Monday, April 19, 2010

A Very Bookish Birthday List

On April 27th I will be thirty years old.  THIRTY.  I will have to begin acting like a real grown-up.

I've decided to get rid of 30 books to mark this occasion.  First of all, I'd like to make it clear that the purpose of this exercise is not to "make my life more simple" rather it is to make room on my over-full shelves for all the books I want.  I'm being quite rebellious and unabashedly asking for books and bookish items on my birthday.  Whenever someone asks me what I would like I hem and haw and say books.  Then folks say "but, Amanda, you already have too many books."  To which I reply "nonsense" and now I can point to emptier shelves as proof.  I want all kinds of nerdy accouterments to celebrate my 3-0.

The Birthday Wishlist:
  1. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey or any other Persephone Books
  2. Any Barbara Pym (I don't own a single Pym novel and this is disgraceful)
  3. Any of the Bloomsbury Group books
  4. Pictorial Webster's Wall Cards
  5. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
  6. Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
  7.  Charles Dickens action figure
  8. Charles Dickens by Michael Slater
  9. No Name by Wilkie Collins
  10. The Silent Woman:  Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes by Janet Malcolm
  11. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
  12. A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
  13. A lap desk
  14. bookmarks
  15. Any green spine Virago Modern Classics  (found in profusion in used bookstores)
EDIT:  THIS LIST IS OF THE BOOKISH THINGS I WANT FOR MY BIRTHDAY, NOT MY BOOK DITCHING LIST.  THE BOOKS I'M GETTING RID OF WILL BE FEATURED IN ANOTHER POST.

    9 comments:

    Jill said...

    I hope your birthday is bountiful with many books!

    Anna said...

    You should post a list of the 30 books you're purging, and why. And how are you purging them? I've turned in books for credit at Books For Less in Buford...they have a quick process, and they took every book I brought in.

    sarajshanks said...

    I agree with Anna...which are you purging? And why those particular books? Happy birthday my friend.

    Heather said...

    *gasp*

    You're...getting rid of...a Wilkie Collins?

    *grabs heart and falls to the floor*

    Granted, I haven't read No Name yet, I suppose it's possible that it's not worth keeping. But still...it's a Wilkie Collins!

    Amanda Roper said...

    ACK! Heather, this is my super-want list, not the books I'm ditching. I wasn't clear on that. I would NEVER ditch Wilkie!

    Thanks, Jill

    Anna and Sara -- I'm going to do a post on what books I'm ditching later on. I'm still assembling them and I'm going to take them to a book exchange place.

    raidergirl3 said...

    I bought the whole Bloomsbury group books. They are such a pretty set! But to convince myself I wasn't spending all that money, I broke it up into two different orders. I'm sneaky like that to myself.
    And I bought a old looking edition of Cranford at Indigo/Chapters. More pretty covers.

    I think for turning 30 you definitely need to treat yourself.

    Thomas Hogglestock said...

    Amanda: email me your address, I have a copy of The Brontes Went to Woolworths with your name on it.
    onmyporch at hotmail dot com

    And happy early birthday.

    Amanda Roper said...

    Thomas! That's awesome. yay!

    April said...

    "I will have to begin acting like a real grown-up."

    Um, why?? ;)