YOUR BEST SHELF: A TOP 10 LIST
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Your Best Shelf: A Top 10 List
This is a very unique tag of sorts created by the wonderful Gavin @GenreBooks23. Gavin said, "I'll be posting my final Bookshelf Tour this week, so I'm putting out this special fantasy list of the shelf I would really want. Almost anything goes, and I'd invite anyone to post their personal top ten."
Additionally, Gavin created a few rules:
1. Money is no object.
2. You must choose books that you can actually read; that is, do not pick books in languages that you would never be able to read.
3. The books chosen must actually exist somewhere in the world. Don't pick lost books or manuscripts by authors.
Here's Gavin's video:
• Your Best Shelf: A Top...
Here's Michael K. Vaughan's version @michaelk.vaughan8617 of Gavin's tag:
• Your Best Shelf
Books discussed in my video, including those that I have and those that I would like to add to my fantasy dream shelf:
1. I have the Ursula K. LeGuin box set from The Library of America, Volumes 1 and 2 of The Hainish Novels and Stories. I would like to have the Ray Bradbury box set from The Library of America.
Paperbacks of Bradbury that I have:
The Illustrated Man
The Martian Chronicles
Farewell Summer
Dandelion Wine
Fahrenheit 451
The Golden Apples of the Sun and Other Stories
Something Wicked This Way Comes.
2. Evans, Arthur R. et al. The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction. Wesleyan University Press, 2010.
3. I have several editions of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1961, 1986, 2010). I'd love to have a first edition on my fantasy book shelf.
4. Painted Editions by Harper Muse:
I have Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
I'd love to add F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, and/or Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.
5. Penguin Classic Deluxe Editions:
I have the following:
Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables
Stoker, Bram. Dracula.
Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick
Doyle, Arthur Conan. Sherlock Holmes: The Novels.
I would love to add the Penguin Classic Deluxe Editions of the following books to my fantasy library:
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway.
Joyce, James. Dubliners: Centennial Edition.
6. I have The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964 (Ed. by Robert Silverberg. 1970). I would love to have The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volumes 2A and 2B:
Bova, Ben, ed. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A. 1973.
Bova, Ben, ed. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two B: The Great Novellas. 1973.
7. I would love to add to my fantasy book shelf Ursula K. LeGuin's The Books of Earthsea, The Complete Illustrated Edition. Illustrations by Charles Vess. Saga Press, 2018.
If you are watching this video and you would like to give this terrific exercise a try, please consider yourself tagged. Additionally, I am tagging the following people:
@ellenmadebookclub
@MyMessyBookshelf
@spreadbookjoy
@readandre-read
@joshuacreboreads
@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p
@davidnovakreadspoetry
@apoetreadstowrite
@vintagesf
@awebofstories
@ReallyRandomReads
@aaronfacer
@bookssongsandothermagic
@browngirlreading
@JessBookgirlTV
@alex_unabridged
@arockinsamsara
@KellyLovesBooksandMovies
@literarylove123
@BookishTexan
@Dillon__Morris
@Already-Overbooked
@NicolesBookishNook
@noteworthyfiction
@Uncommon_Reader
@BernasBookishAdventures
@books_and_bocadillos
@BookishChas
@BryanM.R.-prionic1
@JamesRuchala
@DrCrankyPantsReads
@EveningReader
@booksoffthebeatenpath
@HannahsBooks
@heathergregg9975
@jimsbooksreadingandstuff
@JoeSpivey02
@MarilynMayaMendoza
#booktag #tagtuesday #booktube #booktubecommunity #bookshelftour #top10books
I think I’m going to do this one. It’s such a cool idea.
You know, I was going to tag you, but I wasn’t sure you were doing tags these days. I’ve just added you! It was a very cool idea and a lot of fun! Go for it!
@ I have been feeling bad for being so tag averse because you and others have been so kind to tag me. This best shelf idea is pretty unique and will give me a chance to talk about books in a way I rarely have.
I loved your response to this one, Brian.
Hey, Pat ☘ Hope you had a good wkend (I did)! Finally got a good idea for this one ... thanks again for taging me 😊
Hi Allen. I'll look forward to your version of this one whenever you decide to do it. Hope you're doing well.
This is my first video of yours I watched, I recently got to not reading and last year I read a lot of heavyweight books all first reads (Dune, Blood Meridian, Maltese Falcon to name a few) and my book of the year that blew me away was Catcher in The Rye, first read at 37 knocked my socks off, I was expecting a dark ending and was choked up at the end, I bought a cheap paperback version at the local used bookstore for $3 an ex school copy, next day I bought a collectors edition hardback, don’t know why I didn’t read it in high school.
