Personal Bookshelf

When we put up our house in Cincinnati for sale about five years or so ago, our real estate agent came through and "staged" our house for showing.  One of the most peculiar things that she did was to turn every book in our home office backwards, so that the spines (and titles) of the books didn't show.  We never really asked her why she did that, but as I recently learned (thank you Google AI), the practice is fairly common and mostly is for aesthetic reasons.  The practice creates a neutral, uniform, and minimalist look and feel (you don't see all the different colors of the books on the shelf).  It also prevents distraction and de-personalizes the owners, whose personal tastes and/or political views could turn off potential buyers.  Lastly (and perhaps least important), it avoids copyright issues if they want to take photographs and post them online.  

While I don't think that our bookshelf is particularly controversial (we own a lot of history books and presidential biographies), I have to admit that the books that my wife and I own reveal a lot about who we are and what we value.  I guess I have to agree with CNN Contributor David G. Allan (who writes for online for "The Wisdom Project") and his article "Why shelfies not selfies are a better snapshot of who you are".  Like Allan, whenever I walk into someone's house (or even someone's office at work), I often catch myself looking at their bookshelf to see what kinds of books that they've read.  Allan actually met his wife this way!  He says, "Seeing someone's books offers a glimpse of who they are and what they value."

I really enjoy looking over various "book lists" of recommended reading, ranging from the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge (from the television show "The Gilmore Girls") to former President Barack Obama's Summer Reading List.  I have looked over the Chief of Naval Operation's Professional Reading List and Boston College's Father Deenan Reading List with great interest.  I have enjoyed the series of books by Admiral (retired) James Stavridis - The Leader's Bookshelf, The Sailor's Bookshelf, and The Admiral's Bookshelf.  Call me a bibliophile for sure.

David Allan writes, "You may not have a biography written about your life, but you have a personal bibliography.  And many of the books you read influence your thoughts and life...Books, and stories in particular, are probably the greatest source of wisdom after experience."  As the English writer and politician Joseph Addison once said, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."  In other words, what you have read - your personal bookshelf (or as David Allan calls it, your "shelfie") says a lot about who you are, because what you have read in your lifetime has a lot of influence on who you are and what you value.  

Allan goes on to say that for the past 20 years, he has kept a notebook filled with drawings of his own personal bookshelf that contains the books that he has read, even if he doesn't actually own the books.

He goes on to mention the artist Jane Mount, who started a company called The Ideal Bookshelf in 2008.  Mount writes, "I believe books make us better, allowing us to visit other people's lives and understand them.  And books connect us, to characters, to authors, and most importantly, to each other."  

What books would you place on your own personal, ideal bookshelf?