To think this a huge sum to spend on books?!

[KeiraKnightley2]

My boyfriend is moving into a new place soon (it's early days, so not living together yet). He loves books and so do I.

Anyway he said he's getting a big bookcase and has given himself a max budget of 1k to spend on books of his choice!

I said I thought this was a huge budget (great if he can do it) but he reacted with surprise, as though this is normal spending money. It isn't, is it?

Then again, you might spend thousands on a laptop, so maybe I'm wrong.

That makes sense if he is replacing ones he already had. Otherwise very strange to buy them all at once. If you’re thinking about money then second hand is always best. I love books and could easily own a lot more than I do.

Academic titles are ridiculously expensive! They are rarely under £30 a pop, often significantly more. I can see how a grand would get swallowed up pretty quickly if he's trying to replace his previous collection.

I think it's a rather wonderful way to spend a thousand pounds. We have at least 1500 books here, so even at paperback discounts of 2 for £15 we'd need 10K to replace them new (I buy a lot second hand).

Hi everyone

I also have a rather unusual question about bookcases.
We have a self-contained annexe attached to our house, and as a part of house renovation, we've just opened a new doorway to the annexe that we'd like to hide through a secret bookcase door that can hold books rather than a faux set of books. We love books!

I'm having trouble finding a carpenter in London who can do that and who will show me examples of similar jobs in the past.

I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks,
Sam X

Anyone?
Sam X

@Sam2000 you'd be better starting your own thread.
Your post won't get noticed on an old thread 🙂

When you move into a new place you often want to do stuff that you have not done/could not do in your old one.

So maybe have the enormous telly. Or fantastic dining room table. Or giant american style fridge freezer. Or maybe a bookcase full of books.

What a load of clutter, I would hate that.

You’d hate books? The mark of a civilised home? Oh dear. 🥹

£1000 is reasonable but it's the buying them all at once I find bizarre. I get books from the library or buy from World of Books (second hand and bargains galore) occasionally I get new one.
I can't imagine buying all the books I own now at the same time. I imagine I've easily spent over £1000 over the years though.

I generally think of books as something to be acquired over time rather than bought all in one go... But then we're in the process of taking books to the charity shop because our house cannot hold any more.

I don't hate books, I read myself. I would hate all the clutter.
I borrow from the library.

That'll buy a couple of books of stamps these days.😟