A Closer Look
I wouldn't consider myself an avid reader. In fact, I don't read much anymore besides a handful of books a year. Yet, somehow, my bookshelf seems to be bursting at the seams no matter how many books I donate or give to friends.
It's definitely not a bad problem to have that's for sure!
Today, I thought it would be fun to do a bookshelf tour to see what books are overflowing my shelves while also deciding if I want to reread any that may catch my attention.
First, let's get an overall view.
The bookshelf, crafted from sturdy oak, was used by its previous owners as a shoe rack. After years of wet shoes, there are some stains left to remember the past, but now the shelves carry the items it was originally built for.
The bookshelf definitely makes a statement to newcomers when they enter the room. Not because of the books, but because of the large steel cutout of Zac Efron placed front and center.
This art, gifted to me several years ago, is a great conversation starter. Besides Zac, the top shelf gets changed out every few months with either a plant, new photos, candles, or sometimes a book with an interesting cover. In this instance, there's a picture of one of my roommates and myself along with a candle, and the latest, cool book, Nordic Tales.
Now the bookshelf isn't completely filled with my things. In fact, it's split down the middle with my side being the left while the right side holds my roommate's belongings. So, as we move along, we will stick to my side of things.
The first shelf, also the most pleasing shelf to admire, holds popular book series such as the Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo original trilogy, and lastly, the Divergent series. Each of these series stood out in such unique ways while bringing new ideas to concepts that may have been written about before. Twilight and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were once my favorite books of all time!
Moving onto the second shelf, you'll find an array of fiction and nonfiction books. On the left you'll see two of the seven Harry Potter books gifted to me by other people. You can read my book review on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to see why I don't have the others!
I thought it would be a great idea to try and style the shelves to give a more high-end look but didn't quite succeed with next stack of books. This stack represents past Kali very well including my love of vampires with the Vampire Diaries comic book and the stand-alone Stephenie Meyer book which pairs well with the comic.
Moving up you can see a good handful of books relating to dogs. After college, I decided I was going to open a board and kennel while offering training services. Between the mix of training, business, and marketing books I was off to a good start until life took a different direction. Now, I keep them just in case I ever decide to pick it up again.
Next to the large stack, I usually like to display my most recent book/book I'm currently reading. In this case, Where the Crawdads Sing was my last read. They aren't shown, but this hard book cover hides several small paperback books which made an impact while in elementary and high school that I still find to be great reads including Where the Red Fern Grows, Tuck Everlasting, or stand-alone books written by Stanley Gordon West.
The last shelf was very nostalgic while my next shelf is more hodge podge with the selection. Like most bookshelves, the shelves are adjustable. This allows one to customize to their needs. After customizing the other shelfs, shelf three was left a little squashed meaning small paperbacks were the novels to fit. This includes some trivia, fiction, nonfiction, traveling essentials, and personal photo books. Most of these I don't actually need but I like to keep anyways.
Since not many books could fit on this shelf, I decided to add a handful of my puzzle collection to the mix. A brand by the name of Mudpuppy uses recycled paper for the pieces and box. They also have great designs, so I went a little crazy and bought a few. I'll get to them one day.
I thought the third shelf was a mess, but the bottom, and last shelf, is my catch all shelf. It contains such an array of things I'm not sure where to begin. On the left, holds my large books which couldn't fit on any other shelf. These include encyclopedias about dog breeds and an amazing book about castles from all over the world (I cry every time I open it because I love castles so much). Then, squeezed between those is the original Princess Gabriella and the Never-Ending Kiss scrap book I crafted back in high school. If it weren't so large it would be sitting higher up to show off to others.
On this shelf contains books I haven't read, but are planning to read, or books I have read, but don't really like while also don't have the heart to get rid of just yet. Thrown in the mix is a movie ticket shadow box I created years ago that one day I hope to fill to the brim as I love going to the movies.
And behind all of those are old VHS tapes from my childhood hidden away as to not outdate myself. Even though most of these are accessible on streaming devices I can't seem to let them go as the physical copies bring me joy. Now only to find the VCR lol
As I reminisced paging through the books on my shelf, I decided to pull my top six. These aren't necessarily my favorites but resonated with me in a way that I will never get rid of them.
Working from left to right, we have my more recent loves which include one from each stage in life including high school, college, and current. Twilight, even though pretty cheesy now when I read it, gave me such a high when I first turned the pages that no other book has gotten close to the same feeling I experienced then. My love for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is different in that it holds such great character development throughout the story and uniqueness that each character seems like a real person to me. Then we have Once There Were Wolves. I did a book review a few months back, so I won't bore you with the details but the overall research and personal connection I have with this story makes this my number one pick of all time.
Onto my last three picks, we have Heaven Eyes, a book I bought at the book fair in third grade. You can tell I've carried this one around for over 20 years as the spin is creased a fair bit. Over the years, I've read this many times and each time I find the story to be stranger and more unsettling than the last time I read it. My first sort of sci-fi/coming of age book I don't keep for the story, but for the beautiful cover that originally drew me in all those years ago and still does to this day.
Lastly, there's Tuck Everlasting and Where the Red Fern Grows. These books pull at my heartstrings more than any book ever has. Both books are so heartwarming and connect on such a deep level that I cry every time I read them which is why I will never get rid of them. In fact, I'm going to go find a box of tissue and reread Tuck Everlasting right now.
If you enjoyed this book tour, let me know in the comments below! I know I had a blast reliving some of these reads.
What items do you have on your shelf and what are your top 6 picks? I'm curious if you have some of the same!
