My Ideal Book Shelf

This is not a random shelf. It was put together to constitute My Ideal Bookshelf.

Last week, much to my surprise, I got a lovely box of books and DVDs in the mail from George Kelley. In there was a book called MY IDEAL BOOK SHELF and it queried famous writers, artists, chefs, etc as to what would be their ideal shelf.  I think there were permitted to choose books that they didn't actually have on a shelf. But since I don't have an artist to illustrate book spines, I am limiting mine to books I own. Of course, there are many others I might have chosen had I had them. Instead I read them from the library or gave them away over the years. Certainly A FAN'S NOTES would be here, RABBIT RUN and THE GREAT GATSBY. And most surely, LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER by Stewart O'Nan.

I also have to confess although there are many, many mysteries on my shelves when it came to choosing books that endured, they came further down in the list. As much fun as mysteries are, it is rare that they touch my heart and soul. The closest I came to choosing one on here is THE MUSIC OF CHANCE, (Paul Auster) which is certainly noir if not a classic mystery. If I had owned THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR by Tey or a Rendell book, they might have been one of the fifteen. Or perhaps A PLACE OF EXECUTION by Val McDermid.

The titles here are a little hard to read. Half of them are story collections. I could easily have included more. Only two of these books are non-fiction. THE FIFTIES, which I find fascinating and have read several times. And PICTURES OF A REVOLUTION, which is about the five films nominated for Best Picture in 1967 and how they reflected on Hollywood's Past and Hollywood's Future. I wanted to choose a biography because I do read a fair number. But that meant I had to remember how strong the writing was not just how much I admired the subject. If I owned A. Scott Berg's bio of Max Perkins, that would be on my shelf.

I wanted to have an even balance between men and women, but it was not to be.

In case, you are having trouble making out titles, here they are.

HOUSEKEEPING, Marilynne Robinson-When I forced this on my book group, they didn't get it because the main character is problematic. But I loved it.
NEVER LET ME GO, Ishiguro-A speculative book, unusual for me, but I found it mesmerizing. It concerns the fate of clones created for a specific and cruel purpose.
THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER, Anyone who thinks Cheever only writes about suburban angst needs to read "The Swimmer" or "The Enormous Radio."
WHERE I'M CALLING FROM, Raymond Carver, the most influential ss writer in the last half of the 20th century. Even if Gordon Lish rewrote his stories.
AMERICAN PASTORAL, My favorite Roth. No, my favorite if I were to be honest would be GOODBYY COLUMBUS but this is the better novel. Although his last NEMESIS comes close. I would not rank THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA is the top five.
OLIVE KITTEREDGE, Elizabeth Strout, Again a cranky, quirky, sometimes annoying protagonist who still captures our hearts. OLIVE AGAIN, is almost as good.
DESPERATE CHARACTERS, Paula Fox.  New York in the seventies has never looked grimmer as a couple make their way through it.
LOST IN THE CITY. Edward Jones. This collection came out of nowhere and captures life in DC for African-Americans. Then Mr. Jones disappeared again and reappeared ten years later to write THE KNOWN WORLD, about black slaveowners. But the short stories just sweep me away.
ELEVEN KINDS OF LONELINESS, Richard Yates, I might have included REVOLUTIONARY ROAD or THE EASTER PARADE but they are not on my shelves. His stories are plenty great enough though.
I talked about the two non -fiction books and THE MUSIC OF CHANCE.
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED, Tim O'Brian, Brilliant stories about Vietnam and the men who came home from it.
DANCE OF THE HAPPY SHADES, Alice Munro. Her first collection, stories set in Ontario.
SHILOH AND OTHER STORIES, Bobbie Ann Mason, who went on to write IN COUNTRY, which I could also have included. Stories about simple people in Kentucky. Very influential on my writing. Known for K-Mart realism, because she referenced actual stores more often and perhaps earlier than most.

Pictures are not necessary but what books would be on your ideal book shelf?