Up the Down Staircase in a Literary Way

[Dianthus]

I am still renovating and want to paint my stair risers to look like book spines (see photos for inspiration).

Which books would you choose to look at every day going up and down your stairs?

http://cdn.iwastesomuchtime.com/8122012072458iwsmt.jpeg

http://bookriot.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Book-Staircase-Painted-2.jpg

 

[jomar]

I'd say go with your favorite books. You can also change them from time to time.

 

[Handley_Page]

What an original idea, Di.
Personally, I would choose authors like H H Kirst, P G Wodehouse & Terry Pratchett with a splattering of a few classics such as The Illyad and the Odessy.
But do not forget a copy of the King James Bible.

 

[Dianthus]

I'd say go with your favorite books. You can also change them from time to time.

Oh, I will. I'm making a list. What would you put on yours?

What an original idea, Di.
Personally, I would choose authors like H H Kirst, P G Wodehouse & Terry Pratchett with a splattering of a few classics such as The Illyad and the Odessy.
But do not forget a copy of the King James Bible.

Classics! And Wodehouse! What a great idea. Maybe a vintage Christie...

Sorry, HP, no room for the Bible, King James or otherwise.

Le Petit Prince is on my list. And Pride and Prejudice. Working on the others.

 

[unregistered]

 

[TxRad]

Make them up on boards that snap into place. That way you can change them out as the mood strikes you.

 

[Dianthus]

Thank you all....helpful ideas.

What I was wondering, as I compiled my list, was WHAT WOULD BE ON YOUR LIST?

 

[GoldenCojones]

"Animal Farm", "Lord of the Flies", and "1984" would be three of mine.

 

[GoldenCojones]

Oh! "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Ringworld" also

 

[unregistered]

 

[Dianthus]

"Animal Farm", "Lord of the Flies", and "1984" would be three of mine.

What about Fahrenheit 451? I think that's making my list.

Great idea. You could use balsa wood. It's cheap, easy to shape and available at most hobby shops.

I was thinking quarter inch plywood, gessoed smooth. Can I put it on with magnets?

 

[unregistered]

 

[Dianthus]

There is a magnetic paint that you can buy. Use it to paint the corners, "book spines" or steps, mount magnets on the opposite part and you should be in business.

Good thinking! Thanks.


So, what books would you want to see immortalized on your staircase?

 

[TxRad]

Good thinking! Thanks.


So, what books would you want to see immortalized on your staircase?

First off I'd need a staircase and then I would have to be able to draw.

In my case, I'd use some of my own books. That would shock the few guests I get. I already have one lady friend who won't sit on my chaise lounge.

For real mine would probably end up being all scifi classics.

 

[unregistered]

 

[Dianthus]

First off I'd need a staircase and then I would have to be able to draw.

In my case, I'd use some of my own books. That would shock the few guests I get. I already have one lady friend who won't sit on my chaise lounge.

For real mine would probably end up being all scifi classics.

Odd that she won't sit on the chaise lounge...it's not like furniture has memories. Or is she afraid that tendrils will creep around her wrists and ankles while she's there?

I am looking at the sci fi section now...I read a lot of fantasy too...LeGuin, Cherryh, McKillip...

 

[unregistered]

 

[TxRad]

Odd that she won't sit on the chaise lounge...it's not like furniture has memories. Or is she afraid that tendrils will creep around her wrists and ankles while she's there?

I am looking at the sci fi section now...I read a lot of fantasy too...LeGuin, Cherryh, McKillip...

No, she's read the two stories set on that chaise lounge. One featured her. That'll teach her to ask to be in one of my stories.

 

[legerdemer]

Hard to pick, of course, but here's 8 it would be fun to be reminded of every time I'd go upstairs.

Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Foundation Trilogy - Asimov
The Graveyard Book - Gaiman
The Story of San Michele - Munthe
Smiley's People - Le Carre
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoievski
If On A Winter's Night A Traveler - Calvino
Monsignor Quixote - Greene

 

[Dianthus]

Off the top of my head:
The Godfather, one of Fleming's, one of Ludlum's, Gone With the Wind (hate the book, but inside joke), Hunt for Red October, the Cat in the Hat, Outlaws of Gor, Patriot Games and Interview with the Vampire.

Some more to their allusion to life events than actual love of the books.

Seuss! What a great idea...Maybe one riser with a selection of slim children's stories...Fern Hollow, Dr. Seuss, et al.

No, she's read the two stories set on that chaise lounge. One featured her. That'll teach her to ask to be in one of my stories.

Heh, I've read those two stories also...be careful what you wish for...

Hard to pick, of course, but here's 8 it would be fun to be reminded of every time I'd go upstairs.

Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Foundation Trilogy - Asimov
The Graveyard Book - Gaiman
The Story of San Michele - Munthe
Smiley's People - Le Carre
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoievski
If On A Winter's Night A Traveler - Calvino
Monsignor Quixote - Greene

Good list!

 

[soflabbwlvr]

How many steps do you have?

I would include:

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Steppenwolf - Herman Hesse

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevski

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Dune - Frank Herbert

Robots and Empire - Isaac Asimov

The Gap Into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises - Stephen R. Donaldson

The Naked God - Peter F. Hamilton

A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

The Rise of Endymion - Dan Simmons

Otherland - Tad Williams

Magician - Raymond E. Feist

 

[Dianthus]

I have ten steps.

So far, my list includes

1. Le Petit Prince
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. To Kill A Mockingbird
4. Collected Poems of Robert Frost
5. The Hobbit
6. Anne of Green Gables
7. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
8. The Taming of the Shrew
9. A children's stair, including Are You My Mother?, Hop on Pop, Tales from Fern Hollow,
10. The Wisdom of Compassion by the Dalai Lama

 

[sr71plt]

Love the concept. Would be a bear to isolate on books, but I'm make them divergent enough to have people laughing as they climb the steps. Surprised no one has named either To Kill a Mocking Bird or Up the Down Staircase (for laughs) yet.

Plot bunny, though. Think I'll include such as Richy's City of Night, White's A Boy's Own Story, Forster's Maurice, Vidal's The City and the Pillar, and Baldwin's Giovanni's Room while a man is coaxing another man up to the second floor to see his etchings.

 

[Dianthus]

Love the concept. Would be a bear to isolate on books, but I'm make them divergent enough to have people laughing as they climb the steps. Surprised no one has named either To Kill a Mocking Bird or Up the Down Staircase (for laughs) yet.

Plot bunny, though. Think I'll include such as Richy's City of Night, White's A Boy's Own Story, Forster's Maurice, Vidal's The City and the Pillar, and Baldwin's Giovanni's Room while a man is coaxing another man up to the second floor to see his etchings.

Look at #3 in the post above.

Maybe Thomas B. Costain, The Silver Chalice.

 

[sr71plt]

Look at #3 in the post above.

Maybe Thomas B. Costain, The Silver Chalice.

Yes, I saw that, which posted as I was composing mine. The Silver Chalice would be another good one. One of my earliest reads.