The Bookshelf Meme

The Bookshelf Meme

You know, I was expecting more wild enthusiasm for those chocolate medusas. Do you just not trust my cooking, or was it the thought of having to tell people I look like Veronica Lake? You could have tattooed it on your forehead if you didn’t want to put up a billboard! I’m not picky.

Anyway, I will draw a winner tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I have decided to do a meme. It probably doesn’t count as a meme to most people, because it involves no weird questions the responses to which people can later use when they are stealing your identity.

I worry a lot about people stealing my identity because I keep thinking one day someone will be smart enough to send me a phish email that says: “My dear Madame, you have won the La Maison du Chocolat grand prize of 52 pounds of chocolate, one pound a week for a year. To process this prize we just need your bank account number and your Social Security Number and also your mother’s maiden name, just click here to fill out that information and we will get your prize right to you.”

And, of course, I will think “LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT! Why, I KNEW they would reward my devotion one day.” And I will go and do it.

So my meme does not involve questions. It is just this: A photo of one of your bookshelves.

A real photo wherein we can actually identify all the titles, not a taunting blurry photo that we squint at and ruin our eyesight on, per a certain Joshilyn Jackson’s maneuver. And if despite your best efforts we cannot read every single title in your photo, you must TELL us the titles we can’t read. ALL of the titles. NOT just the titles of one little stack. [Editor’s note: Joshilyn Jackson GAVE IN and posted an entire shelf visibly while I was writing this. And on that shelf is a copy of one of my galleys. I love Joshilyn Jackson.]

Because I am NOT anal retentive, thank you very much, I am just CURIOUS that way. And I love, love, love, to browse people’s shelves whenever I am invited to their houses.

In fact, I still remember being invited to the house of one of my college French professors. First of all, she gave us each a Godiva chocolate, which was my first experience of truly good chocolate. (Although my standards have risen far above Godiva since.� I am DEMANDING.)

Second of all, their house was so beautiful, I mean there was a BRIDGE that went from one mezzanine to another (is mezzanine the right word in English or is that French?) high up in the vaulted ceiling.

And third of all, she had the most fascinating floor to ceiling shelves of books which included a leather bound collection of Anais Nin. Somehow I just found it incredibly fascinating and classy that she had Anais Nin out there in public like that, and in leather, too.

I tag EVERYBODY. Yes, YOU are a part of everybody. You are. Go tag everybody else while you’re at it. I’ll list some specific everybodies to get started: Joshilyn Jackson (okay, I was going to tag her, but she already yielded to rabid fangrrl pressure and did it), Laume, Amy, dee & Dee, alala, Jayne (I think Jane-without-the- y showed her bookshelf already recently on Dear Author), Tara Marie, Michelle, Alesia Holliday/Alyssa Day, Lani Diane Rich, Melanie Lynne Hauser, Mimi, Gypsy Purple, Tongue in Cheek, Carol (those last 4 will probably make a work of art out of it, if they do it, but of course a bookshelf IS a work of art).

That is probably too many people to tag for a meme, I’m not really an expert on meme etiquette. But I kept thinking of more and more people whose bookshelves I wanted to see. Of course, everybody else can play, too. Also, if you don’t like being tagged, you can of course decline to play. No cheating by rearranging the bookshelf or dusting it or whatever!

I will post my shelf tomorrow. Also chocolate medusa winners.