It's annoying me that she keeps saying 'my' when referring to copies of books that she clearly took from downstairs so most likely belong to her parents. She started off by saying 'we' own the set of Charles Dickens classics, but then says 'I've got all of my Dickens books here' when doing her bookshelf tour.
Ruby Granger #14 Roobee with an E, style stolen from Blakeney, busywork = productivity
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She takes a very "what's mine is mine, what's yours is mine" approach to everything in that house. She's clearly never been told "no" by her parents.
I do enjoy seeing bookshelves 
Her second bookcase is a missed opportunity to find a lovely antique (Victorian) bookshelf. Given her love of Dorian Gray, there are some beautiful gothic bookcases around if you keep an eye out. But I suppose the white screwed-to-the-wall matches the wardrobe and the other bookcase.
I paid close attention to the books, hi I is nerd hahaha. Her series of Sherlock Holmes? There be missing several Sherlock Holmes books, I don't see Baskervilles, for one. Also missing three in Little House series - Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy and the First Four Years. Why is Little House not somewhere vaguely near her 'series' shelf of Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Miss Peregrine etc. Sure, there's not space, but why not swap Little House and Sherlock Holmes - Conan Doyle would surely be more at home with a more adult section.
Far From The Madding Crowd is not a contemporary book. She hasn't read Testament of Youth yet? That surprises me for some reason. Also WATERSHIP DOWN?! How is that also TBR?!
Ohhai Song of Achilles, I see you! I wonder if Ruby will ever mention you again, you poor thing.
I appreciate the content of the Old Book shelves, but then, that's reminiscent of a lot of my (and that of my family, we're a bunch of bibliophiles) books haha. Though, my/our old books take up many more shelves....
Her second bookcase is a missed opportunity to find a lovely antique (Victorian) bookshelf. Given her love of Dorian Gray, there are some beautiful gothic bookcases around if you keep an eye out. But I suppose the white screwed-to-the-wall matches the wardrobe and the other bookcase.
I paid close attention to the books, hi I is nerd hahaha. Her series of Sherlock Holmes? There be missing several Sherlock Holmes books, I don't see Baskervilles, for one. Also missing three in Little House series - Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy and the First Four Years. Why is Little House not somewhere vaguely near her 'series' shelf of Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Miss Peregrine etc. Sure, there's not space, but why not swap Little House and Sherlock Holmes - Conan Doyle would surely be more at home with a more adult section.
Far From The Madding Crowd is not a contemporary book. She hasn't read Testament of Youth yet? That surprises me for some reason. Also WATERSHIP DOWN?! How is that also TBR?!
Ohhai Song of Achilles, I see you! I wonder if Ruby will ever mention you again, you poor thing.
I appreciate the content of the Old Book shelves, but then, that's reminiscent of a lot of my (and that of my family, we're a bunch of bibliophiles) books haha. Though, my/our old books take up many more shelves....
Recently my mom and I tried (and failed) to re-arrange the bookcase on one wall of our entryway because it was a bit messy and my mom didn't like that that was the first thing people saw coming into our house lolOkay, so I admit, in my bookcase in my living room I do “co-ordinate” somewhat. And by that I mean that I have the top shelf for my Oxford and Cambridge classics with black/white spines, the next shelf is pretty much all purples/blues/pastel colours, then down to bolder primary colours and the bottom shelves for bigger hardbacks (ft. some special signed editions that I treasure like children!)… please don’t judge me
However, when I did this I did NOT draw a plan! I literally took all my books off my old bookcase and put them on the floor. I quickly noticed that there were quite distinct colours and that there was a fair bit of purple/blue jumping out at me! I then just spent one rainy afternoon last summer arranging and rearranging the books onto the different shelves, trial & error until it just clicked. I saw it as a creative task, not knowing quite how it would look at the end!
I realise this may seem trivial to some, but for me when I spend a lot of time in my living space (it’s also my dining room/study) I find it quite soothing to have this “rainbow” effect. Yet before I did any of this, I sorted through my books to work out which ones I actually wanted to keep; namely, those I still on my to-read list and others that I knew I would go back to. So all those books were there, first and foremost, for the words inside them and not the “aesthetic.”
