Finding new books is harder than it should be. Independent bookstores are closing shop, and big box stores who only carry whatever bribes their way past the exorbitant stock keeping fees. Databases and libraries become impossible to navigate unless you already know what you're looking for. Even with online resale, you can only search within your own vocabulary. Now rare are the times when one can simply look upon a bookshelf and see some hitherto unknown title.
I know I must not be the only one with this problem. So, I offer a listing of my own shelves, such that anyone may use my listing as reference for their own.
My books get divided into three categories: Fiction, Arts, and Sciences. ... however, what I classify as what depends more on my own idiosyncrasies and opinion of the book than anything else.
I will only list books that I liked, were interesting, or at least not terrible enough to be disowned. Self-authored books are not listed. Multiple copies in different languages are listed only under one entry. Scientific work that risks being quickly outdated are unlisted. Items are listed alphabetically, but not in the order in which I first read them, so inter-related lines of thought between multiple books may be listed in a confusing order.
I take recommendations for others, within reason.
– Margaret Atwood
My first Atwood book read in full. While in High School, I got the terrible English teacher who only taught the thoroughly unenjoyable things, like J.D. Salinger and Robertson Davies. Imagine my jealousy when my other friends with the other teacher actually seemed to get enjoyable books, whose very chapters they would read to me with enthusiasm I thought Grade 12 English completely incapable of inspiring. I must've had all the the good bits of The Handmaid's Tale spoiled for me already, and gave the book the promise I would read it later with new eyes. However, despite Miss Atwood's status as Canada's foremost literary and science fiction writer, when she arrived at Bookfest Windsor in 02013, I found her platitudal book tour publicity speeches to be completely and insultingly insipid, especially when compared to numerous actually interesting authors and presenters that had to open for her much-advertised act. Accordingly, Payback then remained the only Atwood book I would ever dare read.
Payback is a literary analysis on the nature of monetary systems within early Victorian capitalism. The book is a text version of her CBC Radio Massey lecture, though I found it to be a somewhat slow and difficult read when compared to Atwood's own smooth and well-paced performance.