I'm perusing the spines and each book is radder than the next. Aside from having my AP Great Books syllabus on display, he also has an impressive collection of pop culture standards:
High Fidelity,
Please Kill Me, and the collected works of e.e. cummings (one of my favorite poets!). Awww shit, is that
The Dirt? THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES TOO!
I see a collection of cookbooks clustered on one side of the shelf along thick, dusty tomes about the Civil War. He has a handful of graphic novels and comic books. Is that
Optic Nerve I spy over there? And
Hate?
Schwiiiing.
Now it's your turn: what would you wanna see perched on his bookshelf? Leave your all-time faves in the comments.
30 comments:
An enlightening novel like "Ishmael," a travel book by Bill Bryson, and anything by David Sedaris.
David Sedaris! Totally!
Maybe a book usually considered classically for females? Like a boy who likes Jane Austen? That really does it for me, in a good way.
Some Philip K. Dick, Murakami, and he must have a favorite poet. Period.
Redwall! If you read the same books as a kid you have PLENTY to talk about.
I'm a sucker for a good cookbook collection. Specifically anything on charcuterie. Non-food related: John Hodgman.
Philip K Dick, Hunter S Thompson, Vladimir Nabokov and H. P. Lovecraft are authors that need at least one book on his shelf. Catch-22, Brave New World, Tropic of Cancer, and something more classic, just to even things out. If he is missing something, you can be sure that I'm going to buy him a copy. Got my boyfriend hooked on Lolita and Philip K Dick in the last year.
However, if he's obsessed with Hemmingway, it's just not going to work out.
Being a culinary school grad, I second the cookbook selection. Also wine and cocktail books make me squeal as well.
"Cloud Atlas," "The Stand," anything by John Irving. I see those on a guy's shelf and my panties will drop.
cookbooks, poetry, fantasy( wheel of time, dragonlance, lotr, harry potter), scifi thrillers, mystery, horror and a neat collection of classics as in catcher in the rye, atlas shrugged, the great gatsby, catch 22, anything by dickens or hans christian anderson... story books are great... im a reader, and he should be too...
hehe, well my bookshelves are failing miserably so far, I had to dig around to find any kind of fiction. Practically everything I've read lately has been science/history subjects.
I have a soft spot for women who are science geeks, so anything along those would pique my interest. The Measure of All Things, The Music of the Primes, In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, anything by Feynman.
Stuff I read as a kid (heck yeah!) like Roald Dahl, Stephen King; some women's lit: maybe Jane Austen, maybe Tom Robbins; some enlightened stuff: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Pi, or Celestine Prophecy; Kurt Vonnegut for sure; definitely the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; a fave poet for sure; and a ton of books that show he's passionate about something: science, computers, cooking, photos, whatever. Just the fact that he has read actual books about something he loves.
I prefer pop cult over of high cult. A smart girl who can appreciate Cormac McCarthy or Lorrie Moore, has serious pieces by Arendt or Chomsky, is all kinds of aces, but I'm not going to have a glee-filled conversation with her over them. That's what Sedaris and Harry Potter are for. And, my God, if she has Bunnicula, we are getting under an afghan, grabbing a bowl of Cheez Doodles, and reading that shit out loud all night.
World War Z. Because I love zombies, and I actually think it's FANTASTIC. Also, maybe some interesting nonfiction that he can talk to me about for hours. swoon.
Oh my god I completely forgot about bunnicula. hilarious book.
Um, Jerry Spinelli, Orson Scott Card, David Sedaris...all those are great, but I'd have to say Donald Miller, Jon Krakuer and a margarita would get you past second.
So help me God, if another man says, "Catcher in the Rye" is his favorite book, I'm going to have a nervous fucking breakdown. It's like code for, "I had to read it in high school, and haven't read anything that wasn't required for a class since, but reading is hip and I'm really pretentious, so I'll just say it's my favorite (because I can't think of another one that's universally regarded and I know remotely anything about) and keep it on this wicked rickety shelf."
I hated Catcher in the Rye. Basically, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, maybe some Boxcar Children or Captain Underpants to cover the childish side, then some Scarlet Letter, e.e. cummings (he's my favorite, too), and The Kite Runner would be good too. I've read my fair share of sports-related books, and especially enjoy anything regarding Villanova Basketball, so that would be pretty boss too. Don't forget Paulo Coelho.
How about ANY books? I once dated someone with shelves of books overflowing in his apartment only to find out that they were all his room mate's. This boy did not own a single book. I was baffled. Bonerkiller.
I flip for graphic novels though and historical/non-fiction. Watchmen & Three Cups of Tea would be exciting to see on anyone's shelf.
I think I most prefer diversity in someone's book choices. Read nothing but current novels or "light" reading and it's hard for me to take you seriously. Read nothing but classics and non-fiction and you come across as a bit pretentious. So while I want to see Austen or Cervantes, etc., I also want Sedaris or, dare I say it, Tucker Max. It shows the person is multi-faceted and would probably be up for anything.
Honestly I don't care WHICH books, just as long as there are tons (and he's read most of 'em). I love graphic novels to tech guides, literature to beach reads. I'm super into a dude who uses the local library. I see library books, and I'm yours. (Yes, I am a librarian!)
O GOD HOW COULD I FORGET: if dude has an e-reader?! PANTY-DROPPER. Uh, was that TMI?
Only Ayn Rand? = RUN FOR IT. This has happened to me twice.
Anything by Bukowski. To Kill a Mockingbird. Any of Freud's works. Cookbooks. A dictionary and thesaurus.
Philip Roth, anything from The Onion, Zakhor, The Joys of Yiddish, something that would demonstrate high-level French or Hebrew reading ability
Agree with To Kill A Mockingbird & favorite poet. Also good: James Agee, Steinbeck, something well-worn and dog-eared... And a willingness to crack the spine and read aloud.
"Oranges aren't the only Fruit," "Sexing the Cherry." or really anything by Jeanette Winterson. Some well-used textbooks, any subject. Some stained cook books. Ta Da!
No Bibles, no Ayn Rand and no Tao of X______.
polianarchy said...
O GOD HOW COULD I FORGET: if dude has an e-reader?! PANTY-DROPPER. Uh, was that TMI?
October 22, 2010 1:40 PM
Consider that his ex girlfriend bought it for him, and that he has not touched it in over a year. Hmmm.
I love this post. I need to be with a reader. That said, there are a few authors that if he is obsessed with, it's an immediate red flag. One of your other commenters already identified one:
Hemmingway. I love me some Hemmingway personally, but if all he reads is Hemmingway, Bukowski, and Chuck Palahniuk that is clearly a bad sign and he's probably a masochist. You need to exit the relationship immediately.
*Also important to note, none of the above three authors write particularly high level prose. So that might be a clue into the "types" of books he likes...
Anything by: Bill Bryson, David Sedaris, Jeffrey Eugenides. The Fountainhead would score a big thumbs up.
... a big thumbs up for a ride OUTA there!!!
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