And that’s what I can’t reconcile with Ruby’s content. Going into the library just to get more books, when she already doesn’t have enough storage for the ones she has in her room! Its similar to how she’ll go into a bookshop and always comment on covers, not the blurb or even theorising what the book may be about based on the cover… it’s so surface level.
In many bookshops now there will be little notes by certain books, giving an excerpt and recommendation. If Ruby were to write these, I can just picture it “the cover is so aesthetic! It will look wonderful on your bookshelf.”
We just tried to put the most aesthetically pleasing books in the front and loosely arrange them by color.
The shelves in my room are basically arranged by how much I liked the book, above my bed I have all my favorites and by the door we have our old school books and everything that didn't make it to the favorites shelf.
And the section of bookcase that just has a big uneven window sawed out of it to pull a giant plug through (blocking valuable bookshelf real estate), really ties the light-headed academia aesthetic together.But I suppose the white screwed-to-the-wall matches the wardrobe and the other bookcase.
Can’t she pull some of those tags/labels off the cable at least???
It adds a necessary reminder of 21st Century to an otherwise exclusively Victoriana bedroom filled with bookish ambience.
Pater Bones shouldn't let Ruby near the saw in future
Moving the bookcase forward a few inches and just running an extension cable from the socket to avoid sawing big holes in it and rendering the bottom shelf unusable for larger books was also an option.
She made maps and plans and notebook lists though, so I'm sure this was all taken into consideration...
Would you consider choosing to study English at University in itself a bit of a busywork subject? I kinda feel like its something that you could spend forever studying without learning something to contribute to society. Or am I inconsiderate of the value of arts if I say so?
Any subject can be a busywork subject if you try hard enough, I think
No more so than any other subject. You can definitely come away from uni having studied any subject and having learned absolutely duck all (I know people from across the subject spectrum who have done precisely this), but I don't think English is any worse than other subjects. If you set aside the value of literature itself, and the value of being able to read critically, basic skills like how to structure an argument, attention to detail, how to express ideas clearly both verbally and in writing, are all super important. I have a friend whose degree is English and Biology, and she regularly complains about how badly her peers in Biology often express their thoughts compared to her friends who take English. Obviously then people who take English don't necessarily have skills developed studying Biology! There are a ton of things like this that are really vital in the wider world which will help you contribute to society that you can and should pick up studying English. It's just as rigorous an academic subject as any other, but absolutely it's possible to go through an English degree without picking them up - as apparently Ruby has!
Depends what you consider a valuable contribution to society really, I think it depends on the individual whether they make it a ‘busywork subject’ or not. I guess Ruby probably gives the degree a bad name because of how she portrays her studies though lol
I think the same about studying politics. Really though I think it's about the individual as oppose to the subject, you can go on to be a teacher which is an obvious contribution, a researcher or a journalist. I think the arts massively contribute to society just not in the obvious way that a science would do. Ruby however studies it for the "aesthetic" because it looks good as oppose to seeing it as worthwhile, I think she thinks she's doing it for the right reasons but she'd be better doing history. She wont contribute anything worthwhile because she can't look beyond surface level of whatever she studies
like others have said, it depends on what you do with it. i know people who have a degree in english and work in book publishing (very valuable to society in my opinion), specialised bookstores and are high school english teachers.
Degrees are often more about transferable skills than the degree subject itself. I’d hazard a guess that there are few people that go on to have a career that explicitly and exactly follows on from their degree subject, so if you get to the end of your 3/4 years unable to apply what you’ve learned and how you‘ve learned it to anything else then you’re going to come a cropper in the world of work. I would also say that in my job, I work with a really high number of people with STEM-based degrees and (massive generalisation alert) many of them have poorer written English skills. That can end up being a huge problem if they’re in a job or role that requires them to be able to communicate clearly and concisely in written documentation. I’m not saying that’s a skill you necessarily learn in an English degree (look at Ruby, there’s more waffle there than Belgium) but good writing and written communication skills are actually really hard to find, and having those is a huge ’contribution to society’ if thats the way you’re choosing to define a contribution.
