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positivelyamazonian · 7 years

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Microreview Round Seven: BOOKSHELVES

This round is open to interpretation, so don’t let the word bookshelves stop you. Whether your collection is big or small, physical or digital, your parents’ or from the library, it counts as a bookshelf here. To play: answer the prompts and tag your friends to do the same. Optional: use #microreview and check out @microreviews for “rules,” reviews, and more!

I was tagged by my dearest @luluvonv and... how could I not do this? I’m a bookworm through and through. I’ve always dreamed of having a big, wide library for all my books, plenty of bookshelves, and with appropiate conditions - that means, in glass cases because I’m allergic to dust - and I finally achieved it! Right now many shelves are still empty because I expect to fill them throughout my life... but the space is prepared! Let’s do this!

What genres or types of books dominate your shelf?

Mostly related with two - rather three - themes: History, Art, and religion. The two first because I’m a bitch for History and Art being myself a History teacher, so I love having a History-Art related books - that means, no historic novels, but actual History and Art books.

The religion ones - not just my own religion, the Catholic Roman Christianism, but also many others - are related with a main field of self-research I’ve been conducting for years. I’m a Christian believer but also a feminist - I can’t start explaining how hard is to live like this among this community - so my personal research dwells among the strongest and most inspirational women of my religion: the female martyrs. That’s why I buy, collect and search with passion everything related with this heroines, from holycards to postcards, to books, to photos and travelling to the places where their remains rest, if they still exist.

Hell, I even rule a blog where together with other friends I used to write and share articles by myself about these women. In fact I still own some copies of a compendium which was kindly edited by a friend of mine, an Orthodox Romanian priest who had the gentleness to include my articles in his personal publication - I’m noted inside the book, btw. I can say it’s kind of, my second publication after Irene, my first novel.

One of my latest purchases in this matter is a double-volume in Greek and Spanish from the Life and Miracles of Saint Thecla, an early female preacher known as the Protomartyr of Women because she was the first known Christian woman to be killed for her faith, but also the first one known for being a public preacher, disciple and equal to the apostles. I was happy I got this ancient text (II century) also in the original Greek, since it’s been a while since I practiced my Ancient Greek skills.

I also got a big, complete book about St Lucy of Syracuse in my last trip to Venice. It’s my hope that people who reads this know that these are not just pious and devotional but also historical, artistic and archaeological books: I try to find the woman behind the myth. These women existed, they were real, and it’s my hope to write, some day, a book about them, so that believers and non-believers can realize they are far more than just beautiful statues in churches.

Anyway, apart of these related issues, I own a lot of historical novels from my young times before going to the university, when I thought History was something else. Now I mostly dislike them, they are just entertainment and if I read them it’s just for fun, like the amazing Pope Joan I’m reading from Donna W. Cross, a fantastic, well-researched novel... but a novel, after all. Just like any other historical novel. They are not real History. One must seek harder if they want to learn actual History... and study, of course.

Ah, yes. I not only own oddities and weird books. I also own a lot of epic fantasy novels, which are my personal fun and enjoyment, and also a lot of Spanish and Catalan literature.

What do you wish you had more of?

I wish I had more ancient texts and good editions of the basic enciclopaedias and compendia I need for my researches. But they are either too expensive or written in languages I don’t know, like German or Arab. I learned Italian to have access to good stuff and I’m satisfied with my progress as I’m a self-learner, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to read in German or Arab. And this is my great frustration.

I wish I could afford also many facsimiles of Middle-Ages books with all their illuminations, but they are terribly expensive too, despite being copies - the originals are kept in monasteries/museums, as it must be -. Fortunately my deceased father-in-law enjoyed to collect some of them and could afford them, so I’ve inherited many from him.

I wish, also, I could have my favest books in their original languages and not just Spanish, like The Lord of The Rings by Tolkien. This is more affordable and possible, so I don’t discard I’ll be doing myself and original-written-language-books shelf one of these days :D

And of course, more books about Art. You’ve never enough books of Art, believe me. You can claim you know a lot about Art and own lots of books and visit lots of museums but I can tell, you still don’t know shit about Art.

