This book is one of the many I own, yet it best describes what I love to do — collect books — and it recounts numerous tales of other bibliomaniacs whose book collections far surpass my measly one.
However, to most people that I know around the area in which I live, I have “too many” books. Some of them probably think I’m “mad” as in crazy, but according to Nicholas A. Basbanes, at least it’s a “gentle madness.” Ha ha.
Let’s make something clear, though, right now: I can NEVER have “too many” books.
Will I read them all? Nope. But the potential for me to read any one of them exists every single day because they are sitting on shelves in my house, within my reach, and they are things that can be enjoyed at any time of day and during any day of the year.
They aren’t seasonal and don’t rely on batteries or needing to be charged. They don’t clamor for my attention or get testy if I ignore them. They are much better decoration than shelves full of knickknacks. Each is unique and has the power to transport me to other lands, time periods, and perspectives. The are pretty and powerful.
Simply put, I love books, and I love having a home library. I’ve spent a lot of time lately reorganizing my books — partly to make room for a large influx of them that I got for a song at an auction and partly to reorganize and reclaim some rooms in my house.
In the basement, I have a very nice room that was originally set up as my children’s playroom. To be honest, they never played in it all that much, but it housed a lot of their toys. I decided it was time to do an overhaul on the room to turn it into my downstairs library and reading room. While it’s not quite complete, I did get my collection of Pulitzer winners of fiction moved to that room, and I moved a lot of other books to shelves that once housed other things. I also delegated my large collection of children’s books to one of the cabinets below the shelves in the following photo until such a time that those books might be read to any future grandkids I may have.
Here are more photos of my reorganized shelves. Aren’t they pretty?
There’s a method to my madness. The above photo shows YA on the top shelf, poetry on the second shelf, and Spanish literature and other readings on the lower shelf.
The above bookcase houses the Pulitzers of fiction and a few of my old stuffed animals in homage to the room’s original use.
The top shelf of the taller bookcase has all my Norton anthologies and some other American literature collections, and the smaller bookcase is filled with theater tomes and copies of plays.
On the main floor, I have the bookcases that contain the bulk of my fiction collection, all arranged alphabetically by author’s last name. The bookcase shown above is the start of that collection. It continues below.
This one isn’t as tidy because I’ve run out of bookcase space. Something to remedy.
The bottom shelf had to be doubled up. As I mentioned, I do need more bookcases. Plans are in the works to reclaim another room in my house but that one will need some work before I start moving into it.
Where the fiction collection ends.
In my writing office, I like to keep certain books handy, but that shelving also needed to be revamped, so I did that. Here is what I see by simply turning slightly in my chair.
I also have a small collection of old textbooks that I started years ago. I haven’t added much to it lately, but it needed some love, so I reorganized them, too. They now reside with some books that are about teaching and some things I created while teaching.
I also have a collection of classic books on my Kindle, but I don’t really think of that as a collection. It’s not tangible, but it is easily portable, so that’s a bonus for that collection.
I’ve catalogued about 1,000 of the books I own, but I know I have at least double that amount, if not more — especially if I were to count all the children’s books that are now stored away in a cabinet. Believe me when I say that my paltry 2,000-3,000 books are nothing compared to the collections of over 100,000 tomes that some people have.
Thomas Jefferson had over 6,000 books, and George Lucas has well over 27,000, so I have a long ways to go before I’m even a “bibliomaniac” in the eyes of true bibliomaniacs. I’m quite content with the home library I’ve amassed so far and am not actively working to expand it, but if I come across a great book at a great bargain, it’ll be coming home with me.
Because I’m “mad,” mad I tell ya. Ha ha ha ha ha.
If you’re a paying subscriber, you’re going to receive a bonus email this week because I’m almost out of space with this issue due to the number of photos I’ve shared. I was tasked with writing a couple rural-themed stories this month, and I think you’ll enjoy the two that I wrote and that you’ll be receiving in the bonus issue. If you’re not yet a paying subscriber, please consider becoming one —it’s only a few dollars each month.
Until next time.
Tammy Marshall