soul food friday ~ loving books

I knew today's post had to be about books when two of my favourite bloggers wrote about their love for them this week. Ann scored old Penguins at the second hand bookstore and vowed she would never own a Kindle (or an iPad Ann?). There's nothing quite like the feel of a book in your hands is there? Or are we just old fashioned?

Jeanne has a linky thing going on over here where you can share your book posts which is what I'll be doing. Jeanne spoke about her nostalgia over certain books and I completely agree. Some books are keepers.

Books have always been part of my life. It is perhaps the greatest gift my dad ever gave me...this love of books. We used to head up to the library every week and take out six books each...the maximum allowed. It was a ritual. Thanks Dad.

So I thought I'd show you what's on my shelves, because if you're like me, when you go into someone's house one of the first things you want to do is look at their books.

Excuse the dodgy photos (the light in my study which is where my books are is not so great). And then of course there's the lack of dusting...too busy blogging, reading, crafting to bother with that nonsense!

Tell me...are you horrified that there's a fair bit of categorisation going on here? Should I be ashamed to tell you that I did colour code my books several years ago (ahead of my time??) but a certain friend used to come around and move them around to disrupt the pattern. Yes, T, you know who you are!! Some of these kids books are almost as old as me. Quite a few were given to me as awards at school or Sunday school (where I'm sure my parents sent me to get me out of the house on a Sunday morning!)

There might still be a touch of colour coding going on if I'm honest!

I wonder what happened to novels, shelf 2?? Perhaps that was the crime shelf...mystery solved!! Groan...sorry :)

I'm very fond of books about places I've been to or long to visit. I especially love reading books about people living in foreign countries...maybe one day. And I keep travel diaries..and they get filled :)

The old self help books hey...needing them less these days, but you never know when you might have to dip into one. Most of my business books (and there are lots) live at the office.

Despite the fact that I still have lots of books to read, I can't stop acquiring them...

I think it may be because I gave away over 200 books to Lifeline when I moved to the townhouse. I hope lots of people are enjoying them while I go on a replacement quest of sorts.

...and then there's the coffee table of course...two of the three piles.

And let's not mention all the magazines. Not hard to see where my disposable income goes!!

So yes Jeanne, I do get very nostalgic about my books. I do believe it's possible to have a relationship of sorts with a book; not like a real flesh and blood relationship of course. But a fabulous one nonetheless. Tell me you've never been sorry to say goodbye to a character in a book! And if a good book is not 'food for the soul' please tell me what is?

I'll be spending this weekend reading The Catcher in the Rye for ~~wine~~ book club on Monday night. Book clubs...another great invention!

Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments this week; your support and advice are so very much appreciated. Really.