Books: Do you look for them when entering somebodies house for the first time ?

[Shosha1]

I must admit I do. I love to see what people are reading. It always gives me a sense of them.
Absence of books make me feel uneasy for some reason.
Which is absolutely stupid, as you wont find one in my house.
I cant hold a heavy book now as Lupus has affected my hands, so I read on a kindle, but most of my 500 odd books are on audible.
DH has all his on audible too.
We do have childrens ones for DGC tho.

No, I’ve never done that. I don’t know anyone who has shelves full of books. We’re all big book worms but we don’t have them on display.

I used to teach Reception and every September we'd do a home visit to each child's house before they officially began school - partly so they could meet us but partly so we could meet their family and understand their home lives a little.

I loved seeing people's bookcases and especially when the children would show me their favourite book - most visits would be my TA chatting to the family while I read to the children. It was always my favourite part of the job, watching children fall in love with books and so many of the houses we visited had huge bookshelves stuffed with so many types of books. We ended every single day in class with a story no matter how tricky our day had been and what else was going on and at the end of each year I bought every child a book I thought they'd love. DH used to think it was crazy but occasionally I see DC I used to teach and they always remember the stories.

I still look at people's bookshelves when I visit friends now; it must be a subconscious thing because I've never really thought about it, but I know I do it.

I hope I wouldn't be judged by the visibility of books.
Mine are in rooms not normally seen by visitors, it wouldn't occur to me to look when visiting elsewhere.

All our books are hidden away in the office upstairs. I think when they are on display it looks cluttered

I do. I'm always amazed if people don't seem to have any books around.

You won't find many in my house, other than in the 7 yo's bedroom. His bookcase is groaning under the weight of books (and DVDs)

I'm very well read and enjoy reading but I don't understand why people keep shelves of books once they've read them. I read, offer to friends/family and then they are sent to the charity shop. With the exception of about 15 "special books" that hold personal meaning to me, or are specific favourites, everything else goes. I can't stand cluttered bookshelves.

(My collection is a bit random and by no means high brow lol but you could judge me on Pride and Prejudice : my comfort book, I reread it every other year or so. Harry Potter series, just because I read them as they were released and loved them all. The God of Small Things, such an aromatic book (I could smell and feel everything she describes, it was so vivid!) and A Town Like Alice - I loved that book so much I read in 3 sittings and thought about it for days after finishing.)

You'd think my house was immaculate, it really isn't, it's just one of my bugbears. I think it comes from my parents having shelf upon shelf of rarely touched, already read books.

I've got bookshelves or bookcases in most rooms of the house. I did tell dp when I bought a kindle years ago that I'd stop buying physical books but ebooks just don't seem the same. I love looking up and seeing rows of books; the kindle only comes out on holiday or train journeys. For me, books turn a house into a home.

If I'm in a friend's house, I am curious about what sort of books (if any) they have.

I notice if they have lots, and love to see what other people have.

When people come to my house though if I see them looking, I assume they're judging how untidy the bookshelves are. They're generally 2 deep and not in a neat order!

Gosh, I feel old when I read the words when they are on display it looks cluttered applied to books.

Maybe I've lived too long.

And yes, I'm always interested in other people's bookshelves. Anyone who knows me well enough to invite me to their home would show me their library first ...

You wouldn't have to look far in our house, we have a bookcase in every room, including 2 on the landing. Our family moto is "there's à book about that on the shelf!"

I love to see them but don't actively look. My bookcases have doors so you wouldn't see them, but they are there!

I'm very well read and enjoy reading but I don't understand why people keep shelves of books once they've read them

I love rereading books. It's like revisiting an old friend or a place you knew well. You pick out different things on a second or third reading. I have books that I first read 30+ years ago, and I can still reread them and find something new. In a book you know well you can dip into it in the middle and just read a little, or read the whole thing again.
Dd2's the same, I've known her finish a book and flip straight to the first page again-she can reread a book 3-4 times in succession if she loved it.
Dh and dd1 are like you, will read a book once, and generally not again.

Our bookshelves are in bedrooms and we also use Kindles and Audible so apart from one or two on the coffee table none would be visible to casual visitors.

I'm the opposite. I wouldn't particularly keep a book if I wasn't going to read it again. My favourite books are on the bookshelves (and the kindle!), the read once and move on books are just on the kindle.

I do. I'm always amazed if people don't seem to have any books around.

You're amazed that people might have books in a bedroom or a cupboard, or get rid of them after they've read them, or get them from a library, or use ebooks or audiobooks? Most houses I go to don't tend to have full bookcases in the living room.

I grew up with books and bookshelves around me and I am obsessed with reading and having books around me is really important so have book shelves in every room.
I love it when I visit people’s houses where there are also lots of books. I am always interested in what others are reading and talking about books.
I don’t expect everyone to have books on display as I know some people think it’s clutter, have them hidden away or just read on kindle.
Personally I could never live in a house with no books (Or cats)

It’s not necessarily the lack of books that bothers me.

I don’t understand people who state they don’t read at all!

I love seeing shelves of books in people’s houses; it’s like research!

Majority of our books are upstairs. In the living room there are cook books and encyclopedia type ones (bird books, David Attenborough, travel etc)but fiction not being read is upstairs. You might see a Kindle or library book lying around. (Although DH reads ebooks on his phone).

Friends who have known me years would remember the groaning bookshelves... But when we had a 'foreign' posting (i.e a sea move not a land move) I couldn't take them and mist if the fiction went to the charity shop- where a large proportion had come from originally.

No because I’m not a snobby cow. I have books in the office but most of my books (500) are on my Kindle. I’m guessing you don’t approve of them though

Yeah I am a bit nosy. I like to have a little peak at what people read.

I do love nosing at the books on the bookcase when they interview people at home on the tv.

Youme why do you think of it as snobby? I like to takes a look because it can show an interesting thing about a person that they wouldn't necessary bring up in conversation. If I saw someone had every single Goosebumps book displayed proudly in the living room I would think they are a fricking awesome people. Book choices give people a personality you wouldn't always get to see in other parts of life.

@MrsCastiel I keep all my books, I can hardly remember ever giving any away. Main reason being so many of my early reading memories were picking up my mum’s books from the shelves and reading them (including all those from her childhood) I could explore so much more than if I’d to seek out or be given specific books. I want my kids to be able to do the same. I read broadly, fiction and non-fiction, so there will be lots of options for them to explore.

I also look for books in people’s homes, but I don’t assume they’re not there if I can’t see them. It bothers me that in my current house there’s very little space for books downstairs, they’re mostly in an office

I'm always amazed if people don't seem to have any books around.

Apart from cookery books in the kitchen, our books are in our studies, and in our offices at work. Or on our kindles. You wouldn't see any in the public rooms in our house, even though we have thousands. I like our living space to be separate from our work (which involves reading a lot of books).

I have bookcases in every room, except bathroom and downstairs lavatory. I tend now to pass on paperback fiction. I keep 'useful' books within easy reach i.e. dictionaries, thesaurus, atlas. I also have shelves of old green and orange Penguins. A room without books seems rather sterile.