We need to talk about books! #18
This week I
have the pleasure of catching up with Cat from happy-go-lucky Cat, where she
writes about anything and everything - books, food, travel and lists of the
little things that have made her smile that week.
Are your
bookshelves a ‘work in progress’ like mine or are they clearly and
systematically organised? Tell us a little bit about your method if you have
one.
They used to be very organised! Shortly after I moved home after living abroad for a few years, I broke my ankle and found myself back in my childhood bedroom, having very much lost all of the independence I had loved living abroad. My bookshelves became a bit of a project and I pulled all of the books (and I have a lot!) off the shelves and organised them all alphabetically. It was my pride and joy! Having moved out a few years later, my books were all boxed up and they remain, for the most part, in boxes at my parents’ house. My husband and I have not long moved into a new house and I’m anxious to bring all my books home to our shelves here but I don’t think I’ll ever be that organised again – or have the time to be!
Apart from
books, what is to be found on your bookshelves?
If you come over unannounced and I haven’t had a chance to clean, you’ll find all sorts – post, notebooks and several over-flowing pencil cases, but of the items that are ‘supposed’ to be there – on some of the shelves, you’ll also find photo frames scattered among the books, a few fossils from a trip to Lyme Regis a few years ago and some rather special bowls and plates.
What do you do with books once you’ve read them?
Unless it’s a book that I really didn’t enjoy, I’ll always tend to keep them. I love bookshelves that are a bit of a window into a person’s life and what they’ve read over the years. My books include all the books I read at university too – I studied Classics and so have a number of books in Latin and Greek, which I sadly couldn’t read now unless I worked very hard (!) but I love looking at that them and knowing that I once could and I did!
Do you tend to re-read books?
I do, which is why I’m so hesitant to get rid of books. There are certain books on my shelves that I turn to at certain moments – there are books that I’ve read so many times and others that I’ve only read a few times but I pick them up if I’m feeling sad or any other number of feelings.
How do you feel about lending books to friends?
I’m allll about lending books to friends! If I’ve read something I’ve loved, I will want to press it on my friends immediately so that we can talk about it.
Are you a ‘spine bender’ or do you like your spines to be pristine?
When a book is new, I try to keep it pristine for as long as possible but some of my older books are incredibly well-thumbed, shall we say, and the spine is no longer pristine but they’re so dear to me that I can overlook that. I suppose it’s the passage from new to well-thumbed that I struggle with!
Do you write in books, do you use sticky notes for your comments or something like that?
I don’t usually write in books but I wouldn’t be averse to doing so. Again, it’s all about the history for me and I love discovering old books in a charity shop containing the scrawls of a previous happy reader – what a mystery! I do like to write an inscription in the front of a book bought for a special occasion or someone.
If you take
physical books on holiday with you, how do you choose them? If you don’t, do
you take an eReader instead or do you plan to buy books at destination or
perhaps you don’t read on holiday etc.?
I usually have a long list of books that I want to read so I tend to choose from that. I had a Kindle, which I loved to load up before a trip because it made my bag so much lighter but when that died, I haven’t replaced it instead keeping the app on my phone. I’m currently travelling with physical books but I think I’ll be investing in another eReader at some point because it does make things much easier.
Do you take a book with you whenever you go out, just in case?
Yes, I have to have one with me or I feel ever so slightly anxious! I usually have a fairly hefty-sized bag with me, which happily fits whatever book I’m reading at the moment but I also have the Kindle app on my phone so have heaps to choose from on there too.
If you have a partner, do they love reading too? If they do, do you have the same taste in books? If they don’t, have you ever tried to convert them?
Yes, my husband loves to read – to be fair, I’m not sure I could be with someone who didn’t! We like to read quite different things usually – he loves science fiction, which I really don’t – but we do have some overlapping favourites.
If you were to write a book, what genre would it be?
Probably a gentle romantic comedy – those are the types of books I turn to time and time again because I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I do love knowing that everything is going to work out for the best eventually!
