I’ve covered all my Blytons now, and most of my childrens’ books, so I thought I would just give a quick overview of my other bookcase. This one is mostly books for grown-ups.

The detective/supernatural shelf

Not everything fits that category; the first ones are The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy – Tim Burton, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon (which I’ve read four or five times at least), and The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman (need to read The Invisible Library on my Kindle before I can start this).

Then I have the ‘detective’ books. The Mirabelle Bevan mysteries by Sara Sheridan (Stef has recommended these as Blyton for Grown-Ups.) The Murdoch Mysteries (which the TV series is based on) by Maureen Jennings. And the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.

Then it’s more of Charlaine Harris, but moving into supernatural stuff now – the Harper Connelly series and some short story collections that she has contributed to.

There’s also a novelisation of a Captain America story in there (because it’s short and it sits on the too-tall Aurora Teagarden omnibus…)

And continuing with the supernatural theme last on this shelf are the Being Human books that tie in with the BBC programme of the same name.

More supernatural, amongst other things

More Charlaine Harris – the whole ‘Southern Vampires’ series upon which True Blood the TV series is based on.

Then a reasonable chunk of the ‘Undead’ series of vampire books by MaryJanice Davidson, which I really mean to re-read at some point. On top of those are a couple of her books in a series about mermaids. I’m missing the first one so I haven’t read them. In front is a valentine’s card I printed at home many years ago for Ewan.

After that it gets a bit random though mostly chick-lit; two of the Kate Shackleton mysteries by Frances Brody (others I’ve borrowed from the library or listed to from audible). How to Walk in High Heels by Camilla Morton, The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberg, The Goddess Experience and The Goddess Guide by Gisele Scanlon (the Guide being far better), and Wicked by Gregory Maguire. The last two are books I designed and had printed by Love Book for Ewan.

Nursing memoirs and fiction

Bar one this is all nursing-related.

The stack are memoirs by nurses and midwives; Linda Fairley, Evelyn Prentis and Jennifer Worth (whose books Call The Midwife based their long-running series on).

Next to the stack is another nursing memoir by Jennifer Craig, and a memoir about living in Dundee by Maureen Reynolds.

The rest of the books are historical fiction based on nurses, mostly around the first or second world wars.

There are some by Maggie Holt (who also wrote as Maggie Bennett when writing a loose series of nursing books), Maggie Hope, Jean Fullerton, and many by Donna Douglas.

A bit of a mixture

This is a mixture of grown-up and children’s.

A few more historical fiction and memoirs at the end;

Our Zoo by June Mottershead (ITV did a series based on this), War Girls short stories, Victory in My Hands by Russell and Rosen, The Story of my Life by Helen Keller. There’s also a biography of Florence Nightingale.

The next few may seem random but they are either books I’ve not read in a very long time, or have not managed to finish despite good intentions.

The Witch of Exmoor by Margaret Drabble (last read in high school), Lucky and The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (read the first but didn’t get far with the second), The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (actually never been brave enough to start), Atonement by Ian McEwen (didn’t get past the first few chapters though I enjoyed the film). The entire Lord of the Rings by Tolkien (I’ve read Fellowship of the Ring and maybe the first chapter of The Two Towers), and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

Starting the children’s books off is a novel by Stephen Gately – yes, of Boyzone – The Tree of Seasons. It’s the only book he wrote before he died suddenly, and I think it was actually finished by someone else but it was pretty good. A real shame there can’t be any more from him.

Then a whole load of Daniel Handler/Lemony Snickets. The All the Wrong Questions series and A Series of Unfortunate Events, plus a couple of additional titles which come into the same universe. On top of the last books is a little beanbag heart I made years ago.

The books shoved on top are Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, The Little Book of Hygge (apparently pronounced hoo-ga and not hie-g) and The Little Book of Going Green.

And on top of the bookcase

There’s not enough space on my shelves, I have more on top!

A special edition of Peter Pan by J.M Barrie with ten removable features and tons of colour illustrations, The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell and Ripping Things to Do by Jane Brocket.

Some poems and plays; Selected Poems by Sylvia Plath, three plays by Noel Coward, A View from the Bridge/All My Sons by Arthur Miller (this must be Ewan’s actually as I don’t even recognise it…) and An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestly.

And lastly my Famous Five stationery; the Smashing Notebook, Splendid Notes for Every Occasion and the postcard set which I’ve yet to do anything with.

Perhaps not as interesting to readers as my other shelves, but it shows the other sorts of things I read. And I like to be complete about things!