Bookshelves

Yes, this is all about bookshelves, which I feel is apt seeing as I've just moved house!

I came across an article yesterday in which a book lover couldn't believe that someone had suggested that bookshelves were going to become obsolete in the digital age of book reading. Now the e-book is available and becoming more and more popular, there is no need for these shelves - but I disagree. I love my bookshelves and what should have been a five minute job - bundling my books up into a box to move to the new house, became a much longer job.

I love thumbing through books and there are still lots - both fiction and non fiction that I haven't read yet, but I am not ashamed of this, I just wish I had more time but I will get round to it eventually. I just get greedy and buy too many books - more than I can read. I got caught up with looking through the books, reading the backs and looking at the pictures. It took me ages to pack them all up and the books were the first things I got out of the box at the other end.

To start with I tried to make the bookshelf look tidy, with all books of similar height together in ascending order from the edge of the shelf, but then I gave up and realised that a messy book shelf is a thing of beauty. There are meant to be books all higgldy piggldy on the shelf and not all books by the same author are meant to be together. The fun is then looking through them and remembering books you had forgotten you had.

I have just seen a bookshelf in a TV programme and it was exactly the same - all unordered and untidy. Unfortunately I cannot do the same with my Kindle bookshelf - they are ordered and the right way round and when I have finished one I can archive it for later and perhaps even forget about it.

So the next time you look at your bookshelf - or anyone else's, take time to appreciate it. Look through it, see what treasures you can uncover, play spot the difference with your own book shelf, or eye spy even and find the ones you have - or the ones you don't have. Bookshelves are fun, they are not boring necessities and I certainly hope they won't become obsolete. One day I dream of having my own library but there is still a long way to go. The digital age is upon us but I will put up a fight to keep the beloved bookshelf - even if mine is the last one left!