Posted in Books

I Have No Shelf Control

Posted on by D. Parker

I admit it, I have no shelf control. For me books are the same as: a potato chip, a piece of chocolate, a cup of tea – there’s no way I can have just one. I wake each day (If I’ve actually managed to sleep) and I think, the world is mine for the reading!

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ~ C.S. Lewis

I have no particular genre or author, my motto is simply, having fun isn’t hard if you’ve got a library card (if you watched Arthur as a child or with a child, you’ll sing that line). I read to fill my brain, my heart, my soul..

“The library is inhabited by spirits that come out of the pages at night.” ~ Isabel Allende

Books get inside your head and heart; scents, sounds, feelings, all inside a bottle which, once read, you can uncork and consume whenever you want, or need.

Lately I’ve been drawn back to the “classics”, including but not limited to: Dickens, Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, C.S. Lewis, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, various Brontes, Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, George Orwell, Virgil, Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Margaret Atwood…I wish I could sleep.

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Recently hosted Chronic Page Turners Book Chat, presented by Chronic Not Hopeless.

It was lively, respectful, interesting, informative, a wonderful way to connect. BYOB – Bring your own books…and refreshments (no judgment). We’d love to hear from/about indie authors too! https://yadadarcyyada.com/2021/05/21/how-i-met-your-author/.

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” ~ Groucho Marx

Books have been my magic carpet, my best friends, my worst enemies, my Mona Lisa, my Tower of Pisa, my guiding star, my hopes, my dreams, fears, my amazing and expanding universe! I’ve never felt alone with a book, it’s as though I have the world with me, as I’m infused by the words on the pages.

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
~Stephen King

Wishing you have a long and happy shelf life.

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118 thoughts on “I Have No Shelf Control”

  2. How disappointed I was not to find my name in the list of classics.it’s the world’s loss.Writing the Queen’s Envoy obviously brought me more joy than the reading public gained from finding out who James Bond was based on (loosely). I suppose at my age now (73 last week) I can’t say ‘my day will come’ but maybe my grandchildren will one day be able to be proud of their ‘Pops’. Massive Hugs

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    1. You’re timeless, dear David, but not old enough to be a classic, but be assured,
      someday you will be on that classics list, as a reader and as a huggable human being!
      I hope you had a birthday as wonderful as you (not even remotely possible but we can hope).
      Anyone who knows you, family, friends, blogging family knows you’re the tops, pops!!!
      Massive classic hugs xoxoxox

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    1. I’m sorry to hear that dear Teagan, sleep, though elusive is still so beloved, we chase it, but alas…
      I loved audiobooks when I can’t sleep or when I can’t concentrate, we’re lucky to have them.
      All the best to you today, tonight and always. Big booky hugs xox

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  15. I read books to children for 31 years as an elementary teacher (that doesn’t include those joyous times reading to our son), and now I’m reading to seniors in assisted living twice a week. It’s one of the most rewarding gigs.

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    1. That’s wonderful! I think passing the love of reading on to all ages is rewarding and paying it forward in the most amazing way!
      Hope this week treats you kindly and keep on booking! All the best today and every day. 🙂

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  16. I have never read about someone who I related to so much when it comes to reading books. Oh, such a dream life where you just live in the middle of the woods in a tiny cabin while you get lost in a good book!

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    1. That sounds wonderful, I can picture the bookshelves, a few books on the table in the living room, by the bed and sitting on a dock, reading. Sigh. It’s good to dream. Hope this week treats you kindly and with plenty of books (and dreams). 🙂

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  17. Donna, love this post! I have no shelf control. And I’ve added a large wheeling cart for the overflow! 🙄😳 Historical fiction books are my favs. But, classics are on the list too. Keep your lively, smile generated posts coming. ❤️🎶📚 Christine

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    1. What a great idea and I love the term, overflow for books, because they’re overflowing with imagination, dreams, and stories.
      I like historical fiction too. Hope the week ahead treats you kindly and overflows with peace and books! 😉

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  19. I love that, shelf life. I always say I have a book problem. I was late to the online book program, I needed to turn pages in a physical book, but the pandemic pushed me into digital reading. My ‘holds’ list and checked out book on Libby is never ending!

