H&M sweater
Pixie Market skirt
Elizabeth Lyn Jewelry necklace (similar)
Vintage watch (similar)
Madewell rings
Delphine Pariente ring (similar)
Urban Outfitters earrings (similar)
Location: Osborne Village – Winnipeg, Manitoba
My love of books goes back to a time before I can remember anything more than the occasional snippet. My early childhood memories are best described as photos taken on a rarely used camera; they capture pivotal moments, but leave out everyday life. I remember demanding that my mom help me to “write” my first book – backwards; I was insistent that the cover should open from the left side – before I knew how to write myself. Even as a toddler, I didn’t just love books – I wanted to own them, as many as possible, including my own volumes.
I am the definition of a bibliophile.
Recently, I read about an acquaintance, also a book lover, who gave up purchasing books in favour of using only the library. While I applauded her desire to unclutter her shelves and life, I can’t imagine a life where I am not acquiring new books for my personal library. This Christmas, Ian gifted me a box set of eighty tiny Penguin Classics, and I get almost as much joy from simply admiring them on my shelf as I do from reading them. For me, books are not just to be read. They are pieces of art that I collect.
Books have been on my mind for the past year. As I published my second novel and finished the first draft of my third, I found myself, suddenly with more free hours than usual. I was unsure what to do with this extra time and it occurred to me that all the time I’d spent on writing for so many years was time that, previously, I would have spent reading. So after the launch of Before the World Opened, I started reading again in earnest. And as much as I love the ideals that the public library stands for, part of reading for me is buying new books.
As I type this, I am working through books eighteen and nineteen of this year – Dear Enemy by Jean Webster and a coffee table volume by the authors of The Coveteur. The first, I borrowed from my mom; the second sat, unread, on my shelf for over a year. I have a lot of Penguin Classic still to work through, but I realise that I’ve been so busy writing that it’s been a long since I’ve truly read regularly – by which I mean, on a daily basis, rather than on vacation and business trips – that I’m not sure where to look for the next books to add to my collection. My preference is for novels, and I heavily favour classics, but I also love poetry. And I have a soft spot for beautiful books, especially one with a vintage look.
In short, this bibliophile wants to know: what books do I need to add to my collection?
Kate Morton writes lovely books. I’ve enjoyed them all. “The Child Finder” by Rene Denfeld is a beautiful book. Liane Moriarty’s books are all great. If you like Canadian authors, Mary Lawson’s books are wonderful. She only done a few but they are all so, so good! Ann-Marie MacDonald’s books are also glorious!
I know none of these are classics but I still think they’re all great:)
I am also an unrepentant bibliophile – I love to read and collect them and, as much as frequent the library, I still buy a lot of books as well. My collecting impulses tend mostly to works of history and art books but I do have a nice little collection of rare books going (mostly things dating from the nineteenth-century). Whether you want to add it to your permanent collection, I just finished Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and really enjoyed it. For non-fiction, I just ready Nancy Jo Sales’ Bling Ring book (she was the Vanity Fair reporter that covered the case when it broke and wrote that iconic interview with Alexia Neirs, one of the burglary participants). It’s a pretty interesting read.
Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines
These are beautiful photos! I really need to make more time for reading this year! I got some lovely books I requested over Christmas (some fun ones, some parenting ones) and once I’m done with my work-related reading I intend to get onto them! 🙂
Hope that you are having a great week!
I’m an avid reader, but mine… while interesting to me, are probably boring to most. I love reading psychology, business and anything & everything about investing and money management. It’s kind of sad, I used to devour the classics on the regular, but now I have such a hard time finding focus to get through them. But I do love the idea of beautiful books decorating my home, and I’m so happy to hear you’ve finished your draft. That’s truly SO exciting, Cee!! xo
http://www.veronikanovotny.com (life + style blog)
My most recent book acquisition is a novel called House of Stone by Nuvoyo Rosa Tshuma. Last fall I went to Africa and I took a day trip to Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls. This novel has a lot of Zimbabwean history which I hope will fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge of that country.
As a fellow bibliophile, my question is how do you handle your personal library as it grows? I recently let 50 books go because there is finite physical space to keep them.
I’m not one to look to for book recommendations, I only take them from others. I’m terrible at choosing books. In libraries I feel too overwhelmed, in bookstores I tend to reach for whatever the staff has recommended. As for my own collection, it’s pretty small, though my mother’s is expansive and seeps into every corner of the house. There is not a room you won’t find a book or ten. I’d rather borrow than buy, unless it’s supporting a talented author friend 🙂
Chic on the Cheap