So, here you are, folks...this is the staircase leading up to my "writing loft" (that I never use for writing). Notice the pile of books I have there...it's dangerous going, let me tell you. I've tripped on numerous occasions...and it's nothing compared to the hundreds of books of have in the loft. My husband calls these the ugly books...you see, he collects leather bound books --la dee da (I love you, hehehe ;-) and claims that mine are not fit for public viewing. He also jokes (but not really) that the weight of all of my books in the loft will one day bring the whole house down. We live in a century home (1895ish) so this is not a joke I like...especially with all of the creaking that happens at night when the house settles. Despite the fact that he bought me an ereader last year, I still gravitate toward the "ugly" books and worse, even though I will loan them out (some but not all) I insist on getting them back. I loath giving up my books permanently. I have mentally catalogued any books that I've lost (have not been returned) and will NOT loan to those book thieves again.
I, Angela Addams, am a book hoarder. I am.
I love the smell of books...yes, I am the kind of person who cracks a book open just to inhale the book smell. I love the feel of books...I have been caught caressing my books. I love the look of them...even my husband's clunky leather bound ones that get the honoured spots on the "nice" shelves in his office. I
love them. Book stores excite me, embarrassingly so.
This is not an I hate e-books rant...I'm an e-book author, for goodness sake...and I love my e-reader as well...(I can hoard loads more books on my Kobo...LOADS). But I thought, in the face of this e-book revolution, that I'd give a shout out to the lowly little paperback (hardcover, trade, whatever) and confess my undying love for all of the books I house in my attic.
I'm with you on this one, and there will be no intervention. Never.
ReplyDeleteBallast. Every old house needs reinforcing to resist the rigours of hurricanes and earthquakes. Not only are you creating your own cultural repository, protecting society's accumulated knowledge in the event of a breakdown, but you are contributing to your home's structural integrity.
ReplyDeleteThere can be no real objections to such responsible home ownership. ;)
Your stairs look like my bedroom and living room. :D I don't even want to guess how many print books I own but I have between 400 and 500 books on my kindle, which I've only had for 17 months. I have 3 bookcases in my bedroom, 4 in the living room, 1 in the kitchen, 1 tall one in the office, 1 in my walk in closet, and boxes and stacks of them. I even have some "pretty" leather bound ones. Lol. Does your husband actually READ his pretty books or are they for looks? IMO, books are for reading. :P
ReplyDeleteWe might as well admit it, we're Book Addicts. :D
Here's to the book! May the wonderful musty-smelling, walking-hazard-producing nature of them carry on for many generations to come.
ReplyDeleteLOL, don't worry about it Angie, I'm not a book snob but I hate giving mine away and there are offenders who commit crimes to my books who fail to understand why they get banned from loans.
ReplyDelete(The creasing of spines, the folding over of pages, letting kids draw in them etc.)
All of these crimes are inexcusable so they get banned and think I'm being unfair in doing so. My books are also piled high and to be honest I really need to get a carpenter or a joiner in to design shelving (wall to wall) that bolts down. That way I can have them displayed and find things quite easily.
What is fun however is when my parents visit and theres a huge pile in front of each of them to make a selection from. It cheer them up to have so much choice and whilst the odd one is left, the majority are grabbed. I love my bookses, sometimes more than some people. LOL
Thanks for the support...although I don't think any of you will try to get me to break my addiction ;-)
ReplyDeleteBea...yeah, he reads a lot of them. He's found one for me too...some of my favourite classic authors --beautifully bound books that really do deserve a place of honour on the book shelf.
Love books in either form: print or ebook. :)
ReplyDeleteI must confess that I'm a book hoarder as well. My husband gets on me all the time about cleaning up my large piles of books...especially when the cat thinks it's funny and fun to knock them over ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one. I love my Kindle, but not nearly as much as I love all my books. My daughter and I go into a time warp while in Barnes & Noble. We lose hours wandering through the book shelves, comparing covers, touching, reading blurbs and first pages, passing them back and forth. There are few things that make me happier than being surrounded by books.
ReplyDeleteYeah...I'm slowly converting my library to digital and getting rid of as many print books as possible. :p
ReplyDeleteI (very reluctantly) cull some books every several years - only because the shelves finally get where I can't possibly fit any more in.
ReplyDeleteAnd by "fit" - I have books stacked double-deep in shelves with others lying flat on top wherever space allows. Three tall 5-shelf shelves. And 4 wide 3-shelf shelves.
I do like my Kindle, but I still have a preference for physical books.
I love paper books. Love them. But i adore my kindle, more for it's portability than anything.
ReplyDeleteI have two book cupboards full of books, and that's not even starting on the comics which take up their own space that could probably be used to store an extra room.
My wife got me to get rid of some books recently. Hardest decision i've made in ages.
I've had my kindle for a year now. I have a huge bookcase built by my father and husband that has carvings done by my grandfather. It houses my books but I ran out of room. So now it's all about e-books, except for the gems that I must have in print. But now that I've seen your book storage solution, I'm looking at my staircase a little differently...
ReplyDelete