Welcome to My Bookshelf

My current "to read" pile. There are more on my shelf.
I wonder when this will topple over...

As we get to know each other more, I decided it would be interesting to give you a tour of the books on my "favorites shelf." Originally, I was able to fit all of my favorites on it; however, since then my collection of books has grown to encompass the top row of two bookshelves, and, really, no shelf at all.



There are some that have earned their place on my "favorites shelf" more recently. Such as:

• The Essential Don Murray, by Thomas Newkirk and Lisa C. Miller. I bought this book for class with only one thought in mind: "Who is Don Murray and why is he essential?" As I read, it was strange. Don Murray was an old friend. I recognized his advice that had been sparkled across my Twitter feed, my Writer's Digest magazines, and many more books. This collection of essays was so interesting to me and full of good advice.

• This is NOT A Writing Manual, by Kerri Majors. No exercises or anything of the sort to follow. The author presents her journey into the writing world and everything that helped her along the way. After finishing it, I found a list of possible jobs young writers want to go into. When I told one of my friends about this book, she had only one question: Why doesn't the creative writing curriculum at our school make this a required reading?

Other books have made their claim on my shelf, and will remain there. 

• Shel Silverstein. My guess is that the first book of his I received was Where the Sidewalk Ends, since that book is the one that is splitting down the middle. As a kid, I loved to read his poems and fall up into whatever world he created there. Life can be chaotic, especially once reaching adulthood. These remind me to have fun with whatever I'm doing or whatever project I'm working on. I read his book so often when I was little that now when I free write my own poetry, it comes out sounding similar to his. 

• The Barnum Museum, by Stephen Millhauser.  It's a book of Millhauser's short stories, and they are so wonderfully crafted that I want to scream to the world to read them. Yet...then again, he is such a good writer that I want to keep this secret to myself. A lot of it is description, but it's interesting (aka not Nathaniel Hawthorne) description. And its fantasy. 

What do you mean, obsessed with Harry Potter?
(Below is an extension of the favorite's shelf.)

(Sidenote: Harry Potter, my favorite book series, would be on my favorites shelf, except it doesn't have a place on my shelf since it would take up so much of it. It sits on top of my shelf, along with many other books on the subject, an extra Chamber of Secrets DVD, and two VHS's from the first two films.) 

What books are on your favorite's shelf? I would love to hear!