Assess Your Bookshelves

Might this be a topic for a thesis? Probably not.  Fact or fiction? Based on my husband's book choices and mine, I'd say it's bunk. We have a few similarities in what we read but only a few. I do know couples who both love sci-fi or fantasy. So, it does happen but I think those people are in the minority. 

What I'm going to write about today is not the finding the one you love according to what is on their bookshelf. Instead, let's consider what is on your bookshelf and mine. I would hope that you have a nice variety of books. Most writers are readers so I would expect to see shelves laden with many books. Ask any browser in a bookstore and they'll tell you There's always room for another book.

NOTE:  In this techie world we live in, we can include books we have on a Kindle or similar reader. 

Here's a list of the kinds of books I have:

• Cookbooks
• Poetry
• Writing 
• Books in which I have stories and poems published
• Fiction
• Travel journals
• Books friends have written
• Pictorial books about other countries and the USA
• Nonfiction--how we live life
• Christmas books
• Photo albums of family and travels
• Children's 

You can probably tell a lot about me from the kinds of books I own. If I could put the percentage of each type I have or the genres of fiction, you would get an even clearer picture of me. 

How about you? Make a list of the kinds of books on your bookshelf. Then take some time to assess what you have listed. Do you see a wide variety? Or do you concentrate on just a few? Which categories are the heaviest, which ones do you have only one or two? What does your list say about you as a person? About you as a writer? 

Now, consider the poster again. Do you and your significant other like the same kinds of books? Or are you radically different in reading taste? There will most likely be some genres you both like but not all.