Comments on: Bookshelf Tumblr

Bookshelf Tumblr

peacay — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:14:38 -0800

Book lovers never go to bed alone - a tumblr dedicated to bookshelves.

By: inturnaround

inturnaround — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:20:25 -0800

Why would book lovers sleep with a bookshelf? What about the splinters?

By: shakespeherian

shakespeherian — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:22:58 -0800

The real problem with this is that I'm not able to look at every title and judge the shelves' owners accordingly. Seriously I went to a party at my ex's and she and her husband had, like, hardly any fiction and it was one of those What was I thinking during that relationship?! hindsight moments I mean she's nice and all but gah

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:27:07 -0800

green apple?

By: theodolite

theodolite — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:28:18 -0800

It turns out I can recognize City Lights from a single "MORE BOOKS DOWNSTAIRS" sign despite not having been there in three or four years. I think the "current events - 60s & drugs" one is Green Apple but I'd need independent confirmation

By: The Lady is a designer

The Lady is a designer — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:29:56 -0800

It turns out I can recognize City Lights from a single "MORE BOOKS DOWNSTAIRS" sign despite not having been there in three or four years. Then crossing over to Specs for a drink ...

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:30:41 -0800

The real problem with this is that I'm not able to look at every title and judge the shelves' owners accordingly. That's what I was hoping for too... Judge away on Ideal Bookshelf (no association - i have linked to it twice in (relevant) comments)

By: specialagentwebb

specialagentwebb — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:34:23 -0800

I was thinking about what my bookshelves would look like and figured that they would probably be pretty empty, judging by the mountainous pile of books beside my bed. But then I realized, that no, they're still all full, because I always have more books than shelves. It's a happy way to live.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:34:27 -0800

green apple? blerg. i haven't been to city lights or green apple in years. i don't live in the city anymore, and pretty much exclusively frequent Dog-Eared, Aardvark, and ... what's the one on 2nd ... Alexander. Spoiled we are.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:35:15 -0800

I think the "current events - 60s & drugs" one is Green Apple but I'd need independent confirmation Nope, that is definitely Aardvark.

By: penduluum

penduluum — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:37:37 -0800

My headboard is a bookshelf. Am I doing it right? Because it sure feels like I'm going to bed alone a lot of the time.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:40:18 -0800

green apple green apple green apple green apple green apple

By: theodolite

theodolite — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:41:52 -0800

Nope, that is definitely Aardvark. Now that that's settled, we can all sit down and judge this guy, with whom it would be impossible to hold more than five minutes of conversation without the topic turning to something about quantum mechanics explaining how 9/11 was a lie.

By: nomadicink

nomadicink — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:51:22 -0800

Book lovers never go to bed alone Mmm, hard bound leather edition...

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:06:49 -0800

Now that that's settled, we can all sit down and judge this guy I'll admit to owning the Cosmic Serpent, though I also admit I haven't read it yet. Also, Robert Anton Wilson is the bee's knees.

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:10:14 -0800

I can't believe Alexander is still open! Green Apple (sigh) is one of the handful of things I really, really miss about SF ...... that and living within a very short bus ride from it ..... there is a serious paucity of really great bookstores where I am now.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:17:17 -0800

Alexander does pretty serious business. It's an odd combination of black fiction, best sellers, textbooks, magazines, and discount books, but there's really not much competition (any?) in downtown SF after Stacey's left. I judge any used bookstore on its half-off-cover-price mass-market paperbacks, hardcover fiction, and sex/erotica. I judge any new bookstore on its sex/erotica. :D There are a few interesting bookshelves as the pages go on. My favorite so far is the eminently impractical and likely dangerous ladder bookshelf.

By: applemeat

applemeat — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:22:45 -0800

I'm touching my self-help section!

