Thank you so much for having me as a guest on
your wonderful Bookcase Showcase. This post was a real pleasure to put
together, partly because, given half a chance, I could talk about my
favourite books for ever (don't worry, I'll try not
to) but mainly because my bookshelves are the one part of my house that
I actually keep tidy.
My husband and I are both English and Drama
teachers so, when we bought this flat together, we needed a LOT of shelf
space. My husband made these shelves to fit a lovely big alcove next to
the living room fireplace. Taking the books out
of boxes and arranging them here was a truly joyful experience.
The bottom three shelves in this picture are
full of plays, lots from our days as Drama teachers. Then there's
poetry, and the top two shelves are novels. Since I stopped teaching and
started writing for children, I've been reading more
children's books and less grown-up literature, but it's nice to know
that all my old favourites are still there!
This bookcase contains some of my favourite children's books, past and
present. They include my mother's copies of the Little Women books and
the What Katy Did series. There are lots of Puffin Noel Streatfeilds
from my childhood, as well
as brilliant contemporary children's authors like Frank Cottrell Boyce.
On the shelf underneath are books I'm using for research for my work in
progress. It's a timeslip story, partly set in 1813, so I've been using
it as an excuse to read biographies of Jane
Austen and Blake as well as books about servants' lives and general
histories of the period.
This little bookcase in the dining room belonged to my grandfather, so I
have huge affection for it. It contains more children's books that I've
enjoyed over the last few years, as well as, on the top shelf, a few
books about writing, including
How Not To Write a Novel, by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark, How
to Write a Blockbuster, by Lee Weatherly and Helen Corner, and Stephen
King's On Writing. I read and reread those three books while I was
editing and re-editing The Secret Hen House Theatre.
Comments
Angie