If shelves could speak

What do your bookshelves say about you? A casual browser might be struck by your love of the classics, niche interests or soft spot for racy romances, but could they also tell if you’re autistic?

Christine McGuinness suggested recently a quick way to diagnose a woman might be to check her laundry basket. If she was autistic, the neurodivergent model and author pointed out, it would probably be filled with long-treasured, comfy garments in soft, non-irritating fabrics.

Maybe bookshelves offer similar clues – and I don’t just mean the contents. The most striking thing about mine is that they’re organised not alphabetically by author or title, not by genre or even size, but by the colour of the spines.

When I tell other women this, most recoil in horror, wanting to know how I can live with such chaos and refusing to believe I can ever find what I’m looking for. But a minority nod and smile, understanding immediately that this is the best possible arrangement.

You might assume the former would be the autistic ones – we do have a reputation for liking things orderly – but I think it could be the other way round. After all, who loves a pleasingly coloured pattern more than an autistic woman?

Picture: Alex Morgan