Thank you for this very moving comment. I am very touched to hear about your feelings about reading Catcher in the Rye. You might enjoy the video I did about a month or two ago on Catcher in the Rye in my series on books I loved to teach. I'm so glad that you have found your way back to reading, and I'm delighted to have you here on my channel. Thanks again for watching and for commenting.
I’m finally getting to watch this and I’m going to make my version of this tomorrow. That science fiction anthology looks wonderful. You will not be shocked to hear there may be a few similarities in my classics list. The painted editions are gorgeous!
NO, I will not be shocked at all. This was a really fun shelf to think about. I will look forward to seeing your version!
Oh wonderful! Thank you! This tag sounds like tremendous fun. (I just hope I don’t convince myself I actually need a whole bunch of really beautiful and expensive books…)
@@HannahsBooks this was such fun to think about. And I know what you mean. Many of the comments here are from friends encouraging me to “buy the book.” Heather, in her version of this tag today said she’s more than happy to be that person who convinces you to buy that book! 😉 I’ll look forward to your responses if you decide to do this one.
Fabulous fantasy list, Pat! Some fantastic science fiction on there, and some gorgeous editions of classic works. Hope a few find their way to your bookshelves at some point! The illustrated Earthsea collection looks really beautiful -- I've seen that in bookstores here before, and have considered purchasing as it's a gorgeous edition. Thanks for the tag -- I saw Gavin's video the other day and that immediately got me thinking on my own fantasy books shelf list, so I'm definitely doing my own version! 😀
Thank you, Alex. I will look forward to your version! It was a delightful video to make.
Youre really _really_ getting into the Sci-fi, and I think that that's impressive. Im a big Salinger fan, too; read his unpublished stories (at the time, 80s) from the New Yorker on microfiche! I read _In Search of JD ...,_ year's ago and enjoyed it. What great editions you have! (Ive several _Dubliners_ editions, too, from the Dover to the Grafton, to the big Illistrated & Annotated ... Great one, Pat 🎉
@@bighardbooks770 I think Gavin already tagged you on this, or I would have tagged you as I usually do. Yes, I’ve really been getting into SF lately. We should talk Salinger some time.
@BookChatWithPat8668 Sure! I'd love to talk about J.D.!
What a great idea for a tag video! I love all of your copies of The Catcher and the Rye. Thanks for the video, Pat!
Hi Shelly! This was a lot of fun! I hope you’ll consider yourself tagged if you’d like to do this one. 🥰
What a thoughtful idea for a video! I can tell you really treasure your mother’s books. 😊
I love many of those same publishers/editions you mentioned. Penguin has so many different beauties! Great video as always!
Thanks, Nicky. The Penguin Deluxe editions are beautiful, but I love all of the Penguin series. I just recently bought some really old ones that I'm waiting to receive from England! I don't have many of my mother's books, but the few that I have, I treasure. I do have some of her cookbooks, and what I love about those is that they sometimes have her notes in them. When I come upon one of her notes in her handwriting that I would recognize anywhere, I feel like it's a little message from her. Lovely....
I have that Books of Earthsea edition. It's very beautiful but I found it difficult to read because the book is so cumbersome to hold in my hands so now I envy the people who have the books in separate little paperbooks. I guess I struggle with there are never too many books I could have so I will make excuses to get a different edition of a book I already have syndrome.
Jenny, you are absolutely right. I can't hold this LeGuin book from the library, and I can only read it if I'm sitting at a table. I had the same problem with the beautiful Penguin Classics Deluxe edition of Les Miserables that I read last year, and that was a giant paperback. It was too cumbersome to hold, and I could only read it if I propped it up on my lap or if I was sitting at a table or a desk. Not practical at all.
How fun! I would love to have all of Sheri Reynolds books in hardcover. Your fantasy shelf has some beautiful editions.
Hi Marcia. This was so much fun to put together!
This was an interesting and enjoyable tag! Once you’ve put this out into the universe, I hope some of these titles make it your way. 😎 Thanks for sharing, Pat.
Thank you, Susan!
I have The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction hanging out at The Vaughan Lodge. I’m going up there in a couple weeks. I’ll pick it up and send it your way.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 oh Michael, you are very kind. I don’t want you to deprive yourself of it. You, of all people, should have that book! 😊
What a wonderful tag and imaginary shelf! 😊 I hope you manifest them all into reality with this video! ✨
I love how you think, Ellen. This tag made me so happy! (Though Gavin says it is not a tag!)
