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Eight random things about Confident Writing
Hmm…. “eight random things about me” is the topic I’ve been tagged to write about by Jeanne Dininni at Writer’s Notes. Like Lillie I try to limit participation in memes to topics that fit the theme of this site - or that can be made to fit! - but I’ve been struggling a bit with this one. Perhaps it’s because I don’t like writing too directly about myself… so I thought I’d bend the rules a bit by telling you about the books on my shelves. Behind every writer is a library of books and I often think the books we keep with us reveal a lot about our interests, our stories, our selves…So here are 8 random things about mine:
1. The books are divided up (roughly) into eight sections: fiction, poetry, travel, philosophy, personal and spiritual development, languages, writing, and the history and culture of the highlands and islands
2. The fiction authors who appear most frequently on my shelves are Ian Rankin, Anne Tyler and John Irving
3. The most well-thumbed travel books are the maps - in particular the OS maps for the Isle of Skye
4. The language books cover French, German, Spanish, Italian and Gaelic. I don’t have room on the shelves for all of them so they move in and out of obscure cupboards depending on which one I’m currently trying to learn
5. I don’t read the poetry regularly but need to have the books there for comfort, friendship, recognition… during those times of highs and lows when only a poem will do. My favourite (just now) is the collected work of Raymond Carver: All of Us
6. The most valuable resource on the writing shelf is the dictionary (of course)
7. I try to curb my book-buying addiction by borrowing as much as I can from the library. My most recent on-loan read was “An Ordinary Man” by Paul Rusesabagina - who turns out to be an extraordinary man, telling the story behind “Hotel Rwanda” in clear, plain language - as the most powerful stories often do
8. I always try to return my library books on time but don’t generally like following rules! As you’ll see I haven’t followed all the ‘musts’ of this meme. Join in if you choose - and if you think it will help to tell your story 
Eight random things “rules”
1. Each blogger must post these rules first.
2. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about him/herself.
3. Bloggers who are tagged must write a post on their own blog about their eight things and must also include these rules in that post.
4. Tagged bloggers need to select eight other bloggers, whom they tag to keep the meme going, and they must list the names of the chosen bloggers at the end of their blog posts.
5. They then must leave each blogger a comment telling them that they’ve been tagged and that they should read the tagger’s blog to learn more about the meme.
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Thanks, Joanna, for a truly interesting post–and a fascinating variation on a theme (or a meme)! What a great way to find out more about you–through the books you love to read!
Thanks for participating!
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne
I enjoyed taking part - and finding out what my books were telling me
Joanna