Last updated on November 26, 2023
Books, books, and more books. We live surrounded by books.
We could try to cull books from the boxes, or even the shelves. We have pulled some books for donation or to sell back to a used bookstore, but we rarely part with more than a handful of books.
The book situation has “worsened” (or improved) as our daughters have grown. At first, they needed only two small bookcases for early readers. Now, our oldest reads a mix of young adult and “grown-up” books. The books she has outgrown have migrated to her sister’s room. There’s not much space left for books in either of their bedrooms.
In every home we’ve owned (or apartment we rented), books have been on inexpensive bookcases, piled in stacks, and stored in boxes. There were boxes and boxes of books, following us from apartment to apartment, house to house. We even had problems loading our moving vans within weight limits each time we migrated from state to state because books are heavy.
Finally, we have “real” bookcases. Built-in, floor-to-ceiling, reinforced bookcases with a rolling ladder and room for hundreds of books. Susan has organized the shelves by genre and author. It’s a happy sight.
Of course, we still have the Sauder and Ikea shelves. There are Ikea shelves with extensions in both of the girls’ bedrooms. There are shelves in my office. There are shelves between the dining area and the living room, dividing the spaces. And there are still books in boxes, too!
The shelves scattered about the house are as organized as possible. The bookcases facing the dining room table hold cookbooks. Yes, we have a full 7-foot-tall bookcase of cookbooks and recipe binders. The entry hall has parenting, writing, reference, and humor sections. My office bookcases hold computer programming, economics, statistics, and philosophy books.
Each new book purchase requires some rearranging of the shelves. Of course, we rarely buy only one or two books at a time.
Someday, more built-in bookcases. The house might as well be a library with some living space. Our little one argues we need to add a second story to this house, mainly for the books.
We do plan to add more bookcases in the future, but they aren’t cheap. We also know that most families wouldn’t want or need so many bookcases, so we’re not necessarily adding value to the house. Then again, we don’t plan on selling this house within the next two decades or more.