A Tour of My Bookshelves, Part 3 of 33

Confession: I've been putting off writing this weekend, hoping that the resumption of my usual schedule tomorrow morning will get me out of the doldrums.

Reading:

• "My Brother Eli" by Joseph Epstein
  
• 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Unpublished Stories/Status (in chronological order of completion of first draft)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

The previous entries in this series:

• Part 1
• Part 2

Check it out! It's the Wall of Lost Paperbacks!

That's what I call it, at least. I wouldn't say that all of the paperback books in my apartment are on this shelf, but a goodly portion of them. Something you'll notice is that whenever I am serious about an author, I buy everything I can find of theirs in hardcover. If it doesn't exist in hardcover, I'll try to at least get the trade paperback.

There's just something about the feel of a hardcover book that I love. It feels truer somehow, more like a "real" book. They are more durable over repeating readings, that's for sure. That's something that I discovered very early, as my favorite books began to look like last year Almanac, hanging from a string in the outhouse.

As they have been replaced, they make their way to the Wall of Lost Paperbacks. There they join other books that I don't have in hardcover yet, but plan to get some day. Many of these are paperback "classics" that I purchased earlier in my life, or was given, or obtained for free somehow. Back at Georgetown, there were occasional book sales and giveaways in front of the library, and I always stocked up.

I am not ashamed to say that I haven't read every book I own. What's the fun in that? At any moment, I'm only seconds away from never-before-experienced literature. Still, I would say that the percentage is pretty low, about 5% unread, at any given time.

The percentage on this shelf is probably closer to 30%. Oh, I'll read them eventually, I'm sure, but you see, they're in paperback. It feels like I'm cheating to read them.

I won't go volume by volume on the Wall of Lost Paperbacks, since many will reappear on other shelves. Someday, I might do a bonus post and reveal the hidden back row of the shelf. But not today.

Publication Status:

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