lives in the community whilst he's researching). I did a post on one of his books on my New Zealand blog. I'll repeat it on this blog tomorrow.

      Delete
  8. You have an interesting collection, Graham! I don't have a lot of e-books yet as I love the feel of a real book in my hand. I currently have 2 large & tall bookcases in my family room, and one small bookcase in my study; all full of books. I do think they add to the character of the room and definitely say something about who I am!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz I still have lots and lots of books in the house Liz but I find the Kindle a very useful tool when travelling and ebooks in general are good for reference and searching electronically.

      Delete
  9. One thing I can tell from your Kindle bookshelf is that you have probably downloaded quite a few books mentioned by other blogging friends... Like me, and Meike, and your brother, and Frances... :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looking at your kindle's contents is almost like looking at my own - I'd say that we have at least 50 % in common :-)
    Like Monica says, one thing I can tell is that you have downloaded some books mentioned by fellow bloggers... as I have done myself :-)
    The book case in my bedroom is small and holds only those books I feel I really never want to part with. There is not much room left for new ones (which does not stop me from buying books every time I am in England, or my mother-in-law to send me more each birthday and Christmas).
    Mind if I pick up your idea and do a "See what's on my Kindle" post of my own?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meike I'd love to see what's on your Kindle. I assumed, I think, that your dislike of clutter would extend to the Kindle and I imagined that you probably erased books from the Kindle once you had read them.

      Delete

Comment moderation is activated 14 days after the post to minimise unwanted comments and, hopefully, make sure that I see and reply to wanted comments.