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!

Me and dh have an ongoing discussion.

His view is we have too many books.
My view is we have far too few bookshelves.

I am right.

We only have 8 floor to ceiling bookshelves and a few not quite as tall.

I aim to own a library.

Do you actually re-read it though?

I love reading, always have a book on the go. But I do not like to reread a book so tend to read library books or on my iPad using the Kindle App. Sometimes I buy second hand books and then donate them to a Charity shop afterwards.

I do however have three large bookcases in my study/craft room which are full of wool to feed my main hobby of crocheting! I buy in bulk on line when it is reduced so needed somewhere to store it. I love going in and choosing some wool to start a new project, it’s like going to a wool shop which I cannot actually do as I have mobility issues.

I do still have a small bookcase, just two shelves, which has mainly craft books and a few children’s books for my granddaughter.

Loads, mostly second hand. I'm trying to declutter a bit though as recently downsized a lot... Books make me feel calmer and safe.

Yes.
Two walls of DH’s home office are made up of floor to ceiling bookcases, with a sofa in between. His actual desk and monitors are along the fourth wall.
It’s more library, than office.
But we all have mini stacks of books by our beds, and bedside cabinets, and I can see another mini stack on the coffee table.
We are bookaholics 📚

ETA - I still have books from my childhood, so 40+ years old, but still beloved to me.

I'm going to guess about 1000 books. My dream is to have a couple of afternoons free every week to read.

I got a local carpenter to make MDF shelves all around my office and painted them white. It's my haven and home for all my many books

Yes, we don't have a lot of room but we have 4 bookcases and I do re-read books. I have to use my kindle now as we just don't have any more room.

I have six full bookcases in my study.

Yes. I read lot. I grew up with books, however, I am not one of the mumsnet snobs who look down on people who don't have thousands of books because I read mostly on my kindle these days.

The snobbery I see on here from posters who think it is morally reprehensible not to have bookshelves with acres of books is quite depressing.

I have books that I bought before I got a kindle and that I might want to read again, reference books, recipe books and other non fiction books. I now do all of my fiction reading on my kindle as I mostly read in bed and don't want to keep DH awake with the light on.

I read lots but rarely re-read, all my books are paperbacks, which I pass on or charity shop, e books or library books. So, there are no shelves of books here but plenty of reading

Not at all. But I read a lot. Ebooks or library. I grew up with lits of books and mum managed to slim down the collection to 1 bookshelf. She gets 2 each week in library.

Space is greatly limited in some properties and I need every inch for plants😂

Yes. Book cases in the living room and every bedroom.

Yes! Many!
And my kids have them full to bursting too!

I only have one bookcase which is full, but like pp I use the library, and read on kindle a lot. I am an avid reader and read to my dc at bedtime for as long as they wanted me to, but of my 5 dc 2 don't read at all so not sure how much influence a parent has over a child's future love of books.

Lol you've reminded me it often gets said on here that having books is a sign of wealth and classiness and poor or even normal people apparently don't have books.
Yeah but I've got a bookshelf most of them came from the charity shop where you can get books for 20p

Used to have more. But they are dead weight. We have been keeping books mainly H's because we have two boys, and there is a lot of crossover in what they want to read but much of my fiction I read and pass on. Plus as they have chosen GCSE and soon A level subjects, many will be donated to school libraries, friends or charity shops so others can get pleasure from them.

So yes we have books, but the amount we have doesn't indicate the amount we read.
There is always new stuff coming out. Even some non-fiction becomes effectively redundant with time.

I mostly read on kindle now as I have issues with the joints in my hands and also back/neck problems that makes holding my books painful so my collection has stopped growing finally. I have about 5 full IKEA Billy bookcases full of books, and inherited another 10 cases worth from my late OH. Those are still in boxes for now while I try and figure out if I'm going to build more shelves and keep them or give them away.

A house without books is empty to me - I couldn’t feel at home

Yes I dip into my books frequently. It's like playing a favourite record.

I am going to keep to 2 bookcases downstairs now and perhaps a couple of smaller ones upstairs. I do not like books everywhere. I would have stored my old uni books away in boxes.

I have one wide tall one in living room. Two other medium bookshelves in living room have toys on but I looking forward to replacing with books when DD gets older. I have two small bookcases in bedroom plus one wall shelf and a large bookcase in my office full of history books. DD currently has three 6 x 2 cube units and two shelves full of books in her room. Shes inherited this habit from me as DH doesnt read books due to severe dyslexia.

I would have more bookshelves if I could, but would annoy DH and we havent any more space. I dreamt of having a library like professor Higgins in My Fair Lady but sadly my 3 bed ex council semi is not the place for it. Instead I use my Boliean membership and use the various nice old libraries in Oxford to dream in instead.

Yes. I need to have a clear out and get rid of a few though. Our baby has taken lots of the space on the downstairs one even though he has a bookcase in his bedroom.

Having lots of bookcases doesn't make you a better person it just makes your house smaller.

I am lucky to have a large house and a few years ago every room had bookcases on every wall. Mostly my books but a good chunk DHs and then the DC. Many 1000s of books.

I'm not a re-reader. I can count maybe a dozen books I've read twice. Then I converted fully to kindle, my paper tbr pile gathers dust because I much prefer kindle.

So I made a huge effort to cull the books. It's made a massive difference, more space, less dust gathered. I've got down to two bookcases of mine and two of DHs. The ones I've not yet parted with have some sentimental value but I aim to get rid of them all. Particularly since I decided to read an old paperback and could barely see the print. I ended up getting an ebook.

I would love a little library in my home as i do re-read my favourites, but I really don't have room, and I find as I am getting older I prefer using a kindle, the writing on some books is very small (even with my glasses).

I've got a few shelves worth of my own books, but the bulk of them are my deceased dad's. I'm guessing they are worth nothing, but they look nice on the shelves and kind of remind me of him.
Two bedrooms and the two living rooms have floor to ceiling shelves in one corner. Nearly all filled! I've only ever read a couple of them though. A lot of 40s-50s set crime fiction, detectives/gangsters etc. and loads of history ones about the war and architecture. All a bit heavy for the likes of me!
It's gonna be a pain having to chuck them all inevitably.