Batgrl: Bookish Hooha

I have to confess that I've not actually read all of my copy of Nobody Loves a Cockroach. It's a used hardback and has a nice cover, and it makes you lean in and confirm that it is indeed titled that. So I have to keep it. And the same with I Am Not Spock - I bumped into it in the 1980s when I hadn't heard Nimoy had written it (remember, no internet then, no wikipedia). I was so amused, though honestly the idea of being typecast isn't that funny for a working actor, especially if they've not made a huge amount of money from the role they're remembered for. Nimoy has a good sense of humor in that book, and the gist is that he wanted to be thought of for more than just that. (He was wonderful in the one man play Vincent in 81, about Van Gogh - only saw it on PBS.) And no, I haven't picked up I Am Spock. Maybe when I bump into it in a used bookstore.

Dr. Tatiana's book can be best summed up in my review here (only two quotes, I wish I'd added more!). It's all about the strange sex lives of various animals, birds, etc. - though frankly it's the insects I remember most for the weirdness. (Er, you probably shouldn't read the review unless you want to learn about the "torrid, incestuous orgy" of mites going on in a moth's ear. I still ponder that example.) It's the perfect gift for anyone who drives you crazy by comparing animals, etc. to humans, because due to the weirdness, that's never a good/sane idea to do (example, Chapter 6: How to Make Love to a Cannibal). I've never tucked this one out in the living room shelves, but usually off in one of the side bookshelves, where only the very observant will see and ask questions. (Sadly no one has ever asked questions. But you can kind of understand that, they have no idea that I'd then talk about zoology.) If you've read the summary at the Cockroach book link you can understand why I probably should put these two books next to each other.

So these were my thoughts when I was looking at other Booklike-ians photos of bookshelves - mine are all in storage and I'm feeling a tiny bit homesick for them. And then I wondered - does anyone else hang onto books just to have a few amusing titles to tuck in the shelves? Because I'd hang onto these for the titles alone, even if I didn't plan to reread them.