My Home Library, Present and Future

Thanks to Laura, I found the Boston Bibliophile’s home library series (and she’s now in my reader: unsure why she wasn’t there already!) which inspired me to do a post of my own on the idea. ;)

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As someone who’s been on a book acquiring ban, of more or less strictness, for over two and a half years now, the concept of a home library is more of an intellectual exercise than anything else. But such a fun exercise! And since I do eventually want to own a ‘home library’ (as opposed to ‘books I’ve acquired over the years and haven’t seen fit to get rid of somehow’), it should prove useful. ;)

Before I imagine my ideal home library, I should probably take a moment to look at the state of my current one. I’d estimate I have between 300 and 400 books, which mainly fit into 3 floor to ceiling bookcase, although right now there are a few vertical piles in front of those shelves! (However, yesterday I found a small, five-shelf bookcase at Goodwill, so those books will be organised soon.) The bookcases are the cheap kind you find at OfficeMax, and right now they have this faux oak finish that drives me crazy. But my mom and I are going to re-paint them as a project before we move (white on the the outside, light grey on the inside). The books are arranged by colour, which I’m aware some find frivolous, but I really love. I’ve played with the idea of other systems, such as geographical or chronological or thematical, but nothing quite makes sense…this way, it’s not making a statement about what I think is a book’s most important characteristic. And since I have a relatively small collection, and a visual memory, I can still find my books quickly. I’d guess about half of them have been read already and half are still patiently waiting their turn. Along with the books, I keep various knickknacks and photographs on the shelves…I like how it makes the shelves look more like a display.

The books don’t necessarily reflect the type of reader I am today, though. Many of my favourite authors are completely missing, since I read most of my books through the library. My shelves are much ‘whiter’ and less geographically diverse than my reading. There are no graphic books anywhere to be found. And my nonfiction is primarily related to languages or international relations…my more recent love of popular science and women’s studies and travelogues is barely reflected on my shelves. That being said, it’s not as if the books I own are completely unrelated to me! There’s still a mix of old and new, domestic and international, ‘highbrow’ and ‘lowbrow.’ But you wouldn’t be able to find most of the books I’ve reviewed on my blog over the last couple of years on my shelves!

Of course, does that really matter? Do I intend my home library to be just for me (my bookshelves currently live in my bedroom, so no one else sees them) or do I also want it to speak to others? And if the latter, what would I have it say? When I live on my own, I do intend to have bookshelves in my living room, and I’ll be more than happy for visitors to examine them. Of course, I’d like my shelves to reflect what I value most in my reading: diversity and curiosity. But I care more about my shelves bringing me personal happiness than about whether visitors will judge me based on them. So how to go about creating that happiness?

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If I magically won a prize tomorrow that allowed me unlimited book buying for the rest of my life, there’s a simple way I’d build my home library. I’d buy all of the books of every author I love, the moment I read the first book of theirs that made me love them. That way, both already-ready and to-be-read books would be at my finger tips, and it’d be representative of who I am and the kind of books I value. Not to mention, I’d be supporting those wonderful writers! This would hold true for both fiction and nonfiction authors, so it should yield a good mix. And I think it’d be thrilling to be surrounded by authors I adore (have I mentioned how much joy my sidebar of favourite authors brings me?). Additionally, I would buy in bulk from certain smaller publishers and imprints, once I’d read enough books to realise that my taste as a reader aligned with their taste as editors! I’d do my best to collect primarily trade paperbacks also, since they’re my preferred style.
What about brand-new authors not published by trusted presses? Now that I’ve been on a book buying ban for so long, I regard the idea of buying a book by an author I haven’t read before to be somewhat ludicrous…like buying a DVD before I’ve seen the film. After all, isn’t that what public libraries are for? Of course, I’d continue to try out new authors via my library, but I wouldn’t buy books by complete unknowns for my personal library…what if I didn’t like the book? I wouldn’t want to keep it, so better I can simply return it to the library than feel guilty about the money/paper/etc. wasted.

I’m not sure how large my home library would be…obviously, it would grow over the years, and I have a lot of authors I could already name who I’d want gracing my shelves. It’s perhaps a good thing that such hypothetically unlimited book buying won’t come to pass, since it would probably end up with every wall in my house being covered!

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Back in the realm of the real-world, though, I believe that this forms the basis for a good plan for any books I do acquire (either via giveaways or accepting review copies or the occasional library sale/thrift shop extravaganza). Currently, my book buying funds are pretty much nonexistent (since I’m too ill to work), but once I have a job I’ll set aside a certain amount of money each month to build up my collections of books by authors who I want to read more of. And I’ll make it a game: in addition to new copies (most likely from The Book Depository), I’ll search used bookstores and various book sales to find those hidden gems. Not only will my budget stretch farther, but it’s more environmentally friendly and personally rewarding! (There is of course the question of supporting an author, which is why I’d be sure to buy new copies as well.) Also, while I’m not overly concerned about ‘matching’ sets of books by different authors, I will take aesthetics into account with both old and new books…I’d like my library to be a feast for the eye as well as the mind. I don’t see myself searching out books that are special as objects, though, such as first editions or signed copies.

I’ll continue to organise my books by colour…I like the kind of serendipitous mingling it allows for. But I do hope to upgrade my shelves into real wood (bought second-hand: not only for environmental reasons but also because I like pieces with a bit of history to them, imagining who owned them before me)! And since I plan to travel once I have a job, I’ll be collecting more knickknacks and photographs to decorate those shelves as well. And of course, I’d have a small bookcase dedicated just for public library books! ;) As I mentioned yesterday, in a couple of months I’ll have a reading/sitting room, so now I’m collecting decorating ideas too!

I quite enjoyed writing this post; I already had a vague idea of how I’d like to go about creating my personal home library, but this has made my thoughts much more concrete and inspirational. Of course, I could list all of the authors and publishers I want to collect, but that would make this ridiculously long. It could be the start of a new series, though, in which I could talk about authors, presses, even topics that I want in my future home library. Would y’all be interested in that? I could call it Assembling My Atheneum (or does that sound too pretentious? I just like the word because I was born in Athens, was once a Classics geek, and it has a neat double meaning), and perhaps each week or fortnight do a brief profile of an author or publisher or translator I’d love to own more of. In fact, even if y’all aren’t interested, I might do it for myself…it sounds like such fun! ;)

Back to the topic: do you think about your home library? How are you shaping it, and what purpose(s) does it serve?