PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY BOOKSHELF TOUR | my collection of my favourite edition

Hi Everyone!

I feel like I haven't posted a proper book review in AGES but I'm reading ahead for a VERY exciting project coming 2022 and I can't share that with you yet so I decided it would be fun to do a bookshelf tour! I love watching bookshelf tours and I thought I would do my own, just in writing rather than filming, though there will be pictures too! This will be a very interesting post to look back on too and see how my collection has grown! 

I started collecting this edition just over a year ago. I bought 5 of them in the '5 for £25' deal on Penguin Books' website. Since then, I've bought some online, in my favourite bookshops and been gifted a few too! I now have 25 of them, with 14 of them read. I think that's pretty good and I'm trying to keep it at a point where I've read over half of them (although I always seem to want more!). 

Come in and examine my bookshelf 🔍





I know...it's a fair amount! There are a few people who have MANY more than this (including my idol Lucy Powrie, you probably all know who she is by now so I'm not going to explain but she has a collection I aspire to!) so I don't feel too guilty! But let's start with how they're organised.

On the left hand side, there are a few journals. The first one is my reading journal for next year where I will be able to track my reading. I got it with a friend and I've been saving it for 2022! Then there is a beautiful notebook that doesn't have a use yet! Following that there is my reading plans notebook which I use to loosely plan what I'm going to read each month (it's especially if I'm doing readathons or I have a lot of book club books to read). You can't quite see it, but there is a notebook I'm using for the exciting project coming to this blog in 2022 and of course after that is my current reading journal, which unfortunately is nearly finished!

My beautiful Penguin English Library are firstly separated into three categories: pre-Victorian, Victorian, and post-Victorian. This is mainly because I have quite a few Victorian books but also because I want to have all books by the same author together and authors from the same era together. Then within those three sections, they are organised alphabetically by author. This is a system I take great pride in and working out where each book goes makes me feel warm and just so happy! 

Finally, the moment you've been waiting for: let's get into the books!

SECTION 1: Pre-Victorian Books

Jane Austen Books

I have all of her novels and her early work in this edition. They are organised by publication date (or in the first case when it was written). I got her six main novels with my grandparents for Christmas last year so thank you!

 > Sanditon by Jane Austen (including Lady Susan and The Watsons) - I read this back in September and I liked it but found it slightly hard to get into!

 >  Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - I also read this last summer in July/August time. I have this whole experience documented in two of my Week In Books posts which you can view herehere and I finish it on the Monday of week four which you can view here. They include my thoughts both at the end of the novel and nearly every day as I was reading it, as well as lots of the other bookish things I got up to during the holidays!

 > Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - This is one of my favourite books ever that I read for the first time back in January. My review is linked here!

 > Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - This is probably Jane Austen's least well-known novel and I'm curious to read it one day!

 > Emma by Jane Austen - One of Jane Austen's most famous novels, I'm again very excited to read this one day!

 > Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - Another one I'm looking forward to reading!

 > Persuasion by Jane Austen - This may be the next Jane Austen book I read, we'll have to see though! 

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 > Frankenstein by Mary Shelley- I read this almost exactly a year ago, review linked here! I liked it and it's message and place in the canon is so important.


SECTION 2: Victorian Books


 > Little Women by Louisa May Allcott - I read this for Victober last year (even if it is American) and it's so comforting, I love it!

 > Lady Audely's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon - I was hoping to read this for Victober this year but I sadly didn't get to it...Maybe next year!

Bronte Books

There is one Bronte book I am yet to collect in this edition and that is The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall. I probably won't read it soon but one day I would like to so someday I will need to get it! There is Shirley by Charlotte Bronte but it is out of print and very expensive to get second hand so I sadly don't think I'll be getting that one! I do have it in another edition though.

 > Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - This is my favourite book of all time! I LOVE IT. I read this for the first time in April and WOW. I was blown away by how intricate the plot is, how strong Jane is and just generally how incredible this whole book is. It is daunting but it's so amazing and it's still here for a reason, so PLEASE READ IT.

 > Villette by Charlotte Bronte - I am excited to read this one at some point!

 > Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - This is hopefully one I'm going to start reading soon (eek!). I'm so nervous but mostly excited for this book! I honestly can't wait and I'm sure you'll all hear about it soon!

Charles Dickens Books

 > Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - I read this back in June for the Dickens Vs Tolstoy debate. I loved it and understood a lot of it compared to Great Expectations. You can read my review here!

 > Great Expectations by Charles Dickens- I read this in January but I didn't understand all of it and got a bit tired of it by the end. It was my first Dickens novel and you can find out more about what I thought by clicking here!

 > A Tale Of Two Cities- This was another one I bought as part of the original 5. I didn't think I would read it soon and I still haven't got to it. I will read it one day but I have no idea when!


Elizabeth Gaskell Books

 > North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell- I read this for Victober 2020. It was my favourite book from that Victober and although I didn't understand it all, I loved it!

 > Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell- I read this soon after North and South and quite a few people don't like it because it was never meant to be a novel, but I really liked it and my understanding of the language used and Elizabeth Gaskell's writing style was better. You can see my review here!

> Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell- I am so intimidated by this book! It is about 800 pages  long and I like to take my time with Gaskell's writing so this will take me AGES to read!  I do want to read it, but maybe not quite yet!

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 > Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson- I read this for Victober 2020. I liked it but especially appreciated it's message and ideas.


SECTION 3: Post-Victorian Books

 > The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde- I read this back in March of this year and I really liked it, although I found it pretty hard going and I got slightly bored part way through! I also appreciated the themes and ideas. You can read my review by clicking here!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books (Sherlock Holmes)

 > A Study In Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- This is the first Sherlock Holmes book but it was the second I read. I really enjoyed this one when I read it in January.

 > The Adventure of the Six Napoleons and Other Cases by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- I bought this recently when I visited Waterstones last time and you can read more about what I got at the end of my second Victober diaries post here! 

 > The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- This was my first Sherlock Holmes book and I preferred it to A Study In Scarlet. I read this almost exactly a year ago (review linked here).

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 > A Room With A View by E.M. Forster- I bought this in Rye this summer. You can read about that in my summer diaries week two post, linked here. I'm definitely excited to read it!


And there you have it: my ever growing collection! If there is a classic I want to read and it exists in this series (and is easily available), I always get it! I like the font and the covers are STUNNING! I hope you have enjoyed this post, let me know if you have or would like this edition in the comments- I would love to know! 

Thank you so much for supporting me in my blog and I'll be back on Sunday!


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