Wendall -- every other Thursday
I’ve got a book problem. I have too many.
I have more books than bookshelves and more bookshelves than we can really fit in our apartment.
Obviously not organized in any way. 
At all.
I have books from childhood, beloved school reads, tons of college textbooks and tomes (with all my notes), as many books as I’ve been able to afford by my wonderful friends in the mystery community, research books for all my scripts and Cyd Redondo novels, and as I’ve posted before, a significant stack of particularly precious and ancient paperbacks held together with rubber bands.
Yes, that's a Bunyip.
For many years I’ve tucked books into strange places, added a few “front facing” copies, or “extended” the shelves I have with tall stacks of books on one side, topped with some kitschy object or other, to make it look intentional. Though the tops/pages don’t get as dusty this way, it still breaks my heart to have them on the floor.
For my husband, the solution is easy. Get rid of them! Horrors. Whenever he suggests a “clear out,” I just remind him that we could easily have physical copies of the 647 titles on my Kindle, so he should be grateful.
But, when a recent trip to Josh Spencer’s new Studio City branch of The Last Bookstore yielded a few particularly huge non-fiction beauties, I knew I had to find another way to handle books.
And I found it. Pottery Barn pedestal shelves – on the floor!
The pictures above only constitute some of the books in our living and dining room. Don’t even let me get started on our bedroom or our office. . .
I’ve talked about physical media before and how much it means to me and I feel the same way about the books. I realize I am probably part of the last generation that will ever have a house rammed with books and CDs and DVDs and albums this way. And I know from culling my albums six years ago, no one will really want this stuff when I am gone.
But for now, having books I can see and touch is one of the few things that makes me hopeful in a time of upheaval for all of us. I’m grateful we have a house full of knowledge and solace and inspiration and will, as long as we have any floor space left.
Because, in the end, can you ever really have too many books?
~ Wendall
Posts
In answer to your question, "Because, in the end, can you ever really have too many books?", yes. Yes, you can. And I'll know that moment has come when, in the end, I'm working in my den and the Great Cascadia Earthquake (far over-due) hits, and I'm buried in a 7-foot tall cascading tsunami of books (walls lined with bookshelves, which are then hidden by 7-foot tall stacks of books in front of them... sigh).
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes, Everett, that day will come, especially as I'm in LA. But it's better than the true story of an actress who was killed when her collection of clippings and reviews finished her off!
DeleteWendall, your husband and my wife could commiserate endlessly on the overwhelmed nature of their respective living spaces by reason of their spouses book hoarding techniques. Mine begins with several rows of 150 year-old barn siding that now adorn the longest wall in my office as shelving for fifty-plus years of mystery paperbacks. Then we get to the bookcases along another wall for hardcovers, and how they've mysteriously taken over bookcases, cubbies, and corners throughout the house. Mea culpa.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't think it was possible to love you more, Jeff! James and Barbara can drown their tidy sorrows together next time we meet. xx
DeleteWendall: I get it! I have 22 bookcases in my Ottawa apt. No childhood books or university textbooks, though. But lots of crime fiction, cookbooks, climate-change references & copies of my own publications.
ReplyDeleteI still have empty wall space for more bookshelves! And there are zero books in my kitchen and bathroom.
I knew that you were on the side of "there's never too many," Grace. I love that you are saving room for more. Thanks for posting. xx
DeleteI love this, Grace! But I still have some children's books too...!
DeleteThis makes me laugh, Wendall. I'm married to a minimalist. When he weeds out his bookshelves, I die a little death. (He never abandons his beloved Oddessy or Catch Twenty-two, though )
ReplyDeleteHa! At least he's a minimalist with taste. xx
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