I don't think I've participated in the Book Blogger Hop since last year, but this week's seemed like a fun one. Over at Crazy For Books, they're asking us how many books we own.
Well, I have no idea. I've never counted, but my husband and I are both bibliophiles and collectors. I've been working in the book industry in one form or another since 1997, and he's a book designer & illustrator, so yeah--pretty much all books, all the time in our house. When I moved in with him, I brought with me a few thousand books, but he lived in a big house, every room of which is decked out in books. In the kitchen alone, he has a few hundred cookbooks. Our bed is surrounded by books, our bathroom has a mini-library, and we even have a bookcase on the landing of the stairs. I think it would be impossible to count, but here are a few photos to illustrate the point:
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| The aforementioned bathroom |
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| The library |
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| The studio (very cluttered!) |
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| Even our kitchen table is actually a slab propped up on two small bookcases! |
I like e-books, but I don't really understand people who don't also value the book as object. I also love revisiting the person I used to be when I pick up a book I read in the past and see all of my old (penciled) marginalia. I do think I need to weed through our books, though, because there are some around here that neither my husband nor I have consulted in a very long time. Plus they're collecting both dust & animal hair when I stack them on every available horizontal space, and I don't want to damage them.
Oh WOW! Your house is incredible! I love it - bookshelves everywhere! Amazing!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the pics!! Especially the one of the studio!! And, I'm jealous of the bookshelves in the bathroom!!! I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your bookshelves! We have a massive amount of books in our house and plans for a ton of shelves. First up will be a bookshelf in the kitchen for cookbooks that's going to be the support for an eat in bar!
ReplyDeletepeppermint, I keep hearing an Austen paraphrase re: books in the bathroom "Shelves in the toilet--happy thought, indeed." But it did get an awful number of books off the floor!
ReplyDeleteBecky, i simply adore your idea of making the eat-in bar/island in your kitchen a bookcase. Good thinking!
What a very dreamy book house you own! I'm going to come over and flop on your couch one day and start reading. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pics-I love reading and literature but I am by and large not sentimental about the vehicles in which literature is conveyed. I know book sellers do not like this but I prefer E reading and am totally thrilled by the huge amount of free books I can get
ReplyDeleteLovely to see all those books. So nice both your husband and you are bibliophiles!
ReplyDeletePacking my bags and moving in with you. Love all the books!!
ReplyDeleteI love your photos, and adore the P&P paraphrase. :) I wish my house looked like that! I weed through my books far too readily to ever have a truly impressive house full of books.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it would have been more honest to confess that my husband and I are both packrats?
ReplyDeleteMelody, I have to admit that any P&P paraphrase was unintended. Wish I could take credit for it. What was it that I so cleverly paraphrased?
Belle and Jennifer O, there's always room for another reader at our house. Come on by!
mel u, interesting point you raise about the medium. before the convenience of ebooks, did you feel differently about the print book?
Oh it was you Austenism in the comment above...shelves in the closet, happy thought indeed. :)
DeleteYes before e books, I had more fondness for physical books, e reading greatly excelerated the process, i feel almost liberated from the books, also on my Ipad i love how i can carry 1000 books with me
ReplyDeleteWow. Clearly I need a full night's rest 'cause I totally forgot I said that, and that it was intentional.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
I have to say I am absolutely in love with your kitchen table, and would make my own if I had the room for it:( Lol, I used to think I had a lot of books till this blog hop!
ReplyDeleteOh my god - can I come live with you guys? Your house is my heaven. I can only aspire to one day have that many books. I LOVE your kitchen table.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I have a few hundred in our library - I think the day we decided to mix our books together was a bigger commitment ceremony than a wedding ever will be.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I am so envious of the shelf space everywhere... especially the mini-library in the bathroom. How fun!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite sweatshirt states: "There's no such thing as too many books".....happy thought indeed.
ReplyDeleteWow. Those are beautiful. I love the idea of the library in the bathroom and the bookshelf at the end of your kitchen table (totally stealing this idea for my cookbooks!!)
ReplyDeleteMy hop post