Bookshelves

[missroserose]

Last night, in preparation for the bout of bibilophilia (and therefore bibliovisacharging) I've been going through, I cleaned out the bookcase in our bedroom. This might not seem like a huge project, but it was a very large bookcase - one of those tall oak double-width dealies. Additionally, both Brian and I probably qualify as bibliophiles - we both love books, and love collecting books. This bookshelf had far more than books on it, though. There were all sorts of CDs, DVDs, knickknacks, and other paraphernalia; not to mention the not-insignificant accumulation of various scraps of paper and other bits of garbage. All covered with a layer of dust, as happens when you don't clean a bookshelf for two years.

Among the discoveries I made during this project: An old hardcover copy of James Clavell's Shogun, which I intend to read at some point; CDs for Fallout and Fallout 2, which Brian wants me to try playing; a "Jake the Alligator Man" souvenir penny from the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum; a possible first edition of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (unfortunately rather worn and missing a dust jacket).

I also made the most surprising discovery that the owners of this bookcase are very definite sci-fi/fantasy fans, as evidenced by the preponderance of books by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, William Gibson, and Larry Niven. =)

Unfortunately, Brian and his camera are currently in Anchorage, so I was unable to get "Before", "During", and "After" shots. Suffice it to say, however, that it was an impressive collection of items, which made an equally impressive pile on the floor once they were all removed for sorting. The books and many of the knick-knacks have been replaced and the bookcase as a whole looks much nicer. Unfortunately, this also means that the rest of the house is in disarray, as there are piles of things to be sorted through and either got rid of or integrated with other collections in other parts of the place.

But hey - at least the bookshelf looks nicer. And has room for more books - hurray!

Tonight's project: The living room bookshelf. (Which should be much simpler, as it's been cleaned recently - just needs a bit of reorganizing.)

Comments

[dngrsone.livejournal.com]

At least you have shelves for all of your books... V wants to re-read all the Dune books again, and I will have to dig through a dozen boxes of paperbacks to find them all...

Her eventual plan is to have me make a bunch of built-ins for the books... but, of course, that comes after the 82 projects she has me doing beforehand.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Minor correction: At the moment, we have shelves for all our books. If we keep buying them, pretty soon we're going to need another bookshelf. =) (Either that, or get rid of all the knickknacks currently taking up non-book-occupied space...)

I keep telling myself that someday, someday, we'll have a real library. Someday. =)

[dngrsone.livejournal.com]

Don't stop buying! ;)

I can't believe I have not a single Gaiman book... nor that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have churned out so many books since Reliquary... :/

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Not a single Gaiman book? Blasphemy.

One of the extras I culled from our bookcase was a hardcover of Anansi Boys...I kinda don't want to get rid of it because it's in nearly brand-new shape, but I bought Brian one of the signed slipcased editions (had to order it from England, and boy was that pricey). Maybe I'll keep it as a loaner copy.

(Great story, btw. I heartily recommend it.)