Hes a reader, like me. Its free. I was totally blown away, but I actually got quite a few emails [from] people that were very, very upset[S]omeone said, I feel like you were judging me. Now, when Im down in the basement and I see those titles, I think about the person who cared enough about me or who just got me so well that they knew exactly what I needed to hear (or read more like it) to get through the worst part of my life.. When guests take time to peruse and ask me questions about a book, I come alive., On the other hand, Rowland finds herself thinking a lot about the future. Author Temblador owns about 100 now, but told me, My goal is to have a huge library when I buy a home one day., Although George and her husband own a home in Seattle, her book collection is similar to Tembladorsabout 150. Youve Got a Ton of Gear. Not too many people are doing all twenty but I'll give it a try. Tolkien. I struggled a lot that year and would call my father, a psychiatrist, for advice on how to cope. Langlinais often shelves his books according to height. Tokyo-based reader Debbie Rowland, who is preparing to relocate to Dallas, is slowly sending all of her books to a room in her mothers Dallas-area home. For many of these readers, books dont all live together in a single place. This site uses cookies. There are a lot of great books left off the list. More meaningful is a library born from a series of emotional impulses ones rooted by temporal and experiential precision. Writers Darryl Pinckney and James Fenton are restoring a nineteenth-century Harlem townhouse, where, in addition to their respective studies, they have allocated four separate rooms as libraries. A world of unlimited discovery and potential. Want to dig deeper? A list of some great reads. First, this isnt a comprehensive list of classics. #Library100Novels oc.lc/library100 pic.twitter.com/5RKdcCG7Ca, I love libraries! Sign up now. Truly, for all of us bookworms, a personal library is more than a room, a collection, or something pretty to look atits the heart of our homes. The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine, The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Now, when Im down in the basement and I see those titles, I think about the person who cared enough about me or who just got me so well that they knew exactly what I needed to hear (or read more like it) to get through the worst part of my life., What Happened to All the Dogs? Yes, libraries offer access to trendy and popular books. Author Langlinais collects works that are similar to what he writesliterary fiction and short story collections. Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes. But despite the fun of curation, it can also be preoccupying: as soon as I load up a bookshelf I inevitably second-guess my choices. As you can see, my preference heavily skews towards American and Russian literature. An extravagant, Disney-esque library that would give Belle from Beauty and the Beast an orgasm feels remarkably like a mausoleum if the books merely serve as decoration. But even the readers who organize arbitrarily, or believe they havent organized their books at all, are intentional about grouping some of their books. After my divorce, so many friends consoled me or reached out to me by giving me or recommending books. There are classics here, but there are cheap thrillers and popular fiction and even a few kids books. It covers very similar themes to Brave New World and 1984, and is IMHO, a much better story. My books are the most important inanimate thing in my life, she told me. Feathers opts for a more traditional route: I do keep a b.o.b.book of booksin which I faithfully note the title, author, and date finished for each book that Ive read. When I asked Rosales if he could share any tips for tracking based on his expertise as a librarian, he told me, If you want to be a real nerd, you can do what I do for work and compile a spreadsheet of your book purchases. Another note: there are actually many more books listed here than 50 a number of those listed are actually series of books, in a couple cases series that include 20 or more books. Press J to jump to the feed. It's free. An Eames-Designed Modular Home Could Make a Comeback, The 5 Keys to Retiring Early (Even in the Current State of the World), "Real Time With Bill Maher" Returned With Jokes About Herschel Walker and Elon Musk, This Is Exactly What I Carry in My Carry-On When I Travel. Share your favorite #Library100Novels and follow along for more lists, details, and fun. The people that are color-coding by spine color are really looking at these books exclusively as [objects] at that pointIts a color wrapped object. She mentioned, however, that when she once critiqued this aesthetic on Instagram, some took umbrage. George is also motivated to purchase books with gorgeous covers and to shop at indie bookstores when shes traveling. discover other great materials for promoting the list. Copyright in cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited, Baker & Taylor, TiVo, or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: All rights reserved. Your dedication to literacy, education, and research inspires us every day! I wanted to know how many books these readers have and how they build and cull their collections. Not surprisingly, everyones personal library looks a little different. Its Time to Organize It. Dont even buy bookshelves, she says, gently blowing my mind. Because space and humidity are issues here in Seattle, she told me, my book-buying habit has been curbed., Other readers have been able to collect thousands of books. It changed how I viewed my circumstances and what I valued in life. Houston-based reader Vicki Seldon is a classical musician and has an entire section of biographies about musicians. I insisted on a book room, she told me. When reader Cindy Gordon remodeled her home in Argyle, Texas, books were a priority. Oh, and probably a bible for cultural reference. But they are great cuddle companions for reading.. I love giving away books to those I know will cherish them as I do., Keeping Track of Books in a Personal Library, Most of these readers dont currently use, Feathers opts for a more traditional route: I do keep a b.o.b.book of booksin which I faithfully note the title, author, and date finished for each book that Ive read., When I asked Rosales if he could share any tips for tracking based on his expertise as a librarian, he told me, If you want to be a real nerd, you can do what I do for work and compile a spreadsheet of your book purchases. Temblador told me, The book stack on my desk reflects books that I admire from an authors standpoint. Which books have you read? Similarly, Rosaless childhood memories are inextricably linked to his current passion for his collection. And awesome. And since the age of two or four or whatever, Ive been color-coding my books; thats how I organize [them]. And I felt like, Well, then fineThats authentic to you[T]hats your system that you genuinely use. Still, Freudenberger cannot fathom an arrangement in which the books themselves are subordinate to a larger, decorative