If you go into an English degree to go to university and gain a degree but you aren't really interested or don't especially care, sure, you won't learn anything worthy and you won't be very useful at the other end. But then, that goes across the board for degrees in all disciplines.
With an interest, with ability, with a brain wired in the right way, it can be rewarding in unimaginable ways, in both private and public spheres. Even if you don't plan to work in the arts, it gives you transferable skills. The ability to form a coherent sentence and paragraph, for one thing. The knowledge of correct word usage/grammar/punctuation is always useful, in whatever career you find yourself (see 'lay' vs 'lie'). Being able to create and support an argument within a word limit is applicable across how many fields?
I think people who have brains wired in the arty way are as valuable to the world as those who are wired to be a mathematical genius.
I'm trying very hard to stop myself from writing an actual essay on the value of the arts, specifically English.
I feel really bad for Ruby and her family, as their dog passed away on Wednesday. I have a dog and she is having some health issues lately (she had a seizure in my arms a couple days ago), so I got a little misty reading that Ruby's family has lost their pet.
I wish them all the strength in the world.
I wish them all the strength in the world.
I think there is an argument somewhere that university degrees are peddled as the only place to go after a levels leading to an increase in Mickey Mouse degrees and a lot of people going off to university just because they don’t know what they want to do and that’s what everyone else is doing. I wouldn’t put English in that category (one person from my school, which was definitely a school that pushed the line that you were a failure if a university education was not for you) did a 3 year degree in golf course management…
So while I wouldn’t call any degree that isn’t vocational busy work, I do think there needs to be a push for people going into apprentice-ships or different education post-a levels and that not being a mark of unintelligence, but so you don’t get so many jobs requiring a degree (unspecified) etc when having a degree nowadays isn’t necessarily a mark of intelligence.
I do realise this rambling is OT and might not make that much sense. (and I have a degree - probably just proving my own point!)
Okay, so I admit, in my bookcase in my living room I do “co-ordinate” somewhat. And by that I mean that I have the top shelf for my Oxford and Cambridge classics with black/white spines, the next shelf is pretty much all purples/blues/pastel colours, then down to bolder primary colours and the bottom shelves for bigger hardbacks (ft. some special signed editions that I treasure like children!)… please don’t judge me
However, when I did this I did NOT draw a plan! I literally took all my books off my old bookcase and put them on the floor. I quickly noticed that there were quite distinct colours and that there was a fair bit of purple/blue jumping out at me! I then just spent one rainy afternoon last summer arranging and rearranging the books onto the different shelves, trial & error until it just clicked. I saw it as a creative task, not knowing quite how it would look at the end!
I realise this may seem trivial to some, but for me when I spend a lot of time in my living space (it’s also my dining room/study) I find it quite soothing to have this “rainbow” effect. Yet before I did any of this, I sorted through my books to work out which ones I actually wanted to keep; namely, those I still on my to-read list and others that I knew I would go back to. So all those books were there, first and foremost, for the words inside them and not the “aesthetic.”
And that’s what I can’t reconcile with Ruby’s content. Going into the library just to get more books, when she already doesn’t have enough storage for the ones she has in her room! Its similar to how she’ll go into a bookshop and always comment on covers, not the blurb or even theorising what the book may be about based on the cover… it’s so surface level.
In many bookshops now there will be little notes by certain books, giving an excerpt and recommendation. If Ruby were to write these, I can just picture it “the cover is so aesthetic! It will look wonderful on your bookshelf.”
I have a massive roving eye for books. If it's pretty and affordable (I solely buy from charity shops now) I'll have it. Bonus points if the blurb sounds good. I have started a collection of the Discworld Emporium hardbacks (Terry Pratchett); I'll probably never read them but the covers are gorgeous (I have most of the Discworld collection in paperback that I get from charity shops). I also have no space on my bookshelves because I just can't resist picking up new books and adding them to my collection! Plus unless a book is really bad or unmemorable, they rarely leave the house even when I'm done with them. I really struggle with getting rid of them!I totally get what you're saying, but I suppose it's another type of enjoyment that some people get from books.
Maybe I'm too cynical, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if her TBR shelf contains books that she's already read and wants to read again.
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