By: theodolite

theodolite — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:25:44 -0800

I'll admit to owning the Cosmic Serpent, though I also admit I haven't read it yet. Also, Robert Anton Wilson is the bee's knees. It's not so much any particular book as the combination of Dawkins, Howard Bloom, HST, RAW, Crowley, and whatever "Psychic Dictatorship in the USA" is that says talking to this guy will be like listening to Alex Jones through a bong

By: bionic.junkie

bionic.junkie — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:44:02 -0800

This one is incredibly sad to me. It's the sole remaining refuge a person who has lost their battle for equality with their (substantially more) significant other. At one time an aspiring writer with a penchant for retro photography, his or her dreams have now been relegated to the far bottom corner of the basement. There was once a small desk and a somewhat comfortable chair, but those were decided to be in the way, and now there is a single metal folding chair that must be put away after each use. In a few years the area will be put to better use as a storage area for seasonal decorations and forgotten boxes of children's schoolwork. The final ember of a heart that held a once burning dream will be snuffed out.

By: Zed

Zed — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:31:14 -0800

Now that that's settled, we can all sit down and judge this guy Heh. I have 9 of the books in that picture, including all of the RAW (I don't have that particular Lovecraft collection, but I have all of its stories in other volumes.) And I could easily come up with a selection of 20 books from my library that would make me look even crazier than that.

By: The Lady is a designer

The Lady is a designer — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:39:44 -0800

My current studio apartment has a cubby hole type sleeping area which is walled by bookshelves. It has lots of room to grow.

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:44:07 -0800

The final ember of a heart that held a once burning dream will be snuffed out. Quit looking at me. Get out of my brain!

By: sweetirony1

sweetirony1 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:01:58 -0800

bookshelfporn

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:18:35 -0800

It's an odd combination of black fiction, best sellers, textbooks, magazines, and discount books, but there's really not much competition (any?) in downtown SF after Stacey's left. That makes total sense to me. When Stacey's was really booming circa 10 years ago there was a moment when it looked like Alexander might go under. I loved Stacey's too but I'm glad Alexander has had a chance to get out from under Stacey's shadow.

By: halogen

halogen — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:51:12 -0800

There's nothing quite like floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to make your home cozy, but I love my Kindle possibly more than any inanimate object I've ever grown fond of. So conflicted.

By: The Lady is a designer

The Lady is a designer — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:02:05 -0800

When I was a kid and would imagine being a "grown up", I'd always picture a library - a room with floor to ceiling bookshelves, that was old style leather armchair and floor standing reading lamps cozy. Vat iz zis keendell of which you spik off?

By: fake

fake — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:27:11 -0800

I am somewhere in between this and this.

By: Zed

Zed — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:31:26 -0800

I'd always picture a library Me too. And I suppose I'm a "grown up" now. And I've got a room much like that. Growing up isn't all bad — it gives you time to acquire more books.

By: bearwife

bearwife — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:31:50 -0800

Perpetually torn, myself, between my desire to eliminate all the clutter and my obsessive love of books. Thank goodness for the public library and my electronic book reader. But still have sneaking desire to set up my bedroom and a big comfortable chair in one of these book laden spaces.

By: Heliochrome85

Heliochrome85 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:35:44 -0800

this is my idea of heaven. i miss my books. :(

By: mendel

mendel — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:35:11 -0800

There's nothing quite like floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to make your home cozy, but I love my Kindle possibly more than any inanimate object I've ever grown fond of. So conflicted. I feel for you! And I've only had my Kindle for two weeks. I'm finding a lot of my wish list isn't available on Kindle, though, so I think I'm going to end up fine.

By: zardoz

zardoz — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:05:41 -0800

After getting my Nook (ebook reader), I'm torn when I see these pics. I actually don't browse through used book stores anymore, something I love to do, because I don't want to justify the expense of buying a physical book when I can read the same thing for free (there are ways) on my ebook. Or maybe the opposite--I want to justify the ebook, and if I buy books then that gets chipped away. I have a bookshelf at home, but it's mostly books I've already read, and now that I'm on board with the ebook thing, plus the fact that I need to reorganize and clear up some space... This is the future, isn't it? In fifty years bookshelves will be quaint, only maintained by hipsters kickin' it old skool.

