All of this, mind you, after looking at no less than twelve furniture stores. It had to be a white bookcase, it had to be a strong and sturdy bookcase and not cost me a mortgage payment (who am I kidding, I don't have a mortgage, but you know what I mean), and it could not exceed 34 inches wide. And I found one that matched all of that criteria and then I had to go look at several more stores just to make sure that the bookcase I found was the only true bookcase for my space.
It was.
We brought it home the other day in my trusty CR-V (have I mentioned how much I love that car?) and it fit perfectly in the space I had for it. Then I got to pull out my three boxes of books that have been stored away and unpack them.
And then I nearly cried.
Because it was like I reconnected with old friends and great memories. Each book is a treasure to me and with most of them I can tell you when I purchased or acquired them and how they have impacted me. They make me smile just to look at them. My old friends had returned for a lovely and long visit.
I now have three big bookcases and I even have some room to add more books when the inspiration hits me. There are several divisions for my books. There are the classics which run from Louisa May Alcott to Eudora Welty with a healthy smattering of Jane Austen, George Eliot, Willa Cather and Chaim Potok in between. The other divisions can't beat my classics in size but they are each and everyone important to me. There are books on:
- art
- travel
- finance
- health and diet
- organization
- herbs and alternative healing
- children's and young adult literature
- gospel topics and church manuals
- contemporary novels
- relationships
Of course, within each of those divisions they are alphabetized by author and then title if I have multiple books from one author. You know, that's the only OCD way to go when it comes to knowing where all of your books are all of the time.
So, I've fired up the old reading chair, turned on a lamp and I'm headed off to book land to hang out with an old favorite.
4 comments:
I need to give you my wish list so when you hit all those furniture stores you can shop for me too. Dragging John through all those stores would put me in tears!
Have fun with your books!
Congratulations on this very important addition to your home. I cannot believe you lived for so long without your own old favorites.
I have been a lurker lately and have been loving all of your posts. I know how you feel about your books. I still don't have a bookcase for my books so they are stored under my bed and in boxes every where. And I can't wait to get them out, and now after reading this I really want a bookcase too so I can unpack all of my old friends : )
Post a picture! I'm excited for you.
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