Representative Bookshelf

The other day, one of my many bookish podcasts discussed what would be on a bookshelf that is representative of your reading personality right now. They each chose 10 books they would have on their shelf to represent them. I thought this was a fun idea, so here are 10 books I would have on my representative bookshelf.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Exactly no one is surprised to see this here. It's been my favorite book for at least 25 years. I read books that are based on this book. I read books about this book. I read books about the author. I read books about the other books she's written. I'm Obsessed.

Friends in High Places by Donna Leon - This is just the most recent book in this series that I've read. I think. Whatever. I love this series and I am slowly reading all the installments. I think she's writing faster than I am reading, but that's neither here nor there.

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe -  I love this book. I love Nora. I love her smarts and her courage and her sense of humor. I love that the author didn't make her the only girl with skills. It's amazing.

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley - This is a YA thriller about a Native American girl who gets involved with the FBI trying to find out who is selling a new dangerous brand of meth that is killing people. I loved the Native American representation and the growth of the main character in the story.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer - This is another YA story but this is a fantasy. It's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but Beauty is not particularly beautiful. She's a teen girl from a rough neighborhood whose mother is dying and her dad has disappeared. Also, she has cerebral palsy which didn't affect her brain much, but left her with a bit of a disfigured leg and a limp. She is never a helpless damsel in distress. When she finds out what is required to get her out of this mess she's found herself in, she gets to work solving the problem. It's fabulous.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - This book represents my love for books where not a lot happens, but stuff really does happen. Quiet stories where the characters are watching the world change and are taking it all in. This book has a few harrowing parts, but mostly it's just this man trapped in a hotel while Moscow changes over the course of the 20th century.

Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice - What is it about vampires? I don't know. But this is the original vampire book for me. Oh I know it's not the first vampire book. But it's the first one I read. And then read all the sequels.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - Everything about this book was perfect. The plot was just two kids who come to live with their uncle for a summer. He has no idea how to take care of kids. He is still morning the loss of his partner several years ago. He lives in wealthy seclusion in Palm Springs, living off the royalties from the hit TV show he starred in years ago. The kids have just lost their mother to cancer and their dad is going into rehab to kick his addiction to her pain pills. Also their mother had been the uncle's best friend in college. Patrick and the kids teach each other very important things over their summer together. It's beautiful and hilarious and heart-warming.

A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino - This book represents Japanese fiction. This mystery is the most recent one I've read, but I love the spare prose and internal monologue that is so often part of the story.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - This is another one that if it didn't get on this list, people would be calling me out. I love this series. These books are hilarious and stupid and have entirely forgettable plots, but the characters are so lively and do such ridiculous things, I can't help reading each new one when it comes out.

How many is that? Oh 10! Perfect. There you go. 10 books that represent my reading life right now.