Favorite Books

Some fit of Marie Kondo tidiness-making came over me recently. The source of this fit is homely but serviceable Billy bookshelf in our bedroom of which we have tired. That bookshelf is, or was, filled with books that were nice to look at but weren't being read too much. We also have a bookshelf in the living room that is easy to get messy but is very good for display. So, I hatched an idea. . . .

Why not create a rotation of favorite books for display in the living room. We'll move these mini-libraries in and out on a seasonal basis.

Sherry liked the idea and we acted on it today. Here's what it looks like.

The living room bookshelf. Note that the bottom shelves are set aside for the scrapbooks, our family histories,really. 

A little bit of what you see here is functional (the kids' Bibles) but the larger theme is artifacts that bring joy. Scrapbooks. A London skyline rendered in Legos. Photos of family. This seems appropriate for our public bookshelf.

The shelf of the nearest and dearest. 

We decided to set aside one shelf for our favorite all-time books. These are books that will be out year round. Surprisingly, we equaled one another in the number we set aside for this. Before we started this task I would've sworn I would have more on this shelf than Sherry. By the way, my selections are . . .

All Quiet on the Western Front
Othello
Goodbye Darkness
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Godfather
The Killer Angels
The Hunt for Red October
Animal Farm
The Great Gatsby
a book of postcards from the Pennsylvania Turnpike

The winter rotation

Coming up with something in common for the seasons was a little bit tricky. Can you guess the theme for the winter? That's okay, I'm having a hard time doing so, too. Let me come back to that.

For spring, it's mostly Civil War texts. Some yearbooks, too. For summer, it's mostly World War I (the guns of August) and some books that revolve around camping and travel. Fall has a large number of World War II books.

So that leaves winter. Perhaps the common theme is it's a shelf full of books that remind us of funner adventures that nicer weather allows.

You may notice two off-theme books on the right edge. One is my beloved World War II history book, a gift from Christmas 1985 or 1984. The other is a book of presidential homes Sherry wanted to leave out.

The Billy bookshelf upstairs is now empty, Sherry and I mulling over its fate. I learned though that many of the books on that shelf left me feeling indifferent, which was strange.

Then I found a cache of books I forgot about in the attic. Those I like. Uh oh, the seasonal rotation might get a little irregular.