R is for Random (Blogging through the Alphabet)

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I used to take pride in the fact that I would know exactly where my books, VHS tapes, or DVDs were located on my bookshelves. I kept the majority of my shelves categorized by historical subject. All of my Shakespeare plays, both print and visual, were together just above my shelf of Tudor books, documentaries, and some knick-knacks from a trip to England. Unfortunately, since marrying and moving, my system started to become a bit more haphazard. Now I would say there are more random items on my shelves than I would like.

For example, among my Russian history books one can also find pens, our BB-8 Bluetooth speaker, a remote control for a K-9 (Doctor Who) toy, and a Celtic skull.  I have also discovered that hockey pucks given to my 4 year-old are acting as book stops for my $1.00-$2.00 Dover Books collection. There is a Christmas tree craft, Mother’s Day cards, and two sonic screwdrivers on another shelf. So random! Minecraft has also started invading my Middle Ages/French Revolution book shelf as an ocelot toy that has lost its tail too many times has moved in next to a souvenir brought back from Paris by either my grandfather or uncle.  

And don’t even ask where my American Colonial and Civil War books have gotten to since that bookshelf needed to be removed, as it was falling apart.  (They are in random bags and boxes throughout the house. I can’t wait to purchase a new bookshelf.)

I know there is a time and place to embrace randomness – like Random Acts of Kindness Day. Or when you order a mixed box of donuts and don’t really care what random iced choices that the clerk picks for you. But when it comes to books about one of my passions – random does not work. (Okay, it doesn’t work in a lot of cases for me. I took my 100+ pack of random polyhedral dice from Wiz Dice and organized them by color as soon as I could.)

Now that I have a family, I am trying to come to terms with the randomness that life throws at me. But there will soon be a major spring cleaning of my bookshelves to remove a bit of the random aspect from them.

Some Random items that may be found on my bookshelves: 

This week I joined up with the following blog(s):