Conspicuous display of physical books

Renate · 07-27-2022, 06:38 PM

Ok, I'm been to Trinity College, Dublin, Old Library.
It's quite the eye-porn, but what's the use?
When was the last time that a volume was touched?

You see authors, intellectuals against a backdrop of overflowing bookcases.
(Especially lawyers, but we won't get into that one.)

If it were 50 years ago and I were rich, I'd have a library of 25,000 volumes.
I'd keep them in a (climate controlled) basement in Stor-Reels.
Those are the shelves on train tracks so that in a whole series there is only 4 feet of slack that can be positioned where you want it.

I want access to books. I don't want to look at them.

But you. Do you consider them esthetic, visually pleasing?
Or nasty, dust-collecting objects that steal space that could be better used for chairs, divans, reading lamps?

Renate · 07-27-2022, 06:45 PM

Aaarrrrrrggggg!

Deskisamess · 07-27-2022, 08:57 PM

You asked me in a private message to defend my opinion. Why?

I like to see books in a house. I don't need tons of bookshelves, but a shelf or two showing my hardbound favorites. Right now, none are on display, because we moved and don't have the same space. We got rid of many, but still probably have a few hundred give or take. I can't read print books easily, so 99% of my reading is done from a Kindle or mobile device.

A house with no books freaks me out. I know people who don't do any reading for pleasure. It's a trait I don't understand.

Martinoptic · 07-28-2022, 05:21 AM

I voted other:
I like to see a few books in a bookcase but not (in the home anyway) so many that they take over the room. I do like second-hand bookshops that are well shelved and orderly though.

meeera · 07-28-2022, 09:27 AM

My paper books aren't "conspicuously displayed", they're on bookshelves which have been normal household furniture for me my entire life. Cookbooks have their own bookcase, and there are bookcases in each bedroom and a few in the living area. This doesn't feeling odd or like some sort of performance to me. All my friends have bookcases also. Where else would I put them? A mildewy shed? That I'd have to trek out to every time I wanted to grab or re-shelve a book?

They're not dust collectors because all of my bookshelves have glass doors on the front.

Uncle Robin · 07-28-2022, 10:08 AM

I voted "other". I understand that many people are deeply attached to the physicality of paper books. They love the look of them, the feel of them, the smell of them. Those are subjective aesthetic judgments and I have no problem with that.

What I have a problem with is the widely held view that paper books are somehow superior to other types of books. The Twitter hashtag #booktwt for example, presumes that "book" means only "paper book". For some who hold that view it really IS about "conspicuous display", but that is no more "right" or "wrong" than putting pictures on walls, self-evidently for the purpose of "conspicuous display"
For me, the content is more important than the medium, and would consider myself a bibliophile because I read voraciously. Many, many "bibliophiles" feel no compunction in contemning that notion, and that viewpoint irks me more than someone taking pleasure in walls of books

Renate · 07-28-2022, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

A house with no books freaks me out. I know people who don't do any reading for pleasure. It's a trait I don't understand.

As somebody who will read cereal boxes if there is nothing else to read, I don't understand it either. I came from parents with one a voracious reader, the other (who admittedly had to read a lot for work) who never read for pleasure.

Cookbooks might almost be a separate case.
And I do have my greasy thumbed Chilton's for my truck.

BetterRed · 07-28-2022, 09:49 PM

I voted other

Apart from reference texts, a few grubby cookbooks, and some 'treasured possessions', I have never hung onto books, mainly give them to second-hand bookshops (or street side libraries), sometimes leave them on park benches or at bus stops.

One of the things I 'hate' about e-books is that I cannot give them away legitimately when I'm done with them.

Treasured possessions includes: an early 20th century leather bound 5 volume edition of Macaulay's "History of England…". My local library would have sent to the dump had I not taken it. I had referred to it a couple times at the library prior to that… it wasn't on a shelf, it was in a locked room and it couldn't be borrowed. Now it's in a cupboard :lol:

since I snagged the Macaulay we got a new much bigger local library, maybe they'd like it back.

BR

4691mls · 07-30-2022, 05:51 PM

I don't have a ton of paper books myself, but I've always liked photos of libraries in houses that are large enough to have a dedicated room for it. Even though most of my reading is digital these days, I'd probably enjoy having a home library room if I could afford it.

