Inspired by an article in the FT about how authors collect books, I want to write about how I collect books and what I have in the flat right now.
My first book was an Enid Blyton picture book “The bad Cockyolly bird” which I won for storytelling when I was 7. I still have this book – intact and right where I can reach to it. Perhaps I should seal it in an air-tight bag and protect it. But this book kick-started my habit of owning books.
Until this book, I didn’t have a book of my own. I hadn’t visited the school library and foreign editions of English books weren’t available cheap back then in India. I am not sure they are cheap even today.
Slowly I built my collection by winning books in competitions and I had 4 in another 4 years. Reading became an obsession and an escape and I joined a private lending library far from our house – this was a reward from my mother for devouring English books.
I am moving flats now and I boxed up all my books first. I have 16 boxes full of books and this is after giving away most of my popular fiction and things I will never read. I have another box unpacked – that contains my signed books, by big names like Jane Yolen. I have another box with 100 books that I want to give away for the charity Roomto Read. So I can buy the latest ones.
Since I discovered Kindle for Android, I have been downloading more books into my tablet. But those are my adult reading – literary fiction, fiction, non-fiction, reference books, writing books. If it is a picture book or a chapter book for young readers, I’d rather buy the book, feel it, touch it, and read it over and over again.
I am hoping that when I move to my new flat, I will have enough space for all my books and I can organise them, sort them, catalogue them. But I know that will last less than a month. Then I will start leaving books on the coffee-table, by the bed, on the computer table, on top of the microwave oven and on every window-sill.
I will have books in the work bag, in the weekend bag and scattered on the sofa.
I might have to rent a storage space, put bookshelves there, arrange my books, setup a sofa and go there to read. But the trouble is – reading is part of living. I can’t segregate it and put it away nicely in a rented storage space.
How much space do you allocate for your books? Can you afford it in a city like London, where space is premium?
By: Chitra Soundar,
on 11/5/2011
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When do writers get to read?
They have to write, live and be a parent, spouse, teacher, sister, daughter and more. They have to buy birthday cards, clean the house, wash the car, take the kids to music lessons and cook dinner too. When festivals arrive writers have to throw parties, cook cocktail food, buy tons of beer for their friends and somehow find the time to finish writing projects.
But in the meantime, the literary world has been busy. Editors have been beavering away at books written a year ago, designers making new covers, journalists writing articles about digital publishing and critics reviewing books before they turn into books.
There are blogs, magazines, books and websites to read. There are Facebook pages that lead to wonderful articles, interviews, podcasts and publicity contests.
Where is the time to read so much content? When do you find the time to sit down, put up your feet and switch on the laptop or the tablet and say “Don’t speak until spoken to! I am going to read.”
I am single, work full time and write in all my free time. I still have to find the time during a busy commute, long day at work, tired night back home to write. When do I read? Some days when I spend ages reading, I feel guilty. Writers write, but don’t they need to read too?
But how much can they read? They love books written by their friends, friends of friends, big writers, up and coming writers. They love blog posts and interviews. They love a funny podcast. They want to read the library petition. They want to read the Bookseller magazine and the Carousel. They want to read all the twitter messages about new books, hot books, bad books and other writers.
How do others manage? I struggle. Some days, I don’t read at all. Some days I don’t write at all. Some days, I just click buttons on the tablet, reading a twitter message at a time. Sometimes the twitter message takes me to a wonderful blog or an article or a review. Some days, I am just happy watching TV, without reminding me about my writerly and readerly commitments.
It’s hard to be a working writer. This industry is prolific. A big industry but shrinking all at the same time. The technolo
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 10/29/2011
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Having discovered Eric Carle only in my early 30s, as a newly born reader, with access to world class titles, I loved the simplicity of his books. I loved the serious messages that were enveloped in amazing artwork using words that were instantly recognisable and repeatable for young kids.
I don’t think I have ever met a child who hasn’t read The Hungry Caterpillar or the Mixed-up Chameleon. Reading his famous titles aloud, you see a pattern – a pattern of serious, thoughtful messages made very simple for young readers, perhaps even readers who can only listen.
So when I ordered “The Artist who painted a Blue Horse” – I wasn’t sure what to expect. Okay, I expected a blue horse. But what was it about? I tend not to read reviews of picture books before I buy them – because I want to discover the book and their meanings myself.
