Member JamieStokes

My library is currently spread across several bookcases between my home in Govilon, South Wales, and my home in Oxford. It is currently divided first by category, then alphabetically by author/editor within each category, with some exceptions. The first category, Pre-20th Century Classics, is arranged on my bookcase in chronological order, as I like to see the evolution of literature across the world, from 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' (c. 2100 BCE) up to Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899). The next few categories, Short Stories, Modern Classics and Contemporary Fiction, and Science Fiction and Fantasy, are arranged alphabetically by author/editor. Next is Comic Books and Graphic Novels which are sometimes arranged by publisher, sometimes alphabetically by author, sometimes alphabetically by title. Poetry comes next, alphabetically by author, then Non-Fiction, arranged alphabetically by author except for biographies which are alphabetical by subject (e.g. Ellman's biography of Joyce comes under J rather than E). Finally reference books are arranged by subject. This library is ever expanding - long may it continue!

I am currently a Graduate Trainee with the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, working at the Sainsbury Library. Before this I did an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Creative Writing, both at Liverpool John Moores University. I have an insatiable appetite for literature of all varieties, from Greek Classics to comic books, from non-fiction to poetry. My personal library is getting on for 700 books, a target I hope to meet sometime this year.