At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live with and Care for Their Libraries

I do not want to be here I thought, but my sponsor insisted I come. The other addicts were done sharing, and now it is my turn. Nervously I stand and begin my story to the group, “Hello, my name is Scott, and I am a bibliomaniac”. I can’t believe I am back in this needling 12-step program’s meetings again.

“I believed I was doing really well, I avoided bookstores, I did not buy anything over the Internet, in fact I had not even posted any reviews to LibraryThing for 59 days,” I droned on and on, but then my sponsor nudged me, hard, so I focused my confession, “but then I was walking past the Beaverton Public Library, and I thought it won’t hurt just to look around inside,” it was glorious, “but boy was I wrong, I just show more had to check out at least one book,” or maybe it was more like 12. “So I went upstairs and headed for the oversize books,” actually I think I ran, “and went to the shelf with the 027s”, nothing like the tale of another drunk bibliophile to get a quick fix, “and selected the oversize tome, At Home with Books.”

“I snuck home and began secretly reading it when no one was around,” and I imagined any one of these could be my library. “This book was a horrible influence on me,” except now I know what I really want, “it is series of these awful, shameful photographs… of disgusting rooms of books,” beautifully decorated personal libraries perfectly matched to their owners tastes, “in some cases even entire houses filled with books,” these wonderful people actually designed their entire homes around their book collection. “These despicable people are devoted way too much time to their libraries,” but oh it must be wonderful to devote that much focus and passion to one’s collection.

“So, in closing let me say publically that this book should be banned,” I wonder how much I could make delivering this book secretly to the people in this room? “There is no way that you should even gaze at the cover,” because the photographs are simply mouth-watering, “for it will draw you in and suck you down to the very pit of destruction,” but oh, what a way to go, surrounded by the books you love. “So thank you for letting me share my story so that you will not fall prey to these evils like I did.” I think I can sneek away and post a review to LibraryThing.com while my sponsor is talking with those recovered addicts…

“This book is not recommended for anyone that loves books a little too much,” unless you enjoy pretending you have unlimited funds, or have recently won the lottery. show less

I don't usually do coffee table books, but one about libraries, well, that's something else. Full of gorgeous photographs of private libraries to lust after. I particularly like that many of them have not been tidied specially - the Duke of Devonshire reclines with newspapers scattered on the floor, Keith Richards' shelves complete with apparently abandoned bottle of HP sauce.

This is a booklovers’ book about booklovers. It is a libraything for LibraryThingers.

And it is a thing of beauty. Understand, I have a whole shelf of books about books, about booklovers and their life of reading. But this one is different. You might think of it as a coffee table book, but it’s actually more of a library table book, one you will want to make available for your guests to browse in, to handle, to explore. And tucked inside, in a format in which you would hardly expect it, you will find a caretaker’s handbook, a practical how-to on storing, perserving, and displaying your books.

But it’s a little hard to make your way around in it. Browsers who want guideposts for browsing won’t find them; book keepers who want show more advice on keeping books may be hard pressed to locate the information they need. It’s there, but admittedly you’d like to see it pulled out and reshaped in a handy little, hand-size “handbook.”

Basically the book presents, in opulent fashion, the libraries of some forty-one book collectors. There are beautiful full-page color photographs, a few classic two-page spreads, numerous little close-ups, and succint text on each one, made up largely of quotations from the booklovers themselves. Now, granted most of them are wealthy and the books and the libraries they can afford outstrip most folks’ ability to emulate. Even so, you find libraries to admire, libraries to covet, libraries to inspire awe, libraries to invite you in, libraries to make you comfortable — and probably, one or two libraries to make you wonder, “What the . . . .”

Some of them are just too perfect for me. And at least one (believe it or not) has too many books and is too much a hodge podge. Probably my favorite is Nicolas Barker’s, who was himself a book designer and then a conservationist for the British Library. Someone says of his library, “You’ll have to do a lot of talking before you can convince me that there is any order or method in this collection.” But the authors add, “Order or method may not be the guiding principal behind Mr. Barker’s library. But affection certainly is.” Captions for some of the photographs may capture the character of his library:

“The groound floor . . . serves as both library and study. New and old books pile up on sofas and carpeting as shelves proclaim no vacancy.”

“Even the ‘loo’ serves as book storage, as well as entertainment for visitors.”

