“Words are life.” – Markus Zusak
A person’s bookcase is a window into their soul. By the titles on the shelves, you know what topics that person is drawn towards, what genres of literature are most fascinating to them, which stories have touched their souls.
Are the books worn and underlined in places, or kept in mint condition? Even the difference between paperbacks and hardcovers tells a lot about the reader. Take a glance at your own shelves and you’ll doubtless find your own story imprinted on the volumes.
In a recent post on what I learned from simple living, I mentioned that I’d done a considerable book purge. I got rid of any books that no longer bring me a sense of gladness or contentment — all the ones that did not touch me in some way.
Curious to see what I was left with, I compiled a list of all my literary possessions. By seeing a brief glimpse into my bookshelf, you might see some old favorites reflected back — or perhaps a few new favorites waiting for you.
Classics
- Les Miserables | Victor Hugo
- Wuthering Heights | Emily Bronte
- Middlemarch | George Eliot
- Jane Eyre | Charlotte Bronte
- War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy
- Anna Karenina | Leo Tolstoy
- Little Women | Louisa May Alcott
- Mansfield Park | Jane Austen
- Northanger Abbey | Jane Austen
- Love and Friendship | Jane Austen
- Persuasion | Jane Austen
- Emma | Jane Austen
- Sense and Sensibility | Jane Austen
- Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen
- Great Expectations | Charles Dickens
- Oliver Twist | Charles Dickens
- A Tale of Two Cities | Charles Dickens
- Hard Times | Charles Dickens
- Bleak House | Charles Dickens
- A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens
Children’s Literature
- The Complete Tales | Beatrix Potter
- Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh | A.A. Milne
- The Complete Brambly Hedge } Jill Barklam
- The Anne of Green Gables series | L.M. Montgomery
- The Adventures of Robin Hood | Roger Lancelyn Green
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Mark Twain
- The Secret Garden | Francis Hodgson Burnett
- Peter Pan | J.M. Barrie
- Black Beauty | Anna Sewell
- The Wind in the Willows | Kenneth Grahame
- The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic | Jennifer Trafton
- Misty of Chincoteague | Marguerite Henry
- Stormy, Misty’s Foal | Marguerite Henry
- King of the Wind | Marguerite Henry
- Sea Star | Marguerite Henry
- Justin Morgan Had a Horse | Marguerite Henry
- Brighty of the Grand Canyon | Marguerite Henry
- The White Stallion of Lipizza | Marguerite Henry
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH | Robert O’Brien
- The Bark of the Bog Owl series | Jonathan Rogers
- Black Beauty’s Early Days in the Meadow | Anna Sewell & Jane Monroe Donovan
Nonfiction Favorites
- The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up | Marie Kondo
- The Book of Hygge | Louisa Thomsen Brits
- A Writer’s Paris | Eric Maisel
- How to Become a Straight-A Student | Cal Newport
- Let’s All Be Brave | Annie F. Downs
- We Stood Upon Stars | Roger Thompson
- Beate Not the Poore Desk | Walter Wangerin, Jr.
- Love Does | Bob Goff
- A Fine Romance | Susan Branch
- The Bees | Carol Ann Duffy
- The 52 Lists Project | More Seal
- The Norton Anthology to English Literature: Volumes I and II
- Bella Grace Magazine by Stampington & Company
Fiction Favorites
- All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr
- The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah
- The Book Thief | Markus Zusak
- The Homelander Series | Andrew Klavan
- Crazy Dangerous | Andrew Klavan
- If We Survive | Andrew Klavan
- The Hiding Place | Corrie Ten Boom
- The Sun Also Rises | Ernest Hemingway
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Berry Smith
Fantasy Series
- The Hobbit | J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Lord of the Rings | J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Chronicles of Narnia | C.S. Lewis
- The Wingfeather Saga | Andrew Peterson
- Harry Potter series | J.K. Rowling
My mom once referred to her collection of favorite stories as being like a bouquet of flowers. Every time we find a new favorite, we add it to our own personal bouquet. There’s a whole garden waiting to be read out in the world, but I hope you will soon find a new favorite flower or two.
From one book lover to another,
<3 Olivia Grace
