We recently moved into our new house and during the move we quickly realized that we need to get rid of a lot of stuff. There isn’t much storage in our new house and that, my friends, is an absolute blessing. I’m not much of a hoarder, but if there’s anything I have trouble with, it’s getting rid of books. In the early eighties, my parents divorced and I had to move to the village of Sørvágur (pop. about 900 at the time), which was quite a change from the vast, sprawling metropolis that was Tórshavn, which at the time consisted of at least 10.000+ inhabitants. Sørvágur is a nice village with a great view and a long beach… and a great collection of oddballs. I, however, wasn’t having any of that and didn’t really feel like diving in to the local community, so soon after the the divorce.
My rescue was the local library, run by now deceased Leif Nolsøe and his wife. It was open on tuesdays and thursdays, and I read nearly every book I could find there. It got to the point where I would utter sentences like “Oh, I’ve read that shelf” without blinking an eye. Leif and his wife were very nice and always up for a chat.
So, I suppose I am rather emotionally attached to books, but I need to get rid of a few. What I’ve decided is to honor the books by posting a quick photo and possibly write a small memory about the book. Slightly silly, I know, but it works for me. As a reading man, I like to browse my bookshelves on a drizzly sunday morning, and have the memories of particular books come back to me. So this will be a digital bookshelf, a post mostly for myself, which I can peruse from time to time. I’ll be giving the books away to second hand stores and hopefully, some of them will come back to life in the hands of new readers.
#1 The Color of Magic – Terry Pratchett.
I read it some time ago and remember enjoying it quite a bit, but I never got around to delving further into the the Discworld series.
#2 The Unconsoled – Kazuo Ishiguro
Read it in the 90s. I didn’t like it very much. Out you go.
#3 Gaelic Dictionary – Malcolm MacLennan
Received it as a surprise present from my mother. I love etymology, but I know that I won’t use this again anytime soon.
#4 Born on the Fourth of July – Ron Kovic
I was an Oliver Stone fan back in the 80s and and rewatched Platoon (1986), god knows how many times. Born of the Fourth (the movie) came out in 1989 and I remember being 17 years old and sitting alone in a movie theatre in Wichita, Kansas being completely mesmerized. I usually avoid war movies but this is absolutely worth watching. Oh, and another great soundtrack by John Williams. The book? I found it later on and naturally I had to read it.
#5 Sphere (danish translation) – Michael Crichton
I remember enjoying this book when I read it a long time ago.
#6 TNG Q-Squared – Peter David
Love Trek. Enjoyed the book. Can’t remember much from it though. Off it goes then.
#7 Jeg har hørt et stjerneskud – Carsten Jensen
Danish travel writing. I liked it.
#8 Dagbók í árinum 1828 skrivað á eini ferð til Føroya – Carl Julian Graba
Travel writing, originally in german and translated into Faroese. I found it very interesting how a researcher viewed life on the Faroe Islands in 1828.
#9 Stjórnmálafrøði (faroese book on political science) – Zakarias Wang
This guy used to be my teacher in our (sort of) equivalent of high school. Bit of an oddball, but not stupid. The advice I remember best is that in times of prosperity, governments should save money and in times of financial crisis, they should spend it.
#10 Mystikken Verden (an encyclopedia of the occult)
I think I asked my mom to buy this for me, when I was a kid. It had everything an 11 year old kid could want, shamanic stuff, demonic possesion, witchcraft, ghosts and a few naughty pictures, which were always welcome in the days of pre-internet.
#11 The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem – Nathaniel Branden
One of the first self-help books I ever purchased. At some point in my twenties I had analyzed myself and concluded that I had to be suffering from low self-esteem. I don’t really recall that much from the book, but I remember the exercise of mentally going back in time and telling your kid self that things were going to be all right was quite moving.
#12 How to Sell Your Screenplay – Carl Sautter
Yep, my teen self has ambitions of becoming a writer and filmmaker.
#13 Atomic Habits – James Clear
Hmm, not much new stuff in this one.
#14 Second Foundation – Isaac Asimov
I have another version of the three first books I the foundation saga, so I don’t need this one.
#15 The Psysics of Star Trek – Lawrence M. Krauss
Star Trek in the eyes of real science. What’s not to love?
#16 Hotel New Hampshire – John Irving
I read quite a lot of John Irving in my youth. I don’t recall much from the books.
#17 Eon – Greg Bear
I remember reading this while on holiday in France and being annoyed because the book wasn’t very good.
#18 Necronomicon
Any Evil Dead fan will understand.
#19 – A Collectors Guide to Swords, Daggers and Cutlasses – Gerald Weland
I found this subject to be exceptionally interesting as a young lad. Now, not so much. My love for The Lord of the Rings and Conan the Barbarian and swashbuckling fantasy probably had something to do with this.
#20 Cross Kill – James Patterson
This one didn’t do much for me.
