In its real-estate section, The New York Times hypes the idea of being “book-wrapt” in your “bookroom.” “Well-groomed libraries in brownstones,” we are told, “help spark bidding wars.”
Well-groomed indeed: five of the ten photographs accompanying the article show pretty meager shelves. How many books are needed “to make a place feel like home”? One thousand, the article’s expert says, and then he cuts that number in half, and the Times writer adds that “even that number is negotiable.”
Reading this article finally prompted me to make a rough count (with Elaine’s help) of what’s in our “bookroom,” which means our house, minus the bathrooms and the laundry room: about 3,200 books.
Monday, December 27, 2021
“Book-wrapt”
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comments: 7
At the Strand you can buy books by the foot-measure. I think you can order them in specified colors also. Books as decor.
"Need your order in a hurry? Books by the Foot can curate collections in as little as one day.
Our expert staff can install and style your collection in the way that suits you best. We can also incorporate any other objects you’d like on your shelves, including picture frames and art pieces. Installations are $200.00 per hour, per installer. Our team will travel up to 3 hours for an installation (please note that travel time is included in the installation fee)." I'm not sure I would have used the word "curate."
I find it a little difficult to trust a personal library that’s too neat, orderly, and curated. To me that signals the library may not actually be a ‘living thing’. My study has more of a working library - if I can refer to the maybe 2,000 books stacked on econo-grade Ikea shelving and the floor as a library. There’s order so I can find things, but it would never pass muster with interior designers.
I think Paul Fussell has something to say about buying books by the yard in Class.
The most realistic shelving I think I’ve seen in these days of Skype and Zoom TV is what’s behind William Kristol when he appears on MSNBC. The messiness rings true.
I'm not anywhere in that league of 3000 books - yet! I probably have around 600 here and another 300 in storage.
Ever since I was little I've always looked askance at houses without books. It's my upbringing!
And why do us book-wrapt need the NYT and others to tell us it's okay to have books and lots of them.
And my library is not neat, orderly or curated. The Pentagon Papers is near New Designs in Weaving and close to Chicago '68.
Books and music (lots of lps) are an anathema to interior designers! And don't even get me started on the trend of putting books by color.
Kirsten
And there’s also the weirdness of shelving books with spines turned in. As they say on Curb Your Enthusiasm, “Who does that?”
I like how you consider your house your library. I think I posted this on my blog a while ago, but I can't find it right now: there were 4,685 books at our house about 6 months ago.
As the kids say, Woah!
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