A Novel Shelf Image

A bookshelf can say a lot about a person. At the very basic level, the quality of the book—paperback or hardcover, well-kempt or well-read, old edition or new—can show how much someone reads. Beyond that, titles and authors indicate inclinations and habits, be it harlequin romances and trashy science fiction or high brow philosophy and the greats of literature.

The same is true of one’s movie collection or music collection, but they carry the same weight as books do. Books are an investment. They take time and skill just to absorb them. They spell out your interests and personality phases more than your music or movie collection. After all, it takes only 45 minutes to an hour to listen to an album and a mere hour or three to watch a movie. A book can be devoured in an afternoon or take a month or two, and every image it leaves imprinted in the mind was created by the mind, not some self-righteous artist or auteur.

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On Tuesday, I got a bookshelf. It was ten bucks at Savers and in reasonable condition. I brought it home and stared at the empty shelves. In my closet sat more books than I could fit on a single bookshelf, and I hardly have the space for another in my room. I began to think about what I could do, what people would see when looking at this canvas covered with my personality and history. What was this bookshelf going to say about me?

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Originally published at Worldwide Ace. You can comment here or there.