Do you have bookcases filled with books at home?

[CatteryCatss]

I grew up without books at home, but my DM frequently read magazines.

Surprisingly, I turned out to be a big reader in adulthood. I have bookcases either side of the chimney breast filled with books (as well as LEGO sets and a couple of ornaments) I also have a bookcase on my stairs and in the office, which are filled.

Whenever I visit my DM, I’m reminded of my childhood without books and it makes me quite sad!

Another one with the paperwhite here - great for reading outside, but also easy on the eyes inside. I am waiting for the new colour paperwhite to not be a silly price (for travel books especially!)

I prefer reference books to be real books and will buy a travel book in book form because it is easier to flick backwards and forwards.

Basically I use whatever is practical for me..

Writing is not the same as reading.

Writing has it's own impact but it's the format of reading that affects comprehension and retention. Studies have shown it's not as good from a screen. Reading the exact same sentences from my own notes compared to reading them from the screen made a big difference.

A d there's a difference between kindles and monitors.

Exactly. I've several middle class friends who never read yet have walls insulated with bookshelves. Kids on tablets all the time. Parents scrolling phones.

It's just a way of signalling status.

For some of us, it isn't about status it really is about love of the books. Books make me happy, as someone up thread has said. I love them as physical objects and having them around is like a security blanket. I've also worked in bookshops and the British Library. They are not status symbols they are an intrinsic part of what makes me tick. Take away my books and I would be very unhappy.
I love seeing books in other peoples houses because well, books! Plus it means I can get a quick take on whether we might have something in common on that front and what they're interested in.
I'm not going to class someone as lesser if they don't have books, and conversely most stately homes were shelved by the yard just to make the libraries look good, not because the owners necessarily read a lot.

Books make me comfortable so the presence of them in someone's home can make me more comfortable there, if I don't know them well. It's not a them thing it's a me thing, and I would certainly never pass comment to someone, but my own books are about love of the object and the pastime of reading and most certainly not the status.

That very well may be, I don't know if kindles have been included in the studies or if it was just normal screens.

It's nothing about signalling status for me. Never has been. Never will be.

I just love books and always have. Many of my books are in rooms that guests would never even enter, so they're never even seen by others.

I also like kindles because you can click on words and get the definition (probably showing myself up there 😄)

I can definitely see the benefit of that as compared to me googling words and then going down an Internet rabbit hole and losing out on reading time

I'm talking about the research I've heard of. You may be thinking of something different. It didn't include parents who take their children to the library regardless of the parent's own relationship with books. It also didn't work when organisations tried sending books to children's houses. It was having a certain type of parent that did it, not the actual books.

Yes, just having stacks of books that have never been opened or read by the parents aren't going to improve the educational outcomes of the children in the house. We're not talking about osmosis here.

The assumption is that the books have been read by the parents, which in turn indicates a certain level of intellectual curiousity/ability in the parents which is then passed onto the children via the nature/nurture model.

My first reaction: How nice that you've grown up to be a reader of books! Think how much smarter you are.

My second reaction: Perhaps whenever you visit your DM on a present-giving occasion, like Christmas, you could give a book.

I'm very proud that I turned two non-readers into readers!

It doesn’t make you smarter

It may make you think you’re smarter, but you’re not

Er... yes, it does.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8447247/

Loads of books. I do a charity shop run about one a year when the book cases can no longer cope.

I don't see the issue? Do you feel you were neglected as a result? Did you not visit a library or have a weekly reading book? So you didn't read much as a child but do now? People do grow and develop.

There is a lot of snobbiness on mumsnet with regards to people having bookshelves in their home and being able to tell what kind of people they are. Entering someone's home and seeing a bookshelf doesn't put me instantly at ease just because they have some books. Judging someone on this says more about you than them as not everyone reads physical books or stores them where guests could see. Maybe it's a subconscious thing with some people as you need space to house bookshelves so it's a subtle indication of wealth?

I've always been an avid reader. Neither parent read for pleasure but I read whatever I could get my hands on. I received books as birthday presents and my dad took me to the library and made me several bookshelves to house them.

The first thing I bought when pregnant with dc1was a set of books. I read them to each child when pregnant and got into the habit of reading to them every night. I listen to each child read daily and often with the older two we do a page each. It doesn't make be a better parent than anyone else. It's something I enjoy and therefore an easy thing to share and I make time. Some parents find playing role play games comes more naturally or sharing their love of the outdoors, baking etc. I volunteer at their school to listen to children read, again I love reading for readings sake and enjoy listening to children read so it's not a hardship.

I have a small wall mounted bookshelf in my hallway, it gives an indication of my job, that I like interior design and murder mysteries. I actually do read a whole host of other stuff. The kids books are stored on their bookshelves in their rooms. I have a bookshelf in the kitchen with recipe books. I'd love a spare room to use as my own library with a tea making area but we aren't winning the lottery anytime soon. For now I just make good use of my local library who is a 30 minute walk away

Lots of bookshelves. I frequently look up old stories or reference books or poems that I’ve thought of.

Books are friends.

So is my kindle.

I have books and a kindle.

Having this weird pride in having loads of books like it confers some sort of moral superiority is something i only ever see on mumsnet.

It's just a more socially acceptable form of hoarding. Nobody needs thousands of books. Choosing to clutter your house with books you'll never read again doesn't make your house more homely than someone who doesn't read at all or someone with a Kindle.

Yes! I never read until I was an adult and now I have three large book cases and love to read. It makes me so happy looking at them x

Unfortunately, it isn't just MN. I have friends like this. They're not readers. But have bookcases full. It's a very middle-class thing.

I'm a huge reader but can't bear the clutter of books. I do have bookcases (whittled down A LOT because I use the library a couple of times a week) but they're upstairs in a spare room out of the way.

I only have one bookcase, but read a lot. I now buy second hand, and then donate them once read, and I'm slowly going through the books I own and trying to only keep the ones I love. I also utilise the library. I often re-read books.

My parents were both readers and I can't imagine not having books around. I don't think it is "snobby" to have books in the house at all. Some people love reading and consider their favourite books to be old friends, I still have several from my teen years.

Three bookcases and two side tables in the sitting room. Bookcase in each bedroom, one on the landing, one in the hallway.