Things that Reveal Us

Bookshelves are supposed to be personal, revealing, windows on the book collector’s personality and tastes.

Anyone who looks at my bookshelves will immediately think I’m schizophrenic. Who has Stephen King next to Dorothea Benton Frank? Who has Clive Cussler next to William Shakespeare? Who has Nora Roberts next to Beverly Jenkins or Boris Pasternak next to the Holy Bible?

I confess, the bookshelf belongs to two people. My spouse’s books are on one side and mine are on the other. But our reading tastes are eclectic and this one, rather tall bookshelf in our tiny upstairs retreat only shows a fraction of the big picture. The rest is hidden away on our Kindles and in the twenty-four boxes packed away in the storage unit.

When I visit someone my eye goes to their reading material. We house-sat recently and my spouse found several large, important tomes on economics he wanted to read. The owner of the tomes has wit tinged with sarcasm. I would have expected books by Dave Barry.

Social media is another window into personal taste. I have friends who post about their animals. I know for a fact these friends LOVE their animals. No surprise. I have others who repost anything from their children. They LOVE their children. Again, no surprise.

There are those who love nature and the peace it brings; those who have musical interests post musicians and those with gardening interests post flowers. My writer friends announce their new releases and political friends on both sides repost anything sent to them from their side of the spectrum.

Most interesting and revealing are the quotes. Some consistently choose positive, uplifting quotes in a soothing background. Others choose quotes that tell me they’ve been hurt and still suffer deep inside.

I’m such a novice at social media I’m not sure how much I reveal. I stay away from politics (too many years spent close to politicians), but other than that I’ve probably reposted all of the above at one point or another. I love my children and animals. I like nature and music and flowers. I try to support fellow authors, although most of my promotion is on my Author Page and on Twitter. I laugh at funny videos but I don’t repost them.

My boat trips provided topics for daily posts for awhile. Now it’s a struggle to know what to say or do, and yet my editors say, “Let people get to know you. Don’t post about your books, post stuff about your life.”

If that’s the criteria for success, I am destined to fail because I really enjoy my new semi-reclusive state. And maybe by not posting, I reveal the most.