The Bookshelf Meme

One of our actual bookshelves...

I got this from Nymeth's blog but I think it originated with Eva...

Tell me about...

The book that's been on your shelves the longest:
Um. I have a lot of those. But probably it's my beloved copy of Miss Suzy. I have had this book on my shelves almost my whole life (it's on my shelf now!), and I adore this little story of the brave Miss Suzy, the gentle gray squirrel, who, with the help of some brave toy soldiers, battles the Mean Red Squirrels who take over her house. There are descriptions of Miss Suzy taking refuge from a big wet storm in an old house with an attic, and it was always raining when I was a kid in Oregon and we had an old house with an attic, so I was particularly attached to that part of the story. I also loved the descriptions of how Miss Suzy kept house, sweeping with a twig broom and taking care of her acorn cups.

A book that reminds you of something specific in your life

Hmm. Well, The Fountainhead always reminds me of reading through the "night" during the summer in Finland, when it never got dark. I could NOT get to sleep and so I stayed up until, literally, 5:30 in the morning sometimes, reading this book. I'm sure I read others during that time but I particularly remember reading this one and looking at the clock and realizing it was 5:30 am and I had read through the whole 'night' without once needing to turn on my light. Crazy. And then when I finally could sleep, I slept until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. My host father got so frustrated with me, but I was *so* messed up by those summer nights.

A book you acquired in some interesting way

Nothing too interesting. I had an annotated copy of Alice In Wonderland that I purchased at a huge department store in Helsinki on the day I flew home from Finland. I needed a book to read on the 17 hour journey and had NOTHING, and this was the best I could with the poor selection of English books they had at the store. I read it twice, and then thankfully bought some magazines once we finally got to JFK in New York. Usually I just get books the same old ways: friends, used bookstores, garage sales, the "free" shelf at work...

The most recent addition to your shelves

I just GOT RID of a ton of books, but I did just purchase In The Woods and The Land of Laughs. A perfect illustration of why I really hate to buy books at the full price (I know, I know, everyone should, to support the publishing industry, etc. But personally, I can't stand it) because I read each of those in two or three days, and I don't particularly want to re-read either of them and so now what do I do with them? Sigh. Time to start a big box for the used bookstore again.

A book that's been with you to the most places

Probably the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Those three books have been with me to: Finland, Russia, Alaska (where I lost one of them), Oregon, California, New York and Canada.

A bonus book you want to talk about but doesn't fit into the other questions

This one is hard to talk about because it doesn't have a cover, I don't know the name of it, but I just adore this book! It's an antique copy of some very old (20s?) children's fairy tales, very charming and quirky, with amazing illustrations. The first story in the book is called The Little Boy Who Made Toffee. It was my dad's book, and probably my grandfather's book as well. It's got thick cardboard pages, is held together (barely) by masking tape, and is the sole reason I want to take a bookbinding class sooner or later so that I can fix this beloved book. I also very much wish I knew the title of it so I could see who authored it. I'll scan some of the illustrations sometime and see if I can track it down.