For years I’ve been entertaining the idea of going volume by volume through my bookshelves. Because one of my very favourite things to do is buy books, I’ve bought at a rate I can’t keep up with—that is, I’ve got quite a few books on my shelves I haven’t yet read. The promise not to buy any more until I’ve finally read each one is futile; I’ll never make it.

But the other day I suddenly wondered, not for the first time, what I’d do if ever there was a fire or flood and I had to replace my books. Understand, there’s nothing I am more passionate about, nothing material I treasure more, than my books. I used to have a database, geek that I am, of all the books I owned, but that was eons ago and I’ve since got rid of some in various ways and bought many more. Taking photos of my shelves might make for pretty records but they won’t be accurate either.

Also, I have a dream. One day I’m going to open a bookshop tearoom and although I’ve studied English and held relevant jobs in bookshops, libraries, and in publishing, and although I’ve read thousands of books, I will probably never consider myself very well-read. I have a memory for books and authors that surprises me and others. But there are countless books I haven’t yet enjoyed, and to that end, I need to commit more time to reading. I have two jobs right now, and I am appalled to realize that I have been nursing a single book for almost four months because of lack of time. I have to make the time in preparation for my bookshop, and because one of my greatest fears—and I’m serious about this—is that I die before I get to read all the books I want.

Thus I decided to start this blog. I’ll go through my shelves as faithfully as I can, adding new ones in between along the way, and review what I read here.

To my fellow bibliophiles and bookworms: May you be inspired as always to read more and build up your collections.