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.

a kindle has no soul, it has no scent, it has no place in my life.

It's true, Kindles have no soul or scent.

If only they had another purpose.

No. I think it’s really bizarre to judge someone on their books or lack of. I have all my books in the bedroom and read 99% of the time from my kindle anyway.

My house is simply too small to have books hanging around when I can read the exact same text from my kindle.

If I had the space I might buy beautiful first editions of my favourite books (I own a couple of Margaret Atwoods) - I don’t read them because they’re massive and I already own them in another format. A couple in both paperback and kindle!

it says so much about a certain kind of lower-middle class philistinism

Ooo er- get you!

It's true, Kindles have no soul or scent. If only they had another purpose

What do Kindle haters do on holiday? I can get through 10+ novels a week on holiday...

There are some books that kindle is no replacement for. But fiction, especially light fiction, is just the same in e-format.

I am restricted on holidays due to kindle hatred. I cannot read on kindle as it reminds me of computer screens which I look at all day at work and feels too clinical. I wish I did like kindle as it’s also cheaper to download books that way.

I do. I like to know what people read.

I'm going to have to post a pic of my beloved books....

Well my kids books are all upstairs. We have loads. I have to rotate them via the loft we have that many. I read all the time on a kindle. So you would be wrong to judge.

I love a good nosey at book shelves.

But anyone visiting me would think the only thing I read are cookbooks, they are in the living room on the way to the kitchen and sorted in colour order.

My spare bedroom is my office and in there you will find text books and reference books.

Most of my reading is done on my kindle.

I was anti kindle until we rad to reduce our lives to 13cubic metres. That was toys, clothes, books, bits of furniture, garden stuff... My beautiful books went into storage. I let go of the fiction I wouldn't read again.

Moving every couple of years does focus the mind somewhat. But next year... Our own home... But it will be reference and other non fiction.

Yes. And if I don't see books I keep my ears open for mention of a kindle.
I massively judge anyone for about a minute and then remember all the things they can judge me about.

Of course I look. Who doesn't?

I look at furnishing, the garden, the home as a way of getting another idea of the person.

Dunno why anyone would assume that people with bookshelves don't also use kindles. My postgrad degree relied almost entirely on the kindle app on my phone.

Currently I have around a thousand book samples on kindle, but possibly no more than fifty complete books. Generally (in the absence of a pressing deadline) I order a physical book if the kindle sample has whetted my appetite.

But obviously I had a lifetime of book buying before e-books arrived. And it would never occur to me to get rid of those I have. Or to stop buying them.

In this comment by SeaLettuce :

I absolutely judge anyone who thinks that books are clutter, who doesn’t comprehend the concept of rereading, thinks that books should only be consumed on a Kindle or immediately donated the second you’ve turned the final page,

• it's the word consumed that seems particularly potent. Some people are commenting as if books are analogous to takeaway coffee in throwaway cups: gulp down and discard.

For me books are, individually and collectively, more like the scaffolding of my existence. Nothing at all to do with showing off what I've read! I like to see the scaffolding in my own home, and I love seeing what other people have chosen to surround themselves with. Can't really do that with kindles.

I like reading and to me, the kindle is the perfect medium to do it on. I can read in bed, at night, without disturbing DP and I can take a big (virtual) stack of books on holiday without using up my weight allowance.

I cannot read on kindle as it reminds me of computer screens which I look at all day at work and feels too clinical

They're really not like that, the text looks exactly like a book. I find the advice kindle give you about the light setting is unhelpful. I have mine on quite low all the time, and it's not noticeable in daylight and then is lit up sufficiently to read at night.

I'm no tech enthusiast, but my kindle is used daily and would be replaced straight away if it broke or I lost it. I've tried a paper book on odd occasion since I got my kindle and didn't get on with it and couldn't get comfortable to read. I don't re-read either, as I have a huge (virtual) to be read pile, so I'd rather get on with those so wouldn't keep books I have read.

What I'm trying to say is that 'books in the house' is no longer an indicator that someone is well read. They could have read thousands of books on a kindle, or they could have given them away, or needed to get rid of them due to lack of space or moving around. Keeping lots of books on display is a luxury not available to everyone.

I do like looking at bookshelves and do have a small selection of non fiction books (mainly travel guides) but these aren't in display, they're in a Billy bookcase with frosted glass doors because it also stores lots of other, less visually appealing bits and pieces. I would like to replace it with a mix of open and closed shelves but that's a process that requires thought to get it right and I haven't got round to it, plus at the moment it's a cost that can't be justified.

I did include a nice set of shelves for my cookbook collection when we redid the kitchen, which I do like, but needs dusting and I'm trying to reduce the amount of things in the house that needs dusting.

Interesting, because everyone doing TV from their house is keen up to do it in their room of books

When they're on the news, by Webcam, to clarify for the poster confused by this. It could be accidental. I realised that I had coincidentally set my WFH up directly in front of my cookbook shelf next to the kitchen island, but it's only because that's the most comfortable and convenient place in my house to work and just happens to be in view during video calls.

We don’t have books on display! Just because our decor is very simple and we hate clutter. DH and I tend to buy/ borrow books we fancy and then return or donate them. I have a bookshelf in my office for work related books I like to reference. The DC have bookshelves in their bedrooms and we visit the library every other week though. We do read - how silly to judge people for not having a cluttered bookshelf in their lounge.

Not books specifically but I’d notice them as part of my nosing at everything I do notice if children don’t appear to have books though.

I grew up in a house with thousands of books, yet the only books downstairs were cookery books and a set of encyclopaedias. Upstairs though was crammed full of books.