Paperbackstash · 08-02-2022, 11:23 AM

My small living room is a living room library. I've always loved books and dreamed of having a mini library as an adult. As a teen I had these neat bookshelves my mom made that took up a lot of room with different colored boards and bricks. I think books are gorgeous and like having them around - not only for reading, but also the bibliophile in me.

Tarana · 08-15-2022, 11:59 AM

We've gone digital except for cookbooks and craft books. I actually like having far fewer books around the house. There is actually wall space for completed wall art!

timebug · 08-19-2022, 04:44 AM

I have two bookcases,displaying around a thousand books. To me, a home without books looks naked somehow!

sedgefog · 08-24-2022, 04:13 PM

Books are the last holdout for me when it comes to physical media. As digital media requires nothing more than a computer to function they to me are unjustifiable with regards to collecting or storing on shelves. CDs and Blu-ray disks for example seem just hangover parody of the analog era when the media was the medium itself.

Mel · 09-06-2022, 05:06 PM

If you're going to have those big bookcases full of books remember to position them against outside walls so they do double-duty as insulation. Is it still conspicuous consumption when they are helping with the energy bill?

Victoria · 10-06-2022, 10:36 AM

I selected “thank goodness for digital”. I gave away every fiction book I owned several years ago. I mostly see physical books as heavy, bulky dust traps.

However, I recently reordered a few favourite paperbacks, because we were facing yet another hurricane, and potential lengthy power outages. The fly in the digital ointment is that kindles need recharging. And when there is nothing to do for days, it’s easy to burn through a stack of charged e-readers.

View Poll Results: What do you think of conspicuous physical books?
Books are estethically pleasing and I like to see them on bookshelves	32	58.18%
I have no option but to store books where I can see them	7	12.73%
Thank goodness we've gone digital!	11	20.00%
Other	5	9.09%
Voters: 55. You may not vote on this poll

07-27-2022, 06:38 PM	#1
Renate Onyx-maniac Posts: 3,194 Karma: 12537601 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5, Go6	Conspicuous display of physical books Ok, I'm been to Trinity College, Dublin, Old Library. It's quite the eye-porn, but what's the use? When was the last time that a volume was touched? You see authors, intellectuals against a backdrop of overflowing bookcases. (Especially lawyers, but we won't get into that one.) If it were 50 years ago and I were rich, I'd have a library of 25,000 volumes. I'd keep them in a (climate controlled) basement in Stor-Reels. Those are the shelves on train tracks so that in a whole series there is only 4 feet of slack that can be positioned where you want it. I want access to books. I don't want to look at them. But you. Do you consider them esthetic, visually pleasing? Or nasty, dust-collecting objects that steal space that could be better used for chairs, divans, reading lamps?

07-27-2022, 06:45 PM	#2
Renate Onyx-maniac Posts: 3,194 Karma: 12537601 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5, Go6	Aaarrrrrrggggg! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Renate; 08-15-2022 at 06:46 PM.

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07-27-2022, 08:57 PM	#3
Deskisamess Wizard Posts: 2,688 Karma: 43102409 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Device: iPhone 7+, iPad mini, 2021 iPad Pro 12.9",Paperwhite 6.8"	You asked me in a private message to defend my opinion. Why? I like to see books in a house. I don't need tons of bookshelves, but a shelf or two showing my hardbound favorites. Right now, none are on display, because we moved and don't have the same space. We got rid of many, but still probably have a few hundred give or take. I can't read print books easily, so 99% of my reading is done from a Kindle or mobile device. A house with no books freaks me out. I know people who don't do any reading for pleasure. It's a trait I don't understand.

07-28-2022, 05:21 AM	#4
Martinoptic Bibliolater Posts: 5,872 Karma: 4147318 Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: England Device: none	I voted other: I like to see a few books in a bookcase but not (in the home anyway) so many that they take over the room. I do like second-hand bookshops that are well shelved and orderly though.

