Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Gimme an I...
I tackled my bookshelves this weekend--I needed to do some rearranging to make room for new books, as well as some decluttering and re-alphabetizing, and I noticed that I was missing a couple of letters of the alphabet in my small assemblage of authors. It didn't surprise me when I had no books by authors whose last names start with an X or Q, but it did surprise me that I was also missing I and U. Last names that start with those letters aren't that uncommon, are they? But then, when I tried to come up with some author names that begin with either letter, I came up blank. I couldn't think of a single one. (Can you?) I know there are some, but they don't exist on my bookshelves. Which struck me as a little strange. I mean, I have books for Z (Zafon and Zigman) and Y (Young), but not for I or U. It's a bookish incongruity. What about you? What letters of the alphabet are missing from your bookshelves?
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It's true, there are fewer authors for some letters -- my favourite "I" author is Frances Itani, a Canadian author who has a new book out right now (Tell) which I am just about to begin. For U, perhaps Ludmilla Ulitskaya, or Alison Uttley
ReplyDeleteAll new authors to me. Just shows I need to branch out more. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThe only author I can think of with a surname beginning with I on my shelves is Kazuo Ishiguro. I don't think I have books by an author whose surname begins with U! Great post, it's definitely got me thinking about my own bookshelves :)
ReplyDeleteGemma
I need to read Ishiguro! And who knew U would be such a hard surname to find?
DeleteThe 'I' authors I have are Eva Ibbotson, Kazuo Ishiguro and Eowyn Ivey. For 'U' I have a book by the Croatian author Dubravka Ugresic. The only letter missing from my shelves is X, though until recently I had nothing for Y either.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot about Eowyn Ivey. I read and loved her book, The Snow Child, last year. (I just don't own it.) I've never heard of Ugresic...what a U name! Thanks for commenting!
DeleteThe only one I could think of with an I was Ibsen...and I haven't even read any of his stuff. I confess I did an online search and came up with one more: Washington Irving. Great post! I am going to have to see what letters are missing on my shelves!
ReplyDeleteOh, Washington Irving! I should have thought of him. :) But I don't own any of his stories, so he still wouldn't show up on my shelves.
DeleteIshiguro is great--and so is Ibsen! But what a difference is in setting and style. Ibsen's A Doll's House is a favorite, and Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is an emotional twister.
ReplyDeleteJohn Updike, Leon Uris, Thrity Umriger, Lisa Unger are good U's.
I did like Ibsen's A Doll's House, but I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of Updike. I have been hearing Thrity Umriger's name mentioned a lot lately. Might have to give her books a try. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteI was going to say Ishiguro, but everyone else before me has already suggested him. How about Inoue, another Japanese author (but one I've not yet read).
ReplyDeleteI'm writing it down. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteI'm so jealous that you have your shelves organised. Mine are just a big messy mess! I need to work on that.
ReplyDeleteI've been wracking my brains and I can't think of any author that I've personally read whose surname starts with I.
I know! There's not very many of them. And about the shelves...it's my one OCD thing. I like my books organized (mostly so I can find them!).
Delete