From My Bookshelf: A View, a Memoir, and a Trip

“From My Bookshelf” is an idea (maybe the start of a series?) I thought of as I stared at my bookshelf in the room of my apartment dubbed “the office” and tried to come up with something to write about. I’ve chosen three titles, one of which I have read (The Trip, and not the kind you take with your family. Or maybe it is the kind you take with your family…no judgment here); one that has been part of my library since I can remember (A View); and finally, one I could not remember ever acquiring (A Memoir).

Disclaimer: These could be recommendations if you’re looking for something to read. This post should not be read as a review by any means.

The View From Saturday E.L. Konigsburg

The cover of this Newbery Medal winning book is imprinted in my brain from moving it around in my many shelf-shuffles I did as a child and teenager. I have never read it, although it was published in 1996, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever let it go. The name written inside is a family connection, that’s primarily why I will never get rid of it of my own free will: I inherited this book.

The pages are yellowed and the spine is rigid from years of stationary confinement. The description on the back gives me a large clue as to why I never read it: it’s apparently about team competition, and beating those older than you in school, which, to be honest, always bored me. But as a kind-of-adult, I know there have to be scenes and dialogue within the text that deal with other issues, so maybe I’ll read it at lunch.

Angela’s Ashes Frank McCourt

This book stuck out to me because I could not remember where or when I purchased or was gifted this Pulitzer Prize winner. The address sticker on the inside cover reminded me I received it from an estate sale – was it this past spring? Anyway, I relish in the fact that this book had life on another shelf that wasn’t in a bookstore – all used books feed my heart and soul in this way.

The memoir was published in 1996, but my First Touchstone Edition was released in 1999. There is no summary on the back, only quotes and praise, but it’s a memoir, so it really doesn’t need one [to satisfy me]. This I would not get through in a lunch break, so it will have to remain on my TBR list, start date impending.

In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods Matt Bell

Ever wanted to read a modern fairy tale that strips away any childhood or naive inclinations of what a fairy tale is? Do you like when books are trippy and nonsensical but make you follow along anyway? Pick up this book then, or borrow it from me. This is an “open mind” book, which is not to say you should read books without an open mind anyway; if you only really like straight and narrow romances, you probably won’t like this. But if you’re feeling like really getting out of your element, go for it! I get it, the title is alluring, the cover is excellent, and the quote from Lauren Groff, author of Arcadia on the bottom of the book jacket is spellbinding. Get swept up, and promise that if you start reading, you won’t stop until it’s over.

Side note: my mother did not like this book.

There you have it. Three books I chose – I can’t say entirely by random – from my bookshelves. Stay tuned for more, and as always, thank you for reading.