The top shelf
I have a lot of books, and hence a lot of (overflowing and crammed full) book shelves at my house. But I only have one teeny-tiny bookcase in my bedroom, so I have to be quite selective about which books I keep in it. (This is ignoring the teeming nest of to-read books under my bedside table. And the fact that sometimes, if a book is particularly great, I will have to sleep with it next to me on the bed. I never said I was normal.)
I've created a top shelf where I keep all my most inspiring and cherished and most-loved books. I guess I hope their greatness might rub off on me with proximity. Here's a small selection from the top shelf:
Raw Blue (Kirsty Eagar) - I'm annoyed this is hiding behind Stitches in the above photo, because this book is probably in my all-time top five favourite books.
All I Ever Wanted (Vikki Wakefield) - a proof copy of a new Australian YA book out in June. Funny, dark, completely absorbing tale of a sixteen-year-old girl growing up in a family of crims.
The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov) - I will never look at cats the same way again.
Coraline (Neil Gaiman) - a perfect book. I once interviewed Neil Gaiman and was rendered embarrassingly starstruck.
Pigeons: Stories in the post - this is a collection of stories written by primary school-aged kids via letters with their children's author mentor. HILARIOUS. You can find out about the good literacy work the Pigeons folk do here.
And don't even get me started on Northern Lights, or The Wall And The Wing, or Hideous Kinky, or The Disreputable History Of Frankie Landau-Banks!
