A look at Ruth Dugdall's bookcase
Ruth comments on her bookshelves:
My bookshelf covers the whole wall and it's still too small. Spines are ordered by colour, which might make you think I'm a bit OCD (which is true, but the colour idea was my husbands who only values books for their aesthetic as he doesn't read. When I met him I was impressed by his vast book collection, and by the time I found out he hadn't read any of them it was too late. But that's another story...)
As an English Literature graduate I have a lot of classics. It was a joy to cull these after I got the damned degree; Piers Plowman was the first on the fire, along with Gawain the Green Knight, though I later wished I'd kept the Homer.
My book collection is eclectic, with a strong leaning towards Canadian and American fiction. If I like an author I'll buy all their books, and these will be together (whatever colour the spine) and included in that list are Chuck Palahniuk, Margaret Atwood, Rose Tremain, Philippa Gregory and Josephine Hart. If I really like an author the books are hardback.
I also have a section for books that have helped with research. I have books on suicide and cannibalism, on deadly poisons and sado-masochism. I also have enough erotica to know that 50 Shades of Grey is a pale imitation (some of these books my husband has actually read...).
Finally, I have a shelf for my own novels, and they are propped alongside other significant things, like my name badge when I won the Debut Dagger, and the marzipan cake topper my mum made after I appeared on Woman's Hour. This shelf is a bit of an alter to never giving up!