As an adult, you can read this book standing by the door, when the postman drops it off. In 11 spreads and less than 50 words, Eric Carle has opened up the horizons for every young artist. Without saying anything in so many words, he has shown the children of today and artists of tomorrow that there is nothing right or wrong about art. Art is what you want it to be - an expression of your own inner thoughts, ideas and maybe suggestions to the world. Unconventional art and radical science becomes commonplace as years go by.
If you are reading to a young child, you have the opportunity not to point out the right colours for the animals. Instead, allow them to come up with more ridiculous combinations. The brushes have been unshackled, the palette has been freed from its colour-dips. Mix them up, make new colours, paint the world in a colour that has no names.
By: Chitra Soundar,
on 10/28/2011
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How do writers write under the influence of alcohol? I can barely keep my eyes open after a glass of red. While the cocktails and spirits with mixers can hit me quite late in the night, the wine hits my sleep nerve directly.
I won’t be able to write a single coherent sentence after a large glass of red. And for that matter white.
Like tonight – after two wonderful glasses of red wine from the hills of Montepulciano, the Montepulciano_d'Abruzzo, my brain seems mellow. I want to call all my old boyfriends and tell them about how good life is now. But when I try to write a rhyme or a sentence that describes an emotion, I fall flat. Not literally, but close.
So on days when I have to write a lot, when I set myself a target, wine becomes a reward. Something to look forward to, after a session of writing, after meeting targets, after meeting deadlines. I once had a boyfriend who was more obsessive about my writing targets than me. He used to make sure that we never got anywhere near the wine before my quota of words have been completed.
So I wonder about writers, great ones, who cannot write without the drink. Is it because they wanted to escape into the world of fantasy? Or is it something chemical in their brains? Or maybe they had a better reaction to alcohol than me.
So, instead of an enabler, it is a reward. Instead of drinking and then missing deadlines, I finish deadlines and indulge.
I was at a workshop once with other children’s writers. I saw a couple of them literally write all day energised by wine. They had a bottle next to their computer, a glass fully filled and they typed away. I envied their stamina because the more I looked at the bottle, the more tempted I was. But I knew that my body worked in a different way. I couldn’t write and
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 10/22/2011
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Writing a picture-book is perhaps harder than pulling every hair out, one at a time, while chanting and keeping a fast. But it is more fun than that.
I enjoy every minute of the process from day 1 of conception of idea to Year 5, when I am still revising it. I haven’t published one in the UK yet, but the hope of doing it, keeps me going.
When an idea forms in my head, I use an idea-map to tease it out, draw its inside out with many possibilities. Play with associations. One idea then springs out into a sequence. The idea-map suddenly flows out on one side. One idea expands.
When I have enough of the idea, I stop the idea-map and start with a dummy. I don’t draw or illustrate. But I want pacing. So I do even first drafts on a table of 12 spreads or blank dummies I got the printers to bind for me.
I mark out the end-papers, title and copyright, put my draft title and then make a random choice of starting on the right – a half spread to kick the story off or use a double-spread as a first page.
I then write the story long hand, on the dummy and try and coincide the surprise or the refrains at a page-turn. Roughly at the middle, say after 6 spreads, I go for a single big sentence or zero-word 2-page spread and then begin to accelerate to the climax.
I keep the last left page for the last surprise page-turn. Once I’ve written it on the dummy, I know whether I’m short of text for 12 spreads or too long. I know if some pages are too wordy or too sparse. I know if the story before the middle-spread is dense or the latter half is crowded.
Then I edit the words, change the rhythm, find a pattern. Once I have a pattern, I find a variation that also has a pattern. Then it is time to find out if the spreads need to be re-laid out. Should the refrain appear before the page-turn or in a 2-page spread or after a page-turn?
Then I take out the descriptive words and add sound to the dialog. I very often forget smell and touch and come back for one more revision to add the other elements. Once the text has been marked with so many colours, my need for neatness takes over.
I rewrite the entire text again, in a new dummy in the new format with all my previous changes. Then I start all over again, crossing out, editing, moving. All in long-hand.
