You Can Tell A Lot…

… about a person by their books. Quinn, for example, has stacks and stacks of history anthologies and classic literature mingling with his full Harry Potter collection. Dion has a lot of Austrian Economics and political texts. My freshman year roommate didn’t have any.

I’ve been feeling really guilty about not blogging substantially lately, so I thought I would take your through my personal library, at least what I have with my at college. It was really difficult to decide which books I wanted to keep with me year-round, because if you know me at all you know that I have a bookcase at home that is double-stacked and two other shelves in my closet, also double-stacked. And they aren’t for looks- I really do read most of them more than once, depending on my mood. So the decision to take only a couple to school with me was a harrowing one, but a challenge I rose to nonetheless.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood: Although I originally bought this book for Studies in Fiction freshman year, it quickly became one of my favorite books, and one that I will not sell back to the university bookstore, ever.

Contents May Have Shifted by Pam Houston: Pam Houston is a faculty member in the Pacific MFA program that I got to hear talk during my internship. I haven’t actually read this book yet, but Pam was hilarious and well-spoken and I know I’ll love it.

Refresh, Refresh by Ben Percy: Another MFA faculty member, Ben was someone I kept trying to bump into because he had a similar sense of humor and writes magical realism in a way I find fascinating. Refresh, Refresh is a collection of short fiction which I also unfortunately haven’t had a chance to read yet, but I’m excited.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: Christmas present from my mom! I started this book on the plane back to Oregon but didn’t have room in my bag to take it to my internship, so I’m planning on continuing it ASAP.

My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger: One of my all-time favorite books, I had my mom send it to me after Christmas because I’m likely going to use it as research for my thesis, as it’s a high school coming-of-age epistolary novel that utilizes emails and chat transcripts.

Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger: My absolute favorite book of all time, it was the one non-negotiable book I have had with me since freshmen year. Both my parents and my friend (from Spain!) Laia have read it since I first started raving about it in high school, and they’ve all loved it too.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot: I have an entirely unironic love for this book series because it is funny, charming, insightful, and highly inventive. My mom sent me this book with My Most Excellent Year, again for my thesis research, because this book is a high school coming-of-age story told through a diary (which is functionally similar to blog posts).

Bri’s Book of Awesome by Ellen Bialik: Freshman year, Ellen’s Christmas present to me was a homemade book full of A Very Potter Musical and Sequel references and hand-drawn cartoons. It’s funny and adorable and a testament to how lucky I was to meet Ellen so early in my college career.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: This book is so close to being my favorite, as evidenced by my Great Gatsby sweatshirt and the fact that for my birthday, my grandfather sent me his limited edition, leather-bound copy from the Franklin Library Collection. I audibly gasped when I opened its enclosing package. It is beautiful and I can barely stand it.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while now, and finally attained an Amazon gift card in order to claim it as my own. It was pretty good, a quick read, and now I’m keeping it in my collection for further thesis research, as it’s a, you guessed it, high school coming-of-age epistolary novel told in letters.

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher: Princess Leia’s memoir that I’m using an excerpt from for my prose this year. It’s funny, insightful, clever, and an all-around good read.

In Search of Midnight by Mike McGee: This is the poetry collection I won after winning a poetry slam last semester, by a poet I have personally talked to. In fact, Mike was who I was paired with at my first ever Portland Poetry Slam, and although he beat me he loved my writing style and performance and gave me the tiara he won at the end to entice me to continue with slam. Again, I haven’t had a chance to read the collection yet, but I’m saving it for a day when I just want to feel inspired.

The Diesel Powered Rag Doll By David “Doc” Luben: Doc Luben is a wonderful human being, another Portland slam poet who once featured for us at Pacific, and I bought this book because he is clever and funny and someday I wish I could write as genuinely and as hilariously as him.

Special Forces Unarmed Combat Guide by Martin J. Dougherty: Quinn thinks it’s hilarious and very attractive that I own this book, and my only explanation is that it was five bucks at Barnes and Nobles once and eventually I’ll probably use it for research for my various, probably very inaccurate fight scenes. I have yet to actually look through it, but just owning it makes me feel badass.

The Nerdist Way by Chris Hardwick: I have an unencumbered love for comedian and nerd Chris Hardwick, and this is his pseudo-self help book that I’ve read the first few chapters of. I left it in Oregon at the end of the year last semester and forgot to continue reading it, but I was enjoying what I was reading and will hopefully get back to it soon.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum: I bought this book a year ago because my friend Blaise and I were going to do a duo from it, but that fell through and I haven’t given the book over to the speech team yet.

I also have a bunch of eBooks that I’ve bought for classes, several Neil Gaimans and Margaret Atwoods, and various textbooks, but for all intents and purposes, that is my personal college library collection. Have you read any of these books? What’s in YOUR library?