Most of my reading now is done on kindle, I have cookery books and reference books (which I could probably get rid of as my children prefer to google!) and my children all have hundreds of books. Most of my fiction books I have passed on to friends or to charity, any I wanted to reread I bought on kindle or kept- these are in the spare room for guests to read. Looking around my home you may not realise what a reader I am!

Ah only on MN, where looking for books in a household is de trop, but having bookshelves of certain types of book is for other people’s benefit.

I love looking for books in someone else’s house because there’s nothing like bonding over a book. I also have and read a kindle in certain situations, but it’s not the same spontaneity as seeing an author on a shelf and having the “oh you love x too” or “I really keep meaning to read y”.

It never occurred to me that people would look for signs of books in my house.

When the teacher came to do a home visit years ago, going by this thread they probably made quite a few wrong judgments. since at the time we lived in a small ex council house (in the considered rough part of the village) the living room was tiny and the couple of shelves in the alcove had a vase and photos and candles on them. The kids toys boxes will have had a few children's books rammed in there amongst the toys, other then that they wouldn't have seen any.

by the sounds of it I should have given them a tour of the house then they would have seen the bookshelves in the roughly converted coal house that acted as a study, the book shelves in the DC bedrooms, the book shelves in my bedroom. I should have dragged the boxes full of books out from under my bed too.

I should have pointed out the philosophy books, psychology books, science books, encyclopedia books, books on religion, History books, Mythology books, herbs, gardening, cooking, references books, leather bound books passed on to me when my parents split. fiction books both classics and modern.........Would I have scored more points on my home visit if I had?

if you come to my house now you still wouldn't see any, Most are on the book shelves in the office. a few are on the shelves in kitchen but they are all very random. The rest are in boxes in the garage and loft.

I know what I have and when I want to read a book or fine it for reference or loan it to someone. I just go and dig it out of boxes or the book shelf.

I don't care how I am/was judged on the lack of books on display.

Judge away.

I'd love to have all these books on kindle, but I just can't seem to get on with a kindle I've tried a few times, because I do like the idea of all these books in one place and not taking any room up.

The title of thread asks if you look at books. Yes I do, I like to see if there is anything that interests me.

The original OP indicates judgments.
Most houses I enter are those of friends so I already know about their interests, intellect, how kind they are as human beings. I don't need to make a judgement if there are no books on show. It is often obvious through conversation who is well read or not.
I think it is really obvious when someone has a lot of books and enjoys what they believe to be the prestige it gives them. I know someone who makes a self deprecating remark about her collection often. I don't necessarily judge her badly but I do wonder if it is a sign of insecurities.

I know people with no books on show who are very well read and people with lots but not so well read, (possibly inherited or for show) The days before Kindles, it might have been an indicator of being well read but not these days.

My father had 10s of thousands of books in his library. He liked to show them off to friends he deemed intellectual. He might have been, intellectual on some level but he wasn't at all emotionally intelligent. He was selfish and deprived the family of other essential items by buying so many.

Here is where I find myself to be judgemental. For me I like to be free, for the most part, of material possessions. I'm still working on it in my own home. I am the most calm and happy when I am in a space that is clutter free. I find possessions a burden and whilst I love reading, I do not need to look at the books I have read to appreciate them.

a kindle has no soul, it has no scent, it has no place in my life

It's statements like these that make me love these threads so much

Does every book have a soul? Even bodice ripping romances a la Catherine Cookson? What about those light fluffy books where the main character runs away from her life in the city to start a wedding shop/bakery/ cafe by the sea and falls in love with the grumpy but gorgeous man who she hates initially. Do they have a soul? Every single one of them? What about katie price's books for example?

Is a collection of books just as soulful if it's a pile of chick lit, or does it have to be bronte/austen/proust? What do you judge more - a collection that you think is really lowbrow, or no books at all?

I love books and if I see bookshelves in someone’s home I love a sneak peek at what they have.

I have two bookshelves absolutely packed to the rafters with books and I hate the clutter but I can’t part with them. I wondered what other people did but I see they hide the books away or don’t have them.

I also have a Kindle which I use daily for most fiction. I do have a hardback that I am reading at the moment and which I just wanted a hard copy of.

No judgement from me about what people choose to do. I’m nosy, I love seeing what books people have but it doesn’t bother me if I don’t see them,

Not finished.... I do believe that possessions do fulfil deep emotional, psychological need.
Those who own lots of books, ask yourselves If you are proud of your collection. If the answer is yes, then I imagine it fulfils a deep seated desire to appear to be intellectual. I'm not saying this to be true but it is what I personally feel.
Having been on Mumsnet all these years, I realise that opinions are often split quite strongly and some opinions are based on our own narrow life experience.

I gave my kindle to my dd and she uses it to read books not available at the library and time do school work and play games. Ds's dad (an ex) bought it for me one Christmas thinking I could watch films on train journeys. Just shows how little he knew me. A book never runs out of power and doesn't need a charger for a start. The sun doesn't make the pages unreadable either. I would never choose a film over a book and would much rather read than watch tv.

I miss buying books. I can't justify the money for them now I have dc and use the library more. I read on my phone too as have BorrowBox but it's not the same at all.

God no, wouldn’t occur to me. I have books on the coffee table but generally stored in a cupboard, basically a book shelf with doors. I don’t understand the need to display them. I also donated a huge amount of charity years ago and predominantly read on kindle or my iPad now.

What do you judge more - a collection that you think is really lowbrow, or no books at all?

I genuinely think there is value in reading whatever the material.

I guess it’s more for me that I feel sad for people who don’t read, who miss out on so much joy!