We Need to Talk About Bookshelves
We all swoon over bookshelf porn and lust after Greenwich Village lofts with built-in libraries, but actually figuring out how to store a large collection of books in a budget-friendly but still moderately attractive way is hard. Especially when you have an outrageous number of books. Especially in a small apartment. Especially when you have furniture commitment issues.
Maybe you should get a Kindle/Nook, you say? To which I respond first a hasty and instinctive HELL NO, then a thoughtful, “But I could never afford to buy digital replacements for all the books I already own at ~$9.99 each, and many of my treasured volumes aren’t available in eBook form anyway, but also, just: hell no.” (*Personal preference, only. Any reading on any electronic device or cereal box or sign post or ass tattoo is for the better. Namaste.)
Maybe you should stop hoarding books, choose your favorites and donate the rest to the The People’s Library or some other cause, you say? To which I would respond: You’re probably right but I’m allergic to cats so they’re not in danger of being crushed and I already do that sometimes and still have a lot, and as long I can still walk through my room and consistently spend less on alcohol than books, I feel like I’m at a healthy balance which is in no way logical, but lay off. I like books. And I read them all. Usually more than once.
The real problem, for me, in addition to excuse-making, is legitimate book storage. Ikea is one thing, but most of the shelves that would fully contain all my tomes and talismans are much too big for my space (lookin’ at you, EXPEDIT). Real grown-up-non-particle-board bookshelves are a reasonably big financial commitment. First, there’s the actual cost and then the opportunity cost. Imagine how many used books you could buy for $250! [Answer: 50] Imagine how many readings you could go to where you bought the book, then went out for drinks with your friends to discuss the book’s waxing or waning influence on contemporary literary culture! [Answer: 7] Imagine how many first editions of Mrs. Dalloway you could buy! [Answer: 7/20ths of 1]
As someone who just moved between states, thinking about having a piece of furniture–bookshelf or otherwise–to which I am financially or emotionally committed and having to move said furniture every time I change apartments or decide to take a low-paying internship in Saskatchewan or just want to try living in the desert for a spell, is a true nightmare. The cheapest way to move a large amount of furniture is to rent a car or van and drive it yourself, and even that ends up costing hundreds in gas in a significant geographic move. And read the Yelp! Reviews before you move anything valuable in those storage pods, which start at around a thousand bucks for a multi-state trek. The books, on the other hand, can be shipped to your new address via USPS media mail for mere pence.
Maybe it’s partially because I am a Gemini and get emotionally claustrophobic when I have to commit to a username and password, but buying real furniture is something I am not mentally or financially ready to do. Until then, I will continue scouring craigslist for bedbug-free wood, stacking books on the floor and hoping nothing Jengas.
Jessi Probus is a writer and reader living in Bushwick, BK.
If you’re handy at all you could always build your own bookshelf. I made this floating bookshelf for pretty cheap. If you don’t mind sacrificing a few books of your own or buying some cheap ones to cut up it’s not too difficult.
You could even go super lo-fi and just use some boards and l brackets so long as you know hot to find studs properly. It wouldn’t look so polished but at least they’re off the floor and if they’re not a tripping hazard you can spend more on alcohol without worrying about personal injury!
Jessi, are you me? I, too, spend more money on books than alcohol and once “joked” to my mother that I’d probably end up spending more money on books than food were I ever unemployed. …and that did happen one time.
I bought one of those cube-style bookshelves at Target, have a small Ikea one (that I had to lug across the Mall of America parking lot and back to college on the bus), the shelf in my closet is stacked with books and I STILL have a giant box of books sitting at the family home that hasn’t made it to my new apartment yet. Largely because I just have nowhere to put them. Books! I love them!
@Saralyn@twitter I definitely spend more money on books than alcohol, but I don’t really drink alcohol.
CINDERBLOCKS. TWO BY FOURS. BOOKSHELF, CHECKMATE.
So, okay, 2x8s are probably better than 2x4s. But there’s a reason hippies have been building these for several decades now. They’re cheap, easy to put together, and can be reconfigured in tons of different ways.
I’ve been hauling around the same cinderblock bookcase my parents had as a kid since I got my first place, and unless I manage to break it I’ll probably have it basically forever. Looks badass, too, and you can put stuff in the little cinderblock nooks and crannies!
Admitted downsides: cinderblocks are pretty heavy and a little rough on the fingers, so enjoy carrying them individually up and down stairs when you move.
@Leon Tchotchke I’ve thought about doing this and trying to paint/paste fabric over the blocks. But how easy is it on a flat floor to dislodge the planks? Are my cats going to die?
@wallsdonotfall I worried on and off about this and for pretty much the same reasons. It’s going to depend on the size/shape of the bookcase, planks, and blocks. In general, though, pretty sturdy?
Since my floor’s kinda crappy, I’ve switched from having all the blocks standing up at full height to having one of the layers with the blocks lying flat instead of standing up. It made one shelf just tall enough for paperbacks and makes the whole thing a lot more sturdy.
You can also do some clever arrangements like these guys if you’re worried about having a teetering tower of heavy objects: http://poornina.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dscn2038.jpg
@Leon Tchotchke Um, meant to link this, but that one’s nice too. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HaR_kCPN2KU/SDL0rkkrXNI/AAAAAAAABho/Fv7Mzx-C9Ko/s320/cinder+block+bookcaseJPG.jpg
@Leon Tchotchke Oh heeeey, I like that. Low looks like the way to go.
Apartment Therapy had a DIY tutorial recently on attaching bottoms to cinder blocks using liquid nails, which I’m highly skeptical of. But then you could arrange some of the blocks to jut out and put in plants full of succulents or whatever in the spaces.
