Guess what, exciting news. I won a raffle to set up two display shelves of books on any theme I wanted at my home library, the Glenside Free Library, Glenside, PA. It’s part of the Cheltenham Township system and the Montgomery County PA consortium. It’s located about a mile from my house and I have been going there for 30 years, ever since we moved to this township.
And so today I went to the library to select the books for my shelves. Since I was selecting only from the books physically on the shelves at the building (we are allowed to borrow books from any library in the county and I usually select from the catalog and have them shipped to Glenside for pick up), I decided that my theme would be – a stroll through the stacks with Claudia. I would choose books in many categories that had some meaning for me.
Emilie, one of the librarians, accompanied me around the stacks. She was patient with my trips down memory lane when I saw familiar titles and of great help in assisting me to make choices that might appeal to readers or introduce them to books unfamiliar to them (these were characteristics I wanted to emphasize in my selections).
It was so much fun to do this!
Well, with no further ado, here are my shelves. This is the main shelf:
This is the side shelf:
Here is a short explanation of why I chose these books with accompanying photos:
I loved The Sentence is Death and I chose it for itself as well as to represent all the books this author has written.
Four Lost Cities focused in-depth on ancient cities and their life cycles. I learned of some places I’d never heard of and this book fed my interest in how people lived in very different times from ours.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters is a take-off on the Jane Austen book and I’ve read the print version as well as listened to the audio book. I think it’s hilarious.
Furoshiki and the Art of Japanese Gift Wrapping – I haven’t read it but Emilie picked it out and it’s just the kind of book I like to look at even if I will never try any of the processes described.
The City and the City is a book I have read several times. A detective story set in an intriguing world that I wonder how different really it is from our own.
Modern One-Act Plays stood out on the shelf to me because it was clearly not modern anymore and I was curious. The collection is dated 1950, but the plays are classics. It has been a while since I read any plays and I am resolved to do so again.
Art Quilts: Playing With a Full Deck is the record of a project where quilt artists illustrated a playing card in a prescribed quilt form. This book was influential to me just as I was getting started in art in 1994 when it was published, working in fabric myself. Also, there is a local connection – the librarian at my son’s elementary school did one of the artworks.
Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, I chose because I LOVE fairy tales and guess what? I have this same book at home so I know it’s a great volume for fairy tale readers.
The Woman in Black has long been a favorite of mine – I’ve read the book several times and I have also seen the play. It’s a mystery/ghost story – I need say no more as to why it appeals to me.
The Navigator was chosen to represent all the books by this author I have read or listened to as audio books. Perfect escapist thriller action-oriented adventure.
The other books are a biography of Billie Jean King (I admire her); Hiking Through History: Pennsylvania, which I think explains itself; the Fannie Farmer cookbook (I had one of these when I first left school); a book on grammar, Between You and Me, because I love a diagrammed sentence; and one of my poetry books, Spring Cleaning (the librarians suggested adding one of my own books and this one was my choice because of the seasonal theme).
And…here is the second set of shelves.
Barcelona and Madrid, a travel book – I chose this in memory of a trip to Spain I took 40 years ago in which I visited both cities as part of a 3 week journey that also included England, France, and Germany. This trip was a highlight of my life.
Knitting in Plain English is a book I also own myself, and the kind no-nonsense tone dispensing very clear information in this book helped me become a skilled knitter.
I chose The House on the Strand for itself (I am a fan of any book that involves time travel) and because I love all of this author’s work. I know I’ve read this particular book at least three times.
Peony was chosen because, well, I just think peonies are so beautiful, and this book represents my enjoyment of them and my other favorites, sunflowers, geraniums, and zinnias.
Lost in Translation is another book Emilie showed me and though I haven’t read it, I took a look through it, and it’s captured my interest. I’ve put it on my list to read.
Well, that’s it! Happy Reading, everyone!
Sometimes You Get So Confused 
That does look like fun! The City and the City would be on my shelf for sure. (K)
I started thinking and went to look on my own shelves and I realize I own a copy myself, I bought it the last time I read it again. I love that book.
I’m not a big reader and I don’t think I have read any of these, but what a great honor to put on this display!
Thank you. I read a lot and so I go into the library several times a week, ever since we have lived here. It’s my second home.
What a creative and fun prize! Curating the display must have been so much fun. I think they look like a treat visually as well as being intriguing titles that might encourage someone to pick them up and read. I am adding ‘Four Lost Cities’ to my list of books to check out. You have also reminded me that I meant to give the first of those Horowitz detective novels a try. Do you think they have an Agatha Christie vibe? That is the sort of thing I was hoping for. And it has been so many decades since I read the Du Maurier novel that I can barely remember the details so I should reread that one at some point I think.
So many books to read and so little time!
I was thrilled to do this and I had such a good time trailing around the library looking for the right books. Four Lost Cities, you will love it. As for Horowitz, they are very English, I think, but not Christie at all (which to me is good because I think her work is humorless and the characters are flat and after a while, all alike). There is a quirkiness to them and yet they are believable. I have read pretty much all his works, I would start with Magpie Murders. Also, I chose one book that the librarian took straight off the shelf, so it is not there, but you might like – the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Very unusual and intriguing. As for duMaurier, I just finished Rebecca again, this time audio. I do love the House on the Strand, I will be rereading it. Last but not least, I think you would like The City and the City as well.
Quirky and more humorous has sold me on trying the Horowitz books. I have made a note of Magpie Murders. Thanks for the recommendations.
What an exciting and wonderful thing to be able to do! We share one book – the Billy Jean King one. I
I have not read this one, it was new, I mean the BJ King one, but I will be doing so after the event is over.