Sunday, December 26, 2010

Main Branch of My Personal Library

When I moved to Japan in 2004, I left behind most of my books at my parents' house. There were/are heavy and expensive to ship, and my plan was to take a small selection with me as I traveled the world and exchange them whenever I was home. This has worked, in theory, during my years in Japan, Hawaii, and now Indiana, though I've probably bought just as many new books during my wanderings as I have read of those l left behind. In any event, those books I've left behind are still here (I'm visiting my parents at the moment), and the collection (and how I divide it) is perhaps a bit strange.

  • The first shelf is full of "unread" books, mostly literary fiction and travel writing, acquired during my early 20s. "Unread" means not read in their entirety after I turned 18 (so there are quite a few that are partially finished).
  • The second shelf contains my undergraduate textbooks, lots of chemistry and math with bits of physics, literary anthologies, and the occasional moral or political philosophy book. (College Jess—Why sell back expensive books for only pennies on the dollar? 30-year-old Jess—Maybe because that's about how much they seem worth nowadays?) 
  • The third shelf is filled with my "read" books, everything that's had my attention the last twelve years (that I don't keep with me). "Classics" from 18th, 19th, and 20th century literature, a handful of graphic novels, lots of Japanese literature in translation.
  • The forth and fifth are overflowing with RPG materials, one for my AD&D collection (still added to every couple of years out of nostalgia), the other for my White Wolf books (declared complete when I moved to Japan). I've read every printed word contained on these shelves.

There are a few other odds and ends scattered about: young adult fantasy novels, Lonely Planet travel guides, an heirloom collection of the complete works of Sir Walter Scott, unused cookbooks, software manuals for obsolete programs, old copies of The Paris Review and The Atlantic (back when they still published fiction in every issue).

Sometime in the next year or two I'll probably have to find a spot for all of these away from my parents' place (along with all my other junk). I wonder if they'll all make the trip....

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