07-28-2022, 09:27 AM	#5
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,718 Karma: 66666666 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	My paper books aren't "conspicuously displayed", they're on bookshelves which have been normal household furniture for me my entire life. Cookbooks have their own bookcase, and there are bookcases in each bedroom and a few in the living area. This doesn't feeling odd or like some sort of performance to me. All my friends have bookcases also. Where else would I put them? A mildewy shed? That I'd have to trek out to every time I wanted to grab or re-shelve a book? They're not dust collectors because all of my bookshelves have glass doors on the front.

07-28-2022, 10:08 AM	#6
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,460 Karma: 49052844 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra H2O	I voted "other". I understand that many people are deeply attached to the physicality of paper books. They love the look of them, the feel of them, the smell of them. Those are subjective aesthetic judgments and I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is the widely held view that paper books are somehow superior to other types of books. The Twitter hashtag #booktwt for example, presumes that "book" means only "paper book". For some who hold that view it really IS about "conspicuous display", but that is no more "right" or "wrong" than putting pictures on walls, self-evidently for the purpose of "conspicuous display" For me, the content is more important than the medium, and would consider myself a bibliophile because I read voraciously. Many, many "bibliophiles" feel no compunction in contemning that notion, and that viewpoint irks me more than someone taking pleasure in walls of books

07-28-2022, 09:49 PM	#8
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,008 Karma: 27620706 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	I voted other Apart from reference texts, a few grubby cookbooks, and some 'treasured possessions', I have never hung onto books, mainly give them to second-hand bookshops (or street side libraries), sometimes leave them on park benches or at bus stops. One of the things I 'hate' about e-books is that I cannot give them away legitimately when I'm done with them. Treasured possessions includes: an early 20th century leather bound 5 volume edition of Macaulay's "History of England…". My local library would have sent to the dump had I not taken it. I had referred to it a couple times at the library prior to that… it wasn't on a shelf, it was in a locked room and it couldn't be borrowed. Now it's in a cupboard :lol: since I snagged the Macaulay we got a new much bigger local library, maybe they'd like it back. BR

07-30-2022, 05:51 PM	#9
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	I don't have a ton of paper books myself, but I've always liked photos of libraries in houses that are large enough to have a dedicated room for it. Even though most of my reading is digital these days, I'd probably enjoy having a home library room if I could afford it.

08-02-2022, 11:23 AM	#10
Paperbackstash Wizard Posts: 1,649 Karma: 20102554 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Central Florida Device: Oasis 3, PW 3 & 5, Fire HD 8 & 10	My small living room is a living room library. I've always loved books and dreamed of having a mini library as an adult. As a teen I had these neat bookshelves my mom made that took up a lot of room with different colored boards and bricks. I think books are gorgeous and like having them around - not only for reading, but also the bibliophile in me.

08-15-2022, 11:59 AM	#11
Tarana Wizard Posts: 4,010 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	We've gone digital except for cookbooks and craft books. I actually like having far fewer books around the house. There is actually wall space for completed wall art!

08-19-2022, 04:44 AM	#12
timebug Ancient Sage Posts: 14,585 Karma: 15493448 Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Derby U.K. Device: Kobo Reader	I have two bookcases,displaying around a thousand books. To me, a home without books looks naked somehow!

08-24-2022, 04:13 PM	#13
sedgefog Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2022 Device: Libra 2	Books are the last holdout for me when it comes to physical media. As digital media requires nothing more than a computer to function they to me are unjustifiable with regards to collecting or storing on shelves. CDs and Blu-ray disks for example seem just hangover parody of the analog era when the media was the medium itself.

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09-06-2022, 05:06 PM	#14
Mel Connoisseur Posts: 55 Karma: 6570782 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Android tablet	If you're going to have those big bookcases full of books remember to position them against outside walls so they do double-duty as insulation. Is it still conspicuous consumption when they are helping with the energy bill?

10-06-2022, 10:36 AM	#15
Victoria Wizard Posts: 1,015 Karma: 19767610 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Device: ipad, Kindle PW, Kobo Clara; iphone 7	I selected “thank goodness for digital”. I gave away every fiction book I owned several years ago. I mostly see physical books as heavy, bulky dust traps. However, I recently reordered a few favourite paperbacks, because we were facing yet another hurricane, and potential lengthy power outages. The fly in the digital ointment is that kindles need recharging. And when there is nothing to do for days, it’s easy to burn through a stack of charged e-readers.