By: iamck

iamck — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:10:39 -0800

One of my favorite libraries in the world is in Ndioum, Senegal. After half a year in Africa, where even French language books were sparse and hard to come by, I had no idea how much I missed the comfort of a familiar book, a voice that you can understand, that understands you. I chanced upon a PCV who invited me to the house -- and then I saw the library. It wasn't huge by Western standards, just a standard bedroom -- but it was filled with 30+ years of books, either brought by American kids, or sent by their friends and parents. I'd like to say there was a certain quality to the books. Sure, there were a few Grisham, but there was a lot more Marquez, Murakami, and Joyce (though the latter looked barely touched -- trying to comprehend the plot of Finnegan's Wake while learning Pulaar and negotiating a village cooperative of pottery production too ambitious even for the stars of PCV). I put down a mat and lived in that library. Closing off from the world that was Africa, I ate bookdust for a week, sleeping in between the shelves. Amidst the books were the occasional forgotten journal or a volunteer, left behind, abandoned. I copied down a passage from one, which I produce here: Community walk observation Animals, trash + animal sees everywhere women + children (not many men) out walking around. all women have head wraps + wear traditional clothes while men + children wear western + traditional clothes. ppl sitting in under huts/shaded area kids run up to shake my hand - but don't say anything women balance things on head - the huge buckets of waer (a long w/ baby on back dirt, kids almost white + dirt gets in my eyes Not everyone greets but when they do they don't stop, jus keep walking + talking even w/back turned narrow pathways b/w houses (w/douches running) some teeth rotten kids w/no pants or underwear running around animal parts on ground (goat leg) ppl yell _ then have to go to them, they won't come to you I get some smiles + ppl don't react @ all ppl think Marie + I are sisters b/c we look alike all wear flip flops smells like BO after breast feeding don't put breast away lots + lots of kids + babies Of all the other authors I read, that nameless one touched me the most. It's funny in it's confusion. Whoever this person was, whenever they were here, I could understand that bizarre line of walking between two worlds. I vaguely remember before I left the house and back onto the road, scribbling out some note, some poetic ode to libraries as nexuses of atemporal communication or something, which I slid behind a bookshelf to someday be found. After all, that's what libraries are -- collections of Solomons' bottles, waiting forever, silent and ready to speak and challenge and comfort whomever comes next.

By: knile

knile — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 04:43:50 -0800

I should have known about this sooner. A FOAF has a books-images tumblr as well. I recently moved, but none of my books came with me. It makes my home seem... empty. I look forward to filling my empty bookcase.

By: bearwife

bearwife — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:26:14 -0800

The real problem with this is that I'm not able to look at every title and judge the shelves' owners accordingly. For some reason I thought of this comment immediately when I saw my New Yorker cartoon for today. It is a man and woman, both clutching their glasses of wine at a cocktail party being held in a room lined with books. As she stares at the bookshelves she is saying to him, "We're not leaving until I find every book we ever gave them."

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:59:25 -0800

I've been doing a lot of thinking about ebooks recently, as more and more people I know have gotten Kindles (and I've warmed to the concept; I think I'm going to pull the trigger soon, although I'm probably depriving the SO of an easy Christmas gift...). The switch from paper books to ebooks is going to be much more of a game-changer, although probably more gradual, than the switch from CDs to MP3s and virtually-delivered music was. The iPod has always been advertised in number of "songs". "30,000 songs in your pocket" or whatever. But a "song" is a pretty abstract thing ... I guess you can represent it as a 45RPM single, if you're old enough for that to have any meaning, or as a sort of fraction of a CD or LP. But books are a lot more tangible. The idea that you can load a few thousand books onto a handheld device and carry them around with you ... that impresses me in a way that the iPod doesn't. I guess it's just because it's easier to grasp what's being squeezed down into a few grams of Flash when you're talking about books. It'll be a very long time before people stop wanting to fill rooms with paper books, though. We've had much longer to build a relationship with the "charming little clothy box" than we had with any particular music format. But I wonder if they'll become more for display than they already are? I mean, no need to defend your pulp teenage-vampire habit (or medical / self-help books) to guests when you can keep that stuff safely out of sight on an ereader; the bookshelves become something more closely curated. Will the end result be a loss of a way that we currently use to get to know someone?