The Beauty of Books

Image courtesy Picasaweb

I love books.  No really, I love books.  To me, they are what makes a house a home.  They add such richness, texture and warmth to a space.  And I feel like there is so much you can learn about a person (or a family) from looking at what types of books they have.  If you were in my house, I think it would probably figure out pretty quickly that I love history and non-fiction.  See?

 I also love the message that they quietly send.  That there is a whole wide world to explore that's accessible to anyone, any time.  My dad was an avid reader, and I grew up surrounded by them.  Now, as an adult, I find that I increasingly love to read.  Thankfully, places like Barnes and Noble are nice and offer teachers a 20% off discount so that I can read all I want.  I love library books too (especially those plastic jackets!).  I haven't gotten onto the ereader bandwagon yet (uh, if you read the last post, that shouldn't be a surprise).  There's something fulfilling about the sensation of holding a book and turning a page.  But I digress...

We're planning (err, hoping?) to build built-in bookshelves in our basement (there's a ledge that would be a perfect base for them already) some time soon.  Ish.  I'd love to as the bookcase pictured above is somewhat, uh, full, and we have one more downstairs that even fuller, and a whole mess of books on the ledge and stacked on the floor.  The situation is, quite frankly, somewhat desperate, but I imagine I'll need to work up some courage before I have at a project of that scale.  Have I mentioned yet I'm a beginner at basically all things home improvement related?  Because I am...

Please pay no attention to the hideous turquoise carpet.  Half of it is gone, thanks to an earlier home improvement upgrade, but some it remains.  And taunts me.  Daily.  Counting the days until I can rip up the rest...

Is there something that makes your home feel like home?