librarian.net » bookshelves

because they are heavy and because they are my books…

jessamyn — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:00:45 +0000

Freshome has a droolworthy list of thirty creative bookshelf designs. Astute librarians may look at a few and say “but those are totally impractical!” and you’re right, they are. Bonus impractical: Instructable on building Tetris bookshelves.

bookshelf staircase

jessamyn — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:34:06 +0000

A nifty architectural mashup of stairs and bookshelves, made all the more excellent by the vague but noticable color-affinities of the books that are shelved. [thanks lydia]

The Decoration of Houses – book shelving chapter

jessamyn — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:20:22 +0000

IN the days when furniture was defined as “that which may be carried about,” the natural bookcase was a chest with a strong lock. These chests, packed with precious manuscripts, followed the prince or noble from one castle to another, and were even carried after him into camp. Before the invention of printing, when twenty or thirty books formed an exceptionally large library, and many great personages were content with the possession of one volume, such ambulant bookcases were sufficient for the requirements of the most eager bibliophile.

I enjoyed Henry Petroski’s treatise on book shelving called The Book on the Book Shelf. I am also enjoying Edith Wharton’s 1897 chapter on a smilar topic. [thanks will!]

chairs for reading

jessamyn — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:25:43 +0000

Two snappy chairs.

- reading and thinking (and putting your feet up)
- reading and thinking and moving