The story goes into a word-processor only after I know that the structure works and the editor can spot the structure without having to mark them out in the manuscript.
Then I edit on the
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 10/15/2011
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Life of a writer with a distinctively different day-job is somewhat hectic. It starts with scurrying out of bed, hurried breakfast, coffee on the run, an impatient wait for the train that is never on time, late for a busy day at work where there is no time to grab a sandwich, quick jaunts into the cold car-park for a puff of cigarette, an impatient wait for the woking day to end.
The evening is wrought with other distractions. A nip into the supermarket, checking out at the express counter, a sandwich made absent-mindedly while sorting through junk mail and peeks at the evening news. Then the tidying up, the bills to pay on the Internet and a deserved drink at the end of a long day.
Now it is almost bed-time. The notebook beckons. But so does the bed. Sometimes the snippet of interesting teenage conversation overheard on the train makes the trip to the notebook mandatory, just as much is going to the loo. Sometimes the bed and the duvet look cosier than the hard-day at work. There is always the weekend, the writer surmises as he snuggles into bed with the hope of slipping into unconsciousness.
But the subconscious begins to play, rebel, revolt as soon as the eyes close. The words clamour for release. They haunt the half-asleep dreams. They remind of suppressed memories, forgotten words, an incredible start to a new novel. Reluctantly the writer gets up from bed, propping up against a pillow, reaching for the notebook in the dark, groping for the bedside lamp.
The night is young, the chapter is fresh. It has to be now or never.
The night is young, the chapter is fresh. It has to be now or never.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 10/9/2011
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Reading Celia Rees’ blog on notebooks wanted me to talk about my relationship with notebooks too.
As a kid, clothes and toys didn’t excite me as much as a new notebook, crisp sheets and blank pages. I had plans for all of them blank notebooks. I wanted to decorate them, wanted to be neat and tidy until the last page was finished.
When growing up, school notebooks had to be covered with brown paper. Learning how to fold a large sheet of brown paper and tuck it tight on a notebook was an art. I learnt by experience and a lot of standing outside the class as punishment that my aunt can fold it perfect, whereas my dad was absolutely no good at it. Perhaps one of the first things I learnt as a kid, was to wrap a notebook with brown paper, tight, without glue, cello tape or staples. Shoe laces came later, actually, I still can’t do shoe laces properly. That’s another story and for another blog post later.
Some rebels used white paper, while some used blond beach brown while the conservatives used dark brown. Then you had to stick labels to write your name and class details on it. Most kids showed off their talent here. Kids chose labels with flowers, animals, dinosaurs and even deities.
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 7/31/2011
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The synopsis stands bereft, its content nowhere near what's happening in my story. An aunt suddenly walked in with a bunch of carrots and rock climbing equipment and the protagonist has to learn to climb a wall in 5 minutes.
I felt sorry for her that I thought I'll get the aunt to climb - but a rule is a rule. If you want to be the protagonist, you've got to climb...
So I am nowhere near the middle of the book where I thought I'd be in 13000 words, so guess I am trailing behind my characters, trying to figure out where in heavens are they taking me.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 7/30/2011
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My website is undergoing a dramatic change. After playing with inadequate buttons and images - I abandoned my efforts and turned to professional help. I visited scores of websites of authors, poets and organisations and got quotations from a few professional website makers.
What I hadn't realised was help was closer to home. My sister was frustrated with my search and the simplicity of my ideas. She got down to work and created a prototype with my basic ideas and a brand new website is very close to being ready.
We are eagerly now awaiting the last-minute touches, the smoothening of the carpets, the last wipe on the granite counters before the home page can be unveiled.
So, not long now. I can't wait to show off my new digs.
What I hadn't realised was help was closer to home. My sister was frustrated with my search and the simplicity of my ideas. She got down to work and created a prototype with my basic ideas and a brand new website is very close to being ready.
We are eagerly now awaiting the last-minute touches, the smoothening of the carpets, the last wipe on the granite counters before the home page can be unveiled.
So, not long now. I can't wait to show off my new digs.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 7/16/2011
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Although I am not an illustrator, I'm often asked by my friends and colleagues who illustrates my books and how to become an illustrator.
I've met very talented artists in the last few months who have no idea where to start.
