It is diwali - rather last day of Diwali - and I realise that I have not rearranged my bookshelf for almost a year now -( This is actually a hobby of mine - rearranging various cupboards and throwing away old , unused , unappealing stuff - And I have read it somewhere - in some new-age book - that this is a way to unclog the flow of life ! Anyway !! )
So , I decide that I will tackle this issue right away - remove all the books and rearrange them systematically. ( That's a typical vague idea that I have - I say " arrange " without any idea whatsoever about how to do it - subjectwise or sizewise or any other way . )
I sit on the floor and take out all the books from the cupboard - hmmmm...I am really pleased with my collection ! - O God ! So much dust ! If there is dust on the books , that is extremely distressing for me - there can be dust anywhere in the house but if it's on my books that's a shameful thing ! So - I close my eyes and clean the dust ! There !! Now I can begin with the real thing !
Okay - here go all the marathi books - in one pile -( their genre is - obviously - marathi ! ) Too less in number to arrange in any other way but sizewise , they go in one big pile right at the back . Oops !! There..... an ignorant purchase ! - Two copies of the same book ....That's what happens when I don't finish reading the books that I have and keep on buying more ! I must hide that at the bottom of the pile and then I proceed further .....
I have an idea - I will keep the books that I have not read in a separate pile right at the front of the cupboard ...they will serve as a constant reminder . So that's one pile and one pile for all Agatha Christies and another for all self help/spiritual books ....
Now what ?....Several books that I have will not fit into any genre or if they fit into one I don't have too many from that genre ...at the best , I can create a new personal genre " The books I loved " ....include Marian Keyes' books ( though fitting into chick-lit , they are superbly written...I love them....sadly I have only one at present ) L.M. Montgomery's ( Anne of Avonlea fame ) feel good short story collection , Khushwant Singh's tiny-miny short story book " Princess of Kahin-nahin "- extremely entertaining and nastily-bitchily satisfying !
Can a trilogy be classified as a genre ....I know it can't ....but I decide to keep these together ,...long lost brothers finally unite ! JRR Tolkien and Samit basu ...be happy !
One section dedicated to my mistakes - some books which I had liked in the past but now find them too boring ( eg the rule of four ) and some books which make me cringe...why did I buy them ??...wasted so much money ! Now , I decide that, I will either throw away these books or donate them to the library .
After taking out 10-12 books for giving away , I suddenly remember the time , when I had donated many of my precious books to the library , and I miss them sorely now.....what if such a thing happens again...no no...better not to donate any ! After thinking about those books , I sigh and keep ALL the books back ....
By now I have spent almost two hours ....I keep on opening most books randomly and read a few pages before keeping them back in the cupboard ....Those two hours were heavenly but now I have lost patience and feeling a little tired , ....so I keep back all the books in the cupboard wherever there is a space !
My genres have now become muddled . Only pile that is clearly defined is " to be read " which looks at me accusingly !
I sigh and shut the cupboard to escape.....
Concluding remarks .....
There is no way that my library will ever get organized - my only hope is that they should not topple inside the cupboard ....may be to arrange them sizewise is a better idea ! Next time perhaps !!
And then I remember suddenly - there is that small overhead cupboard which holds some " yet to be read " books.....
So , I decide that I will tackle this issue right away - remove all the books and rearrange them systematically. ( That's a typical vague idea that I have - I say " arrange " without any idea whatsoever about how to do it - subjectwise or sizewise or any other way . )
I sit on the floor and take out all the books from the cupboard - hmmmm...I am really pleased with my collection ! - O God ! So much dust ! If there is dust on the books , that is extremely distressing for me - there can be dust anywhere in the house but if it's on my books that's a shameful thing ! So - I close my eyes and clean the dust ! There !! Now I can begin with the real thing !
Okay - here go all the marathi books - in one pile -( their genre is - obviously - marathi ! ) Too less in number to arrange in any other way but sizewise , they go in one big pile right at the back . Oops !! There..... an ignorant purchase ! - Two copies of the same book ....That's what happens when I don't finish reading the books that I have and keep on buying more ! I must hide that at the bottom of the pile and then I proceed further .....
I have an idea - I will keep the books that I have not read in a separate pile right at the front of the cupboard ...they will serve as a constant reminder . So that's one pile and one pile for all Agatha Christies and another for all self help/spiritual books ....
Now what ?....Several books that I have will not fit into any genre or if they fit into one I don't have too many from that genre ...at the best , I can create a new personal genre " The books I loved " ....include Marian Keyes' books ( though fitting into chick-lit , they are superbly written...I love them....sadly I have only one at present ) L.M. Montgomery's ( Anne of Avonlea fame ) feel good short story collection , Khushwant Singh's tiny-miny short story book " Princess of Kahin-nahin "- extremely entertaining and nastily-bitchily satisfying !
Can a trilogy be classified as a genre ....I know it can't ....but I decide to keep these together ,...long lost brothers finally unite ! JRR Tolkien and Samit basu ...be happy !
One section dedicated to my mistakes - some books which I had liked in the past but now find them too boring ( eg the rule of four ) and some books which make me cringe...why did I buy them ??...wasted so much money ! Now , I decide that, I will either throw away these books or donate them to the library .
After taking out 10-12 books for giving away , I suddenly remember the time , when I had donated many of my precious books to the library , and I miss them sorely now.....what if such a thing happens again...no no...better not to donate any ! After thinking about those books , I sigh and keep ALL the books back ....
By now I have spent almost two hours ....I keep on opening most books randomly and read a few pages before keeping them back in the cupboard ....Those two hours were heavenly but now I have lost patience and feeling a little tired , ....so I keep back all the books in the cupboard wherever there is a space !
My genres have now become muddled . Only pile that is clearly defined is " to be read " which looks at me accusingly !
I sigh and shut the cupboard to escape.....
Concluding remarks .....
There is no way that my library will ever get organized - my only hope is that they should not topple inside the cupboard ....may be to arrange them sizewise is a better idea ! Next time perhaps !!
And then I remember suddenly - there is that small overhead cupboard which holds some " yet to be read " books.....
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