University Bookshelf Tour

I’ve wanted to write this post for a couple of reasons. One reason is because I think itΒ would be a fab way for you all to get an insight into what I study in my degree and a second is because I’m book obsessed so why not show off my collection? I do actually have another bookshelf at home (which I share with my sister) which is twice the size of the one I am about to show you because of course I have a lot of books!

Now, this post will also come with a little pre-warning, especially if you are going on to study an English degree at University like me. You will probably end up buying an awful lot of books! Yes, the library do have them but they may not have enough for the whole class or for you to take them home for assignments!

Let me introduce you to my bookshelf, complete with my Disney treasures and PG Tips Monkey collection, what more could you want?

 

First Shelf:

We’ll start from the bottom and work our way upwards. This is where it all began, in my first year of my BA English degree. Don’t get too excited, the Harry Potter book was sadly NOT part of my degree… It is absolutely STUNNING so if you haven’t already had a peek and you’re a fan then you definitely need to!

In my first year I studied a range of modules from Literature in Historical Context, Forms and Performances of Creative Writing and Reading London to name a few. Reading London was definitely one of my favourite modules of this term. We had to read a whole range of books including ‘Great Expectations’ to ‘The Lonely Londoners’ and ‘The Sign of Four’.

 

Second Shelf:

Second from bottom we have, you guessed it, my second year BA English books ranging from Shakespeare’s work himself to… Twilight! To say this year has been diverse is an understatement!

This year we had an even wider range of modules, including a work experience option. My favourite classes however were definitely the Creative Writing Workshop, Web Creation and Digital Storytelling and 21st Century English and Digital Writing modules. Within them we got to write stories, design a blog and also transform ‘Pride and Prejudice’ into a digital form.

 

One book which stands out as a firm favourite has to be ‘Twitterature’. It captures numerous stories in a series of tweets and is a perfect easy read and amusing too!

My 21st Century English module was one of my favourites and as a result I did get banned from Tinder because of this module… no? That’s a funny story!

 

Third Shelf:

This is the third shelf and using your powers of deduction you probably think this is for third year books. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. This shelf is a little different because on the left hand half sits the rest of my second year books. I did say there were a lot!

Whereas, on the right features some DVD’s (although Bridget Jones was part of my degree this year too) and my Disney treasure that is my ‘Mrs Potts Teapot’. I daren’t take it out of the packaging in case it gets broken. My star baker apron sits there too but you best believe every time I bake I whip it out and pretend I’m in the GBBO tent.

 

Fourth Shelf:

The fourth and final shelf is non-university orientated as obviously I like to read for fun as well as analyzing every inch of a book for an assignment.

This shelf has a very small selection of books I either love reading or want to read next. I have just finished ‘The Girl Before’ and I can honestly say it is now one of my favourites (I’m recommending it to everyone). Featuring also are both of my ‘Disney Chip Mugs’, a Christmas Elf I won at a fair, some more DVD’s, notes from home, a Pandora bag and a little bobbing monkey timer. He’s cute, isn’t he?

The Top:

In pride of place and on top of my bookshelf sits my PG Tips monkey collection. (I really want the giant one so PG Tips if you’re reading this, help a gal out! My Mum alone drinks enough tea to keep your company afloat!)

My grumpy minion money box and an Austrian Cow accompany two homemade snowman courtesy of my sister, an ‘I’, two little RAF fluffy blob things and a wooden pig my parents got me in Austria. The photo in the background is one of my favourites of me and my Grandad, I wrote about him in a recent post here.

I’d definitely recommend them, ‘I Am Legend’ I actually finished in half a day I was so gripped!

I hope this post has been both eye-opening and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. I pride myself on my bookshelf and have already started ordering books for third year too. I’ve already found out that for just three modules in one term I need a total of twenty-two books. I’m notΒ quite sure where they will go. I’m sure I will make some room!

 

Thankfully, I won’t have to buy any more normal reading books for a while now though because a lovely lady on FB gifted me and my family a grand total of 78 book! Yes, you did read that right!

Happy reading! Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any books featured and what you’re reading now. I’m always looking for recommendations!

(All photographs featured in this blog post are my own).

Make sure you check out the other posts in the series and in relation to university:

University: What I Wish I’d Known (Part One)
University: What I Wish I’d Known (Part Two)
University: What I Wish I’d Known (Part Three)
University: What I Wish I’d Known (Part Four)
Fresher’s Week, Friend or Foe?
University, 9 Years Ago; An Interview
University, 13 Years Ago; An Interview
University Alternative, MOOC; An Interview
University Saving Tips and Tricks, Part One
University Saving Tips and Tricks, Part Two
My University Experience So Far

 

38 Comments

  1. This is so freaking cute! I’m trying to get back into reading again this summer, starting with The Hound of the Baskervilles

    1. Thank you! πŸ˜€ Oooh I’ve read that and loved it! x

  2. I love bookshelf tours! I love books. BUT LOOK AT ALL OF THE MONKEYS. That is the cutest collection of anything that I think I have ever seen. I like the sound of your modules! It makes me even more excited to order the books I need for my fourth year modules when I get paid! 😊

    1. I KNOW! I’m proud of my little family! πŸ˜€ Oooh how exciting, I have so many to get, thankfully my Mum is a pro at finding them cheaper so she orders them for me! πŸ˜€

  3. Really enjoyed seeing what your degree made you read, a really interesting range. Also I definitely know someone who’d want Mrs Potts

    1. Thank you, glad you enjoyed! Haha wonder who that may be, my bf thinks I’m strange for keeping them protected in their packaging!

  4. I have such a small number of books as I don’t really read a lot. I love that you have a dictionary. I might give the twitterature book a look!