For those who have asked me this question - here are some illustrator agents who will open those magic doors, if you knew the magic words.
http://folioart.co.uk/
http://www.debutart.com/
http://www.arenaillustration.com/
http://www.artmarketillustration.com/
http://www.artistpartners.com/mainpages/submissions.htm
http://www.eastwing.co.uk/information/
http://www.organisart.co.uk/submissions.php
http://www.thebrightagency.com/contact_us
My personal advice is as follows:
a) Get used to creating computer images in jpeg
b) Google and look up the agents on the website
c) Look at what kind of artists they represent and would they be right for you
d) Follow submission guidelines
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 7/16/2011
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This poem is like a pebble
Sunk under others
On the beach, by the ocean,
Quiet, until you find it.
This poem is like a cloud
That moves away
In the sky, on a summer day
Silent, until you spot it.
This poem is like the bird
That sings all day
In the woods, lookin
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 6/26/2011
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If I need to write all the great blogs out there, read the recently published books in children's genre and then do some reading for pleasure, what little time I have left over, I lament that I have not done enough reading on the marketplace and trade magazines.
There is so little time in a given day that having to read and absorb so much content is over-whelming.
On top of that, writers like me who have published one or two books, need to do their own publicity and marketing - so the rest of the time goes in social networking, doing cross-blogs, cross-reviews and whatever else that will get our names out there.
So when do I get to write?
I think writing needs to be slotted in to an hour first. The rest have to fit in with each other. I am trying to read less twitter and more trade magazines. I use twitter as a distraction in meetings, while on the train with nothing to do. Whichever tweet I want to follow up, I email that to myself and then look it up later.
But the blogs are so innumerable - writing organisations, writers, editors, agents, organisations that promote literacy, books - the list is endless. We all have things to say and we are saying it eloquently on the Internet. But it is getting very noisy for me and I am trying to figure out which ones I should read, can I live without the blogs or do I get selective?
The choices are many and the time is limited. Especially when my full-time day job pays the bills.
There is so little time in a given day that having to read and absorb so much content is over-whelming.
On top of that, writers like me who have published one or two books, need to do their own publicity and marketing - so the rest of the time goes in social networking, doing cross-blogs, cross-reviews and whatever else that will get our names out there.
So when do I get to write?
I think writing needs to be slotted in to an hour first. The rest have to fit in with each other. I am trying to read less twitter and more trade magazines. I use twitter as a distraction in meetings, while on the train with nothing to do. Whichever tweet I want to follow up, I email that to myself and then look it up later.
But the blogs are so innumerable - writing organisations, writers, editors, agents, organisations that promote literacy, books - the list is endless. We all have things to say and we are saying it eloquently on the Internet. But it is getting very noisy for me and I am trying to figure out which ones I should read, can I live without the blogs or do I get selective?
The choices are many and the time is limited. Especially when my full-time day job pays the bills.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 6/22/2011
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Summer Shower
by: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
A drop fell on the apple tree,
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.
A few went out to help the brook,
That went to help the sea.
Myself conjectured, Were they pearls,
What necklaces could be!
The dust replaced in hoisted roads,
The birds jocoser sung;
The sunshine threw his hat away,
The orchards spangles hung.
The breezes brought dejected lutes,
And bathed them in the glee;
The East put out a single flag,
And signed the fete away.
by: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
A drop fell on the apple tree,
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.
A few went out to help the brook,
That went to help the sea.
Myself conjectured, Were they pearls,
What necklaces could be!
The dust replaced in hoisted roads,
The birds jocoser sung;
The sunshine threw his hat away,
The orchards spangles hung.
The breezes brought dejected lutes,
And bathed them in the glee;
The East put out a single flag,
And signed the fete away.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 6/18/2011
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As I follow Twitter and so many publishers, editors and writers, I realised I don't have my own lists of favourite books. Do I know what I like? Have I read all sorts of stuff? Where do I start?
So I spent hours trawling books, reviews and genres to start creating my own lists.
Well, I created them on Amazon to start with. But hopefully I will be able to put it up on my facebook page and my blog soon.
So I spent hours trawling books, reviews and genres to start creating my own lists.
