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r/bookshelfdetective

▲ 11 r/bookshelfdetective

What are folks’ verdicts?

Other than the obvious — that I’m a lawyer — which I assume everyone could infer from my username anyway.

Also, apologies for deleting the first post and then posting this immediately afterwards. I realized the first post was too unclear to be of much use.

u/chicagolitigator123 — 8 hours ago
▲ 2 r/bookshelfdetective

I just found this sub, very curious, give your best efforts to describe me based off my bookcases/bookstashes and book shelves

I haven't reorganized them in about a year... And not a librarian so they definitely are out of order again. The last photo is my bedside table.

Best guess is I've read about 80-85% of these cover to cover at least once. I've got a probably 15 that I couldn't get through and about 10-15 I haven't started yet.

I've also got about 20-25 books loaned out to people on various topics.

Who do you think I am?

u/Accomplished-Law-222 — 7 hours ago
▲ 69 r/bookshelfdetective

My turn, what’s your take-away?

Recently discovered this community and am loving it, so am looking forward to your insights/interpretations!

u/_aerofish_ — 13 hours ago
▲ 7 r/bookshelfdetective

My humble bookshelves, what do they say about me?

What does my bookshelves say about me? I know what I think they say but I’m curious to find out what other people think!

u/AnxietyPlushie321 — 12 hours ago
▲ 0 r/bookshelfdetective

Diagnose me

Will say, I only keep books that I consider useful or sentimental, or have yet to read. Have read the vast majority of this collection.

u/Material_Void — 11 hours ago
▲ 6 r/bookshelfdetective

Nerdy Bookshelf

My bookshelves are split into sections arount annolder CRT monitor for retro gaming. Chaotic and interspersed with nerdy collectibles. I know this is going to be a flop, but this seems fun anyway. So... how are my bookshelves? Lol. Some sections are just collectibles and aren't pictured here. I'm focusing just on the sections with books.

u/Mossimo5 — 11 hours ago
▲ 352 r/bookshelfdetective

Four common Bookshelf Detective critiques that go against the spirit of this community.

1. "So... how many of these have you actually read?"

Anyone who genuinely loves books buys way more books than they can read in one lifetime. The unread shelf isn't a failure of discipline. Stop asking this, it's the "do you even lift bro" of literacy.

2. "You know female authors exist, right?"

Representation in publishing is a real issue worth fighting for. Sniping at a stranger's shelf does nothing to help that cause except make them defensive. Maybe try to open the poster to new experiences if you feel like making this comment: "I see you like X, you'd probably love Y." A recommendation converts; a "gotcha" closes.

3. Owning Ayn Rand (etc) on its own is not a red flag.

I promise you: I hate Objectivism more than you do. But we have to remember that owning a single book does not reflect a worldview, and Rand's classic "coworker" book is thrust on so many. Look at the bigger collection, not the one-off.

4. Going deep on one lane is totally normal. .

Horror, romance, manga, dick lit, weird girl fiction: curating a sub-genre is just so normal. Not everyone owns a room big enough to perform the full range of human letters, and honestly, the guy with 400 spine-matched paperbacks in one genre is probably more serious reader than the guy with one of everything.

Take all these together, and it all comes down to Taste. I always think of the Bourdieu quote: “Taste is first and foremost distaste, disgust and visceral intolerance of the taste of others.” Which essentially means that all four of these critiques are a class/status move dressed up as insight. It says more about you than it ever will about the poster.

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u/RadicalTechnologies — 1 day ago
▲ 9 r/bookshelfdetective

finally getting back into reading as an ADHD adult

not pictured: the entire Dresden Files series (up to book 17) that I ordered but is still in shipping lolol. I've read up to book 3 so far using Libby + my library and LOVE it.

this is the beginnings of what will hopefully become my home "library" 🫶 I'm a BIG local library user so I've read much more than what I own in the past 6 months or so that I've started to take reading seriously. what I own is just my absolute favourites, plus some gifts from family and friends as well as books I've had since I was a teenager. fun fact: one of the series on my shelf was passed down from my mother and will 100% be a family heirloom passed down further to my daughter once she's old enough to read. can you tell which series it is? 😉

I think my bookshelf is extremely indicative of me as a person so this should be an easy one LOL

u/earlinesss — 1 day ago