And, they are gorgeous. I'd put a link here, but Costco doesn't seem to have them on their website, which is a shame. So, I will have to make do with describing them, at least until I unpack enough boxes to come across the software and cords to download pictures from my digital camera.
The shelves are double wide, about 48 inches, and made out of dark wood. There are six shelves on each side of the middle divider, with the top two shelves having glass inserts. There are lights in the top molding that shine down through the glass, and there is a touch pad to turn the lights on and off. It's a lot of shelf space, and I am sure I am FINALLY going to be able to get all of my books on shelves, rather that stacked on top or or in front of other books. For a while at least.
The most fun part of all of this is that I finally get to organize all of my books. When I first moved into this apartment and got my new shelves up, I wanted to get everything in some sort of order, grouped by genre and author. But I was moving and I was in a hurry to reuse the boxes in which I had carried the books to the new place, so I just grabbed books and put them on shelves. It has bothered me that my books were all jumbled ever since, but I was putting off rearranging, in the hopes that I could channel that organizing energy toward unpacking the mound of boxes and making our home look presentable. Now that I have new shelves, though, I HAVE to move all the books around! After all, I do have to put some of the books on the new shelves. I suppose, in theory, I could have just grabbed all the books that were on top of or in front of other books and put them on the new shelves, but I could not restrain myself any longer. My books were crying out for some order, and I could not ignore them.
This is so much fun! I am putting non-fiction on my new shelves. I don't have enough non-fiction to fill them, but that is good, I have room to grow. I have been picking up big armfuls of books and moving them from room to room. Science fiction is going on the shelves next to the reading chair. Mysteries will be in the other set of shelves in the front room. I have two shelves in the family room that will be devoted to unread books. Or, maybe not. Maybe I will just put all unread books in their categories, but put them over to the right, or something like that. Actually, that sounds like a good idea, both because it will be more organized, and because I am afraid all of my unread books won't fit on two shelves. I think I will have to try it both ways, and see which one is better.
All of this empty space is great, too. My shelves were getting seriously crowded, and I was wondering where I would put new books. Not that I need to buy any, with all my unread books, but let's be realistic; I am going to buy new books. I bought 5 new books tonight*, and I haven't even finished my first book of the year yet. I love having the books around, and I will read at least some of them. Some day when I have more time to read, I will get through my whole tbr list, a thought which actually fills me with a bit of anxiety. Fortunately, I am kidding myself--there will always be more books to buy!
Oh, and I saw that the shelves that I bought at World Market are on sale! I don't actually need more shelves right now, but I do want to get another set of these eventually. This is such a good price, I think maybe I should go ahead and get them now, but I am not sure I want to. For one thing, I don't know if I have the energy to carry the shelves up to my third floor apartment. I can't carry the whole box up, even with a friend helping, so it means multiple trips up the stairs with pieces of the unit. Then, I have to put it together, which is not undoable, but it is time-consuming. And, I would need to clean some stuff out of my bedroom, where I want to put the shelves. That's not the end of the world, but it is one more thing to do. I like to do some relaxing on my weekends. Still, I am thinking about it. I need an excuse to buy more books. Don't I?
*Mandy, again, although I have to admit, the bookstore was my idea. She wanted to go clothes shopping, but I figured the bookstore was less likely to make me feel fat.
2 comments:
I know this comment comes a bit late, but I just followed a link from your profile on Library Thing. I was reading through your blog and come across this post.
My children are always asking me why I have so many books. The next question is, "have you read all them yet?" I always tell them owning books is a both a hobby and a privilege and that even though I haven't gotten to them yet, that I am working on it. Its always funny to see their expression when I come home from the bookstore with an armful of books. They've stopped being nosy whenever daddy gets a package in the mail... "its just more books for daddy." LOL
I've always hoped that my interest in books and that my children seeing me read will cultivate a taste within them for reading too. It didn't work with my three oldest, but I do have a 9 year old daughter who loves to read more than watch tv. My four year old used to drag books behind her everywhere she went, from about the time she was old enough to walk. Now, she's always sitting down with a book like she's reading. She can read a little, but not very well. I will be so glad when she gets old enough and learns how to read so I can see if she will be an avid reader.
Do you think your reading influences your children to read more? I read about you and your daughter reading a book together. Do you do this often?
Yes, I do think that my reading makes the kids want to read more. I could be wrong, but I think that it does help kids to see parents reading for fun. Some kids just aren't going to want to read no matter what, but there are some who would love reading, but it never occurs to them because they don't see anyone doing it, I think.
My daughter and I have not read a book together since the last one; we need to get a new book and get back to that. What is really cute now, is, she reads to her little brother a lot now! So sweet.
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