Sunday, September 23, 2007

Home Library

As anyone who has been reading my blog for any length of time knows, I'm a hard-core bibliophile. I've been able to read since age four and I grew up in a home filled with books, receiving books as gifts from my parents at every gift-giving occasion. As an adult, I'm continually in the process of adding new books to my collection, so that after 40+ years of acquiring books, I've currently got quite a sizable collection.

Right now, I've got more books than I have places to put them. I have seven bookcase filled to overflowing and more books are stacked in various places around my tiny home, including the back of the toilet tank. I'm in serious need of more shelving units, but lack of funds and an increasing lack of places to put new shelves hinders my plans at the present time.

If I had money and a big house, my home library would look something like the two following pictures:




Practically, however, I know I'll never live in a home or have the money to build such a space for myself. I'd be happy enough to organize my books with similar floor to ceiling shelving as in the following pictures:



Thoughts?

4 comments:

Cyn said...

you could build more shelving yourself w/ cast off lumber from an area lumber yard or cast offs from construction sites. means you'd have to scavenge. and use hammer and nails. or get cheapo plastic shelving from $ store. course it does involve getting your books organized. some labor on your part. so...you up for that? *grins*

Patty said...

Plastic won't hold up well under weight, unless it's a heavy duty type plastic and that would cost more then something from a dollar store. Check out the good will shops in your area, like I said when my brother was first divorced, he furnished his apartment with funiture from there and with a little clean up and paint, it looked great.

But then you'll have to get your books all organized. I think one time you mentioned you sometimes date a school teacher, I'm sure she would help organize the books.

The first photos you had looked like something from the Biltmore House.

Anonymous said...

We went to the Biltmore House once or twice and that man's library was outstanding. I wish I had it. I couldn't afford the taxes on it but still I would like to pause there and read a book or two.

I love books and have given most of them away over the years. Right now I have another twenty or more that I just got and read and will try to figure out what to do with them.

Do you keep them or give them away?

Libertine said...

I keep my books. Most paperback fiction I will trade for "new" used books at the paperback exchange, though.

I've been to the Biltmore House -- I only live about 2 hours away from it.