An Affinity for Books: A Glimpse of my Book Collection

I love books. There's no question about that. In fact, if there was no bed inside my room, people might mistake it for a library or study room upon seeing it for the first time. Heck, I myself sometimes think that my room is not meant to be inhabited! Just look at my two bookshelves! It's not yet that many (as compared to other book collector's stuff), but I take great pride in my book collection. It wasn't easy to buy the books that I wanted... It took years of persuading my parents and cousin to buy some rare pieces in there!

This is my first bookshelf and it is attached to my room's wall, just behind my door. Once, my room got flooded with rain water since our house's roof gutter was blocked. Since my room was directly below that roof gutter, much of the disaster took place in it.  Unfortunately, a lot of books 'perished' from that ordeal so I had to start a new book collection and these books are the new contents of my new book collection. Wow, I mentioned 'new' three times in one sentence, how redundant!

So as luck would have it, I was able to buy a lot of books as time passed by. My bookshelf # 1 couldn't contain all my books anymore so my grandmother had another bookshelf built (with a shoe cabinet underneath). for my room  It wasn't an easy decision though when I had this installed in my room. My vanity table had to be removed so as to make space for this new bookshelf... I don't exactly regret my choice, but I do find it hard to put on make-up while standing up nowadays!

Anyway, moving on... With this number of books, it was very difficult for me to remember the stories that each book entailed. Thus, for this year, I made a new resolution: To make a 'book diary,' which includes a brief summary of the book I've read, my thoughts about it, my rating, and some interesting excerpts from it. Unfortunately, I only started this year thus, it is only limited to the newest novels in my collection.

So, these are the fountain pens that I use to write in my special book diary. My handwriting isn't good per se,but I use this anyway because it makes me feel 'intellectual.' In other words, "feel-na-feel ko magsulat." In a more practical note, I use these pens since it is a waste to just display it. Also, the ink's gonna just dry up! However, there are times when I become too lazy to write and not to mention, it is such a hassle to refill the fountain pen's reservoir everytime it runs out. Because of that predicament, I decided to make a 'book blog' though this blog wouldn't be limited to books alone instead of just writing my thoughts in my diary.

So for this summer, these books are the newest addition to my collection. I call them my 'summer-stack-of-books-to read.'  I've been on a roll these past few days. I can now control my use of the internet (yay me!) to make some time for reading sessions. Since I miss doing assignments, I'd like to think of these books as homework. Now, I have something better to do with my time instead of just gaping around like a fish out of water! So this book lineup consists of the following: 1) Philippa Gregory's "The White Queen" 2) Isabel Allende's "The House of Spirits" 3) Tracy Chevalier's "Remarkable Creatures" 4) Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" 5) Yasmin Crowther's "The Safron Kitchen" 6) Tucker Malarkey's "Ressurection" 7) Anya Seton's "Green Darkness" and 8) Gilbert Morris' "The Mermaid in the Basement."

     

Since I have kind cousins who share the same passion for books as I do, they also lent me additional reading materials. 1) Richard Bach's "Illusions" 2) Ricky Lee's "Para kay B" 3) Mary Stewart's "The Last Enchantment" 4) Ekaterina Gordeeva's "My Sergei" and 5) Hella Haase's "In a Dark Wood Wandering." Just to give you an idea, I'm interested in reading historical novels especially those that involve the earlier ages of European history. Sometimes though, I do make exceptions in the books that I read. As long as its good and the theme appeals to my taste, I read it.

                                

Prior to meeting with my cousin, I was reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, but I had to switch to Joel Derfner's "Swish" since my cousin emphasized that she needed it back as soon as possible. I think I'll enjoy reading it since it was written by a gay author and its supposedly very funny. I think I'll be having a good laugh later! Anyway, just to inform you dear reader, I will start writing my book reviews after this entry. I'll probably make a review on the books that were included in my book diary... However, if you have a suggestion on what book I should review first, just leave a comment. If you also have book recommendations, please, do not hesitate to share your ideas! I made this blog for all book lovers anyway! But beware though, my reviews will involve some really frank and honest opinions of mine. I would not hold back!