contrivance. More importantly, how do we create a place where we can spend hours discovering and dreaming? Notable books that didn't make the list: Grendel by John Gardner, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. The Library 100 list is based on data from the OCLC WorldCat database, which has information about billions of books, movies, music, art, digital materials, and real-life artifacts in its members collections. Yet culling a personal library is inevitablewhether its because of a move or to create more, room on the shelves. Langlinais also keeps several copies of certain titles. Keep an eye on your inbox. How To Build a Personal Library: The Space, Not surprisingly, everyones personal library looks a little different. You can never have too many books or friends, she told me. At least one valid email address is required. Bonus: Any religious text, whether it be The Bible, The Quran, or even The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Now, I am more likely to buy something by a person of color first., Rowlands practical side tends to control her decision-making process when shes shopping for books. Dont spend more on your bookshelves than you do on your books, she advises, pointing out that books will always, eventually, settle into ones living quarters. I gave her two big boxes brimming with a lot of my favorites. But to start, I have: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Every list should have a few of those. Bilingual reader Debbie Rowland owns about 500 books written in Japanese and about 500 books written in English. I get a deep sense of happiness when I recommend books to other people who then read them, she told me. If youre just buying [books] to fill a bookshelf, then its gonna get really expensive and not feel good.. Whats more, curating a bookcase will probably always involve a degree of showboating: if you want to place your vintage Ray Bradbury paperbacks or first edition of Shirley Jacksons We Have Always Lived in the Castle at eye level to impress those attending your literary salon, go for it. It doesnt feel like a working libraryAll the libraries I [featured in my book] wereworking libraries.. Or, if I really like a book, I might buy several versions of the same book., For bookstore owner Feathers and librarian Rosales, professional habits affect their numbers. When I posed this question to eight avid readers, including two authors, a book buyer, and a librarian, these were some of their answers: A reflection of who I am as a person and author. Hes a reader, like me. It changed how I viewed my circumstances and what I valued in life. George, Gordon, and Temblador all told me that when they read a book from a local library and fall in love with it, they will purchase it. If you love to read, youll love The Library 100, a list of the top novels available in libraries worldwide. So how do we make sure weve created a personal library that keeps our books safe and somewhat orderly? Can I just say: I love that you added a sidenote with books that didn't quite make the cut. Otherwise a really solid list, and I love the inclusion of Things Fall Apart, sometimes I feel like it doesn't get enough love on Reddit. Check out this list of the top 100 novels that are available in more library collections than any others. [Im] hoping to change the balance someday.. Rowland told me that once she moves back to the States, she plans to use Goodreads to record all of the books she owns, plus the ones shes culled. I recently ran into a couple of reading lists (Ill share them at the end) and realized that I LOVE reading book recommendations. The quantity of books in these readers libraries range from 100 to 2,000, depending on many things, including phase of life. Last March, my husband and I moved to a larger apartment, a modest upgrade that nonetheless forced us to confront a brazen shortage of furniture: namely, bookshelves. I love giving away books to those I know will cherish them as I do., There is no rhyme or reason to the way Ive organized my books, Temblador told me. Recently, InsideHook spoke with Nina Freudenberger, an interior designer and author of Bibliostyle: How We Live With Books in an effort to better understand both the specific appeal of a lovingly schematized bookshelf and how a hapless person like myself might put one together. Going through the titles of the books on my shelves is like flipping through an album, George told me of her Seattle library. Illustrator and author Joana Avillez sleeps in a Murphy bed tucked into a wall of bookshelves, devising for herself a literary canopy. Is it filled with the works you love, and arranged in a way that works for you? Its an aesthetic exercise that broadcasts, simultaneously, the sort of person we think are and who we aspire to be. And Other Stories, 8 Books That Fictionalize Real Historical Figures, The Best Dark Academia, According to Goodreads, 16 August Mystery, Thriller, True Crime Books To Read. Other readers have designated a single space in their homes for their libraries. More importantly, does it inspire you? Spouses and partners split shelf space in a variety of ways. That said, flourishes should never impede the larger objective: to locate your books when you want them. Like Freudenberger, I revisit memories through my books, so, when I travel, I look for used bookstores, where Im most likely to discover peculiar editions of old favorites. At least one Roald Dahl book, one Jane Austen novel, and one folklore compilation from a region of your choice. I know, to each his own, but I'm really interested to know what books everyone feels should be library staples. Its one mans reading list a writer, a book lover, a lover and a dad, but one man nonetheless. I struggled a lot that year and would call my father, a psychiatrist, for advice on how to cope. Coralie Bickford-Smiths covers for Penguins Clothbound Classics pay homage to long-beloved authors in this way (Bickford-Smith is another individual Freudenberger interviewed for Bibliostyle). But, they dont keep them on the shelf if theyre not repeatedly requested by their communities over the years. All I know is that I loved these books no, I still love them and I hope you will too. The Sound and The Fury? My first book, Surf Shack, was about people building homes around something they love doing, which was surfing, Freudenberger says over the phone. Surprisingly difficult to decide between only twenty books though. Hamlet, The Little Prince, House on Mango Street, Lolita, the Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor, Middlemarch, Ulysses or Dubliners, Things Fall Apart, Brave New World, Riverside Chaucer, The Lais of Marie de France, The Color Purple. If youre like me, youve been nodding along with the thoughts of these readers, happy that youre not alone in your passion for books. Track how much you spend [on] every purchase and all that good stuff., Its where my past meets my present and future. The Japanese fiction section is actually in the equivalent of alphabetical order by authors last name, and my English nonfiction is loosely separated into categories..