Where do you keep the books you’re currently reading? Ever since I took to reading several at a time, they’ve found their way into every room of the house. Any flat surface is fair game.
My nightstand holds a book on writing (Flogging the Quill by Ray Rhamey), two about food (Appetites by Geneen Roth and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan), two novels (One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcίa Márquez and The Believers by Zoë Heller), a collection of short stories (Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald), and a paperback dictionary (Webster’s), all of which are stacked, theoretically, in order of priority, except for the dictionary, which sits second from the top.
The side table in the dining room holds my Bible (NASB), a book on writing (The 101 Habits of Novelists by Andrew McAleer), the latest issues of One Story and Glimmer Train, and two copies—his and hers—of the Scrabble Players Dictionary.
My backpack carries a Will Shortz Sudoko puzzle book and a book on writing (How to Write and Sell Humor by Gene Perret) for just in case. On top of that, my car contains the giant print mystery (Chat by Archer Mayor) I’ve been reading on the treadmill at the gym.
Then there are the unexplained books which appear atop the refrigerator, the mantel, and the computer desk, not to mention the end tables. Can’t say we weren’t warned. King Solomon wrote, “Be admonished. Of the making of books there is no end.”
Maybe it’s time to check out Kindle.
Norma Nill 
…which proves a happy circumstance for any visitor to your house who has been so unlucky or ill-prepared, as to fail to bring his own book with him!
I tend to read one novel at a time and take it wherever I go (which is risky; what if I forget it somewhere?). But certain strategic locations at my house hold non-ficton books for dipping into and out of at will.
It’s certainly less frustrating for me also to read one novel at a time. (I just wish there were more selections in giant print. Unfortunately, nonfiction doesn’t hold my attention as well on the treadmill.) Thanks for the post, Matt!
I would much rather be in a home with books all over than to not be able to find a thing to read. I recommend Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman–a whole book about books! Anyone who loves, organizes or lends books will appreciate it. I have it at home. Now where did I put it?
I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the post, Donna!
My house looks exactly the same way! I am always reading or browsing several books at a time…but then, I rarely read fiction.
A room with books seems friendlier, cozier somehow. Thanks for the post, Rebekah!