New Books, and other things; + Russian Lit Challenge 2020 update!

Is there such a thing as owning too many books? My room says yes. My bank account says yes. My soul says no. I have a collection that may as well be its own mini library. It's often a hard feeling to explain, although I feel like a lot of you will understand, but having books around me makes me feel at peace. I have a collection that ranges from something like the 25th century BC to now. I have the knowledge of thousands of years at my fingertips. It's a calming feeling. Like many people I have a collection that I highly doubt I will ever make my way through but it's the knowledge that I could that keeps me adding to my collection. The knowledge that I could have many life changing books around me that I have yet to read but one day will. My love of books and words has been something I've never been able to describe but I think if you're reading this you'll know exactly what I mean.  Every book is personal for each person. It's a conversation between the writer, their world and you. And everyone has different experiences that are unique and no book will ever be the same for every person. Even the same book read at 18 will be different when you read it 10, 20, 50 years later.  It's that indescribable kind of transformative magic that stories possess.

I work for a large online bookstore. I'm surrounded by books every single day. We stock almost a million books. Walking amongst the masses of rows of shelves is sometimes an overwhelming feeling. The potential of a book that will change my life being on those shelves scares and excites me. I've never felt so comfortable working anywhere as I do now. I only have to walk up and down the rows of books to feel calm or at peace. My specific role is customer service. I work directly with books sent back because of damages or books people want put on hold. I touch all kinds of books every single day. I'm kind of like a librarian and it feels like such a dream at times. However, it's also the reason why I've bought way too many books recently which is kind of the purpose of this post. I always mean to mention books I've purchased recently but the piles keep growing and growing and growing. 

However, I thought I might just mention a few books I've received or bought over the last year or so that I want to get through soon:

Anna Karenina and The Complete Works of Shakespeare: both gifts from people special to me and I will treasure them forever.
Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie: have been wanting to read this FOREVER and I think it will be my first 2020 read if I can finish all of the books I'm currently reading........
Myths from Mesopotamia 
Islamic Empires
Poems by Sappho: can't wait for this one...I love Sappho
Works and Days/Theogeny by Hesiod
Anna Karenina Fix: about Russian literature and how it impacted the authors life. I've already read the Turgenev section because of course I have....
Egyptian Book of the Dead 
The Last Days of the Plantagenets - a play by a Renaissance female writer - cant wait!
Chronicles of Narnia + Daisy James by Henry Miller: both free books I picked up in an exchange.

+ more Euripides, Turgenev and Woolf who are my three favourite writers of all time. 


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Russian Literature Challenge 2020:

I plan to have my post up before the end of the weekend! Excited to share my Russian Lit passion once again.