It’s not impossible to find those Science Fiction Hall of Fame Books at a reasonable price. I saw some at the Brattle Bookstore in Boston last September. They were on the $1 shelf! I already have copies so passed but Steve Donoghue snagged them. They’re out there!
This tag is such a great idea.
One of these days I'll get them. I see them from time to time at Thrift, but not always in the best condition. One dollar would be hard for me to pass up, though. I saw that Gavin already tagged you, or I would have tagged you on this one. Lots of fun....Probably two thirds of what I have on my dream shelf you already have!
Oh wow, thanks for the tag! It appears that I'm currently back to NOT receiving notifications. Guess that's just gonna come and go at TH-cam's whim. 😂 But anyway, I'm very occupied with the caregiving deal at present, but I WILL get to it eventually. I actually can read Latin (VERY rusty), and I have a long standing interest in Ancient Rome, so my quick and easy answer would be nice editions of a whole mess of Classics in the original language, but I'll try to provide more varied and interesting responses. 😁
Gotta love LoA! I've mostly stuck with collections of primary historical documents so far, but I'd like to branch out. And I certainly need to check out more LeGuin; I've only read some of her short stories. And I have many SF anthologies, but I didn't know about that Weslyan one. Looks great! And that Painted Cover Frankenstein looks beautiful. Ditto with the Penguin Deluxe editions. Dave at the Book Blather channel showed the one for Crime and Punishment (one of my favorite novels), and I had to restrain myself from ordering it immediately. 😊
Have a great week!
No pressure to do any of these tags. I wonder why you're not receiving notifications? Do you have them turned off? Do you know where to look to see if you've been tagged or mentioned? That usually works even if you're not getting notifications. You see every video where your channel name is mentioned. Anyway, just know that I was thinking of you. No pressure to do anything.
@BookChatWithPat8668 Yeah, I do know how to check mentions. That seems to be more reliable than notifications, but it hasn't been fool-proof either. I'm not sure what the story is there, but I've heard some other people report something similar. 🤷
@ yes, I have heard this from others too.
Such a unique tag! Gosh, I'm not sure which books I would add - there are so many! :)
Consider yourself tagged, Ted. Go for it! This was a lot of fun!
This tag is irresistible! Thank you for tagging me...I can't wait to do it!
@@books_and_bocadillos so much fun! 🥰
What a fun tag! It has me thinking about which ten I would choose!
Oh I'd love to hear! I could probably come up with an entirely different list if I did this again next month. It was a lot of fun to dream about.
Thanks for the tag - what a great idea. I know that read cover of _Catcher_ is not the first, but how did it become so iconic? I know that’s the book I had, in fact it surprised me to see something older.
Hi David. When I first read Catcher as a 13-year-old, it was a copy with the iconic red cover. But yes, there are several covers that are older. When I was teaching the novel, the red cover eventually gave way to a white cover with a few colored lines across it. Then the old cover with the carousel horse came back in vogue, and all of our class sets had the horse on the cover. I cherish the 1961 edition with Holden on the cover. That's a relatively rare one but, by no means, the oldest.
I’ll be doing this one today. What a fun ‘not a tag’ 😂. Love your answers. Yours do seem to be a little more achievable than mine 😊
The only reason I didn't tag you was that I saw that Gavin tagged you on the original! I will look forward to your responses!
I enjoyed this tag so much! I’ll be looking for it on other channels.
It’s actually quite thought-provoking. I started thinking about what my answers would be. The difficulty of choosing just ten led me to thinking about what would be my choices for a midrash shelf, a reread shelf, an American history shelf, etc. And that led to my realizing that the shelves would have perpetually changing titles as favorites and desires change with reading.
I like how you think! We could keep this going for a long, long time!
Oh, wow! I think I had that same version of Little Women! That looks so familiar! I left my childhood books for my little sister.
Awwww! I think it was a very popular edition in the 1960’s. 🥰
Interesting answers. The books you have are quite impressive
@@stuartgriffin1001 this was a fun video to make. I saw that Gavin had already tagged you on it, or I would have.
Great shelf Pat, I too am not a first edition collector but i would love to own a first edition of The World According To Garp, a favourite of mine.
Oh I love that book too. I probably had a first edition at least of the paperback of Garp when I was 18, but alas, I have no idea what happened to that.
Such a fun tag, Pat! Lovely answers as always and thanks for tagging me ❤
@@NicolesBookishNook such fun! I’ll look forward to your responses should you choose to give this one a go.
My dream is different. I've mentioned this before on Joshua's channel but I would like a (very large) room with every book I have ever read from when I could read, in order, up to present. This could have been achieved if I'd had this dream earlier! It would have been doable as I don't read on ereaders and the only audio books I listen to are rereads. Every book has passed through my hands. I have a lot of them but by no means all. Great video, a creative idea. I know this video is a top 10 shelf but I thought I'd share my dream room 😂
What a lovely dream, Helen! Thank you for sharing it. That would be a wonderful room.
