These books really stack up

I love books. I read books. I love flipping through their pages.

I’ve made books. I’m credited in books. I’ve been encouraged to write a book.

I have friends who work with books for a living as librarians, teachers, editors, conservators, and booksellers.

I wish I knew how many books I’ve handled physically as an organizer, and how many pounds of books have been loaded to my car and delivered to donation centers.

Once a client mused about reshelving books by the colors of their spines and had her personal assistant do it. Spines say a lot. When waiting for someone to return to a room in which I’ve been left alone, I’m drawn to whatever books are on the shelves, seeking a common interest, a familiar title, or an addition to my future reading list.

I’m grateful nobody has ever asked me to shelve books backward as was (and may still be) a trend of sorts in minimalist monochromatic interior design and organizing. That said, I’m grateful I once made a date with myself to go view 3,500 books stacked against a wall in this fashion: all fore edges facing out.

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Despite temptation, I didn’t touch or wonder what the title was for a single one.

p.s. Due to a wide variety of safety reasons, including this example, I would never recommend storing or displaying books in this fashion at home ; )

Enclosed Content Chatting Away in the Colour Invisibility, an installation by Dutch artist, Anouk Kruithof at Casemore Kirkeby in 2017.

Debra Baida is the owner of Liberated Spaces.
  1. dirk

    I’ve read that in movies and such they may shelve the books backwards to avoid copyright issues. That seems weird and maybe not true… but I have read that….

    • deb

      I’m not sure how that’s a thing, especially since you cannot obtain copyright for the title of a book.