Places for Books

As soon as I walked into this house that I live in, I knew that I wanted it. Of course, the kitchen looked lovely, with dark wood floors and cabinets and a bright white counter top. But what really caught my eye were the ten feet of hip-to-ceiling high book cases in the living room. Then--be still my heart--there were another six linear feet, also hip-to-ceiling high, of bookshelves in a bedroom upstairs, and two more rows of built-in book cases in the basement. My book collection was smaller then and I knew that it would probably fit in all of those places, combined. The house's infrastructure was sound, and so we bought the house.

That was many years ago. Our collection has since long-filled those wonderful book shelves, but I have had to supplement those with some free-standing cases and, after I beefed up my cookbook collection (and the children's book collection--another story) last year, all of my cases are full and (don't tell anyone) I have many books behind the sofa in the basement, and some in a tall pile next to my dresser in my bedroom.

Some people feel comfortable in clutter. I wish I did, but I don't. Along with the issues wrought by having two children in a house that used to hold just my husband and me (and--formerly--a now-grown, minimalist-inclined, part-time child), my book collection has outgrown my clutter comfort level. So now I am looking for another house. We recently put a bid on a bigger house not far from here--less than what they were asking--and our offer was immediately countered with a price nearly as high as the original one. Way out of our price range, still, and not what the house is worth, I'm afraid, lovely though it is. Alas, living among the clutter will have to continue for a while. Or I may weed through some of my books and be happier that way.

Weeding is something I learned about in library school. It instantly appealed to me. Take the books out of a collection that don't fit the collection development plan, or that have not circulated in X years, or those of which you own several copies or several editions. And I can do it. There are some people who are loathe to discard books. I can understand the sentiment, though I do not share it. If I decide to weed through my books, I will let you know. Maybe you would want one or two.

I the meantime, I thought, I'll write about this collection. See if I can get some real use out of it. Make use of the Book in the China Shop, as it were.