I've always wanted that copy of Earthsea too, I didn't realise how big it is!
It's pretty huge! I can only really read it if I'm sitting at a desk or table as it's hard to hold up. But what a beautiful book. I believe Gavin already tagged you on this one, Aaron, or I would have tagged you! This was a lot of fun to do.
Thank you Pat for tagging me. Have a great day!
This was a fun one to put together, Jess. I hope you’ll consider have a great day too!
Great list, Pat! I didn’t know some of these beautiful editions existed! Putting them on my list as well!thank you ❤
Thank you. I really enjoyed doing this tag. Fun to dream...
Fun list, Pat! Thanks!
Thank you!
Oh this is a really fun tag, you have some beautiful books on your fantasy list, hope you get your hands on some of them soon.
Hi Ali. This was just a lot of fun to do. Thanks for watching and commenting, as always.
I just love this tag, don't you? Gavin is so cool. I just checked and that beautiful, heavy edition of The Books of Earth Sea is currently selling new for $31.48 on Amazon. I don't know how you feel about Amazon, but that actually seems like quite a reasonable price for such an amazing tome.
@@juliehughes1258 that is a really reasonable price….Not my bookseller of choice these days, but yes, that’s an incredible price. Thanks!
@@BookChatWithPat8668 I understand your opinion re: Amazon.
And yes, Gavin is a real gem!
Hello Pat, thank you for tagging me. I’m actually doing a tag tomorrow on tag Wednesday😊. I really love the penguin editions and I have two that I got secondhand. All the books you showed were very beautiful. I had never heard of a painted edition of a book. I hope your fantasy comes true. Aloha dear friend.
Thanks, Marilyn. Yes, the painted editions are just very pretty. Nothing I need, for sure, but they are pretty to look at. Harper Muse publishes them. You can keep this tag for a later date if you'd like to do it. It was a lot of fun to think about. I hope you're doing well, my friend.
You've compiled a very thoughtful list Pat, they are obviously books that mean a lot to you, and I hope that you are able to get copies of some of them. Maybe fantasy can become a reality. That illustrated copy of The Books of Earthsea looks amazing.
@@AlansReads hi Alan. That LeGuin volume is simply beautiful. Someday….This was really fun to do. Please consider yourself tagged if you’d like to give this one a go!
@@BookChatWithPat8668 Thanks Pat, I will have a think about what my 10 books would be.
@@AlansReads no pressure ever, but this was a fun one to think about.
What a great idea! I love your list and the way Booktubers share their passion. Greetings from Glasgow, Scotland
@@Cafe_Con_Leche_55 hello! I’m so happy to have you here! This one was such fun to do!
Ooo I’ve been meaning to get that Ursula K Le Guin boxed set even though I have too many books already :3 it’s my goal to read all her work, right now my fave is her translation of the Tao Te Ching as well as her Earthsea books
@@mayabeck7750 she is such a treasure, isn’t she?
@ Agreed! ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚
Great video Pat. I hope your family is watching for your birthday and Christmas lists this year.
My two main answers don't quite fit the criteria.
I love the Penguin Classics editions too. And i want a set of Austen. But why oh why have they only published 4 of her big 6?
Similarly Virago have published most of Barbara Pym in lovely new editions. Most? Why? I have the published ones, but greedily want the others.
And I want a lovely set of Dickens but haven't set my sights on a particular one as yet.
@@LouiseReader yes, what’s with this “most”?? Where are the rest? I’m slowly collecting Dickens too. I don’t know if you saw my wrap-up from last Saturday. I talked in that video how the day after this “best shelf” video posted I did indeed receive a beautiful copy of Jane Eyre with a painted cover from a very dear friend. Such a treasure! 🥰
@@BookChatWithPat8668 Oh no I haven't seen that yet, how special!
@@LouiseReader Very special!
I got tagged! 🎉 Thank you! Can’t wait to do this one!
This was lots of fun, Meg. I'll look forward to your responses.
Lovely video!
Would you consider making a video about your Library of America collection?
Thank you. I would at some point. Do you know Greg at another bibliophile reads? He has a considerable collection, and he has done a beautiful video on it. Also David at David Novak reads poetry. He’s done a great video on his collection as well.
Do you have a Books I Loved to Teach video about The Great Gatsby? It has never been a favorite of mine and I would love to hear your thoughts. Fun tag video.