    1. The Twitterature book is fab you definitely should, so many classics are inside too! I coudn’t live without a dictionary, forever using it for my work! πŸ˜€

  5. I loved reading this – I’m so nosey! I would love to see your shelf tour of your books at home, I bet you have an amazing collection! Also, very jealous you were gifted 78 books – that’s insane. Lovely post.
    Liz xx

    1. Thank you so much! πŸ˜€ I may just have to do one, I do share it with my Sister but it’s ENORMOUS! We have so many other bookshelves round the house too, need a library room haha! I can’t believe it, it was just by chance on a FB selling page but she wouldn’t take anything for them as she was moving house! xxx

  6. joanndastanton says:

    Thanks for sharing this!! Although… did I miss something?? What’s the story behind the getting banned from Tinder because of Bridget Jones?!? I love books too, although I’ve started donating some to charity. I’ve (dare I say it) converted mostly to reading on my Kindle… So much easier for travel!! πŸ™‚

    1. Ahaaa I was actually banned because of Pride and Prejudice! πŸ˜‰ I may have to do a little post on it, I have evidence and everything and it’s so so funny, I ended the module with a First though so it was worth it! πŸ˜€ I have a Kindle too but I don’t use it nearly as often as I should, I agree though, I am so tempted to bring multiple books with me every time I travel but it isn’t feasible! <3

      1. Joannda | A Zest For Travel says:

        Looking forward to reading that post!! And, great job on getting a First!! Whoop πŸ‘

        1. Thank you! <3

  7. joannafuller says:

    I LOVED this post Imogen! I am a fellow book lover and studied English at uni (I recognized that Norton Anthology a mile off!). I haven’t read The Break yet but it’s on my to-read list (which is exceptionally long at the moment)!

    1. Yayyy, I’m so glad! πŸ˜€ Hahaha, you definitely can’t miss it, don’t miss carrying that around in my bag! I’m enjoying it so far but ‘The Girl Before’ definitely has to be added to your list, however long! x

  8. That’s such a cool uni bookshelf! There’s so many more books that I managed to bring to uni and it’s super organised too! I love the selection of books you’ve got on there and I’m a lil jealous to be honest. Also I think you need to do a post on how you find the time to read at uni because I struggle BIG TIME! Awesome post!!

    1. Thank you so much lovely, I’m quite proud of it haha, can’t stand an untidy bookshelf! Oooh that could be good, it’s often VERY dangerous as I forget I have to actually read set books in a time limit! x

  9. genxmom74 says:

    Great post! Love ur collection, its amazing! My daughter loved ur tea pot & books. She loves reading about 3 at a time. Lol

    1. Thank you lovely! Ahh bless her, they’re so cute! Oh I don’t know how she does that, I’m a one at a time person but thankfully I’m a VERY quick reader! x

  10. This post made me smile the whole way through. I felt like I was right there with you going through your incredible library. Thank you so much for sharing!

    1. Thank you so much for your lovely comment and amazing support as always! x

  11. Oh my gosh if I did a bookshelf tour you’ll see all of my books in all of their brownish spotted glory! They’re so old, your books are so well kept! I’m envious that you’re “forced” to read all these literature for your degree. I don’t have the time to anymore maybe I should get a job that requires me to review books ha~
    To accommodate the extra books I would stack them lying on top of one another. You can see the titles although it will totally mess up what you have now! I love PG Tips too – the tea!
    Connie
    http://www.sassy.mom

    1. They must be some very well loved books though, that is amazing too! It does pain me a little when I have to make notes in some, feels totally wrong! Well, wouldn’t that be the dream! That’s a good idea, I could always do it on the bottom (first year) shelf as I definitely won’t need those (I say that now!). Same – only tea I’ll drink as you can probably tell by my collection. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I’ll be sure to subscribe to your blog if I am not already. xx (Oh! Just checked, I already am, will return the love on your next few posts)

  12. Love this. I am always curious as to what is on everyone else’s bookshelves, whether they are school related or novels you want to read. It’s also fun to see what knick-knacks and other items people put on their shelves as well. Fun to add that personal touch to them.

    1. Definitely, makes it feel much more homey and it also makes the daunting look of the bookshelf easier to cope with, I’m terrified when I have to add the extras – the knick-knacks can’t go! x

  13. Reading London and Twitterature sound like such cool modules! I’m kind of jealous at the choices you had in terms of modules haha!
    I did have Harry Potter 1 for a module in my second year and it was pretty cool to write a proper essay on it, but then it wasn’t as exciting because I’d already read the book many times before and it’s actually quite nice to discover new things in class haha
    I actually also had to read I Am Legend for one of my modules!
    Definitely think this post has been aesthetically pleasing and interesting to see what kind of things you studied during your degree!

    1. I think I’ve been quite lucky although there have definitely been some modules which I was not a fan of! No way! That sounds like so much fun, an excuse to read the book / watch the film again haha! Thank you for your lovely comment, glad you enjoyed! x

  14. Oooh I love a good bookshelf! Definitely recognise some books in there I’ve already read and some that are on my reading list. My goal one day is to have a house so big it has it’s own library! It probably won’t happen but a girl can dream! Thanks for sharing πŸ™‚ x

    1. Oooh amazing, which ones? Oh my goodness that be would be unbelievable, I definitely want that too! πŸ˜€ x

  15. Victoria Austin says:

    I’m a nosey being who always loves seeing other people’s bookshelves, great post Imogen! The Twitterature book looks really interesting and like something I might like to read. x

    1. Thank you so much Victoria! You should definitely pick it up! x

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  19. Wow I am SO happy I stumbled across your blog on a Twitter thread. Can’t wait to read the rest of your university posts!!

    1. Imogen Chloe says:

      Oh that’s such a lovely thing to say! I’m so pleased you’re here! Hope you enjoy my content! x

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