That see-through wall feature at the far end, you don't need that right? Could build a nice full-height set of shelves in that nook. Also doubles as very thick black-out level curtains.
Reminded me of my MA professor who was forced to move because his downstairs neighbour’s ceiling was collapsing from the sheer weight of his books. He moved to a place that must have been an old workshop. Here is a pic of his living room.
Is it wrong that my wife and I had to zoom in and see which of those we had read. About five in her case and just In Ascension and Service Model in mine.
When I moved house, I took the opportunity to get more/better bookshelves to alleviate the very same problem. But now the new shelves are full again, and so I'm back in the same situation I was a year ago... 😭📚📚📚
Standard calculation hardbacks is approx 40/50 books per metre. 1000 books on 5 shelf high is, well, enough for a small house. And weight loading floor issues too. Why not many people keep journal runs anymore. 😏
Pragmatic Librarian here, with very large Library of my own. Do you have collections of academic books for topics researched long ago? Might be worth selling those on. Buy books from Oxfam and donate equal number back. Only keep signed first editions of fiction books. Use the Library!
My 'to read' pile is now confined to my Waterstones Wish List. I only actually buy a new one when I'm down to a small, actual pile, of waiting books. However, my 'already read, and want to keep' pile is starting to overwhelm my landing 🙄
The soul of a book is not in the physical item. They are supposed to be read and shared, bashed about in bags and read in baths until they fall apart. A piled up, neglected book is a sad book. Pass them on to charity to be loved by others who cannot afford them new.
I read an interview with (I think) Paolo Coelho once who said he never let his library get above 100 books, if it did he just gave books away. Such a provocative statement that I never forgot it!
I’m concerned about Thanos. You need to put his care above your need for books. Imagine him getting flattened by a book avalanche. PS I know this is not him but I’m sure he thinks he is that size.
Just this year I hacked some ikea billy bookcases with heavy duty castors and a guide rail because my bookshelves we overfull. Now they are two layers deep and the front rolls out the way. Makes me happy.
There are only two possible solutions. We could get a bigger house, which is unaffordable, or get rid of some books, which is unthinkable. And so the situation continues.
It’s not unthinkable, Ian - there are lots of community bookshops and libraries that would be so grateful to receive good quality books that they can pass onto local people that simply can’t afford to buy themselves new books, and those who don’t have space to keep and store their books… 🤗
Sadly, educational establishments don't want them - it's all online. I had to ask myself if I would honestly read that book, eg. the complete works of Shakespeare, various Greek tragedies, etc. again. I also had to think of the poor soul(s) who would ultimately have to make the decisions for me.
You need to think outside the box. Remove all table legs and use as firewood - saving money for more books which can support the table. Far safer than the Jenga situation. 😂
Need to park yourself in that wonderful Eames chair and stay until the pile is dented, ignoring all other tasks. It's necessary. For the sake of the floor.
My neighbour has built a huge garden room which he never uses. I'm tempted to move some of my books in there secretly to reduce the load on the floor upstairs
At a printers I used to work with they had a floor-to-ceiling pillar like this at 4m height. Just make sure they are all books you won’t read again for a while.
There is another solution. Buy _another_ house and dedicate one or more rooms as a library. If it is a holiday home somewhere, it might even be affordable.
another alternative: buy Billy bookshelves from IKEA (cheap but strong), put rollers on the base so you can move them easily, stack them in front of each other on a wall, organize books in categories, access books as you need them.
Same, even with switching to mostly ebooks, I just can't walk past a bookstore or those little free libraries without taking a something home with me 🫠
Thats why i switched to an e nook library long ago ^^. I have WAY over 1000 books in it lol. No WAY they would fit in a 2 up 2 down (even WITH extension & conservatory 🙃)
Years ago, as books colonized my closet and had to be double-stacked on shelves, I started giving away books, often duplicates, to my students. Made for a great way to start classes. Probably gave away around three or four hundred books, maybe five.
For costlier texts (like textbooks, thick Norton anthologies or collected Shakies or such), I'd award them to whoever could answer some concocted trivia question first. It made sure the books were going those who wanted them and made relinquishing the books an easier and happier thing.
Ha! Hard relate to this photo & predicament. It’s the ongoing conundrum of books & space. I want more space, but I don’t want to give up my books. And so it will continue… until the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same 😅
We bought a large bookcase just for our yet to be read books. It's now full and we're still buying more. I read somewhere (can't remember who said it) that you need 4000 books - we've only got 2000 so we have nowhere near enough.
My book buying is so bad that I just had to return a book because I realized I had already bought the book and was in a pile TBR. This also isn't the first time it's happened.
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The crime in that photo is the top of the Xmas tree.
It's like the one the Norwegians used to send the Tories.
At least my 'to reads' are (mostly) on shelves now after a bit of a clear out a few weeks back
Charity shop did well out of it
Brought a smile to my face this morning
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/152189054?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY
You need more shelves. What a wonderful problem to have!
You obviously have some unresolved issues that need urgent help.
(Photos of the wonderful bookshop Voltaire & Rousseau in Glasgow)
Sorry.
@tomgauld.bsky.social
#tsundoku
I’ve been to a ton of million bookstores in India that would laugh at that photo.