“All the way up the several staircases books line the walls. What will happen when they reach the roof?”

Barker says of himself, “When people ask me, ‘Do you collect books?’ I always say, ‘No, books collect me.’”

But you will find your own favorite library from the collection. That’s what this kind of book is for. Book lovers enjoy browsing in libraries. So library lovers will enjoy browsing in this book.

Just a few of the quotations used for epigraphs will entice you inside (and demonstrate our obsessiveness):

“We were so fascinated by books and book people that we decided to make them a twenty-five-hour-a-day activity.”

“You can’t want to be a collector, you’re born that way. Driven.”

“Books are central to our life; the library is the heart of our house.”

“I like a project that never ends, and a library is that.”

By the way, different kinds of libraries are assigned to sections of the book, but the subheads of the sections (not printed in the table of contents) are a more accurate indication of the contents than the headings. Browsers need to know this. These subheadings are, libraries of serious collectors; visually inspired libraries; libraries designed by designers; the well-stocked [i.e., big] library; writers’ libraries; and reading retreats [the comfy ones].

But note: interesting libraries have nooks with special collections hidden away. Just so this book has very helpful little articles scattered among its riches; for example, how to organize your library, library lighting, the art of the bookshelf, bookplates, bookbinders and conservationists, library ladders (how many times have we needed one of those?), and the like, with a long list (perhaps dated) of resources at the end. Suppose you’re instructing the woodworker remodeling your house on library shelves. He needs to know, “Shelving 1 inch thick, 36 inches long, and 10 1/2 inches deep accommodates most books. If the shelf is to be longer, the thickness should be increased to 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 inches to prevent sagging.” Now you can’t get much more specific, nor more practical, than that! show less

A wonderful book with varied and well-chosen libraries, handsome pictures, and compelling stories about the library owners. This book differentiates itself from other "books about books" by going beyond care and decorating tips (although the book includes plenty of both) and spotlighting the owners of the books: Why they love books, how they began and added to their collections, what they believe is so important about having books in the home. This book was an inspiration to me. I kept it out in easy reaching distance during the 3 month period that I was having my custom home library built. I ended up stealing a number of ideas from the book, all of which have made my own library a warm, cozy, useful, and oft-complimented part of my show more home and my life. show less

A big coffee table book from 1995, of all kinds of libraries. There are personal libraries, ones in big English manors and the Welsh book town of Hay-on-Wye. Many of the libraries belong to serious collectors, some to voracious readers, some who also collect art, and a couple who are most interested in the appearance of their library. Of course, it is filled with big glossy pages of book porn. Photos of old English bookcases filled with leather-bound books and stacks of two hundred year old books by classic authors are everywhere. Biggest surprise- Keith Richards has beautiful copies of both Jane Eyre and Grimm's Fairy Tales on the shelf, along with the WWII books.

The subtitle of this generous sized coffee table book, is "How book lovers live with and care for their libraries" , but it's more of a lush, plush picture book of book collectors and their chance to show off their libraries . It really is a specialist interior design book for library enthusiasts. It largely, covers private libraries of clearly rich people , about 40 of them . Are any of them members of Library thing? I liked the idea of highlight chapters on Hay on Wye, organizing your library, starting a collection, library lighting, the art of the book shelf, book plates, library ladders and so on. The enemies of books chapter is particularly helpful on temperature control and what to do about mold, there lots of useful advice for show more ordinary book loving mortals too. There is a resource directory . The photographs are to drool over, and if you are not the envious type then concentrate on the types of shelves, the chairs, the furnishings and furniture for libraries and the choices available in arranging your books. Tastes even among this selected group of people vary... Some like the cluttered look, some are clinical in their approach to books, some want to hide their books and avoid the intrusion of books while others are true bibliophiles . I wondered why many of these book collectors agreed to participate in this project and why ... Perhaps the same reason as library thing members post their pics on the website. . It is heavily geared to North American and British collections . This is a book worth keeping and dipping in to from time to time just to savour those peeps into the lives and libearies of others. Though published in the mid 1990s, I do not think this book has dated or is obsolete in purpose. Are there any other books in this vein ? show less

At Home with Books is a visual delight, a helpful resource, and an inspiration for every bibliophile with a growing home library. Includes professional advice on editing and categorizing your library; caring for your books; preserving, restoring, and storing rare books; finding out-of-print books; and choosing furniture, lighting, and shelving.