Do you own a lot of books?

Question

If you do, how do you find room to store them all? My house is unbearably small and my book collection keeps getting increasingly larger...One of these days I'm going to give my books their own room!!

Answer 1

It depends on what you consider a lot of books. I have a decent amount. About 2,000 hard covers and 500 paperbacks. Also 100 magazines. I have Ikea's Billy shelves which hold a lot without collapsing or pulling from the walls. I have a foot locker full of my collectible books which has a bookcase on top of it and a steamer trunk full of other books that doubles as a table. Since most of my clothes fit in the closet that leaves me with 8 drawers in my dresser for books and my two end-tables are full of books for easy access late night reading. All of my cookbooks take up two full cabinets in the kitchen. And the magazines are in a filing cabinet that is part of my computer desk. I also have books in my entertainment center. The hallway has small three shelf shelving units that come from Walmart and the stairs have staggered shelves on the wall holding the art books face out so they look like paintings. I think I might have about 20 books on the wall that way around the house. And mid way around the bedroom instead of a painted border I have a handmade wooden shelf that circles the room which holds my textbooks and religious tomes. In fact the only room that doesn't have any books is the bathroom.
As you can see you have to be creative. Shelves under the bed works as well. And if you have room in your closet you can make a shelf or two. Don't go to a furniture store for your shelves, a hardware store works much better.
Good luck.

Answer 2

My house is stuffed with books, but now I'm running out of space in my room (and my mom thought I had plenty of room in my room...), so I'll have to put my books somewhere else. There are also books in my brothers' rooms, but then it's hard to find, especially considering their ages, and the fact they are boys... and messy. So I have a large bookself (from Ikea ^_^) that is now full of books, as in first full, and then the spaces ABOVE the books having piles of books on them, not even counting the book piles I have on desk from rereading, and etc. (I am a little messy, I need to find spots for them) I wish I had the power to fill a room with books (a little library just for me!) but that will take years...I have to go through high school and college, and then get an apartment...and a job...
It helps that I usually go to the libary for books, but other than my mom being too busy to take me to a bookstore, which doesn't stop me anyway (I can order off the internet =) ). I just make room. Which doesn't help, I always resolve to organize my books in the summer, maybe this year. ^_^

On second thought, wow, some of these people are so lucky, I wish I had 2,500 books at home...

Answer 3

We own an enormous amount of books for all ages. Every room in the house including the dining room has at least few sets of bookshelves to accommodate them all, with the bedrooms and playroom having full walls of books. We go to the library on a regular basis, as well. As far as space goes, we buy what we what and if we can't find a place for it, we go through the books and donate any that haven't been read or weren't any good. For the most part, I'm comfortable with my kids reading whatever they're interested in. There are a few cases of "censoring" but they're few and far between. For instance, I wouldn't let an 8 year old read erotica or something like that. Not that our bookshelves carry that much erotica, I have a couple books on my shelf in my bedroom, but as far as buying future books or checking out from the library, that would be something I'd "censor."

Answer 4

A LIBRARY!
Wouldn't that be heaven.
We have the same "problem".
Books are everywhere. In the bathroom, kitchen, every room and I have them by category on tall narrow bookshelves throughout the house. There are still many I have in boxes with no place to go. "treasures" that I would never give away.
I even have a collection of children's books (mostly vintage) that I can't wait to read to my grandchildren someday ( the illustrations in vintage books are priceless).
I donate to library bookstores but usually come home with more from the same store... :)
Soooo many goood books out there. I am huge on Biographies,inspirational true life stories, history, mostly non-fiction, ones like Erma Bombeck type with a slap of humor on life's everyday troubles, vintage books that have a window into a way of thinking that is almost non-existent ( intriguing) and children's books.
Books can be so many different things to different people.

Answer 5

I also have too many books for the size of my house. They are everywhere. Pretty much any flat surface I can find has piles of book &/or mags. I did buy some cases & they looked nice for awhile but now the the space is totally filled, with books piled horizontally in front of the usual vertical ones. Ahhh, to have a true personal library room, you lucky people! Not sure just how many I do have but now you've made me curious so may have to try & count them.

Answer 6

We pretty much had to give all of our books their own room. It is almost all books plus a few other collectables and such. Plus we have a bunch of books in all of our rooms. So if you have a room that you use for storage, you should change it around a little bit so that you can make it into a library.

Answer 7

I am fortunate enough to have been able to design a library - complete with exposed brick walls, cherry shelves, a gorgeous fireplace and leather furniture. However, it is now filled to capacity and I need a new room. Try stacking them vertically and using them as part of the decor of the room ... Or get a piece of glass and use vertical stacks of books and glass as a coffee table. Higher shelves and a ladder is another option. But then again, so is sending some of them to www.booksforsoldiers.com.

Pax - C

Answer 8

I hace a lot of books because my mom and i love to read, since my mom never has time to read though i end up reading the books we buy. I read the most in my house and grade combined. Its hard to find a place to put all those books. I have a samll bookshelf in my back room where i keep most of my books and encyclopedias and watnot. but i hardly have room for anymore books so wat i do is keep the ooks i like them most in my room and i put them in a corner or someplace where i can get them ewasiy and i can re-read them. and yes i do re-read books the ones that are really really awesome and fantabulous, no words to describe how good the books. lol i hope this helps you out.

Answer 9

I have books everywhere...hundreds upon hundreds..six bookcases full ..in boxes under the beds ..stacked anywhere I can find a place..(I have a hard time finding a certain book when I can't remember which box I put it in)..like you ,one of these days I am going to add on a room with ceiling to floor bookcases built into the wall..or ,so I have told my husband..who rolls his eyes...lol....but that is what I have always wanted...

Answer 10

I went floor to ceiling with my bookshelves on every open wall, then I had to start doubling up on each shelf. The only room in my house without a bookshelf is the Kitchen, and that's because my cabinets over the stove are full of cookbooks.