Smallest book?

I have a little selection of the main books of several religions, namely the Bible for Christianism, Torah for Judaism, Al-Quhran for Islam, Tao Teh Ching for Taoism, Bhagavad Gita for Hinduism, and others. The sacred books are not whole, complete editions but most of the text is included. I purchased them because I’m a sentimental and also, they are cute as a button. They even have their own mini-shelf :D

And yes, they are just inches and can rest in the top of my fingertip - no way I could do this while taking a photo with my cell -. That’s why I’ve never actually read them - I’d destroy them!!! The only ones I haven’t read, I must confess, and I will never read... but I have larger versions of these too, so no problem :)

Largest book?

A perfect facsimil of the Martyrologium Romanum of Don Pedro de Aragón, a Middle-Ages big illuminated manuscript which depicts the feasts of each Saint of the day and scenes of their lives/martyrdoms. This one is so big and heavy I need another person to help me to carry it.

Of course, it’s not literally mine because I could never afford such jewel, I inherited it from my father-in-law after he died. Now I keep it this way, open as to enjoy the illuminations as if it was in its original context, a monastery’s scriptorium.

There are other facsimiles I virtually own but I am still to decide how to display them on my bookshelves, including a big, original Bible engraved by the always amazing engraver Gustave Doré, unfortunately very damaged by moisture. Some of them are too big, some of them are smaller, I just need to study them and figure how to place them correctly in the glass cases so they can shine open. There’s no point in owning an illuminated facsimil if you can’t enjoy the illuminations on a daily basis :)

And of course, I can read them too. Though I must confess my Latin is quite rusty right now...

Oldest book? Newest book?

Oldest:

A Rome travel guide from 1870, written by D. Severo Catalina. And I’m serious!! It smells of moisture and dust. It was given to me as a gift by an old aunt and you can read a lot of things about how Rome was in XIX century. In fact it describes many places and artworks and monuments that, after two World Wars, don’t exist anymore...

Also I used to own a Flos Sanctorum by P. Rybadeneira from 1619, but I had to return it to the person that give it to me because she regretted her decision (no comment). Fortunately, there’s plenty of access to this old text in Google Books. Anyway it’s not a really valuable text from a historiographic point of view, it’s just pious literature like the Legenda Aurea by Jacopo della Voragine.

Newest:

Santa Lucia a Venezia, by Giovanni Musolino.

As I said before, I just came back from Venice with a fantastic book about Saint Lucy of Syracuse, a IV century Sicilian martyr whose body is kept at her church of this city. I’m very pleased with this book because it contains the kind of information I need for my research: archaeology, history, paleography, historical proof, because God knows I had enough myths and legends and cute stories. No offense intended.

And yes, thank God I learnt to read in Italian. I won’t have a single chance of understand all this without it.

Does anything live there besides books?

In the bookshelves I’ve destined to epic fantasy and “nerd-related” novels and enciclopaedias I have my very recent TR collections of figurines... also in other I’ve some curious book-supporters related with Tolkien universe (Gollum, a replica of the Argonath, a replica of Minas Tirith) and other nice stuff, like the half-angel-half-demon from Angels & Demons movie.

Anyway, I’ve lots of books right now but I’ve only reviewed the most I have. I love the classics of Spanish and Catalan literature and I own copies of them, from Rimas y Leyendas by Bécquer to Cien Años de Soledad by García Márquez; from Tirant Lo Blanc by Joanot Martorell to La Plaça del Diamant by Mercè Rodoreda. And God, some Arab classics by Naguib Mahfuz, Amin Maalouf; and novelists I absolutely love like Isabel Allende or Amy Tan.

I must stop here. If anyone wants to know more about my book heaven they’re free to ask. Also I decide freely not to tag anyone, whoever sees this is encouraged to share its book heaven too. As for me, it’s not just the place of my pleasure but also the place where I work and where I’m just now sit typing. In fact, you don’t see my library in my TRAOD live streams because a big chroma is displayed behind my back when I stream, but if I lifted the canvas you could see perfectly it :D

Anyway, enough! Thanks for this little personal moment and let’s continue the fun!

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