Welcome Book Lovers!

We love books, and if we keep books, we need the means to store, display, and return to them. Before the digital age that meant furniture shelves, milk crates, wood planks on bricks, or boxes. I still have most of that.

At 70 years old I have a collection of books to reflect a lifetime. I have a sentimental collection of nursery and children’s books from my grandparents (which deserve a blog of their own). We have books from our youth. Who remembers the Time-Life books? The Nature series with the photos and artwork was a vast wonder for my brother, the babysitting kids, and myself. They were a grand surprise arriving in the mail every few weeks or months.

Photo of the Book Trails and Book House books from the 1920s

Time-Life Nature Series from the 1960s

It is amusing how I treasure books. As a child with undiagnosed dyslexia, I hated reading. With that came a complicated relationship with books. I loved picture books, and anything with horses. Being read to was golden. I enjoyed volunteering in the school library! But reading…

When the joy of reading hit in high school, I longed to know all the great stories and authors, and that morphed into surrounding myself with books, thinking I would one day, eventually, probably, pretty sure get to them. Any book I read and loved, became a permanent fixture on a shelf, most still are.

We have college texts; our children’s books, including all the Nancy Drews, plus; travel and tour books; gardening books; cat, dog, bird; and shelves of horse books; DIY, mechanical journals; motorcycle books and magazines; surf books and magazines. I haven’t started on novels, but you get the idea, our home DOES look like a used bookstore.

As a historical fiction author, my history, medieval, archery books, and writing books require private shelves in another room. I love having my own research library and all the memories associated with acquiring and studying those books. You can’t hear me, but I’m sighing with a smile.

Thus, I have bookshelves/libraries in three rooms; with a small shelf in the ‘family room’ which I MUST incorporate into the libraries upstairs. One day…when my writing is caught up.

Anyone else spend hours creating digital bookshelves? That is a way to share all my audible, chirp, and kindle books. One image, only, I promise.

My second attempt at a digital bookshelf, three shelves of PLWs

I still harbor dreams of shelves with rolling ladders, especially now they are readily available, but I honor my daughter’s request – while her kids are small, folding step ladders only. The internet is full of amazing bookshelf displays, color coordinated, size, etc. all lovely. My libraries are organized by genre; I can find what I want. Some shelves look like a smile minus some teeth, as those books are out for research. The sentimental me also has souvenirs, mementos, and photos on the shelves with the books. I am well pleased. Our books are accessible, even if my beloved shelves are messy.

Rather than a hoarder or a Bookworm – I’m a Book Dragon, with my own library.

Thank you so much for reading along with me. I would LOVE to know about your bookshelves.