Yes, it's another post about moving!!
This is what has been occuping both my mind & my body this week. Oh, that and the fact that I started my new job this week. Nothing like ripping everything out by the roots and changing everything at once, is there?? I expect my cognitive abilities to return and a new equilibrium to be established once the boxes are unpacked, the dust has settled, and I am sleeping a decent amount of hours every night. So far, I am loving my new position and look forward to embracing the many challenges it presents.
I know I'm in good company here when I say that I do not feel like I am at home unless I am surrounded by my books. It's always a long process hauling out the boxes (10 of them, to be exact), setting up the folding bookcases (good for a woman who seems to have a somewhat nomadic existence), and grouping the books on the shelves (should I do it by size? color? category?).
So finally ... I feel like I am home.After
Just looking at them when I wake up in the morning makes me happy. Anyone else like this??
Glad your move went well, Kirsten.
ReplyDeleteYou have a nice library going!
So...what are your top ten titles? Top three authors? Which books have you read more than twice?
You are SO CUTE!! Love that picture of you with the books. Makes me want to take you out to coffee at Barnes and Noble so we can converse about soul-deep things while surrounded by all those thoughts and stories and . . . coffee!! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd the verdict seems to be that you decided to sort them by color, yes? Bravo for you in making a decision so quickly. Sometimes I hem and haw for a few days, but eventually I get it just right. The good thing is that certain "types" of books (classics, contemporary literary, travel) seem to have similar looks to them. This means I can usually find an arrangement that satisfies my need for aesthetic appeal along with categorical common sense.
I read a chapter in a book for anglophiles recently (like, a couple months ago now?) about the way a bookshelf can imbue us with a sense of pride and make us feel like all is right in our world. I've been meaning to do a post on it eventually but just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe soon, as you've stirred up the inspiration in me again.
Oh, and congratulations on starting your new job!! I can't wait to hear more about it at some point, like what a normal day in your life will look like. (Though as you're learning this new job, I know it will take some time for normality to close on in!)
Hello again 23 Degrees!! Good questions all. I'm going to need to give it some thought, but I can tell you Jane Austen is most definitely one of my top three authors. So many that I've read twice ... let me go look at my books & I can answer the question more thoroughly!! :o)
ReplyDeleteChristianne -- I sorted them by category, but you are right. Books in a similar category often have the same size/look about them. All the critical theory books are together, as are editions of Shakespeare, southern literature, romantic/Victorian women's lit, and so on. Toward the end of the sorting, there wasn't room in the right categories to put some books, so those are randomly placed where they would fit. I think I need more shelves!!
I would love to sit at B & N over coffee and discuss all these wonderful soul-deep things with you!! I need to price place tickets to FL again. :o) We must get together, my friend!!
And yes, when I learn what normal is for the new job, I will share more about it. I am loving the meetings, the discussions, and learning about how take the long view and the short view on the training needs for our department. :o)
You are out of control when it comes to books - but that doesn't surprise me. I would like to get some new book shelves.
ReplyDeleteMine have long since been sent to the attic. Six bookshelves worth. When I want to be happy, I go up into the dust to look at them. Other than that, I horde about thirty by my bedside, to cheerily trip over.
ReplyDeleteAh, with Christianne, I love that pic of you.
Ah, how I would LOVE to see you, friend!!
ReplyDeleteI really love how you worded this: learning how to take the long view and the short view when it comes to the training needs of your department. I wonder what helps you determine which one to take in different situations? This is such a great experience for you to continue learning and practicing much leadership.
Oh, and I meant to mention that I love the different knick-knacks you've placed on random shelves. These, more than the books, speak so much to me about you -- and especially that you love beauty.
there IS something about books, and how they make one feel at home.....even if it's in someone else's house. i particualrly love old books, as in tattered and worn. i always wonder who's hands they have been in and who owned and read that exact book. but i guess some people might NOT like old books for those very same reasons (like germaphobes) :).
ReplyDeleteglad to see you're getting all moved in.......
Sigh. Even now, I am not at home, but seeing the pictures of these shelves makes me happy. I like adding the knick-knacks too; the filled shelves certainly have life & color their own, but I like the things that make it mine. :o)
ReplyDeleteChristianne -- I am determined to come see you, Kirk, & your beautiful home. Christin & Adam just left for the airport after a wonderful and all-too-short visit. I need to come see you!! I am hoping that one of the benefits that more income and less expense will afford me is the opportunity to go visit friends, both near & far. :o)
Sigh.
I agree: Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWe would LOVE to have you visit! We would only hope that our very cute home is a LITTLE BIT more furnished than it is at present. We are living with bare essentials right now!
Kirk has also expressed the desire to see Seattle and Vancouver, and seeing that pic of you and Christin in front of the Vancouver skyline in your latest post made him even more interested. So maybe we would be able to manage a trip your way sometime in the near future, too!!
So blessed to have good friends.
Just popping in to see if you chose your top titles.
ReplyDeleteEver read Walking on Water by Madeline L'Engle?
Your home is beautiful! I am so impressed by how together you, Kaari, and Michelle have made it in only one week. It is beautiful and comfortable.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your bookshelves!
Yeay, Christianne! It would be so fun if you came. :o) You & Kirk are always welcome (if you don't mind air mattresses, that is). :o)
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming back, 23 Degrees!! I think I am going to have to do a separate post altogether about the 10 titles, 3 authors, and the books I've re-read. This would be a good thing to tag people with, don't you think? I'm still perusing my shelves, narrowing down books, authors, etc ... :o) Such a great question!!
ReplyDelete