Well, I created them on Amazon to start with. But hopefully I will be able to put it up on my facebook page and my blog soon.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 6/18/2011
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The egg cracked
the chicken stepped out
it chirped
it flapped
it hopped
"Wonder where I came from?" it asked.
Do you have an answer?
Neither do I.
the chicken stepped out
it chirped
it flapped
it hopped
"Wonder where I came from?" it asked.
Do you have an answer?
Neither do I.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 6/18/2011
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Luminous plain thoughts
surround my mind
chasing those red and
blue ones to the corner.
Did I make sense?
No?
Great!
Then it is a good word salad.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 6/13/2011
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I have read a lot of poetry by Michael Rosen. But last week I picked up two books in the library - two chapter books by Mr. Rosen.
I read "You're Thinking About Tomatoes " today and it was hilarious.
The stories had so much information from the past, the present and filled with a sort of fantasy which is between two worlds. It was hilarious and cheerful. Although he didn't answer the questions he started out with, guess he kept with reality on that. He challenges the reader to keep up with his multi-character viewpoints and things from various points in history.
Great read.
I read "You're Thinking About Tomatoes " today and it was hilarious.
The stories had so much information from the past, the present and filled with a sort of fantasy which is between two worlds. It was hilarious and cheerful. Although he didn't answer the questions he started out with, guess he kept with reality on that. He challenges the reader to keep up with his multi-character viewpoints and things from various points in history.
Great read.
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 3/23/2011
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An independent bookshop in South London - http://www.booksellercrow.co.uk/
We were walking along the high street in Crystal Palace looking for an antiques shop, when I spotted BookSellerCrow. The shop was welcoming and beautifully laid out.
I walked in to look for my book (yes, what's new). But this time, I didn't send a family member to the counter. I bravely went up to the counter and asked for my book and introduced myself.
The bookseller was so nice to talk to. She checked the stock, she looked up my book and ordered it for me. We swapped cards and I promised to come in and sign them for her.
She welcomed us back to hang out at the shop, look around and meet the other booksellers.
Now armed with a list of south London booksellers, it is time to visit them all. What do you think?
We were walking along the high street in Crystal Palace looking for an antiques shop, when I spotted BookSellerCrow. The shop was welcoming and beautifully laid out.
I walked in to look for my book (yes, what's new). But this time, I didn't send a family member to the counter. I bravely went up to the counter and asked for my book and introduced myself.
The bookseller was so nice to talk to. She checked the stock, she looked up my book and ordered it for me. We swapped cards and I promised to come in and sign them for her.
She welcomed us back to hang out at the shop, look around and meet the other booksellers.
Now armed with a list of south London booksellers, it is time to visit them all. What do you think?
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 3/21/2011
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Almost 50% of the books listed are for young readers and the top 3 definitely are.
Kids Books Rule!!
Kids Books Rule!!
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 3/13/2011
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My UK chapter book has made it into the Scholastic Book Club. Surely schools with Asian students would buy it?
What does it mean if a book club picks up the book?
Does it help the sales?
What does it mean if a book club picks up the book?
Does it help the sales?
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 3/13/2011
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Who is entering this Slushpile Challenge from British SCBWI?
Am I?
I am still thinking about it. I don't have enough practice in Fiction - but given that this requires an outline and a chapter in less than a month - I need to think before I decide to do it.
Do I have story in me that can lean on Frankenstein's good bits? Do I have a funny story? Or is it all horror? Can I write a mystery? Or something really quiet?
But something to think about surely....
Am I?
I am still thinking about it. I don't have enough practice in Fiction - but given that this requires an outline and a chapter in less than a month - I need to think before I decide to do it.
Do I have story in me that can lean on Frankenstein's good bits? Do I have a funny story? Or is it all horror? Can I write a mystery? Or something really quiet?
But something to think about surely....
www.chitrasoundar.com
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 10/17/2010
Blog: My Writing Journey (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: My Writing Journey (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I read Writing Down the Bones this summer - I ordered it from Amazon after it stayed on my wishlist for almost 6 months before I bought it.
To say this book changed my life is an understatement. I went from thinking about writing to writing 2 hours a week and now I write at least 6 hours a week. I find the time to write, to stretch my boundaries. I still waste time doing other things - but I don't complain I don't have time to write.