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    1. I always feel a little weird when I empty a whole Hold Shelf at the library but then I think, wow, I must really help their numbers! 😉
      I love the feel of books but I also enjoy ebooks and eaudiobooks as well. Books in any format rule!!! 🙂
      Hope the week ahead treats you kindly with lots of booklove!!! 🙂

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  20. Interesting and well put together post, as always. Always love the humour😊 Bedtime is my favourite reading time – there is nothing better than curling up in bed with a good book and the night stretching out before you. Like you, I am being pulled towards classics at the moment. I’m in the middle of two right now (because reading one book at a time is too logical for me😂). Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Steppenwolfe by Hermann Hesse. Loving both of them, especially Steppenwolfe. Write on!

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    1. Oh Hermann Hesse, I’m adding him to my list, so many books, so little time lol 😉
      Yes, reading in bed is a treat, snuggling in and then taking off into a world invisible. 🙂
      Hope the week ahead is filled with peace, joy and books! Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂

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  23. Pingback: “I Have No Shelf Control” /yadadarcyyada | By the Mighty Mumford
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  32. I so enjoyed this fun and inspiring look at books, Donna. Your words, the quotes and fun GIFs kept me smiling and relating. I recently finished reading all of H.G.Wells’s fiction, a long list of incredible classics. Cheers to you and books and many thanks.

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    1. When I revisit the classics I marvel at how relevant they still are today
      which I suppose shows the true nature of humans only alters in small ways
      but never really changes, good and bad and otherwise. Hope this weekend
      brings you peace, love, understanding and books, books, and more books! 😉

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  33. Another brilliant post. I often find that Writers are avid Readers too. Before my reading glasses (never ‘just right’), I do confess to reading a whole public library (or two) while my family was skiing down snowy slopes and trails and other outings. I was so stuffed with words, they poured out of my mouth, ears and nose. I’ve slowed down with age and astigmatism but the love of Reading goes on. Thanks for sharing your love of Books. 💝

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    1. I think we have a love affair with words and where they come from, where they go, where they can take us, what they can give us.
      I thank goodness for the eaudiobooks from the library (as time goes by). Thank you for being a book lover, we need all we can get. 🙂
      Hope this weekend treat you kindness, with peace, love, understanding and a plethora of words. 😉

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  35. Lol, no shelf control, that’s a good one! 😂🩷

    Just yesterday I bought a new book, fingers crossed I’ll get to it soon 😅.

    Thanks for sharing and have a great Sunday 🤗.

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    1. I hope you enjoy your book, there’s a thrill just before you turn to the new page and read those first words.
      Hope this week is treating you kindly so far with books galore!!! 😉

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  36. Nope. No shelf control whatsoever. Thank goodness for ebooks say I – or no one would get through the front door. But it does have consequences. I have HUNDREDS (probably THOUSANDS) of books on my Kindle. I refuse to count because I don’t have that long to live. Seriously. And it means if I’m not actively enjoying a book on at least some level by the time I reach the 10% mark, then I DNF it. My life is TOO SHORT to waste by reading something I don’t like when there all that stuff out there I haven’t yet tucked into!!! And it’s just a great comfort to know that Himself and I aren’t the only ones:))).

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    1. When I was young I thought once I started a book I had to read it to the end but by my mind teens I thought, no, there are waaaaayyyyy too many books to waste time on books I don’t enjoy. I see pictures of giant libraries & I think, could I live there, a small cot, a kettle & tea and maybe a very overstuffed armchair, oh and chocolate. Sounds like heaven. Hope you and yours have a safe and peaceful Easter! 🙂

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  40. My children loved Arthur – all young adults now – we still occasionally get going on that song together. Thanks for the reminder, now I’ll start a text chain going again…..”having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card”

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  41. I am a bookaholic. I love to buy books at thrift stores, but I have a hard time parting with them.

    I was glad to read you’re into the classics lately. Me too! Just finished reading “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolfe and the uber-delightful “Stuart Little” by E.B. White, which, I was surprised to learn, I’d never read before.

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    1. I was such an E.B. White junkie as a child and I still love his works today. V.W. is such a compelling writer though I haven’t read “To the Lighthouse” in years so after reading your comment, I put it on hold at the library. Books are delightful but unlike many I also love Tv/movies so I don’t have an issue with purist-the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie, etc. I love to visit many worlds, between pages on in a screen. Hail to the bookaholics!!!

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