Jaci Dawn

I had this grand plan when I got out of bed this morning: today I was going to tackle the books that are stored in the loft. I was going to get a handle on the genres of fiction and the non-fiction subjects. Somehow, I was going to tame the un-tameable.

I got up the stairs and stared at the book cases lining the wall.

Then I retreated back down the stairs where I armed myself with more caffeine, a dust mop, a ceiling duster thingie-ma-bob, a can of dusting spray. I returned to the top of the stairs.

I decided I needed to put away the loose books first, finding space for them in the general location of the same subjects. Only there were no gaps where there needed to be gaps and I ended up stuffing the loose books where ever they would fit. I reasoned that once I figured out what my subject categories would be, I could start moving the books around to the right book case.

I removed all obstacles. This is a feat in itself because not only are there books on the bookcases and in the crates, I have old bottles, rocks, an old lava lamp, more rocks, more old bottles, marbles and large pine cones also stored on the shelves. It’s a magpie’s treasure trove.

I could get rid of the rocks.

No, I can’t. I collected half of those rocks. Half of them were collected by Don. There are pieces of jade, picture rock, sandstone, agates, petrified somethings, petrified wood, obsidian, arrowheads, coup clubs, grinding stones, gill net anchors, and a myriad of other little stones picked up along a wooded path. Pretties.

I stuffed the loose books into the gaps in the book cases. I swept, dust mopped, and knocked cobwebs off the ceiling. The ceiling has nothing to do with the books, it’s just that periodically I need to knock cobwebs down or we start to look like a haunted house.

Then I surveyed my handiwork.

I was still overwhelmed and nowhere near my goal of figuring out the subjects of most of our books.

How am I going to separate these into subjects? Antique Maps, Touring Nevada, Physical Geography, Fifteen Decisive Battles (!?), Irish Wit & Wisdom, and several books on Native Americans.

This shelf gets more interesting: Big Wall Climbing, some philatelic titles like Airmail Antics, Small Gas Engines, Croquet the Sport, and some Jean Auel novels.

Like all those belong on one shelf. Although I think I can safely say that Ayla, the character in the Jean Auel novels, probably invented everything from postmarks to stamps to small gas engines. Personally, I never got beyond The Valley of the Horses before I got bored with Ayla’s obvious brilliance and her insatiable capacity for orgasms.

But, hey, if you’re a Jean Auel fan, no offense meant. She can write in minute detail. Really. Minute. Detail. My favorite part in all the books I read was when Ayla invented a comb to tame her matted hair. That was after she befriended the lion and escaped from the Neanderthals and gave birth (by herself) to her child and before she met the heart-stoppingly handsome (and virile) Jondalar.

Other mileage may vary.

Fast forward to the end of another shelf. Bird books. Lots and lots of bird books. Tucked in there is the Burgess Bird Book for Children by none other than Thornton W. Burgess. If you have never opened one of Thornton W. Burgess‘ delightful children’s books, this is a good one to start with.

What is really cool is that I did not know there was a Thornton W. Burgess Foundation until exactly 30 seconds ago when I googled his name for a reference for this blog. I grew up on Burgess’ writing. When my son discovered reading was fun and that he could read chapter books, he read every Thornton W. Burgess book at Lake Oswego Public Library.

Ecclectic would be a good word to use around here. Books like Young Men & Fire by Norman MacLean, The Journey Home by Edward Abbey and The Pine Barrens by John McPhee are filed with books about geology, Into Thin Air by Jonathon Krakauer and The Naming of Names which is about plant taxonomy.

Field guides are stuffed alongside more Norman MacLean, Roadside Geology, Ancient Inventions, Butterflies, and The World of Harvester Ants.

I kid you not: the ant book was a hard one to find but one my husband wanted for Christmas one year.

Then there are my private bookshelves where my books are not comingled with Donald’s decidedly non-fiction tastes (in case you haven’t guessed it already, 99% of the non-fiction titles belong to my husband although the history books have a slightly better ratio of ownership).

I recently donated a number of my own books to the local library used book store. When I donated them, the woman who took them asked me, “Have you any Zane Grey?”

I laughed. Snorted. “Oh, I have Zane Grey but you will not see my Zane Grey in a box of books to give away!” I promised her I would will them to her. In turn, she snorted, “You’re twenty years younger than I am. I will never see them.”

Point.

I didn’t tell her I only have five Zane Gray.

Cubby In Wonderland was the first chapter book my dad ever read. It has great plates of Yellowstone in the 1910’s.

Poetry… Just a few of my poetry books. And old books. I love old, old, old books.

I tried to count the books but got muddled somewhere around 200.

I decided the best thing to do was data enter them into an Excel program and sort them later. I still have all those books in boxes in Reno. And the books on the bookshelf next to my bed. And the books next to my computer.

And the books in the living room.

Which brings me to one of my shelves. And if you have survived this long in my blog about books, I commend you. The next shelf hardly represents my collection.

In the insanity of insanities that is book collecting, I collect Bibles. Nearly all of the Bibles are mine. A few are Don’s. Okay, maybe two are his. The rest are mine. There are no less than four on the shelf above this one, two in the book case next to my computer, one (or maybe two) in my car, and at least two in my bedroom. While the rest of the world struggles with King James English, most of my Bibles are in the same language Jesus spoke in: King James English.

It’s a joke!

Thought I better insert that before some rabid KJV-hater jumped on me. I just happen to like KJV. I also have: Revised Standard Version (the Methodist Bible), New International Version, New King James, The Living Bible, a Parallel Bible, and probably something else. I have a Thompson Reference and two Scofield Reference Versions (my favorite Bible). I have some that are New Testament only and a couple that include the Apocrypha (the Catholic version).

It’s a weakness I have. I see an old Bible at an estate sale and I have to buy it. What’s $0.50? I get someone’s old Bible with their hand-written notes.

It’s my favorite book. KJV, of course.

But don’t worry: I’m currently working my way through a library collection of books. I’m rereading Harry Potter. I have decided I need to buy Harry Potter to add to my collection. So if the Bible scared you off, Harry Potter should bring you back.

Or visa-versa since I know Christians who are terrified of Harry Potter. It’s a book. A very inventive book where Good Triumphs.

Which is why it belongs in my collection.

So – aside from the side notes and ramblings on the Bible and The Children of the Earth series, HOW am I going to organize all of this???

Any suggestions???

Oh – and NO – I cannot throw the rocks away. I’ll have to figure out the rocks later. Stick to the books. (And these are the ones I am KEEPING. I am NOT giving these away!)

Thank you for listening to me… I love books and if you have a suggestion for books I need to add to my library, I am listening…