I haven’t done it yet, but it’s on my list of books to do…😉
@BookChatWithPat8668 I look forward to it.
Oh! This is going to be a really fun tag!🎉
@@vickicoleman2474 hi Vicki! This was really fun to do! 🥰
Well that was a fun one!
@@Nina_DP it was a lot of fun to put together!
Dang, I had that Earthsea volume but unhauled it when Folio Society completed their series -- had I known, I would have sent it to you. I've heard rumblings that we'll see a 2-volume Earthsea set from Library of America eventually. That would be less cumbersome to hold while reading ...
You know, I wondered about that. She’s up to 6 or 7 volumes in L o A already!
Speaking of Ray Bradbury, did you ever teach the classic short story, "A Sound of Thunder?" THAT one says with you, after you read it in high school. Thanks for sharing your fantasy shelf list, Pat. Maybe Santa will watch your video and react accordingly.
Oh Corinne, wouldn't that be lovely? I never taught "A Sound of Thunder." I think I'd like to have the chance to teach it now....
Wowsa. It sounds as though your teaching duties were mostly focused on reading whole books, and not on getting into various short stories. Maybe someday you'll launch a new series, "Books / Stories I WOULD Have Liked to Teach." And you can explain The Butterfly Effect that "A Sound of Thunder" introduced into our culture. 🙂
@CorinneHSmith we did teach short stories too, but in my last 15 years of my career, I taught three different English 12 courses and a writing course. The English 12 courses were more focused on whole novels and plays. We did more short stories in our English 9 and 10 classes. 😊
... corresponding with the attention spans of the average freshmen and sophomores ... 🙂
@ well, yes and no. In English 9, we introduced all of the genres-short stories, plays, novels, poetry. A little bit of everything.
What fun! Book lovers can dream! 😊💙
@@BookwormAdventureGirl absolutely! Please consider yourself tagged if you’d like to give this one a try.
You know there must be first editions of The Catcher in the Rye still out in the wild, lurking on grandparents’ bookshelves or tucked away in basements. Here’s hoping one finds its way to you some day. 😊
@@patriciah8579 wouldn’t that be wonderful! I see them for sale online but the prices range all over the place but all beyond me. It’s nice to dream.
Thanks for doing the (not) tag! Great selection!
@@GenreBooks23 thanks for creating such a great (not) tag, Gavin! 🥰
Other than the Bible, what book would you keep if you could only keep one book for the rest of your life.
?
This is an almost hypothetical question for me, but I guess I'd say my mom's first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Great video of your fantasy shelf!❤
That Wesleyan Anthology sounds interesting! Jules Verne? Nathaniel Hawthorne? Sign me up!!😂
Thank you for mentioning the painted edition of Jane Eyre- I need to look for it!!
Please feel free to stop by my New Year New me video --I would be delighted!!❤
@@Dawnsbookreviews the Wesleyan edition is an incredible collection. Oh I will definitely stop by! Thank you!
Oh my gosh. We have VERY similar taste but I was literally just venting to a friend about how much I have NOT enjoyed Frankenstein (it was pithy but also dropped a few F bombs). I am, dear God, hopefully finishing it tonight. I don't get it. It's soooo wordy and bleak gloomy wretched etc
Awww....I'm sorry that you didn't get on with Frankenstein. It definitely isn't what people think it's going to be, and Victor Frankenstein is an impossibly arrogant character. I did a video on Frankenstein some months ago in my series on books I loved to teach. I don't know if you've seen it. I'm not trying to change your mind about the book, but it might put the book in a larger perspective. I found it helpful to teach the book in the larger context of Mary Shelley's very troubled life. See what you think...Thanks for watching and commenting on this video!
Second comment: Pat, that Wesleyan SF anthology is cheap. Just buy it. 😈
I will…eventually. 🥰
If this were a tag Id say it was a fun tag. Great job on whatever it is!
@@JamesRuchala Gavin insists it’s not a tag, so I guess I’m not tagging you on this non-tag. But I really am. 😉
Other than the Bible, what book would you keep if you could only keep one book for the rest of your life.
?
@@lindahall8096 an impossible hypothetical question! My answer might vary depending on the day. My emotions tell me I’d want to keep my first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird that belonged to my mother. I might have a different answer tomorrow…
@@BookChatWithPat8668 Oh, that would go on my fantasy bookshelf for sure. I presently own 0 first editions, but as long as we're fantasizing, first editions of Huckleberry Finn, Slaughterhouse 5, The Martian Chronicles, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison, More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon, and The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. That's a good start. I think.
@@buckocean7616 Oh that would be a delightful fantasy shelf! Thanks for sharing your list!