I have 3 pitifully small bookshelves jammed to the brim with books and boxes more of books under my bed. I’m eyeing some bookshelves from Ikea at the moment despite the particle board. I just need the storage now and maybe in a few years I can spring for nicer ones.
I love the picture frame over piles of books. that is so unique and just fucking awesome.
@redheaded&crazy It really does look cool.
I don’t have these, but they look really cool. http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=22505846
I just couldn’t handle having all those books on the floor, although you’ve made it look appealing.
It’s pulp board, but I love the MUJI bookshelves—by that I mean I’m going to buy two after I move. Cheap and sturdy! That’s all a writer/phd student like me needs. http://www.muji.us/store/furniture-1/shelving.html (the multirack one)
I have to voice support for your craigslist scouring plan. We had boxes and boxes of books, half of them would even stay in those boxes in the closets for relatively temporary leases. Eventually I found a woman selling bookshelves from her late father’s law offices. They are sturdy, real wood, tall and wide, and they look fantastic. They’ll also hold up better than IKEA. And they cost $150. I wish I’d bought 8 instead of 4 to replace all the IKEA ones, too.
Alright: This seems like a good place to ask this question. As anyone who’s read my comments ever knows (hi myrna!) I’m moving to New York with very little furniture and a lot of books and records. Anyone have recommendations for book/record combo storage? Expedit seems like a good idea, but I’m nervous I won’t have room.
Also, am I going to need a twin bed? Do all New Yorkers sleep in twin beds?
@thewurst Unless you have the tiniest apartment you’ll probably be fine with a double bed, but most places can’t fit a king. Also I own an Expedit precisely because it is the proper size for records.
@thewurst Here is a great article in the Times about how this guy lives in a 178-square-foot apartment. His bed doubles as storage, and I adore it. Furniture that doubles as storage is a must.
@thewurst fair warning as a former expedit owner: it is an unbelievable pain in the ass to assemble/disassemble
@Mike Dang Holy cow that bed is amazing! Also thanks everyone! I have so many records that I’ll probably go with an expedit anyway. If I decide to bring them all up there with me that is.
@dotcommie Oh, yes, Expedit is a total pain in the ass to assemble. Mine actually isn’t screwed in on one side, just pushed up against the wall because I gave up. But this happens with most of my Ikea furniture.
I stalk Container Store sales and buy these folding bookshelves when they get marked down (which happens a couple of times a year):
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/shelving/freestandingShelving?productId=10008634
You can stack them two high, they hold a lot of books, they are relatively narrow in both width and depth, and best of all, you can just fold them up and carry them when you are moving. I have six (three sets when assembled). They all fit in the trunk of a car. AND they are already assembled in the package.
@seachange oh, I had like four of those for like 10 years, before I leveled up to my current fancy-pants system. So great for people who are going to move more than once per presidency.
@seachange I have something like this except it’s from Target – http://www.target.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/p/Folding-3-Shelf-Unit-Walnut/-/A-10872707
I bought it during one of their back to school dorm sales for $20 and have been toting it with me since college.
I could probably fit a 4×4 expedit in my place, but I have a 2×4 and a 2×2 for books and records. Plus, I couldn’t drag the giant box the 4×4 comes in all by myself. Going to IKEA alone is a really sad experience, you guys.
@kellyography When I was outfitting my apartment, I fell into a time vortex and somehow spent 5 hours by myself, in Ikea, hauling around two (two!) carts worth of stuff, like a crazy person. The $120 dining set was worth it, though.
@let’s pretend we’re bunny rabbits OK, this discussion of Expedit is bringing out a lot of emotions, guys. I, too, was the lonely person at Ikea about 6 weeks ago. Dudes laughed at me as I tried carrying just a 2×2 Expedia by myself (the box size is awkward). Seriously? You seriously are laughing at single girl struggling with a large box of sad Ikea furniture? A pox upon you!
@angry little raincloud yeah, Ikea is really just 100% terrible unless you are going there to reenact 500 days of summer (in love) parts. I feel like I am always dehydrated the instant I walk in, and everything is 4 times heavier than anticipated!
In January I forced myself to sit down and sort through my two closets and two bookshelves full of books – I wound up selling 8 paper grocery bags full to my local used book store and making $126, and now my whole collection fits on a 6×4-ish IKEA shelf and a smaller 4×3-ish folding thing from Target.
I’m glad I did it because I both no longer have the stress of feeling like a weird book-hoarder – I held off for so long because the task seemed so daunting (and came with weird irrational fears that if I even let myself think of offloading a book or two I’d blink and suddenly have given away all of my favorites?), but it actually wound up being really enjoyable and allowed me to remember what all I actually have. And now everything is organized and displayed, and the cash seems like just a fun bonus at this point!
PS: CDs! If anyone still buys/has a collection of physical CDs, your used book/music shop will pay to take those storage nightmares off your hands, too.
The commitment issue thing is a Gemini thing? I can blame astrology for my lack of furniture? Awesome.
Funny thing, I actually just got a loveseat (a couch is too much– both space-wise, for my NYC apartment, and couches basically signal grown-up-ness in my world). I suddenly feel tethered, and like I made a statement that I am not moving anytime soon. I also bought Expedit recently, but a short one, not for books but for files.
Anyway. Most of my books are in storage and it pains me, because I always want to re-read something I don’t have on hand. So I end up rebuying them (occasionally I try checking already-owned books out from the library, but then the late fees…). Ugh. Books. It would be easier to be illiterate.