A Tour of My Bookshelves, Part 1 of 33

Confession: I spent nearly six years in graduate school and walked away without a degree. I have no intention of going back. I wonder how much of that is because I'm afraid to, and how much because I really don't want to?

Reading:

• "Riding the Doghouse" by Randy DeVita
  
• The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
  

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Catches a Cold"
  

Revising:

• "The Revenant"

Future Projects:

• Dairhenien's Library - Development
  
• Floorcraft - First rewrite of 1-5, first draft of 6-8
• Ferian Fetlock - "Ferian Fetlock Takes a Wife."
  
• "Motley" - Expansion
• "Fireworks and Earthworks" - 5% into first draft
  
• Untitled School Mistress Story

Unpublished Stories/Status (in chronological order of completion of first draft)

• "Pictures of the Old Port" - 5th Draft, Unsubmitted
• "What Price Stamps" - 3rd Draft, Submitted to The American Drivel Review, July 30th, 2008
  
• "The Frost Fugling" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Black Pudding" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Cora and the Sea" - 3rd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Motley" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Leaves and Sunsets" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "A Happy Ending" - 1st Draft, Unsubmitted
• "The Revenant" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "Illuminated" - 3rd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "A Cup of Coffee" / "Morning Tea" - 2nd Draft, Submitted to Tea: A Magazine, July 29th, 2008
• "Ferian Fetlock Cures a Horse" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Hattie Donnelly's Favorite Doll" - 2nd Draft, Submitted to 24 Hour Short Story Contest, July 27th, 2008

I have a lot of bookshelves in my apartment. At last count, seven bookcases, not counting the eighth one that holds my DVDs... and one shelf of books. In terms of individual shelves, including the tops of some bookcases that I use for extra storage space, there are thirty-three individual shelves of books.

You can learn a lot about a person by their books, and I think that's doubly true of an author. And so, for a total of thirty-three blog posts over the course of the next however-long-it-takes, I'm going to talk about my books.

You'll see a lot of regularity in this first shelf. Here is my collection of novels and short story collections by my favorite author, P.G. Wodehouse. Specifically, Overlook Press is currently publishing a complete set of his novels, a few a year, and I've been gradually accumulating them as they do.

Note the printed-out website on the right. That's my checklist. Every so often I go to Borders or Barnes and Noble and order a bunch, marching up to the help desk with a list of ISBNs to make their job just that little bit easier.

If you're wondering, the books are in chronological order of original British publication date. That sort of thing matters to me.

On the shelf below is a model kit of one of the Naboo N-1 Starfighters from Star Wars Episode 1. To its left, an ancient video camera I found abandoned in a park in New Jersey.

My shelf of Wodehouse has already expanded down to the shelf below it, and once the entire series is published and duly accumulated, it will take up at least three shelves, perhaps four. (Wodehouse was a prolific bastard.)

What does this shelf say about me? Well, notice that there is nothing stacked on top of the Wodehouse books. You don't know it yet, but that's a singular mark of respect... for the most part, I use all the space in my bookshelves, including that above the other books. For these short volumes to receive such treatment tells you just how much they mean to me. It's also on the first bookshelf you come to as you walk inside my apartment... pride of place, you understand.

I've discussed my fascination with Wodehouse a couple of times before (here and here), although not in complete detail. I'm sure I will againt at some point, but let me just say this--I have never read anyone with such a thorough command of the English language. His ability to create the perfect metaphor is unsurpassed. And what's more, he used this gift for comic effect. Reading his books, you can't help but come away with a lightened heart. That, to me, is the best use such a gift could be put to.

Publication Status:

• Submitted: 5
  
• Accepted: 1
• Rejected: 1
• Pending: 3