Now *that* was a surprise!
How many of us have a pile of unread books? How long as the oldest unread one been in that pile? When was the last time you thinned out the pile, by saying “Nah, not going to ever read that?” Did you regift the book, and later found it sitting in THEIR unread books pile?
How to you label it? “Books I’ll read when I retire”? or “Books to read when I can’t sleep”?
Geezer alert?
Or that scene has been replayed / imitated / parodied so much that it could be well known even among those who have never seen any more of the movie it comes from.
Comics I Don't Understand 
“The Lady and the Tramp,” right? With “tramp” meaning “man of no fixed abode”, not yet “woman with low standards for pairing up”.
Of course in this case the accusation “you’re a dog!” could apply non-disparagingly. …
Love the book pile one. Mine was labeled “retirement”, but now that I’m retired, it’s labeled “when I can no longer get around easily”. I do keep reading, but the pile is still growing, both the physical pile and now the Kindle “pile”.
I too have an emotional support pile of books, both on paper and on my Kindle. Right now, I’m in the (slow) process of reorganizing my shelves after some renovations, and have a bunch of books awaiting home on a small wheeled cart. I looks like I have a library and for some reason, that tickles me more than having the books on the shelves. I’m leaving them on the cart; I’m going to “check out” my own (unread) books!
I’m sure my oldest unread books have been on the shelf for 50 years. Recently I pulled out and started reading John Varley’s Gaea trilogy (Titan, Wizard, and Demon) which I bought in the 1980’s and never read. I think I would have enjoyed them more if I had read them in the 1980’s, around the time I bought them.
I never really had much of a “strategic book reserve” or the like. My problem usually was the opposite, running out books and having to reread something. That’s largely been alleviated with e-books. The library and book sellers are always open for those as long as I have connectivity.
Books? How about old hobby magazines?
“I can’t throw those out. I grew up with them.”
It’s not a pile, more of a shelf. (On Goodreads, specifically.) They’re spread over multiple locations in the physical realm.
The line “What a Dog!” is actually used in reference to Tramp in the film, and it’s appreciative, not disparaging.
Preparing to move last year, we gave away 6 bookcases or so of mostly unread books. The other 6 we brought here.
Pile on the floor? Puleez.
Talk about a near I miss synchronicity, XKCD has a Lady and the Tramp reference today.
Thanks, nice juxtaposition! Here’s that XKCD
In the Revelation Space series of SF stories by Alastair Reynolds, the Inhibitors are a race of machines that work to prevent emergent species from expanding though space. The reason is that if will make it easier to get the galaxy through the upcoming collision with Andromeda, in some 3 billion years.
Reynolds has a PhD in astrophysics.
We are both readers so books are something we have a few of. Our home office has 5 full height and one half height book cases. Much of the books in here are history related, but not all of them. Also history magazines in holders on top of the bookcases.
Our bedroom has a half height bookcase which is 5 feet long. His James Bond book collection fills this bookcase. (Books also on both night stands also.)
Half height bookcase plus 3 wall shelves in “The Teddies’ room” hold books about, well, teddy bears and other children’s books.
Next to our kitchen is what was built as a family room/den. For us it is craft studio for most of the crafts we do. It has 3 full height bookcases for same. One shelf holds the cookbooks. Two shelves hold my Louisa May Alcott and Kathryn Forbes collections of books by them and about them. Rest of the shelves hold craft related books – for a variety of crafts – 2 shelves are mine just for embroidery – which includes magazines on same, and also a shelf of other craft magazines.
Basement has a full size bookcase and also a couple of large plastic boxes filled with books including our theatrical collection – about various actors and actresses and shows. We had a 3/4 height bookcase here with books Robert brought home when quit his job. The hurricane before Sandy flooded the window well which led to the bookcase (in front of it) being flooded. Books were okay so he donated them.
Best sleeping pill ever? The Russians. It was on my nightstand for over a decade and never got past the 50th page. We moved 24 years ago and I don’t remember where it went. Otherwise it’d still be there… maye up to page 60?
@ Lola (13) – That sounds like (but isn’t) a title of a book by James Michener. If it were, I would definitely believe in its soporific qualities; Michener was the guest speaker at my college graduation, but I don’t remember a single word he ever said.
P.S. After I figured out the right way to look for it, I think you meant the book by Hedrick Smith, correct?
Ha, that was my first thought, a Michener. I read over the years: Tales of the South Pacific, Centennial, and Caravans. Of those, the first was by far the best.