Wednesday 8 July 2009

Some book rearranging

As you can see, I moved my books around last night and decided to put all of my Persephone books together.

The ones on the left are the ones that I have read, and the ones on the right are TBRP (that's a "to-be-read-Persephone"). Frustratingly I had more than I thought (how can it be frustrating to own too many Persephones); I thought I'd fitted them all onto one shelf, but you might spot the Persephone life of Elizabeth Taylor on the next shelf down, and you might spot Miss Pettigrew in the picture below. On the other hand, maybe I should just buy some more Persephones to fill up another whole shelf?!
(apologies for the fact that the picture is out of focus, I took it last night and only realised when I uploaded it - I'll replace it later)

Anyway, it leaves the TBRBC in much better shape :) I know that gives me the potential to expand (!) but as you can see I'm going to need to move the books down as I am rapidly filling up the space in my sequence of fiction books...

Reading-wise, as opposed to merely books and rearrangement of such, I read Home by Penelope Mortimer last night. As you may have guessed from yesterday's Teaser, it turned out to be a book about a woman who had recently been left by her husband. At that point in the book, she and her son had visited her husband's flat and removed all of the furniture. As usual with Mortimer, the book was more about relationships than plot. Although I don't think it was as good as My friend says its bullet proof or The pumpkin eater, I think I mainly didn't enjoy it as I've been reading a lot of this sort of fiction recently, and maybe I'm a bit jaded. In fact, I'm feeling a bit jaded with reading - maybe its post-holiday blues, maybe it's the fact I'm REALLY fed up with the fact that I feel like I am never (well, almost never) able to go out anywhere as I have so little energy and so much pain/discomfort, and maybe it's the fact that I have to read in the evenings at the moment as my boyfriend is watching the Tour De France.

Anyway, I intend to go to the library at lunchtime (books to return if nothing else), and try to find something DIFFERENT. Moan over. If not, I'll maybe watch a DVD on my laptop tonight - I still haven't seen The reader (missed several outings due to aforementioned poorliness), and I've been wanting to watch the film of Up the junction too for a while. We've also got the Class on loan from work (again, missed at the cinema) or there is always my lovely Lost and Found DVD.

13 comments:

  1. I love what you've done with the Persephone shelf! Even if it is more for practical than aesthetic reasons, it really works.

    I am sorry you are feeling so jaded. I think that finding something different in the library and then watching a DVD on your laptop will make a world of difference. Perhaps a revisit to beloved childhood boarding school literature should be prescribed too...

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  2. Thanks Claire. Hmm, I don't think I'm even in the mood for a Chalet School book, now that is bad! I think only some glossy magazines will do, and not from the pile of worthy magazines on my TBRNP (to-be-read-newspaper-pile), which are mainly cooking magazines. Hmm, don't Waterstones card holders get a free copy of their magazine - I could pop in and pick that up perhaps...

    Or maybe I just need some new shoes.

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  3. Great organisation! My books are all in random piles - I really should sort them out one day.

    Sorry to hear you are feeling a bit down. I really hope that things get better soon.

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  4. Love what you've done with the bookcase but yes, you must have a new photo so we can be nosy and look at your titles! Go ahead and moan, I hate it when people are martyrs to pain. Well, I take that back...my husband will moan about a hangnail and that can get pretty irritating.

    Did you see the Persephone Post blog yesterday? There's more Whipple on its way for Fall and they're looking at compiling lists of the most popular books - hooray!

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  5. I did...I've actually read that Whipple (and it's a good one!). I'm rapidly succombing to the notion that I need to have copies of the Persephone titles that I have read in non-Persephone editions...

    I love lists! Have you seen Claire's latest post? Might you join us in our Persephone-thon?

    I will get the new picture posted in 3 hours time :)

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  6. New photo on...I'm afraid I seem to have a serious case of camera shake today so the new one isn't much better, but I've taken a close up of the Persephones as I figured that's what people are most likely to want to peruse. Correct me if I'm wrong!

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  7. I just had a lovely browse around your shelves, we like a lot of the same sort of books. Too bad you didn't live closer! I would love to join you and Claire in a Persephone challenge but it's quite laughable as it takes me a week to read one! I really would like to read Mariana or A London Child of the 1870's though so perhaps if I start now lol!

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  8. You have reminded me that I drastically need to organise my own bookshelves - they are in a bad way! It has got to the stage where I can't even find books that I want to anymore. I hope your reading slump turns around.

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  9. My Persephones also all together. I've been considering doing that for Viragoes too...

    I notice an Easter egg too!

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  10. Darlene - absolutely, read one of those that week. (Or order Hetty Dorval or Every Eye if you want something definitely finishable ;) )

    Simon - yes, I bought it for my partner. I wouldn't have bothered if I'd realised that my Mum and his Mum would also give us Easter eggs. I can't eat chocolate and I've been making rather too much cake recently, hence its decline on the side...

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  11. I do love the Persephones all together. Also, hope things have turned a bit of a corner health and reading wise in the past day or two.

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  12. Oh and I have just enlarged your photos and seen what else you have on your shelves and I see so many books that are on my own! And that you are fellow WWII reader! Unbelievable. Have you read Nella Last's war yet? And I loved the Band of Brothers miniseries - did you watch that?

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  13. I am sure once I get my copy of the glue book things will improve reading wise! Feeling pretty poo today though :(

    Yes, I have read Nella Last's war - I studied it at college. Have you come across the sequel - Nella Last's Peace? And Mrs Milburn's diaries? I love books about women's experiences in WW2.

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