Sunday, October 21, 2012

one of my favorite things

I'm linking up with  Claudia from Mockingbird Hill Cottage 
as she asked us on Saturday to share one of our favorite things.

One of my favorite things are books.
I'm obviously an avid reader and from the pictures you'll see below,
a book collector.

These are my main (overflowing) bookshelves in the basement family room.


Little side note - my son, Tim painted the sneaker picture
below when he was in high school.

The console table behind the family room sofa holds more books,
as well as the basket until the table. 
(Wooden sculpture on top of the table and green pottery jar underneath the
table made by Tim.)


I use books in my decor and stack them wherever I have some space!
These books are in my bedroom bookcase headboard.

In my personal space/spare bedroom, books take up part of the TV stand...

and are stacked on the lower part of plant stands and tables.


I have one bookcase in the spare bedroom and it's filled with pretties 
and books.

More books in the living room...

I love using books as pedestals in vignettes.
(I didn't realize that the bookshelf full of cookbooks was
 in this picture when I was taking the photo - more books, but of a different sort!)





Vintage books and poetry books line the console table in the living room.

I rarely pay full-price for my books. 
Most of them come from library book sales, Goodwill,
paperbackswap.com, or purchased on half.com.

And I don't have a desire for an e-reader. I simply can't 
cozy up with an electronic device. To curl up on my overstuffed
red chair in the spare bedroom, holding one of my beloved books
in my hands, turning the pages and smelling the ink and paper,
letting the words float over me and carry me into a different place for awhile...
well, there's nothing like it in the world.


11 comments:

  1. Hi Melanie, I am coming over from Claudia's party. I LOVE to inspect bookshelves in people's homes--so much can be learned from what I find there. You have a wonderful collection, some of which are familiar to me and others which look so enticing. I too love books, but I now have a kindle too, at the insistence of my daughter, so we can share. I must say that I was very surprised at how much I have enjoyed it, but I still buy the hard copies of the books too!! Linda

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  2. Oh My!You really do love books and I do too.

    Smiles, Dottie

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  3. I agree. I love the real deal, the actual book in my hands. And being able to flip back to a picture or a map easily. I love books too. But I got to the point where I decided that I would only keep my favorites and ones that held sentimental value. I have the equivalent of 3 bookshelves worth of books here too. One upstairs in the office, one downstairs in the rec room, and a few other random shelves here and there, which if stacked together would amount to a 3rd bookshelf. Anything that doesn't fit in the designated spaces has to go. I have a smallish house, and I have a library near me, so it's easy to run over there if I really need to find something. My sister has so many books, she doesn't know what to do with them all. And she has a very spacious, large home. In her defense, she is a librarian. :-)

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    Replies
    1. All these books are ones that I haven't read yet! lol

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  4. I feel the same way. I love books, I love reading. We have limited space here at the cottage so I can't display them like I used to, but I think reading and books are essential to my daily life. It's so neat that your house is full of your favorite things. And I agree, I have a reader that was given to me and I don't use it. I like to have the actual book in my hands.

    Thanks so much for joining in!

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  5. I'm with you in loving books! I do have a Kindle but don't enjoy it half as much as having a real book in my hands. We have books everywhere!

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  6. We area a big book family, too! You family room shelves remind me of my 8 year old's room. He has a crazy book collection. All research he tells me since he is planning on being a librarian when he grows up! I'm now following and am looking forward to exploring your blog.

    Angela

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  7. Thanks for your sweet comment.....love your blog and your collection of books!

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  8. I love books too...can't stop! Love to read them...and decorate with them :) Thanks for the visit...happy to be following along :) Laurel

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  9. I love books too - love your photos. I wish i had more bookcases. I only have 4 and two of them are half bookselves. I live in a 600 foot apartment. Can't wait until I can fit more bookcases in there. Keep up the idea of real books!!

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  10. Ooooh ... I love all of your books. I'm dreaming of having a my home office turned into a mini-library one of these days/years. As an author, it's always interesting to see the books people enjoy. You have some of my favorite authors here.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment - I read and appreciate each one!