Do you have a bookshelf with books on?!

[VerrryNice]

I used to have hundreds of books on shelves around the house and loved them. Then I moved house several times and put them in boxes and they got dusty and mouldy so I got rid of them. Then I started using a kindle a lot more.

Now I don’t have any books on display in the house at all. I pass them on to friends or charity and keep a few favourites at the back of a cupboard.

I watched a programme about homes in Wales yesterday and one couple had all their books organised and on display around the house and it looked fantastic and you could really get a sense of the kind of people they were. If you came to my house you would think I was a complete non-reader with no interest in much at all! I was wondering what the norm was these days.

I am trying to cull as we will be downsizing in the next couple of years. We have at least one bookcase in every room and in the halls, over 3000 books. My siblings are similar, but most people l know are more moderate.
I also use a kindle, but nothing beats a physical book; giving them away is very hard!

I also mostly read on my kindle or books from the library and when I do buy a book I tend to pass it on once I’ve finished so not counting cookbooks or coffee table style books I only have a small collection of about 30 books on a shelf in the bedroom. I used to have shelves full but now only keep books I particularly enjoyed and feel a lasting attachment to and the rest of the books are ones I have bought or been given that I just haven’t gotten around to reading yet.

I have 5 bookcases in my front room and need to buy one more to complete my library 🤣
I have a bookcase and a shelf in my kitchen.
All the bedrooms have a bookcase and shelves.
the conservatory has 2 bookcases as well but these are mainly stuffed with crafting stuff.
I even have a shelf in the bathroom and I have a few books in the downstairs loo.

We probably own about 2000 books, some of which are first editions and rare finds. Some books are kept in boxes to protect them and I have to have separate insurance for them which can be a bit of a pain as they insist on photos of the rare books.

We have even loaned some of our first editions and signed copies to local libraries and museums to display. Our edition of the Doomsday book is currently on loan to the local secondary school to help them this term with a project.

I don't, and it gives a very misleading impression because I am a massive reader.

But my parents hoard books (and everything else) and seeing them rot on the shelves, and in piles, and in heaps, and in boxes, I just keep them moving on. I regretted it during lockdown, I can tell you, and I have lovely recesses on each side of the fireplace which would look amazing filled with books but...I just can't.

We have multiple bookshelves, and honestly so does just about everyone I know… in multiple circles of life.

We also lean quite heavily on our local library system! But our home bookshelves - as well as the shelves at my parents’ house, and many of our friends - are filled with out of print books, special interest books that wouldn’t necessarily show up in the library, and favorites that were worth the investment as they’re read over and over again.

Yes a bookcase full of books in my living room and bookcase in child's room too

@LadyCuntington
This made me laugh, and your User Name

Loads of them, everywhere. I rarely re-read books so I don't in any way need to keep them, I just can't get rid! I also have a kindle with loads more.

I have one bookcase full of books and nothing else!

We moved house in Sept and it really didn’t feel like home until we unpacked the SEVENTEEN boxes of books a few weeks in 😂 Because a lot of the bookcases at our old place were built in, we’ve had to buy some secondhand ones to house them all ❤️ We also use kindles and the library but I still prefer a physical book 🤓

10 bookcases plus several boxes of books in the attic.

We bought kindles a few years ago and promised ourselves that we would never buy a physical book again.

We didn't keep to it!

I always thought Kindles got popular so women could read 50 Shades of Grey on public transport without attracting disapproving looks

I used to know the publisher of that book - his view was it was appallingly written and that they were staggered by the money they made on it

No, none but I do read a lot.

I have book shelves filled with books instead of wardrobes in my room. I end up hanging clothes all over the place but I'm loathe to get rid of my books!

I have a kindle and we have about 6 large bookcases with reference books and children’s books. They would be no good on a kindle as they have great pictures in them.

2 in bedroom, 1 in youngest two bedroom, 1 on landing, 2 in master bed, 1 in dc1 room and 2 in lounge 😬 I struggle to get rid. But I buy mostly from charity shops or marketplace. I have a kindle subscription but if I really enjoy a book I write it down to buy a physical copy.

Loads of books on shelves and bookcases and a Kindle for holidays.

Yes but it’s in the office so guests wouldn’t see it

Oh reference books - I don't buy them any more but have the Times Atlas and their history equivalent which are just superb

The art ones can't really be done online. Have a Rembrandt book that cost about 70 quid 30 years ago. - wouldn.t part with it for the world

Yes bookshelves in more than one room. I have no idea what the norm is but personally I think houses without bookshelves look unlived in. If you have books why wouldn't you keep them on bookshelves?

Lots of books here too. We have large bookcases in the sitting room and garden room, a reading corner on the landing with two more bookcases and in two of the bedrooms. I don’t have a kindle as nothing compares to opening a crisp new book. We have recently moved and I did have a sort out. However, new books have already crept in. Also now have a collection of books here for our little granddaughter.

Our living room has shelves on either side of the fireplace. One side has the TV and ornaments, the other side is all books. I read a lot of non-fiction and only the bottom shelf has fiction. I must have read thousands of books (I commuted for years pre-smartphones and kindles) and I'm quite ruthless about passing fiction books on apart from a few favourites.

Lots of books here too.

BUT I’m also like you. I’m reading a lot on kindle so it’s not visible.
The dcs used to have lots if books but we’ve given them away as they grew up. Now they are young adults, there isn’t many books around their bedrooms either (at home or at Uni)

We have over a thousand books on shelves. One wall of our dining room is full of books from floor to ceiling. We have another floor to ceiling book case in the hallway. In our living room we have an ancient wooden cupboard with glass doors where we keep our vintage children's books.

Years ago we did a cull and filled an estate car with boxes of books - adults' and childrens' - and donated them to a local charity bookshop. The ones we have now are ones we can't bear to give away.

I rarely read paper books, preferring to use my Kindle but DH has a pile of books by his bedside.

I always find it really disturbing when I go to someone’s house and they don’t have any books.