And that was my last question for you. Thank you so much for joining me today!
If you'd
like to know more about Cat and what she reads, you can find her on all the
usual channels:
Blog: http://happygoluckycat.blogspot.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happygoluckycat/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/happygoluckycat
Please share some love below in the comments or head over to Twitter to let me know what you thought.
They used to be very organised! Shortly after I moved home after living abroad for a few years, I broke my ankle and found myself back in my childhood bedroom, having very much lost all of the independence I had loved living abroad. My bookshelves became a bit of a project and I pulled all of the books (and I have a lot!) off the shelves and organised them all alphabetically. It was my pride and joy! Having moved out a few years later, my books were all boxed up and they remain, for the most part, in boxes at my parents’ house. My husband and I have not long moved into a new house and I’m anxious to bring all my books home to our shelves here but I don’t think I’ll ever be that organised again – or have the time to be!
If you come over unannounced and I haven’t had a chance to clean, you’ll find all sorts – post, notebooks and several over-flowing pencil cases, but of the items that are ‘supposed’ to be there – on some of the shelves, you’ll also find photo frames scattered among the books, a few fossils from a trip to Lyme Regis a few years ago and some rather special bowls and plates.
What do you do with books once you’ve read them?
Unless it’s a book that I really didn’t enjoy, I’ll always tend to keep them. I love bookshelves that are a bit of a window into a person’s life and what they’ve read over the years. My books include all the books I read at university too – I studied Classics and so have a number of books in Latin and Greek, which I sadly couldn’t read now unless I worked very hard (!) but I love looking at that them and knowing that I once could and I did!
Do you tend to re-read books?
I do, which is why I’m so hesitant to get rid of books. There are certain books on my shelves that I turn to at certain moments – there are books that I’ve read so many times and others that I’ve only read a few times but I pick them up if I’m feeling sad or any other number of feelings.
How do you feel about lending books to friends?
I’m allll about lending books to friends! If I’ve read something I’ve loved, I will want to press it on my friends immediately so that we can talk about it.
Are you a ‘spine bender’ or do you like your spines to be pristine?
When a book is new, I try to keep it pristine for as long as possible but some of my older books are incredibly well-thumbed, shall we say, and the spine is no longer pristine but they’re so dear to me that I can overlook that. I suppose it’s the passage from new to well-thumbed that I struggle with!
Do you write in books, do you use sticky notes for your comments or something like that?
I don’t usually write in books but I wouldn’t be averse to doing so. Again, it’s all about the history for me and I love discovering old books in a charity shop containing the scrawls of a previous happy reader – what a mystery! I do like to write an inscription in the front of a book bought for a special occasion or someone.
I usually have a long list of books that I want to read so I tend to choose from that. I had a Kindle, which I loved to load up before a trip because it made my bag so much lighter but when that died, I haven’t replaced it instead keeping the app on my phone. I’m currently travelling with physical books but I think I’ll be investing in another eReader at some point because it does make things much easier.
Do you take a book with you whenever you go out, just in case?
Yes, I have to have one with me or I feel ever so slightly anxious! I usually have a fairly hefty-sized bag with me, which happily fits whatever book I’m reading at the moment but I also have the Kindle app on my phone so have heaps to choose from on there too.
If you have a partner, do they love reading too? If they do, do you have the same taste in books? If they don’t, have you ever tried to convert them?
Yes, my husband loves to read – to be fair, I’m not sure I could be with someone who didn’t! We like to read quite different things usually – he loves science fiction, which I really don’t – but we do have some overlapping favourites.
If you were to write a book, what genre would it be?
Probably a gentle romantic comedy – those are the types of books I turn to time and time again because I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I do love knowing that everything is going to work out for the best eventually!
And that was my last question for you. Thank you so much for joining me today!
Blog: http://happygoluckycat.blogspot.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happygoluckycat/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/happygoluckycat
Please share some love below in the comments or head over to Twitter to let me know what you thought.
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