Also I have let go of my desire to publish- I just want to practice a lot and if by working on various exercises and writing topics - I get a story out, I finish a picture book, so be it. With the letting go has come relief. I am not trying to write 32 pages, 12 or 13 spreads. I am focussing on the words. I am focussing on putting sensory details, I writing from memory, I am writing about things around me.
Yes this is a long process - but we all know even publishing is a long process. We wait years for someone to like our book, then years for it to get published and repeat it again for the next book. If during that waiting time, I spend time on writing practice, I think I am becoming a better writer.
I met her this September in a workshop in New Mexico and she is exactly the same person as her books. She talks and writes the same way and she is amazingly direct, candid and real. I am blessed to have met people who can change so many lives.
I have read all her writing books and her poetry collections and it has changed my writing. Check it out yourself too.
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 10/17/2010
Blog: My Writing Journey (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: My Writing Journey (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Walker Books have launched a new imprint in India and my title "A Dollop of Ghee and a Pot of Wisdom" is one of the first titles to be launched there.
Read about it at the Booksellers here.
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 7/18/2010
Blog: My Writing Journey (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: My Writing Journey (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Will this mean a change in policy? Will this mean less picture books? Less UK based books?
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By: Chitra Soundar,
on 7/5/2010
Blog: My Writing Journey (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Every writer dreads the white page. It is empty and it is waiting and it needs to be filled. There are some days when writing is easy and most days it is hard. The white page stares back - not giving a hint as to what it wants to be written.
A writer's relationship with writing I suppose mirrors real-life relationships. In every relationship I am sure couples dread a situation where they don't have anything to say to each other. There are no common topics, the passion has died out and there is no interest in filling up the silences with sex. There could be a situation where there is nothing to talk about - nothing is relevant and nothing is important enough to discuss. Married couples do have the mundane things to talk about - but that is not conversation - that is just information exchange.
Similarly the writer at some point goes blank. There is nothing to write about. Or she believes there is nothing that interests her or worth the paper or nothing anyone cares about. Sometimes it could be because there is no one to read the material.
Sometimes even when there are readers, it is odd how the mind goes blank. This is not about writing blocks - because that is a medical condition like fear of heights. The fear of the white page is more subtle than that. It is not about your ability to write, it about your belief in your ability to write. It is about whether the writer has a listener or reader in mind. When there is no virtual reader that she is thinking about, the words die. There is no easy way to talk to a wall. Then you shut up because the wall doesn't care. So when the writer loses the virtual, imaginary reader in her mind, the words dry up. Or if the imaginary reader has been unkind with comments or has ignored her writing, then the words refuse to come as there is no reason to writer. The reader you are writing for has no more interest in your words.
There is only one thing to do then. Banish the imaginary reader. Get another one or write for yourself. Life can be okay lonely. When married couples breakup, they don't have to find another person straightaway to function. They re-enter single life, they experiment, maybe they'd go for someone in the same sex, maybe they will mope alone for years. Whatever it is, life doesn't stop.
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Lovely post Chitra,
I can't remember the first book I owned but I do still have the three volume hard back edition of Lord of the Rings which I got for Christmas about 35 years ago. No one's allowed to read it though - Abe Books are asking close on £1000 for it!
We've just moved house and so I feel your pain. And in answer to your how many shelves question - it's 52 not including the bookcases in the kids' rooms!
Ouch!
Jeannette
I think the first book I owned was called The Three Little Kittens, my first "absolutely favourite" book, which I received as a gift, was Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge - I still have it, it's so well read the pages feel like velvet.
As for room for books, the only rooms in my house that don't have books are the lounge and kitchen. All the other rooms have books literally falling off shelves. I am not looking forward to packing up and moving house. One of the reasons why I am increasingly buying ebooks!
So I am not alone. Someone should tell my family, it is normal.
I've been quietly requisitioning my childhood books from my mother's house in manila - quietly because my bookworm brother and I shared a love for the same books. So far he hasn't noticed - but my house is filling up. It's got me thinking of acquiring a Kindle for Christmas - that way, i can test drive a book before buying the hard copy! if I love a book, I hunt down the hardback! Still searching for a hardback White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean (US edition) - though I've already got three copies of the paperback.